Cursive Italic on JoWo Broad

If you’re unsure where to start on your custom-nib journey, a Cursive Italic can be a great first (or second, or third, or fourth…) grind! The broader the tipping size you start out with, the more line-width variation you’ll be able to see. That means that the down strokes will be broader, making them more distinct from the narrow cross-strokes. Cursive Italic grinds do require some getting used to, though; they can’t be rotated while writing.

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This Cursive Italic grind was done on a Broad JoWo nib on a beautiful Newton Pens body. The ink is Waterman Serenity Blue.

Cursive Italic on a Sailor Nib

Today I had the honor of grinding a Sailor 1911 14k Medium nib to a Cursive Italic. Sailor nibs are a joy to work on; the consistency of the craftsmanship with which they are made is fantastic. They rarely need tuning out of the box. Not to mention, they look beautiful!

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While a Cursive Italic grind on a Medium nib won’t give you as dramatic an example of line-width variation compared to a Broad nib (or larger!), it can be a more useful grind—not too enormous or wet-writing. This allows the pen to offer an exciting flourish while remaining useful for daily tasks like journaling, to-do lists, or other not-huge-sized writing projects.

Questions about getting a Cursive Italic grind of your own? Send me an email!