01 · TIPPING
Find the geometry
Iridium is shaped on a 12,000-grit wheel. The writer’s angle determines the face, not a factory gauge.
8–12 min78 Steel, gold & a patient hand
Your hand,
made legible.
We shape the last millimetre of a fountain pen until ink and intention arrive on paper at precisely the same moment.
Write with it
0.18IRIDIUM
GROUND12 JUL 202614K · M/S
113 years
at the bench± 0.01 mm
tipping toleranceEach nib
signed by its maker
at the bench± 0.01 mm
tipping toleranceEach nib
signed by its maker
A good nib disappears.
There is only the thought,
then the line it leaves behind.
Every point is viewed at 30×, written through eight directions, and tuned to the owner’s angle. It is instrument making in miniature.
01 / LIVE INSTRUMENT
Write with it.
Nib physics onlineYour pointer is the pen. We steady tremor without erasing character; pace controls flow, downstrokes open the tines, and fresh ink catches the light before it dries.
Draw with a mouse, touch, or stylus. After several strokes, use Read my hand to receive a grind prescription based on your writing physics.
EF / 0.35
A precise point with low flex. Clean hairlines reward a light, quick hand.
READYTHE MAKER’S VERDICTMV–78–000
Your hand asks for precision.
The loupe is waiting for a written line.
- Pace
- —
- Downstroke
- —
- Variation
- —
GRIND PRESCRIPTIONAwaiting specimenFLOW — · FACE — · RETURN —
02 / UNDER THE LOUPE
One millimetre,
One millimetre,
six decisions.
The personality of a pen lives at its smallest point. Tipping geometry decides smoothness. Slit width decides flow. Tine symmetry decides whether either matters.
14k gold bodyIridium alloy tip
30×optical inspection
after every grind
after every grind
03 / THE GRINDING BENCHFour acts of
Four acts of
quiet correction.
One craftsperson takes a nib from first inspection to final writing test. No anonymous production line, no averaged-out hand.
02 · SLITTING
Open the channel
A brass shim and light test establish capillary flow. We target a wet 6.5/10 unless your paper asks otherwise.
0.018 mm
03 · TUNING
Set the tines
Under the loupe, both tines meet at the sweet spot without crossing. Spring is balanced by fractions.
± 0.01 mmEight directions
Up, down, lateral, diagonal, slow, fast, print, signature. Only then does the maker initial the feed.
2 full pages
04 / FIELD NOTES
A nib is telling you
A nib is telling you
what it needs.
Listen to the line before reaching for the micromesh. Three familiar complaints, decoded by bench chief Mara Venn.
SYMPTOM 01BABY’S BOTTOM
Polished past the point.
Rounded inner tine edges cannot meet the ink with a light touch. The pen hard-starts after a pause.
SYMPTOM 02LOST SWEET SPOT
Smooth, but only at one angle.
An over-defined facet feels glassy in a narrow rotation and sharp everywhere else. Your grip should set the geometry.
SYMPTOM 03RAILROADING
Flex outruns the feed.
Two dry tracks appear when capillary recovery cannot match tine spread. More pressure is not more performance.
05 / PRIVATE COMMISSIONS
Send us the pen.
Send us the pen.
We’ll return your nib.
Each commission begins with a page of your handwriting, the papers you use, and the pace at which you think. Current bench time is 18 working days.
Request a bench cardFrom £68- 01
- Daily writer tuneAlignment, flow, polish £68
- 02
- Signature italicStub or cursive italic £112
- 03
- Spencerian flexFine point, tine shaping £185