Zebra G nib (pink holder) vs. Brause Steno No. 361 (green holder)

This past week, I bought some more calligraphy stuff. I couldn’t resist. I’m getting more confident in my skills and wanted to start experimenting some more.

So what did I buy? Well, I bought some different papers – Rhodia plain and dot grid and Frisk black – I’m taking the training wheels off and moving away from the guide papers. As well as this, I bought some nice cards and place settings to have a play. And finally, some new nibs for my calligraphy – the point of this post.

Up until now, I’ve only ever used one kind of nib, a Brause Steno No. 361. This is the nib give to use on the calligraphy workshop I did and the one I bought extra of. It produces lovely thick and thin lines and never had any problems with it. But how do I know it is the best nib for me if I’ve not tried any others? 

So I’ve ventured out and bought some new nibs to try. This weekend I tried the Zebra G nib. Why this one? Well, it was the first one I grabbed out of my nib tin! 

This nib produced a very fine upstroke, but still very easy to make a nice downstroke. It moved smoothly on the Rhodia paper I purchased, and it held the ink very well. But I think it will take some getting used to, not producing as thick downstrokes as I am used to, being slightly firmer than I have learned with. 

After playing, I knew I wanted to make a calligraphy card, and I went straight back to my Brause Steno 361 to do it. Maybe because I am more used to it and knew I could get the result I wanted, maybe because I am just more comfortable and a little bit a creature of habit. But that doesn’t mean I have given up on the Zebra G and will continue to keep playing!

I’ll write some more reviews of my other new nibs over the coming weeks. Any recommendations for nibs – let me know in the comments!