Graf Von Faber Castell: Ef And F Nib Widths (Compared To Pelikan/montblanc/lamy)

[herrsimon]

Hey guys,

I'm planning to buy a Graf von Faber Castell Intuition Platino (with the large nib) and an Anello as you can get both of these pens for quite attractive prices on the German used market. As I never wrote with these pens and don't have a brick and mortar store nearby, I'm contemplating about the right nib size to get. Usually I'm writing with Japanese F or Western EF nibs, so I think that I should go with EF again, but then I read somewhere that the GvFC EF-nibs write quite fine.

Could anybody who already owns a GvFC with F or EF nib please compare it to other brands? In particular, how do the nib sizes compare with other popular German pens like Pelikan M800/M1000, Montblanc 146/149 or Lamy 2000? I would be particularly thankful for writing samples of a GvFC and other F/EF nibs side-by-side.


Thanks a lot for your help,

Simon

[alwayssunnyalwaysreal]

I actually have both the EF and F nib for my GvFC Intuition Platino. The EF writes similar to my Sailor 1911S F, and the F is about the size of Montblanc F, maybe a bit wider by a tiny amount, comparable to a Pelikan M800 F.

 

Personally I'm very happy with the F that I own, and not so much for the EF. The line width is too thin for me. Both write very well, but I would be happy to sell my EF nib unit if anyone is interested in it, simply because I don't use it.

[herrsimon]

Thank you very much, this helps me a lot! I own all the nibs you've mentioned and I think that I need EF. How about the wetness of your GvFC EF compared to your 1911S F? My 1911S F writes with moderate wetness and the Platino is said to write quite wet (which I would actually prefer).

[Bo Bo Olson]

Always real....it's a tad funny, someone having a nib too skinny. ...Well maybe not for you, but it is refreshing.....not hearing an EF nib is too fat.

Bock made nibs, so the can get the width standards that the company wants to order. (That is one huge factory, I drive by it every time I go north to Darmstart or Frankfurt. You can see it on Google Earth. The buildings half surrounding it are new.)

 

A wetter ink should make the EF write to an F.

What inks do you use in your EF?

What papers do you use? Though to go to a more absorbent paper is not normal advice, 50% or 100% cotton would make it write wider.

Edited November 6, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[alwayssunnyalwaysreal]

Thank you very much, this helps me a lot! I own all the nibs you've mentioned and I think that I need EF. How about the wetness of your GvFC EF compared to your 1911S F? My 1911S F writes with moderate wetness and the Platino is said to write quite wet (which I would actually prefer).

 

Wetter than my Sailor 1911S F, but really that depends on the ink used as well. I think my GvFC F writes wetter than the EF, but that is probably also due to the wider nib width.

 

My favourite nib size is Pelikan M800 F/Montblanc F/Sailor 1911L M, which probabaly explains why I don't like my GvFC EF nib as much.

 

 

Always real....it's a tad funny, someone having a nib too skinny. ...Well maybe not for you, but it is refreshing.....not hearing an EF nib is too fat.

Bock made nibs, so the can get the width standards that the company wants to order. (That is one huge factory, I drive by it every time I go north to Darmstart or Frankfurt. You can see it on Google Earth. The buildings half surrounding it are new.)

 

A wetter ink should make the EF write to an F.

What inks do you use in your EF?

What papers do you use? Though to go to a more absorbent paper is not normal advice, 50% or 100% cotton would make it write wider.

 

To be honest I can't really recall, since the last time I used the EF nib was last year! But I mostly use inks from Montblanc, Pelikan, Sailor, Diamine, and Caran d'Ache, so there's nothing too crazy I would say.

 

I usually use Rhodia 80gsm Dot, or Midori Light paper (similar to the Tomoe River paper, if not the same). Neither paper type is very absorbent, which kind of makes me dislike the EF more.

Edited November 6, 2017 by alwayssunnyalwaysreal

[herrsimon]

Bock made nibs, so the can get the width standards that the company wants to order. (That is one huge factory, I drive by it every time I go north to Darmstart or Frankfurt. You can see it on Google Earth. The buildings half surrounding it are new.)

 

I would be interested to have a look on Google Earth. What's the location (at Peter Frey Str. there only seems to be an administrative building).

 

A wetter ink should make the EF write to an F.

What inks do you use in your EF?

What papers do you use? Though to go to a more absorbent paper is not normal advice, 50% or 100% cotton would make it write wider.

 

You're absolutely right and this is why I asked for a comparison relative to another nib as nibs usually tend to react to different inks and papers in (more or less) the same way. I usually write on 90g Clairofntaine paper because this is what we get at work for free. Inks used vary a lot but for example I'm very happy with my Sailor 1911S/L F (could be a bit more wet) and also the thicker Pilot Custom 823 F (perfect in terms of wetness) when using Iroshizuku ink on Clairefontaine. In contrast, a Pilot Custom 74 with FM nib is already too wide for me. Pelikan/Montblanc F (which I also own) are still ok but too wide for daily use. Writing with these pens is reserved for greeting cards or letters. And then I own several Pelikan EF nibs, of which some are ok for daily use and others are too wide as well.

 

So in general, I prefer wet Japanese F/Western EF nibs and as GvFC seems to be "true to size" (i.e. a GvFC EF should be comparable to a Japanese F), I think I'm getting a platino in EF.

[alwayssunnyalwaysreal]

I put some photos on my website. For anyone who's interested in how the EF nib writes, there's a writing sample at the bottom of the page.

[herrsimon]

Thanks you VERY much, it was written on a Rhodia dotpad, correct? Looking at your writing sample, I'm now sure that EF is the width I should choose.

[alwayssunnyalwaysreal]

Thanks you VERY much, it was written on a Rhodia dotpad, correct? Looking at your writing sample, I'm now sure that EF is the width I should choose.

 

Yes it's the Rhodia dotpad, I used that so that you can have a reference with what approximately the line width is.

[Alson]

May I have any comments on GvFC m nib and b nib? I own a F nib already, it is perfect for daily use.

[herrsimon]

May I have any comments on GvFC m nib and b nib? I own a F nib already, it is perfect for daily use.

 

Hey Alson,

 

would you mind posting a writing sample of your F nib with either some common reference nib side by side or on a dotpad or similar so that one can estimate the line width? Then we would have both, EF and F writing samples in this thread. Also, is it the small nib found for example on the classic or the big nib found on the platino?

 

About GvFC M and B nibs: Unfortunately I don't own any of them.

 

Best,

 

Simon

[Alson]

Here is GvFV F nib sample

Edited November 8, 2017 by Alson

[alwayssunnyalwaysreal]

May I have any comments on GvFC m nib and b nib? I own a F nib already, it is perfect for daily use.

 

I have a M nib that had severe hard start issue but no skipping issue. It's very smooth and writes beautifully and wet when it wrote. Eventually I had it ground to a "architect like" F, and now it's one of the nibs that I will never let go.

[herrsimon]

Thanks a lot for the writing sample Alson, this is a big help!

[MuddyWaters]

google nib nook from goulet to compare nib sizes

[herrsimon]

google nib nook from goulet to compare nib sizes

 

Already checked, they only have the regular Faber Castell steel nibs, not the Graf von Faber Castell gold nibs.