My name is Kingston Zhang, an avid pen collector and aspiring calligrapher. The research I'll be doing is an analysis of modern pen nibs compared to antique pen nibs, often prescribed as superior in a variety of factors. There is a distinct lack of research into this topic, so I decided to investigate. Much of what I will be doing will be talking with experts in the field, collecting their opinions as well as the opinions of the greater public via polls in public forums. A major company I would love to work with would be the Waterman Pen Co. as they are one of the oldest existing pen manufactures in the world and may have documentation of vintage pen creation techniques. Some major factors I want to consider are the biases for antique pen nibs, pen nib materials, modern demand for fountain pens and dip pens, and viability of production of antique pen nibs in the modern day.

My final product will be a paper detailing the results of my collected data as well as expected production feasibility for modern companies. Through collaborating with pen manufacturers, I hope to gain further insight into the pen making process and the difficulties of introducing features that antique pens had. My hypothesis is that due to lack of demand, pen companies opt for cheaper materials to make inferior products. Additionally automation has decreased quality control for each individual pen nib, thus on average the pen nib has decreased in production quality. I predict that we would be able to make these high quality nibs in the modern day, yet companies do not simply due to the high price point alongside lack of demand.