One fountain pen rabbit hole that many people tumble down quickly is nib modification. The emergence of a new generation of nib grinder, nibmeisters, nib workers, nib technicians, whatever your preferred term, has formed a major part of the resurgence in fountain pens and fine writing accessories over the past few years. Having a nib ground makes for a great way to add more personality to your writing, and even a simple nib tuning can improve ink flow and performance on some pens that write “inconsistently” out of the box. While it’s great to have these services available, it can add anywhere from $20-80 to the cost of your pen, depending on what work you have done.

I’ve written before on “stock” stub nibs - that is, nibs available from the factory pre-ground or shaped into a stub italic, which adds line variation to your writing in the form of narrow cross-strokes and wider downstrokes. You can read more about these types of nibs, which are advertised as stubs, in this series of posts titled “Stock Stub Nibs: Exploring Specialty Nibs” and “Exploring Stock Stub Nibs, Part II: Higher-End Options.”

A close-up of the slightly squared off, “stubbish” broad nib on my Montblanc 149.

What I would like to write about today is a bit different: those nibs sold by pen companies as standard extra-fines, mediums, or broads, but which don’t write like a typical rounded nib. Here are a few of my own “secrets”:

Lamy Studio 14k Extra-Fine Nib. I have no idea whether other 14k Lamy “Z” nibs exhibit this characteristic, because they tend to be a bit too wet for me and I stick to the extra-fine, but I’ve noticed that this nib shows subtle architect-like qualities. “Architect” or “Hebrew Italic” nibs are essentially the reverse of your classic stub or italic, and show broad cross-strokes and narrow downstrokes. It’s a relatively expensive grind, so if you’d like a pen that writes with this style of line variation, especially one with a gold nib, the “premium” version of the Lamy Studio is an option that I can highly recommend.
Platinum Curidas Stainless Steel Medium Nib. One of the more pleasant surprises of 2020 (and there have been relatively few of them), was the medium stainless steel nib on Platinum’s new Curidas retractable fountain pen. Though I had to replace a scratchy, dry fine nib, the medium nib arrived with perfect ink flow and subtle, yet still stubbish, line variation.
Lamy 2000 Broad Nib. Sometimes described as a “shovel,” the 21k Lamy 2000 broad nib leaves a broad, wet line with definite stubbish characteristics. I’ve written many pieces on my love for the Lamy 2000 fountain pen (as well as the other versions) in the past, so I won’t repeat myself here.
Montblanc Broad, BB, and BBB Nibs. Many high-end pen companies such as Montblanc don’t offer a “stock” stub option, at least not in name. It can be scary to spends as much as $600-$1000 on a brand new Montblanc pen and send it off for nib work that automatically voids the warranty. Standard Montblanc broad, double-broad, and triple-broad nibs can be extremely stubbish to begin with, so if you want a stub, before you make an appointment with a nib grinder, consider ordering one of these stock nib sizes and trying it out unmodified first.

The fairly sharp, squared-off broad nib on my Lamy 2000 Stainless Steel model.

This particular Studio 14k nib isn’t the absolute best example, but you can still see the subtle architect-like shaping of the tipping material. Others I have in my collection might be slightly more pronounced.

Note the slightly broader cross-strokes on the writing sample from the Lamy Studio.

As you can see from these writing samples (all done on Baron Fig Mastermind paper, for reference), if you’re thinking of one of these nib modifications, consider trying stock nibs first. You may be pleasantly surprised. Of course, YMMV with each individual nib, and there is always the chance that you’ll get one that isn’t stubbish at all, or that writes a more or less pronounced line than the ones pictured here. It always helps to let the pen store know exactly what you’re looking for, especially with brands like Montblanc, and they try their best to pick out the best nib for your needs.

These are just examples that I pulled from pens in my own collection. I want to open this up for comments! Are there any other nibs you’re aware of that should be on this list?

