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F00lw0lf
60
Sep 17, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
I have to base the 1 star solely on the fact that my nib was unusable. I bought with the fine italic nib, after having a discussion with the guys at Italix online who said that it would be a smooth pen. For an italic. The pen came, and it dug like a razor blade into the paper. I couldn't write in almost any angle without it digging deep into the paper. I lowered the tip of the pen, to have a more forgiving angle, adjusted the tines ever so slightly and then, as nothing worked, I did some micro mesh - and it still writes like having a razor-blade dipped in ink. I have other stubs and italic nibs at home, and while some others are a bit scratchy - this one is by far the worst, making the dip pen nibs I have feel smooth and nice in comparison. :( There was no help to be gotten, and a spare nib costs as much as the pen - and basically - while the pen is an ok sturdy metal body with plastic grip section in a rather classic cigar-shape, you can get a a handful of Jinhao's for the same price, and a few real nibs and build better pens with. . To take contact with Italix directly, I guess I would have had the pen been more expansive to be worth the extra charge of sending it to them for a tune up. This pen is a waste of money or holder for a 'standard' nib unit size 5. Though, you might get better pens for that prize.
(Edited)
djringjr
22
May 5, 2019
F00lw0lfThere are very few Italic nibs on the market today, one comes to mind which is Rotring "Art Pen" which has a range of Italic pens from 1.1mm to 2.7mm. You probably will dig into the paper if you're new to real italic pens, I sharpen my Rotring pens as they're not as sharp as I like - they're close but they can be thinner. I suspect you would have done better with anything except an italic. A stub is most forgiving while still giving some line variation. An italic, or better yet, a right-foot oblique broad italic (for right handed writer) or a left-foot oblique broad italic (for a left handed writer) is the ultimate in line variation for an italic as the near razor thin nib will be aligned perfectly with the paper.
F00lw0lf
60
May 7, 2019
djringjrThanks for the tips. Many good tips and tricks that I will look into. For me I think stubs might be the solution. Right now I have a beautiful Jowo 1.1 nib that I like. I wanted an italic to test, but this was really bad even for an italic pen. At least in my opinion.
djringjr
22
Jun 13, 2020
F00lw0lfF00lw0lf, I've been writing with Italics for 50 years, I always expected there'd be a learning curve, the positioning of the nib in the hand has to be within a very small tolerance of "perfect" but what you get in return is delicious wide descenders, hairline horizontals, and a gorgeous look that will get your handwriting noticed. I had horrible writing thaI myself could not even read, it was due to a physical deformity, but I reasoned that if the monks in the middle ages could write Italic script all day, I could at least make mine readable. it worked - the Italic nib forces to you to write in a certain way, only that way otherwise, you'll tear the paper. See https://handwritingsuccess.com/why-italic/