Jim Woodring unveils nibbus maxiumus
Skip to commentsCul de Sac creator Richard Thompson’s affinity for nibs is no secret. Unfortunately he’s on the wrong side of America to witness and try out the new giant seven-foot nib pen created by Seattle Cartoonist Jim Woodring.
The nib is sixteen inches long and made of brass-pated, hand-engraved cold-rolled steel. The handle is lathe-turned poplar, painted with black lacquer. The ink is a specially formulated acrylic blend. A vase functions as an inkwell.
When this project was announced earlier this year it was met with heavy skepticism. Many felt a pen this size could not function because the relationship between scale and fluid dynamics. Woodring was convinced it could be done and the nib has performed well in tests with prototypes. This will be the first public demonstration of the finished product.
Glenn Fleishman (he wrote THE Oatmeal article for The Economist) was on hand when the pen was debuted to the public Sunday and has uploaded photos to his Flickr account.
Here is video of Jim using the pen. Yes it works.
Rob Tornoe
mike witmer
Stephen Beals
Glenn Fleishman