Choosing Your First Nib: How Broad-Edge and Pointed Pens Make Different Lines

Pick up two different calligraphy pens and write the same letter, and you'll get two completely different looks -- one thick and blocky like an old manuscript, one swooping and delicate like a wedding invitation. The secret isn't the ink. It's the shape of the metal tip, called the nib, and understanding that shape is the first real skill in calligraphy.

- The difference between broad-edge nibs and pointed nibs - How nib angle changes stroke thickness - What nibs pair with which historic scripts - How to test and care for a new nib

A broad-edge nib has a flat, chisel-shaped tip, like the edge of a small screwdriver. As you move the pen, the width of the line changes automatically depending on the direction you're pulling it: pull straight down and you get a thick stroke, pull sideways and you get a thin one, all without changing your hand pressure. This is the nib used for Gothic Blackletter and Italic scripts, and it's held at a consistent angle (usually 30-45 degrees) throughout a whole word.

A pointed nib comes to a sharp point split into two tiny tines. Instead of angle creating the thick-and-thin effect, pressure does: push down harder and the tines spread apart, letting more ink flow for a thicker line; ease up and the tines snap back together for a hairline. This flex is what creates the elegant swelling curves of Copperplate and Spencerian script, the style you see on formal wedding invitations.

Nibs are numbered by width -- a size 0 or 1 broad-edge nib makes tall, dramatic letters good for headlines, while a size 5 or 6 makes small, dense text. Nibs also come in different metals: steel nibs are affordable and great for beginners since they wear out and can be replaced cheaply, while brass and titanium nibs last longer and are often chosen by working calligraphers who write for hours a day.