Customization

Most fountain pens are provided with standard stock nibs ranging in size from Fine to Medium to Broad, with Extra-Fine, Double-Broad, Stub, and Music sizes also common (experienced pen users can check out our tipping sizes page for exact comparisons among the pen lines we carry).

Most stock nibs are designed to give a consistent, unvarying line. But some users, such as artists, calligraphers, or just anyone who wants to add more personality and distinctiveness to their writing, are attracted to fountain pens precisely for the ability to use customized nibs which provide for varying line-widths.

If you are happy with a consistent, unvarying line with your pen, then most likely you will not have any immediate need for a customization. But if you want to achieve line-width variation, you will most likely be considering a customization to Stub, Italic, or Oblique points, and possibly considering adding flex as well. Other customizations can be as simple as a regrind, to make a broader nib more fine, or, less commonly, a retip, to make a finer nib more broad. 

In general, the broader the nib point you start from, the more line-width variation you’ll see after customization. These customizations provide for more creativity and individuality in a pen-user’s writing - but they can also be more demanding in terms of the user’s ability to control and handle the pen.

Difference Between Stub, Italic & Oblique

A stub tip is cut straight across the top and is the easiest to use of the three, since it has somewhat rounded edges and corners. A cursive italic point is similar to a stub except sharper, giving more line-width variation between the vertical and horizontal strokes. It is also more position sensitive, however; the sharper and narrower the point, the less smooth it will feel on paper. By contrast, a rounder stub will feel smoother, but not have as distinct a difference between the thin horizontal and broader vertical strokes. See our Stub or Italic pages for samples and more detailed information.

The oblique tip is cut at an angle, usually about 15 degrees, normally from top right to lower left, looking like ones left foot from the top. This is usually called a Left Oblique. Unfortunately, some companies, including Parker Pen, call this a Right Oblique. A true Right Oblique point, also called a Reverse Oblique, has a slant exactly the opposite of a Left Oblique and is used by only a few right-handed writers.

An oblique delivers more subtle line-width variation than stubs and italics because the broadest stroke is the upper-left-to-lower-right diagonal, and if your writing style is typical of most right-handed writers, your characters will have few of these strokes. John loves a left oblique point, but he is also used to the rotation required (the pen must be rotated to the left in order to find the point's "sweet spot"). See our Oblique page for samples and more detailed information.

Broader Nibs For Best Results

We don't recommend starting with anything finer than a Medium nib for customization to either italic or oblique. A narrower point would be very position-sensitive, require an extremely light touch from a slow and deliberate hand, and would still tend to be scratchy and not show very much line-width variation. In general, the broader the nib that you start from, the greater is the line-width variation that can result from customization

Customizations Guide

The below guide illustrates the differences between a standard, unmodified nib and its customized variations.