Nib Grinding Experience with Matthew Chen
On June 6, 2025, join us for an exclusive event dedicated to the art of nib customization, featuring one of the world’s most respected nibmeisters: Matthew Chen. The event will take place in our Rome store, but you can also participate online by purchasing the service on our website.
A Special Guest
During a study period in Japan for his degree in Japanese Language and Culture, Matthew Chen had the opportunity to receive guidance directly from Master Nagahara, renowned for his specialty Sailor nibs. He was granted permission to reproduce and offer the same Nagahara-style grinds to his customers. Upon returning to the United States, he refined his skills with Michael Masuyama and built a custom machine for precision nib grinding.
📍 When and Where
- Location: Stilo&Stile – Via Gallia 101a, Rome
- Date: Friday, June 6, 2025
- Hours: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM – 7:30 PM
🎟️ How to participate
If you're visiting our physical store:
- Order the service online and select “in-store pickup” at checkout.
- You may bring your own pen or purchase a new fountain pen from our website.
- We’ll contact you to schedule your preferred time slot within the indicated time frames.
- Walk-ins are welcome, but service will only be provided if time slots are still available.
If you're an online customer:
- You can purchase one or more fountain pens along with the nib customization service. In case you buy multiple fountain pens with nib customization, make sure to add one customization service to your cart for each pen you buy.
- After completing your order, we’ll contact you via email to discuss the nib work in detail.
- The pen with the customized nib will be shipped on June 9, together with any other items in your order.
✒️ Available Services
- Tuning / Smoothing – €39
Flow adjustment and tipping surface smoothing for a more fluid and comfortable writing experience. Ideal for improving a nib’s performance without altering its original shape. - Standard Grind – €75
Size reductions and classic modifications: Western Fine, Stub, Cursive Italic, Sharp Italic, and Oblique.
– Stub: thick vertical lines and thinner horizontal lines, while maintaining good smoothness.
– Cursive Italic: more contrast between thick and thin strokes with a still-smooth writing feel.
– Sharp Italic: maximum contrast, sacrificing some smoothness for extremely crisp line variation.
– Oblique: any of the above styles applied at a custom writing angle. - Specialty Grind – €85
Advanced, custom grinds including:
– Japanese Fine, Japanese Extra Fine, Ultra Extra Fine: for extremely fine writing without becoming scratchy.
– Architect: thin vertical strokes and thick horizontal ones. - Nagahara Specialty Grind – €99
The original grinds developed by Master Nagahara for Sailor, performed with his authorization and keeping their original names:
– Kodachi: brush-like strokes for Japanese and Chinese calligraphy; in Western writing, it produces variation based on writing angle.
– Uranagi: the reverse version of the Kodachi.
– Fude Point: an exaggerated grind that uses part of the nib body as the writing surface. May be limited by the pen's inner cap space.
– Beak Point: the reverse of the Fude Point, recommended when Fude is not compatible with the pen.
🖋️ Book Your Service Now
Purchase the service along with a new pen. Visit our Fountain Pens section to choose your model. Don't forget to add the customization service!
FAQ
Nib grinding is the process of reshaping the tip of a fountain pen nib to modify its writing behavior. This technique can drastically change the writing feel—creating finer or broader strokes, improving ink flow, or adding expressive variations between vertical and horizontal lines.
But grinding isn't just about improving a standard nib: it's also how you obtain specialty nibs that aren’t available from pen manufacturers. Nibs like the Kodachi, Sharp Italic, or Architect can only be created by hand by an expert nibmeister like Matthew Chen.
It’s common for a factory nib to feel underwhelming or incompatible with your writing style. That’s when a nibmeister can transform it into something truly personal and unique—exactly the way you imagined it.
To participate as an online customer, simply:
- Purchase the nib grinding service (selecting your preferred option) from this page.
- Choose any fountain pen you’d like from our catalog.
- If you purchase multiple pens, make sure to add one nib customization service per pen.
We recommend choosing the nib size based on the grind you want. After placing your order, we’ll contact you via email to define the details of the nib work. If the nib you selected isn’t compatible with your chosen grind, we will replace it with one that is suitable before sending it to Matthew Chen.
The customized pen will be shipped on June 9, together with any other items in your order.
To participate in the in-store event:
- Purchase the service from this page and select “in-store pickup” as the shipping option at checkout.
- You can use the service on a pen you already own, or on a new pen you purchase from our site or choose directly in-store.
Once the order is completed, we’ll contact you to schedule your appointment with Matthew Chen.
If you already have a pen you'd like to customize, just bring it with you and let Matthew Chen know the grind you'd like. Alternatively, you can choose a new pen in-store and hand it over at your scheduled time for nib modification.
Yes, as long as the nib has enough tipping material for the desired grind. Please note: if the nib is plated, some plating near the tip may be removed during the grinding process, which can slightly alter its appearance.
We recommend selecting a nib size based on the type of grind you want. For example:
- EF for Japanese EF or Ultra Extra Fine
- B for Architect, Kodachi, or Uranagi grinds
After you place your order, we’ll contact you to confirm the grind details. If the nib isn’t suitable for the selected grind, we will swap it with one that is.