I'm very happy to announce that both Monteverde and Conklin now offer a stub
nib for the majority of
their pen models. Most of my personal favorite writers have stub nibs
on them, and I'm excited
about now being able to offer the same on some of my favorite pen designs. Please
click here, to read more about the nibs.
"Hi Norman, just letting you know
that I got your package on Friday, and was relieved that the new nib and feed
pulled easily from the nib housing...Finally installed the stub last night.
I used it at
work today, and was impressed. I really like this nib! If I hit the sweet
spot (easy to do, the nib is quite forgiving), it's very smooth yet
expressive. For an inexpensive nib, it writes very well, and is smoother than
nib-meister-ground stubs I have. :-) Thanks for selling this nib, and for
your emails. Hopefully I can pick up a Napa from you before the end of the
year. I liked the blue, but the red I saw in the review was stunning...I
should mention that the stub really is great for the price--I can't think of
anything else in its price range that's as good. I like that it's a
full-sized nib, not small and stiff like a Lamy 1.1. Also, the Monteverde
stub feels more expressive than, say, a Jowo nib. It's too bad I don't like
the stiff, bland Jowo nibs, because so many pens use them now. After I
increased the ink flow, the Monteverde stub brings out a lot of color in the
inks I've used. :-)"
G. F., Kaneohe, HI
"Thank you so much for sending out
the nib so quickly! I love it SO much! Many folks at work have commented on
the look...it's a dream to write with! Also, the personal letter with wax seal
were nice touches!"
A. C., Elyria, OH
"It arrived! My beautiful new fountain pen was
delivered today and I absolutely love it! This is the first Monteverde pen
I've owned/used and I am an instant convert to the brand. Perfectly sized
and weighted for my smallish hands, it just glides unbelievably smoothly on
all types of paper (have been trying it out on everything from the back of
an envelope to my Rhodia Gridded ever since it got here!)...I'm just so
happy that all my expectations were not just met, but exceeded. The personal handwritten note was a
beautiful touch (think you may have spurred on a new fascination with
sealing wax in me now also!) and just the icing on the cake for a wonderful
buying experience. I cannot recommend your business and your services high
enough and will most definitely be a return customer. The one and only
drawback to your website however, is that there are too many lovely items to
choose from and the 'future purchase' list has now become pretty extensive!"
R. B., Isle of Man
For those of you who are not familiar with what a
stub
nib is, think 'italic' or 'calligraphy' nib, but without the
paper-tearing.
Basically speaking, a typical x-fine, fine, medium or broad nib has a rounded
ball of tipping material at the end of the nib, which produces a
correspondingly-sized line of ink that's the same no matter which direction
the nib travels in. In contrast, an italic or calligraphy
nib (experts will debate the differences between the two terms, but we don't
need to here) is cut and shaped so that it's wide across, but relatively thin
if viewed from the side. The photo below shows what I'm talking about, as the
Pilot 78G nibs on the left and center have the
typical ball of 'Iridium' or tipping material, while the nib on the
right is cut across, to produce an italic-type of nib.
Typically, such a italic or calligraphy nib has quite sharp
edges, as compared to a conventional nib...hence my crack about
'paper-tearing' before. Unless care is taken, an edge can sometimes snag on
the paper. That, and the fact that these nibs often have a slightly smaller
'sweet spot' than a conventional nib, can cause the writer to need to pay more
attention to the mechanics of writing, and tends to slow down the process
slightly. However, it's usually a fair trade, because of the 'beautiful
writing' -- which is what calligraphy means -- that is produced.
Enter my favorite nib...the stub!...and why I'm
so happy to see it's addition to the Monteverde and Conklin line-up. In simple
terms, a stub is an italic nib with smooth, rounded edges. Hence, you achieve
the beautiful, 'shaded' writing of an italic/calligraphy nib, but with the
speed, smoothness and comfort of a conventional nib. The paper-tearing fear is
eliminated!
It can still take a slight adjustment to find the somewhat smaller sweet-spot,
compared to a conventional ball-nib, but a couple of minutes should take care
of that learning curve forever.
This nib modification allows for a thick line of ink in one
direction (vertically, let's say), and a thinner one as the nib travels
horizontally, as shown below.
click the photo to enlarge
Consequently, one's 'hand' becomes more 'shaded', meaning a
combination of thicker/thinner lines become apparent. My 'hand' is nothing to
write home about, but if you enlarge the image above, take a look at the
fourth line -- written with the stub nib -- and focus on the second
word...'is'. If you look at the beginning of the 'i' in the word 'is', you'll
see that it begins much thinner than the rest of the letter. Compare that to
the 'i's in the three lines above it, written with conventional nibs. That's
the 'shading' I'm talking about, and it becomes much more apparent with a full
page of handwriting (and a better handwriter!).
The Monteverde/Conklin stub nibs are 1.1
mm across, which is generally considered to be in the medium range (don't get
me started on the lack of standardization of nib sizes -- one person's medium
is another's fine! ). In
the current Monteverde line, they're available for the
Invincia, Color Fusion,
Titanium, Prima
and Regatta lines (I haven't had a chance to put up a page for the new
Regatta or Invincia
Deluxe carbon-fiber pens yet -- both shown in the video -- but they are
available for ordering now). The nibs are available in 'silver' steel or
'black' steel coated in titanium.
As for
Conklin, the Conklin stub is available for all models except the
Symetrik, which uses a smaller nib, and the limited
edition Deco Crest.
For either Monteverde or Conklin, the
stub nib can be specified when ordering -- or if you'd like a one of the stub
nibs for a Monteverde or Conklin that you already own, they're available for
$24.00 each.
We will email you back with
your order total (PA residents please add 6% sales tax)
Credit cards, for the quickest fulfillment
of your order, are accepted through PayPal, a secure site
allowing you to use your credit card without us even seeing the information. If you'd like to make use of this credit card
service, please let us know when you email your order and address, and we'll
email you the appropriate Request for Payment, and
instructions for the simple payment procedure (you don't need to join PayPal to
use it).
If you would like us process your
credit card directly instead, then please email us:
1. Card # (dividing this number in two, between two emails, will
ensure security)
2. Expiration date
3. Name on card
4. Address for billing statement
5. Card verification # (3-digit number printed on the back of your card. It
appears after and to the right of your card number, or 4-digit number on the
front of your AMEX card).
If you'd rather pay by money order or
check, kindly make payable to:
His
Nibs.com
2540 W. Union Street
Allentown, PA 18104
We
ship via insured Priority Mail
(email for cost)
Warranties and returns
If an item proves to be
defective, in most cases the manufacturer's warranty will apply.
However, please email us first so that we can determine the easiest
way to resolve the problem to your satisfaction. In the case of
fountain pens -- which are a bit more individualistic than other
writing instruments -- what may at first appear to be a defect (hard
starting or poor flow for example), can in almost all cases be
resolved with a few simple 'tweaks' to the nib, which we'll be happy
to guide you through or perhaps suggest returning to us for
adjustment.
Should you wish to return a
non-defective item within 3 days of receipt because it doesn't suit
you for some reason, again please email us and we'll arrange an
exchange, credit or refund (minus any shipping/insurance charges),
if the item is returned in an 'as new' condition. If you've dipped a
fountain pen to try its writing characteristics, kindly clean off
any ink residue prior to shipping -- to save us both a nasty
surprise .
We want you to be happy with
your purchase from HisNibs.com and hope to have you join the ranks
of our many long-term, repeat customers!
