Author Topic: The strangest nib I've ever seen  (Read 1724 times)

Offline Milonguera

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The strangest nib I've ever seen
« on: January 03, 2015, 09:03:32 AM »
Can anyone tell what this nib might have been made for?  It's marked Sveriges (Sweden) 030ef and has a fair amount of flex.  I found it in a mixed box of nibs that a local vintage fountain pen collector had. 
Debbie

Offline Blotbot

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Re: The strangest nib I've ever seen
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2015, 09:42:20 AM »
Debbie,
I believe your nib got a little back-chat on this thread.  Hove you tried it?  How does it work?

http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=1919.msg26338#msg26338

Offline Ken Fraser

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Re: The strangest nib I've ever seen
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2015, 10:25:55 AM »
Can anyone tell what this nib might have been made for? 

It occurs to me that this nib may have been designed as an attempt to produce a flexible nib which points in the direction of the slope line when used in a straight penholder, thereby achieving the same result as a normal nib in an oblique holder. (?)

Ken

Offline Milonguera

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Re: The strangest nib I've ever seen
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2015, 11:52:51 AM »
Debbie,
I believe your nib got a little back-chat on this thread.  Hove you tried it?  How does it work?

http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=1919.msg26338#msg26338

Thanks, Ellen!  I'm surprised Andy didn't point out this thread to me. 
Debbie

Offline AndyT

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Re: The strangest nib I've ever seen
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2015, 12:10:20 PM »
Sorry Debbie, forgot.  Anyway this is the nib I was referring to, and I'll add a picture of mine when there's time to take a decent photo.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2015, 04:29:24 PM by AndyT »

Offline joi

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Re: The strangest nib I've ever seen
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2015, 12:43:16 PM »
WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!!

Offline AndyT

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Re: The strangest nib I've ever seen
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2015, 04:28:51 PM »
Lousy photo of a Brandauer No. 17F attached.

Having thought about these peculiar nibs for a while, I can see two reasons for making them.  Firstly, they're quite attractive, and presumably confer the same benefits (to some degree) as the Mordan pattern cranked nibs without looking like a miniature battle axe.  And secondly, it's a fiendishly clever thing to do, and one should never underestimate the professional pride of toolmakers.  There was a traditional rivalry between the makers of raising and cutting tools, so whilst the familiar elbow nib is a tour de force in terms of the former, that curved slit is an equally impressive feat by the cutters.

Incidentally, Brandauer had a reputation for slitting.  In the Paris Exhibition of 1867 they showed "pens of ordinary size with six distinct slits, all contained within the compass of a medium point, each slit being perfectly smooth, and all seven members of the point being uniform in thickness".  (Charles Hibbs, from an article on the pen trade published in 1883).