 Many writing styles have developed over the centuries with the broad nib, including the medieval Uncial, Blackletter and Carolingian minuscule scripts (and their variants), the Italic Hand of the Renaissance, and more recently Edward Johnston's Foundational Hand, developed in the early 20th century.The pointed nib is flexible and comes to a sharp point rather than a broad edge.Thick and thin strokes are achieved by varying the amount of pressure on the nib.