Top three grinds in 2024

I mean nib grinds. Although I’m open to hustles. Pen hobby is expensive

First things first, I am not saying you should start hacking away at your nibs and then blame me when your Visconti writes like a ballpoint on acid (not that it’s a hit or miss when you get one from a less-than-reputable seller anyway). I’m just saying that despite my having done one or two grinds myself and they ended up kinda working out, I still have people more talented than me do work on my nibs.

This year, I’ve had three* fantastic nib meisters/technicians/:insert preferred term here: do some awesome work for me, so I have complied a list of pens I hate slightly less now that they work as intended (just kidding; I love all of my pens).

Also, special mention and thanks to Ben Oddo from Goldspot who sorted my Leonardo Furore that arrived with a nib drier than my sense of humor.

In no particular order, except to build tension, I present to you my top three grinds of this year:

Number 3: the monoline

This grind is something that’s probably best suited for bigger nibs. Kirk Speer of Pen Realm takes your (hopefully broad) nibs that are, as he says, never really round on all sides and flattens the bottom at an angle while also rounding and shaping the edges. If you were to look at the bottom, you would see a round surface staring back at your soul wondering if you even knew how to use a pen.

Pretty cool right?

Why did I get this grind? I mean, there are only so many different grinds one can do, and trust me, I have quite a few. At one point, I knew I would struggle to freshen up some of my pens because a) most of my pens are equipped with either Jowo or Bock nibs and will thus write similarly and b) there is sadly a finite number of grinds despite my desire to collect an infinite number of pens.

In a way, the monoline grind was a risk I was willing to take, given that I had two or three double broad Jowos just sitting around alongside another two Bocks. Now that I think about it, I may have a problem since I actually really prefer finer nibs. However, I ended up liking this grind way more than I had expected; I use it often despite my small and narrow chicken scratch handwriting, it’s extremely fun, and I can pretend I have a bubblier personality than I actually do. The nib even writes well on reverse, if you need a slightly drier and smaller line.

I mean yes if it writes thinner on reveres you may ask how is it a “mono” and not a “duo” line but trust me, if I could rename grinds, I wouldn’t care to change the name of this one as much as I would want there to be a banana grind.

Number 2: the uranagi

I admit I always have to look up the name of this grind before I say its name because I swear it sounds like unagi. And, yes I am a millennial who grew up watching reruns of Friends. It made me feel like I had friends.

1/10 would not be friends with Ross.

The uranagi is basically the opposite of the kodachi grind, which is Matthew Chen’s take on the naginata togi. Now that I am done typing out random terms, the uranagi is basically a curved architect but… in reverse. When used as intended, this grind will put down a needlepoint line and then when you flip your nib (heh), you get a nice curved and drier architect. Pretty neat. I kinda like it better than the kodachi. I know, blasphemy.

Smoothhhhhh

Why did I get this grind? I wanted something distinctly Matthew Chen-y. And I am super happy about it. The flow is immaculate for such a narrow point on the business end, and for how little I care about the architect grind in general, I am actually enjoying the reverse as well.

Number 1: the cursive italic

I know, I know, I am boring, I have seventy eight cursive italics, I know. But — drumroll please — the pen all two of you have been waiting for to be inked has finally been inked after two years.

The Vanishing Point in Raden Stripes, M. Of course, I never got around to even dipping the M and I wasn’t the first person to even ink it (Annabelle did when she was prepping the pen for grinding), but it was worth the wait.

Yes, you’ve read that right; the top pen on my “top X pens I’ve never inked” has finally been inked. And it writes like a beast.

The cursive italic gives line variation similar — if not for all intents and purposes identical — to a stub, i.e. a thick vertical and a thinner horizontal line. Sometimes, it will feel sharp and crisp and totally edgy on the page, which I like, but also understand it’s not for everyone. Honestly, if you write quickly, it may even be unpleasant. You can also potentially stab someone, usually yourself, with this fun little nib. Pen tattoos are in, I’m telling ya.

If you know you know

Why I like the cursive italic on a small nib such as a Japanese M? It’s usable for daily writing while giving me just enough flair to look fancy to an outsider. Expect comments like “oh do you do calligraphy” because your handwriting will just look that much better in a CI than in any other grind. I like how cushy this nib feels on the page while still giving me that crispy line; it’s the best of all worlds ever, and this is not on

Have you gotten any grinds this year? Is there a grind you wish you had but still haven’t gotten around to getting? Comment down below and hit that like button — I am curious as to what y’all like.