Editing The Pen Addict 407/transcript (section)

== Ask TPA Segment Begins ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' Should we round out today's episode of an Ask TPA question? Let's do it. All right. This one comes in from George. Are broader nibs better for shimmering inks because of a difference in wetness or a difference in surface area of the tipping? That is to say, can very wet nibs of a smaller nib size perform as well with shimmering inks as a larger nib size? How necessary do you find custom grinds to be to the fountain pen using? Oh, there's a few questions here. Let's tackle that first one first.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, it looks like we got like four questions in this. Let's, yeah. The first one, it definitely makes a difference, right? So, broader, softer nibs are going to be better for shimmering inks because they apply more ink to the page, which allows more ink, more shimmer to flow in that ink and out the nib when the tines spread, right? So, your extra fine nibs are not getting a very big spread when you're writing, you know, the lines on the page. So, therefore, you're not going to see as much shading, sheening, or shimmer on thinner nibbed pens. So, it's just a nature of the sizing. So, you can get, you know, you can get a very wet nib that's a small size, but it's still emulating something that's larger than it's natively should be, right? Take, for example, a Pelican extra fine compared to a Sailor extra fine, and that's like three deviations of line width. You know, even though it's marked extra fine, it's a giant line in comparison to other extra fine nibs. So, you can get some shading, sheen, and shimmer out of that. But, in general, the broader the nib, the more you're going to see the characteristics of the ink. Okay.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Okay. All right. Next question is, how necessary do you find custom grinds to be to the fountain pen using experience? Do you get grinds on most of the nibs you have, or are you content with the normal writing performance in general?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, there's a lot in this question.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It begins with the word necessary. They're not necessary whatsoever. Now, the second part of the question is, do you get grinds on most of the nibs you have? I prefer it that way because of how I write. Okay. So, this is an individual aspect of how I personally write in a block print style. So, a squared off type of nib works really well for me, and that's a cursive italic, a stub, or even an architect because of my letter shapes, forms, and how my hand moves across the page. Other people who may write in cursive scripts or other, you know, different writing angles, handedness, all of those things, may not be able to use the same nibs that I have. So, to me, they add to my writing experience because of how I write, not the other way around. Does that make sense? Am I explaining that correctly?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think so. Okay. Yeah, I don't have any, like, quote-unquote custom grinds. I've just had things tuned to me because I haven't found a custom grind that performs at a level, like, that I've ever used that performs at a level where I feel like it's better than a good stock nib. For my writing.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, so, like, your example of what works for you, even though you didn't have to have someone else customize, it would be something like a zoom nib where you can get these different angles, but it's still in a way that works for you, even though it's not a custom grind. It's a specialty nib. Is that fair?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Mm-hmm.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Are there any good grinds to get on a smaller nib? I asked George. I mean, I get needle points, and I'm actually getting ready to send out a couple pens to get them modified, only because that's how I like to write. I think they're really fun and unique, but that's also something that I like. You can get a little bit of a cursive italic type of line variation on something as small as, like, a Japanese fine nib, but you're not going to get that big, huge variation. Like, I get a little bit just for regular writing. I don't expect a big, big line variation, but I expect a more squared-off line than a rounded tipping on a nib, right? So, you can, but, I mean, outside of, like, needle points and then some hugely specialized nib grinds, there's really not a ton you can do. But, like I said, it's relative. You know, if you ask me what I can do, what a nib grinder could do to a Pelican extra fine compared to a Sailor extra fine, those are two completely different platforms.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And George's final question is, do you use or recommend any Chinese fountain pens? A lot of pen BBS pens have been interesting to me, especially their filling systems. Do you have any experience?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' They're popular. I just don't use them just because I don't want to... Ten, $30 pens laying around doesn't benefit me when they're all kind of similar, right? I would try one or two, and they get good reviews, and I would certainly recommend them if that's something you're interested in based on the things that I've read about them. They just don't intrigue me enough to go out of my way to purchase them. But they seem perfectly fine, and we've reviewed a couple on the site before, and they always get good reviews. So, I mean, I wouldn't have any hesitancy buying one. I just, they're not in my rotation just because it just doesn't pique my interest.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Okay. All right. I think that wraps it up for this episode. If you want to find links to what we've spoken about today, that's relay.fm slash penaddict slash 407. You can find Brad over at penaddict.com, and he's at twitch.tv slash penaddict at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That's Eastern time. Go to knock.co to get your paper goods. If you go to our website, relay.fm slash penaddict, or on our show notes, you can see a link to become a member of Relay.fm and help support this show. If you like what we do and want to give us some money and get some cool pucks in return, then please subscribe, become a Relay.fm member, and help support the Penaddict podcast. Brad is at dowdyism on Twitter, penaddict on Instagram. I am imike, I-M-Y-K-E, and we'll be back next time. Thank you so much to Harry's and Penchillay for their support. Say goodbye, Brad.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Goodbye, Brad.

[[Category:Podcast Transcripts]]
[[Category:The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript]]