Carbon nanofibers are grown homogeneously on a large area of nickel-deposited sodalime glass substrate by thermal chemical vapor deposition of acetylene at 500 degreesC. The diameters of carbon nanofibers are uniformly distributed in the range between 50 and 60 nm. Most of the carbon nanofibers are curved or bent in shape, but some fractions are twisted. They consist of defective graphitic sheets with a herringbone morphology. The maximum emission current density from the carbon nanofibers is 0.075 mA/cm(2) at 16 V/mum, which is sufficient for commercializing the carbon-nanofibers-based field emission displays.