Extra Fine Nibs

[mik]

I use a few really fine nibs for drawing,I like a Hero 326 it's very much finer than a Lamy EF, the pilot penmanship EF is much finer than the hero, the penmanships' dry feed is,I find, ideally suited to drawing & the width too.Down a little further in size is the Tachikawa school pen, looks horrid but gives a very fine line a small step down from the school pen is my Platinum 5000 PTB UEF,a nice pen but I wish it were a bit drier for my purposes.It is a XXXXf on the Richard Binder chart.Below that I have a self grind that when used with a feathers touch can literally do a hairs breadth.

Over time, I'm coming to the conclusion that feed rate is almost as important as nib width when you want a fine line.

[Biber]

...

Over time, I'm coming to the conclusion that feed rate is almost as important as nib width when you want a fine line.

 

Yes, that is VERY important and so often overlooked.

[Mickey]

I use a few really fine nibs for drawing,I like a Hero 326 it's very much finer than a Lamy EF, the pilot penmanship EF is much finer than the hero, the penmanships' dry feed is,I find, ideally suited to drawing & the width too.Down a little further in size is the Tachikawa school pen, looks horrid but gives a very fine line a small step down from the school pen is my Platinum 5000 PTB UEF,a nice pen but I wish it were a bit drier for my purposes.It is a XXXXf on the Richard Binder chart.Below that I have a self grind that when used with a feathers touch can literally do a hairs breadth.

Over time, I'm coming to the conclusion that feed rate is almost as important as nib width when you want a fine line.

 

Exactly, which is why I had John Mottishaw set my President UEF for 4 of 10 wetness. Why buy all the misery of an ultra-fine nib and then flush away most of the benefit.

[mik]

Hmmm I'd love to know how exactly John Mottishaw did that job on your UEF nib! I wonder if inexperienced hands would just ruin the pen!Certainly it's a job that needs doing.

[Mickey]

Hmmm I'd love to know how exactly John Mottishaw did that job on your UEF nib! I wonder if inexperienced hands would just ruin the pen!Certainly it's a job that needs doing.

 

Any experienced pen tech should be able to do the work, but I bought the pen from his store and so I got the benefit of his not inconsiderable expertise. I've had to make a few very minor alignment tweaks as the nib wrote in (I consider this normal), but the flow he set was dead on*. (I think if you want to use EF and UEF nibs, you need to accept occasional fine-tuning the alignment as part of the overhead.)

 

* Likewise the Nakaya (soft) F I wanted 5 of 10 about a month later.

[ethernautrix]

Nakaya (also Platinum) F nibs are very fine. Here's a comparison against western EF nibs:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/6987519796_e2fea3f5ff_z.jpg

 

Note that the paper is narrow rule, like Moleskine rule (this notebook is Markings by C. R. Gibson, a Moleskine lookalike). The ink in the Nakaya Negoro (the blue ink) is Noodler's Henry Hudson Blue, and it writes thicker in that pen than the Sailor Blue-Black (I just switched from the Sailor Blue-Black and so noticed the difference in line width).

 

[eric47]

Nakaya (also Platinum) F nibs are very fine. Here's a comparison against western EF nibs:

 

And the Aurora? Where's the Aurora Optima? (Aurora's tend run thinner than other Western nibs.)

[ethernautrix]

Eric, these are the pens in rotation. A. Optima's not inked....

[eric47]

Eric, these are the pens in rotation. A. Optima's not inked....

Oh, I was unable to divine that from your post. You should ink it then for comparison and/or save that writing sample for further comparison.

[ethernautrix]

Eric, these are the pens in rotation. A. Optima's not inked....

Oh, I was unable to divine that from your post. You should ink it then for comparison and/or save that writing sample for further comparison.

 

Should?

[jzents]

Nakaya (also Platinum) F nibs are very fine. Here's a comparison against western EF nibs:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/6987519796_e2fea3f5ff_z.jpg

 

Note that the paper is narrow rule, like Moleskine rule (this notebook is Markings by C. R. Gibson, a Moleskine lookalike). The ink in the Nakaya Negoro (the blue ink) is Noodler's Henry Hudson Blue, and it writes thicker in that pen than the Sailor Blue-Black (I just switched from the Sailor Blue-Black and so noticed the difference in line width).