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A couple of years ago I wrote a piece on stock stub nibs, which focused on inexpensive options such as the Pilot Metropolitan and the TWSBI 580, both of which offer a very affordable stub nib that gives you line variation and makes your writing look more interesting at a price point as low as $15. As I wrote in that article, the main advantage to starting out with these inexpensive specialty nibs is that they allow you to learn how a stub writes without having to (potentially) sacrifice a pen in your collection to a nibmeister. I say this because for every pen I have had custom ground that ended up amazing, an even greater number of grinds didn’t work out, mostly because I chose a poor grind for my handwriting style, but a couple flopped because I went to a pen show and had the pen worked on by someone who didn’t know what they were doing.

Here, I want to discuss a couple of excellent stock stub nibs that are available on pens at higher price points. You might ask why spend money on an expensive stock stub when you can get a pen custom ground to your own personal preferences? A few things to consider:

If you’re looking for a stub nib at a standard “broad” width, a stock nib offers this at a stock price point (though sometimes with a slight upcharge) without having to undertake the additional expense and uncertainty of going the custom grind route.
You don’t have to visit a pen show. If you’re thinking of getting a pen custom ground for the first time, I highly recommend visiting a pen show and having the nib work done in person. You can work with the nibmeister to adjust the grind to your specifications as opposed to working through the mail. The costs of return shipping can add up!
Most importantly, a stock stub nib is covered by the manufacturer’s warranty and return policy. Everyone in this hobby thinking of having their nibs custom ground should realize that it voids the warranty on the pen, so if the grind doesn’t work out, you have to replace either the nib or the pen. On the other hand, if a stock stub is bad, or the grind doesn’t work for your particular writing style, you can return it to the retailer or distributor for an exchange.

So which stock stubs am I currently enjoying? I added a couple to my collection last year:

Three writing samples, starting from top: the Leonardo Officina Italiana Stub; the Aurora stub, and a custom ground .6mm Masuyama stub for comparison purposes.

Aurora. If you enjoy a crisper nib that offers more line variation than your typical stock nib, Aurora makes an excellent 18k stub. It’s approximately .7mm in width and has an ebonite feed, making the line width and ink flow perfect for everyday writing. It’s also surprisingly smooth, and mine has little to no tooth. A few years ago, I had picked up an Aurora Ipsilon Quadra with a stock italic nib, and I didn’t care for that nib at all because it was far too sharp and skipped and hard-started like crazy when I tried to use it as an actual writer. The stub on my 88 Minerali, however, is superb, on par with custom work. Lately, the word has gotten out about Aurora stock stubs, so they have been a bit harder to find. Currently, Pen Chalet has a stub nib option available in the all-black Aurora Unica Nera, and Dan Smith at The Nibsmith also keeps them in stock as an option for most Aurora pens.

Leonardo Officina Italiana. If you prefer a wider, smoother stub, consider the offerings from a new pen company based in Italy, Leonardo Officina Italiana. I was a fan of Delta pens before that company went out of business, and Leonardo was founded by former Delta employees. The company’s products reflect its heritage, though I’d say the Leonardo pens I own are a step above Delta in terms of fit, finish, and quality control. (It also doesn’t hurt that they have access to some discontinued Omas celluloids, due to a manufacturing partnership with Omas successor Armando Simoni Club.) Though wider than the Aurora stub (about 1.1-1.3mm), the Leonardo nib also features an ebonite feed and writes a narrower line than you would expect, making it another good option for everyday writing. I hear good things about Leonardo’s steel stub nibs as well, but haven’t personally tried them. I acquired the pen pictured here from Pen Venture as part of a three-pen set, and Emy tuned the nibs to perfection prior to shipping.

Franklin-Christoph and Pilot. Two other brands I should mention are Franklin-Christoph, which offers a wide variety of stub, cursive italic, and S.I.G. (Stub Italic Gradient) nibs in both stainless steel and gold. Those nibs are all excellent, and deserve their own article. The other brand I should mention here is Pilot, and in particular the Vanishing Point. Pilot offers a stub (“SU”) nib option for the VP that is roughly the same width as the Aurora, but I haven’t had the opportunity to write with one extensively.

If you’re interested in custom grinds, you can also check out this article, in which I talk about some of my favorite specialty grinds.

Disclaimer: This post contains links to paid sponsors and affiliates. Both pens pictured in this post were purchased by me with my own funds, for my own collection.