Calligraphy Nib Chart
Calligraphy nibs split into two fundamentally different families: pointed pens that create thick and thin strokes through pressure, and broad edge nibs that create them through the angle of a fixed-width tip. This chart covers the common nibs in each family and what each one is actually suited to.
Pointed pen nibs: flexibility is the variable
Nikko G: firm, forgiving, and the near-universal beginner recommendation. Its stiffness means less dramatic line variation but far fewer ink splatters and snagged tines while you learn pressure control.
Zebra G: slightly more flexible than the Nikko G with more line variation, a natural second nib once basic control is established.
Brause EF66: very flexible with dramatic thick strokes, but demanding. It catches on paper easily and punishes inconsistent pressure, so it rewards an experienced hand.
Brause Steno (Blue Pumpkin): medium flexibility with a distinctive reservoir that holds more ink, popular for its smooth feel and forgiving nature on textured paper.
Hunt 101 and Hunt 22: fine and very flexible, favoured for Spencerian and delicate scripts where hairlines need to be genuinely hairline-thin.
Leonardt Principal: extremely flexible, capable of very wide swells, and among the harder nibs to control cleanly.
Broad edge nibs: width is the variable
Broad edge nibs have a flat chisel tip in a fixed width, and stroke thickness comes entirely from the direction you move, not from pressure. They are used for Blackletter, Italic, Uncial, and Foundational hands.
Common widths run from around 0.5mm up to 5mm and larger. Brause and Speedball number their sizes differently, so a Brause 1mm and a Speedball C-2 are not interchangeable labels, only comparable actual widths.
A 1.5-2mm nib is a sensible starting width: large enough that letterform mistakes are visible and instructive, small enough to fit a practice sheet without enormous letters.
Preparing a new nib
New nibs ship with a protective manufacturing coating that repels ink, which is why a brand new nib often refuses to hold ink at all and beginners assume they have a defective pen. Remove it before first use.
The common methods are wiping the nib with rubbing alcohol or a dab of toothpaste and rinsing, or briefly passing it through a flame (a fraction of a second only, since overheating ruins the temper). Toothpaste or alcohol is the safer choice and works reliably.
Nib and ink and paper work as a system
A flexible nib on toothy paper catches and splatters no matter how good your technique is, and thick ink on a fine nib clogs at the tines. Changing any one of the three changes how the other two behave, which is why calligraphers keep notes on combinations rather than on individual products.
Smooth, well-sized paper (laser printer paper, Rhodia, marker pads) is the safest base for learning, since it removes paper from the equation while you sort out nib control and ink flow.