You and a few others have been so kind as to make visuals for me to see, which is very helpful. I can really see the difference between the Oriental F and the EF I have on my Lamy. Love the pen, but want a finer line. These visuals have shown me that I really do want an Japanese pen for my next one. In fine or extra fine. I used to write with a 00 drafting pen years ago and have/can have when I want i,t a very light hand. Thus I think I should do well with one of these. Now I have to pick one and lobby for Father's Day! I understand that the Pilot 74 is a good pen and not too expensive. Is that impression correct?

[eric47]

Should?

 

Sure, why not? Do you have an authority complex or something?!? (joking)

[ethernautrix]

Should?

 

Sure, why not? Do you have an authority complex or something?!? (joking)

 

Because that is not my way. Feel free to do so yourself, though.

 

I would say that you're weird, Eric, but around here that's normal. Phffft!

[ethernautrix]

I understand that the Pilot 74 is a good pen and not too expensive. Is that impression correct?

 

 

I don't know about the Pilot 74 specifically. I have a Sailor 1911 with a very fine, smooth, wonderful H-EF nib. And I have cheap ($10-15) Sailor and Platinum Desk Pens (plastic with steel nibs - not to be confused with my Nakaya Desk Pen made of urushi over hard rubber) that had very smooth, very fine nibs.

 

Probably any inexpensive Pilot or Sailor will give you F/EF nib satisfaction. Perhaps others with more experience will say more about that.

[eric47]

Should?

 

Sure, why not? Do you have an authority complex or something?!? (joking)

 

Because that is not my way. Feel free to do so yourself, though.

 

I would say that you're weird, Eric, but around here that's normal. Phffft!

 

I could ink an Aurora EF and F. However, despite having no pens inked for over a month now, I wouldn't be able to make the comparison against Japanese nibs that you can. I only own one Japanese pen, a Namiki Vanishing Point, that was such a turd of a pen, breaking down so often, I shall never ink it again. And I won't buy another Japanese pen ever again -- lol, I say irrationally.

[imadeadend]

I just posted a big ol' comparison of my finest writing pens in another thread that may be of interest:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/220188-your-help-again-this-time-an-extra-fine-writer-for-under-l150/page__view__findpost__p__2332481

[ethernautrix]

I just posted a big ol' comparison of my finest writing pens in another thread that may be of interest:

 

http://www.fountainp...ost__p__2332481

 

 

Very cool'a you, imadeadend!

[imadeadend]

Thank you 'tis a pleasure. I also just posted a review of the Platinum 3776 with EF nib in the reviews section for a closer look

[jde]

My ignorance is revealed to all. So TWSBI is one of those Chinese makers? I was reading some other posts, they sound pretty good and not too expensive. Are their fine nibs comparable to the Japanese fine nibs?

I don't have Lisa's (ethernautrix) nice handwriting, but this should give you an idea of how wide a TWSBI EF is in comparison to Japanese nibs. I would not even compare a TWSBI EF to a Japanese F. Maybe a Medium.

 

All these nibs are smooth/pleasant to write with. My favorite's here are the Platinum (which has 'feedback') and the Sailor nibs. (Among these, only the Sailor (a 21K nib) was tuned by a pen seller, and it was in theory tuned to my ink and writing preferences. My first Sailor from same seller was an F that I found scratchy and way too wet. Go figure.)

 

I still think one of the best deals in a 14K nib is the Platinum #3776. Even better deal with a steel nib.

 

Have fun exploring!

 

[imadeadend]

My ignorance is revealed to all. So TWSBI is one of those Chinese makers? I was reading some other posts, they sound pretty good and not too expensive. Are their fine nibs comparable to the Japanese fine nibs?

I don't have Lisa's (ethernautrix) nice handwriting, but this should give you an idea of how wide a TWSBI EF is in comparison to Japanese nibs. I would not even compare a TWSBI EF to a Japanese F. Maybe a Medium.

 

All these nibs are smooth/pleasant to write with. My favorite's here are the Platinum (which has 'feedback') and the Sailor nibs. (Among these, only the Sailor (a 21K nib) was tuned by a pen seller, and it was in theory tuned to my ink and writing preferences. My first Sailor from same seller was an F that I found scratchy and way too wet. Go figure.)

 

I still think one of the best deals in a 14K nib is the Platinum #3776. Even better deal with a steel nib.

 

Have fun exploring!

 

 

Great comparison thanks! How does the SF pilot nib feel to write with? Is the ink flow a little hard to keep in check?