wanted to clear up a subject

[Brad franklin]

No they were very specific. Because I questioned the 1mm. They had a ruler beside the letters. With 1, 2 , 3 and so on. The ruler said mm. But the little ticks in between the numbers were clearly mm and the numbers were cm.

Maybe they can do it. They are a very qualified scribe. My eyes just can't see it. I would love to see it in person. But that will never happen. A picture does no good to put a ruler too.

[Moya]

I definitely find that the smaller I go, the harder it is for me to keep crisp thicks and thins - especially with a broad tip but also with a super fine mapping point.  I would not be surprised if a 'real' professional could do it though.  Maybe with aid of magnifiers.  I'll get there one day!

[Brad franklin]

It was spencerian on a scroll. So I am sure it had to be nice.

[Brad franklin]

Btw I have never used a mapping point so I do not know what they're capaple of!

[Brad franklin]

I would like to add I was not trying to make this thread about something someone could  or could not do. I just wanted to educate someone who might not understand that even though a ruler may just say mm that does not mean the 1-2-3-4 are mm's more than likely they are cm's and the ticks In between are mm's and the numbers are actually 10-20-30-40mm I don't think I have seen it here probably on Instagram when I am viewing non friends. But who knows anyone could doctor their photo so I guess I should not judge. I would be the first to tell you I can write better larger than smaller. But that is a goal.  But the older we get the worst we see so maybe I am defeating the purpose.

[Scarlet Blue]

Once apon a time I thought a millimetre was tiny... but the more I've looked at it the bigger it's got!!
Personally I wouldn't use a 1mm x height. 3mm is my limit. My favourite x height is 4.5, but more often than not I write @ 5mm xheight because of my Rhodia pad! And my eyes are also on the blink... so 7mm is comfortable for practice and messing around for broad nibs.

[AndyT]

Thanks Moya, you made me laugh a few times there. 

Metrication started in earnest while I was in junior school, so I'm fairly happy with feet and inches too.  But if you have to juggle fractions all the time, it feels deeply unnecessary and irksome when there's an alternative - something which engineers have acknowledged long since (in America too) by using tenths and thousandths of an inch.  A lot of the time I find myself switching between the two, visualising in Imperial and measuring in Metric.  So if someone wants a 1500mm sideboard I'd think "five foot", order the timber which is sold in Metric sizes but which are universally referred to by their equivalent in inches, and then start working in millimetres again.  By the way, I rather like non-standard paper sizes because it makes a change to use foolscap or US letter format once in a while. 

Incidentally Moya, how is beer sold in Australia?  It is inconceivable that Britain will ever abandon the Imperial pint for that purpose!

[tintenfuchs]

Moya do you not like America? No I'm just kidding. I definitely never ever used cm or mm at work. Interesting seeing how other parts of the world operate. But I do like the show Jonah from the Tonga. I think I heard Australians hate that show

Haha!  I love all the Americans I've ever met - you're such a warm, generous, giving group of people! 

... but maybe I give your country, as a whole , the hairy eyeball ... just sometimes. 

Not any individual people of course, but the government, and the policies ... sometimes it seems as if America doesn't think any other country really exists. [...]

Also, you spell 'colour' funny, and put Z instead of S sometimes, you poor things 

Haha I second all of that!
All the Europeans I know shake their head at the American country as a whole, but when it comes to the individual, no one has ever met anyone they didn't like!

[Moya]

Incidentally Moya, how is beer sold in Australia?  It is inconceivable that Britain will ever abandon the Imperial pint for that purpose!

Now that's a whole new can of worms 

However as a solid Victorian girl I like my beer in imperial pints ... it's the biggest option!

[Milonguera]

A lot of people when putting the size of their calligraphy say it's a certain size. I don't think sometimes they are correct. Now keep in mind I am a Land Surveyor and drafter so I have drawn and laid out huge buildings on paper and on the ground. We however use engineers scales which are in Tenths (i.e. .1, .5, .10 of an inch and so forth). So if I am wrong about this I will feel really stupid but I do not think I am. I have questioned very popular calligraphers on their measurements and they say they are right. So  out of respect I do not want to argue my point. A ruler in the USA and I think the UK has the same measurements. Some rulers say mm and some say cm and some say both as the example in my picture. I have drawn a 1 inch line (not to scale) a 1 CM line and a 1 MM line. Some have said they write at 1 mm size and even half that. I do not see how that would even be readable. Basically what I am saying is even if the ruler says mm does not mean the numbers 1 , 2 , 3 and so on are 1 mm 2 mm 3 mm. They are actually 1 cm 2 cm 3 cm or if you want to be technical 10 mm 20 mm 30 mm. There are 10 mm in 1 cm.  If I am wrong please feel free to correct me and please back it up. I am not saying no one can write 1 mm I am just saying put the right x height. Just a lesson if I am coming across snooty I don't mean to.

I'm totally with you on this, Brad.  I have no mental idea what millimeters are and to confuse matters as you say, there's tremendous confusion when I look at rulers and try to imagine what 1 mm writing could possibly look like.  It would be really nice if X heights were mentioned in both the metric and imperial. 

[AndyT]

It would be really nice if X heights were mentioned in both the metric and imperial.

Point taken Debbie, and I'm happy to oblige.  2mm is 0.079", or a gnat's whisker over 5/64".  The conversion factor is 25.4mm to the inch.

[NikkiB]

 

... but maybe I give your country, as a whole , the hairy eyeball ... just sometimes. 

The what the what now?! ha ha, I never heard that expression before, but I like it! 

[Brad franklin]

Once apon a time I thought a millimetre was tiny... but the more I've looked at it the bigger it's got!!
Personally I wouldn't use a 1mm x height. 3mm is my limit. My favourite x height is 4.5, but more often than not I write @ 5mm xheight because of my Rhodia pad! And my eyes are also on the blink... so 7mm is comfortable for practice and messing around for broad nibs.

Do you write line to line on the Rhodia pads because they are 7mm between lines. At least mine. I purchused one this week with no lines so maybe there different ones out there.

[Scarlet Blue]

I only practice copperplate styles in my Rhodia pad, and my Rhodia is the graph paper style one, the lines are spaced 5mm apart. For broad pen I line up cartridge paper... and if I am just practicing then I use a 7mm x height... 5mm if I'm up for a challenge.

The UK has measurement confusion. Clothes still come in inches... and yes, pints in pubs.
When it's cold I use centigrade and when it's hot I use Fahrenheit. Perfect logic.

[SueL]

Thanks Moya, you made me laugh a few times there. 

Metrication started in earnest while I was in junior school, so I'm fairly happy with feet and inches too.  But if you have to juggle fractions all the time, it feels deeply unnecessary and irksome when there's an alternative - something which engineers have acknowledged long since (in America too) by using tenths and thousandths of an inch.  A lot of the time I find myself switching between the two, visualising in Imperial and measuring in Metric.  So if someone wants a 1500mm sideboard I'd think "five foot", order the timber which is sold in Metric sizes but which are universally referred to by their equivalent in inches, and then start working in millimetres again.  By the way, I rather like non-standard paper sizes because it makes a change to use foolscap or US letter format once in a while. 

Incidentally Moya, how is beer sold in Australia?  It is inconceivable that Britain will ever abandon the Imperial pint for that purpose!

That's pretty much how I visualize lengths too. I visualize a length in terms of feet and inches, but work in cm and mm.