I have architect grinds on two on my Platinum Century 3776 pens, and I have come to realize that for my writing style, I only need one of these pens. I don’t write in block letters enough to reach for both of these pens that often, but I’m trying to change that up a bit and use these pens more. The grinds are great, exceptionally well done, so it’s definitely not a reflection of the nib grinder.

If I could go back in time, I would have had this pink (Nice Lilas) 3776 nib ground to a cursive italic or I would have left it alone. I know that it would fall into my regular rotation much more without the architect grind. When I ordered these pens and grinds, I was doing some work that required hand addressing envelopes, which I often do in block letters. I could have just as easily printed labels or the envelopes, but I tend to think that handwriting on an envelope or card gets people’s attention. And if you don’t have too many envelopes to address, it’s another opportunity to bust out the fun pens.

The lesson for me is to think about how you are using your pens and how you write most of the time. I tend to print and do a mix of printing and informal cursive. Normal unmodified nibs, stubs, or cursive italics that aren’t so sharp work best for my every day handwriting. Without local pen shops and being able to attend pen shows where you can try out different grinds, it’s hard to know if you will like a particular nib modification. This is where doing some research can help, and that means reading a variety of blogs that show architect grinds so you can see different writing styles.

Here are some resources that describe the architect grind in greater detail:

Architect Nib vs. Stub Nib (via The Pen Addict)

The Art of the Architect (via The Unexpected Letter)

High Praise: An Architect Grind by Dan Smith (via From the Pen Cup)