One difference between Pilot parallel pens and regular nibs is the optimal size of nib for the size you are writing.
I don't think that Pilot makes a nib that is comparable to a Mitchell 5.5 or 6
So for tiny writing, you'd want a regular nib.
The largest Pilot nibs are probably larger than the largest regular nibs.
Although there are some large steel nibs that might work just as well as a Pilot.
My rule of thumb is that you really need to try both.
Do not rely on others to tell you what is *best.*
You really won't know until you try it yourself.
I agree that the regular nibs are more "organic" because they have a little give to them
so, you can actually get some subtle variation with pressure that you won't get with a Pilot.
However, you can manipulate a Pilot, by twisting it to give the impression of variation in pressure.
Are pointed styles of italic and rounded styles more contemporary?
Not really. What makes contemporary work look contemporary is the tool.
The really old examples were written with quills - on vellum or parchment
which looks different from metal nibs on paper.
If you go to a library with a special collection and look at manuscript books
(handwritten books on vellum from 100s of years ago)
you will be amazed at how *contemporary* some of the writing is.
You will see rounded, pointed ---and sometimes, within one book
you will see two facing pages where it is obvious that there were two different scribes
and one of them was significantly *better* than the other one.
Here is a page with some amazing examples...
when you click on a page, you get another window with more pages
and then you can click on one of them and see large views.
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/digitalscriptorium/highlights/Happy Surfing
Jean
