It was not long ago that I began to venture out of my comfort zone of extra fine to medium, conventionally ground nibs. I started by trying out broad nibs. I liked how smooth they wrote and would use them on occasion, but I still went back to my EF and F nibs the most. Next, I decided to use stub nibs. While I liked the flare they added to regular writing, I found most of them to be too wide for my everyday use. Similarly, I tried architect nibs, I loved the one I tried. But still, it wasn’t what I wanted or needed for every day writing. I tried a few other nib types as well but I kept going back to my EF (mostly) and F nibs for my daily writing at work, even thought I still sometimes waned to have a thick smooth broad pen. While in the office, I was mostly using the company supplied paper which was not good with fountain pens over an EF. I became used to carrying around multiple pens. That way, I could have several nib types and sizes on hand for when I wanted to use my own paper, but that was an on the job inconvenience. When going out to various places, I sometimes just did not want to carry more than one pen with me, even though I wanted more than one nib size. I started looking at nibs that would give me a fine line and a medium to broad line all in one.
I came accross the Speerpoint grind while discussing another review, The TWSBI Eco Smoke and Rose Gold Fountain pen with Kirk Speer of Penrealm and thought, this is exactly what I was looking for. EF on the primary writing angle which I could use for work or when writing on poor quality paper, and broad (or medium depending how you order it) on the reverse for when I wanted something more juicy, without the writing angle constraints or variable width of an architect grind.
(sketch by Kirk Speer as seen on Penrealm.com)
The Speerpoint is ground in such a way that the nib forms a drop point shape to create the EF to XXF tip at the primary writing position, yet the top side is left broad and then rounded to give a buttery smooth broad nib in the reverse.
Left to Right: 1. underside of nib, primary writing angle, 2. top of nib, reverse writing angle, 3. side profile.
This particular nib that I tested started life as a Jowo Broad nib before it was ground. It was shipped to me in a protective holder which kept the nib perfectly safe until I put it into a pen. When writing using the EF side of the nib, I felt the feedback that I would expect from any nib with as fine a line as this one had, but it was not scratchy. It worked very well on my work supplied notebooks. There were no flow issues or hard starts and the nib had the stock Jowo feed. After switching to my regular paper at home, flipping this to the reverse yielded a smooth luscious broad that was just a joy to write with.
Overall, This is a great option for someone who predominantly uses a finer nib, but occasionally wants a medium to broad and doesn’t want to always carry more than one pen around. This nib grind is available from Kirk Speer at penrealm.com as a customization on most of the pens available for sale, or as a grind on a separate nib unit. The only stipulation is that the nib must start as a broad or larger in order to have enough tipping to do the grind. You can also find Kirk at the various pen shows throughout the year doing custom grinds.
Disclaimer: This nib was provided to me, without cost, by Pen Realm for the purpose of this review. The thoughts and opinions expressed herein are entirely my own and I receive no other compensation from any manufacturer or retailer named in this review. Testing was done using Monteverde Midnight Black ink on a Bloc R by Rhodia No. 16 pad. The nib was used with the previously reviewed Schon DSGN Ultem pen, eyedropper filled. Closeup photos were taken at 10x magnification.
The Pen Blotter 