Shaggy's Left Handed Journey In Writing

Hello again readers,

Today I wanted to share with you all just why I prefer to write with either a fine or extra-fine nib. Most of my pens have been medium nibs or smaller, with my only real exception being my Conlkin Duraflex pen which has an Omniflex nib. In this post I hope to explain a little why I prefer these nibs.

Some of my first pens were mediums and then when I went back to rollerball or gel pens the nibs stayed the same. I have never been a fan of my own handwriting so I always tended to write bigger on the page. Over the years I learned how to write neater, and as I wrote neater, my writing started to shrink. A big part of why my writing started to shrink was the fact that I was trying to fit more of my thoughts on each page. While I would still hesitate to say that I have good handwriting, I can definitely say that it has improved over the years, and as I write more it just continues to improve. The biggest help has been choosing to write with finer nibs so that only a little bit of ink is reaching the page at any moment.

I had asked for a flex nib pen for my birthday so that I could really try out a different type of nib, and I received my Conklin Duraflex. This pen writes with a little wider line than my other pens even without flexing, and when flexing is about twice as wide. I have only had two inks in this pen so far, Private Reserve Arabian Rose and now Diamine Frosted Orchid. With the Private Reserve ink, there was a much wider line than it has been giving with the Diamine, and I am not sure if that is just because of the shimmer particles in the ink. So far I am still thinking that my handwriting is not very good with this pen, but I think that as I write with it more I will develop a way to write nicer with it.

Another big reason that I prefer a pen with a finer nib is the fact that they tend to work better on cheaper paper than a broader nib. Even just a medium is often too wet for cheaper paper. The finer the nib the drier the pen writes generally, just because it can’t transfer as much ink as a broader nib. By writing a little drier, a fine or extra-fine pen can generally avoid both bleed through and feathering.

These are just a few of my own personal reasons for choosing a fine or extra-fine pen, and I won’t try to say that these are going to be the same for everyone who chooses a finer nib. Even though I am not the happiest with how my handwriting is, I greatly enjoy the act of writing and I have seen my handwriting improve just in the last year. I also believe that my handwriting will continue to improve as I continue writing. I hope you have enjoyed learning about my thoughts on this. I would love to hear what size nib you find yourself going to more often, so please feel free to share in the comments.

Just a quick little notice here, as I had been trying to find some good pictures to demonstrate the different hand positions I mentioned in my last post. With a little help, I have been able to locate some finally and have updated the post which you can find right here. I hope that helps some more to explain than my words did.

I think that my next post is going to be another pen review, but I still haven’t quite decided yet. If you have any questions that you would like for me to try and answer in an upcoming post, please feel free to share them in the comments as well. Until next time readers. Stay happy and healthy, and keep on learning!

Shaggy