Nib grinders, in just the past few years, have experimented in earnest with new and exciting ways to alter the shape of a pen’s tipping. And so, alter the writing experience.

Nib grinds, as I see it, add drama to the writing experience, tailor your pen to serve a specific kind of writing, and turn a pen into more than one writer.

A conversation with a pen friend of mine a few months ago has been rattling around in my head since. He said he struggles to understand how someone can buy a new pen with a lovely round nib and immediately walk to a nibmeister to have it ground.

I have love for both round and ground nibs. They each add value to the writing experience. This week, I’m thinking through the benefits of unground, round nibs.

One of the strongest draws to fountain pens, for me, is that they bring fun to the mundane notetaking that pervades my work life. If I’m going to write for a living, I want the act of writing to be joyful. Life is too short to dread process in a push for an end product.

Socializing is returning to my area of the east coast. I’ve had an impromptu pen gathering and a planned pen group meetup in the span of two weeks. Huzzah.

A handful of good friends, my dungeons and dragons crew, gathered last Saturday for a barbecue. After eating, our meetup quickly transitioned into sharing pens and swabbing inks.