In the signature above you can see the alternating difference in my signature between how it appears written with a normal nib and a flexible nib. Why would someone pay more money for a pen that has a flexible nib? I can only speak for myself. When Susan Wirth (who had a big table at fountain pen shows) turned me on to flexxies years ago (1994), I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I had been using fountain pens since 5th grade (1957) when Sheaffer cartridge fountain pens became a fad. I loved how SMOOTHLY they wrote. Every few years I’d look to buy a fountain pen that wrote MORE SMOOTHLY than the last.
But at Susan’s booth I entered a new world. She put a pen with a FLEXXY nib in my hand that had a whole NEW QUALITY to it. With it I could emphasize a line just by leaning into it. ADDING A FLOURISH to the first letter of my name was cool. Being able to beef up that letter’s punch with SHADED LINES was way cool. Enhancing that effect with CONTRASTING HAIRLINES AND THICK LINES just rocks.
You can write just as fast and just as smoothly with a flexible nib pen but its softness and springiness on a hard surface makes it easier on the hand over long periods. Also, the ability to emphasize a line just by pushing a bit harder is plain fun.
Master Calligrapher, Michael Sull wrote my name like this:
