Lamy Cursive/Chinese Writing Nib

 

Some time ago, Lamy released this fancy Safari Chinese writing nib to China, on a Chinese exclusive Safari (matte red with black clip), and there was a flurry of excitement over here, in my apartment, as I ogled it from afar, via screen. What fun!

 

Then, quite quickly, followed an equal and opposite (or possibly greater) reaction of disappointment and bafflement and despair as we discovered that it wasn’t going to be available here in Canada. No surprise, but what is life if not getting your hopes artificially and irrationally raised and then completely demolished. I had to pay truly exorbitant and ghastly international fees to get one shipped from Hong Kong (sort of China) here to Canada.

 

And then! Behold, what news. The nib in fact became available to us lowly Canadians, and we now have them in the shop as a spare nib. I’m sure DHL is putting all of my fees to good use.

 

In Canada, or outside of China, it’s officially (euphemistically) called the “Cursive Writing” nib, and I’m not really sure where or who that designation comes from as opposed to the “Chinese Writing” nib. I can only assume there was some concern about the saleability of a Chinese nib to a population that for the most part does not write in Chinese. In any case, you can do with it as you like, writing in cursive or printing or Chinese or anything else. Plesae enjoy the following pictures to give you an idea of how it writes.

 

 

The nib has a bit of a cut on the sides, making it ever so slightly bouncy. Bouncy is maybe even a bit generous, just a little give with some pressure, Lamy nibs not particularly known for their softness.

 

The biggest difference between this nib and the standard Safari nibs is the tipping. It’s difficult to tell what with the shoddy photography and all, but it’s more vertical and less rounded, a baby architect’s nib, with wider lines horizontally and narrower lines vertically—the opposite of a stub, if not quite as sharp as a standard 1.1. For Chinese writing, it gives horizontal strokes a bit more variation.

 

 

Please see the following photos for writing samples, a standard Lamy medium nib on top (Lamy blue cartridges) and the cursive/Chinese nib on the bottom (TWSBI Blue-Black).

 

It’s so much fun to write with! It’s a bit crispier on the lines, although perhaps crispy might not give the best impression of it. I’m really enjoying it, which is all you can ask for in life. There’s a feel to the nib against the paper. It’s most obvious when you’re printing, or if you’re doing cross hatches. The tipping variation (wide horizontal, narrow vertical) doesn’t seem particularly obvious in my fastidiously made writing samples, but you can either take my word for it or come visit us in the shop.

 

 

 

 

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Currently reading: The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

Currently eating: the kids’ mini rainbow chips ahoy cookies

Currently looking forward to: Chinese BBQ for dinner

Latest thrill: first outdoor laundry hanging of the year

Another good thrill: being in walking proximity of a library, walking in, finding and checking out several books for both me and the kids, all within the time of being on hold on the phone