What Is The Smoothest Nib You Have Tried?

[adam11]

Well, any nib from R. Binder is incredible.

Regarding out of the box experience, vintage Pilot custom (I don't knowmodel exactly, but with semiflex M/B nib; unfortunatly, not longer in my possession).

Geha Goldschwinge with F nib which, filled with Diamine Midnight, is one of the best writing instruments I ever had.

 

Pelikan M1000 with F springy and very wet nib was nice to, as it was MB 149 with modern OB nib. But, it is not that difficult to find M or broader nib which is nice, wet and smooth, but XF...Well, I'm still looking.

Edited September 2, 2011 by adam11

[Russ Prechtl]

For me, a MB 146 and a Parker Duofold that were both smoothed by Mike-it-Work at the DC Pen Show. I never understood what "butter smooth" was until he handed me those after working his magic on them.

 

Out of the box, my Visconti Van Gogh Midi and another MB 146 F were the smoothest.

[Dave the brew guy]

The first pen to really demonstrate to me how smooth a FP can feel was my Sheaffer Imperial VIII. It's springy, 14k, M nib glides across the page leaving behind a very wet line. That pen was eclipsed by my Visconti HS with it's incredible Pd 1.1mm stub, which has since been surpassed by a Lamy 2000 (M). I can't imagine that a nib could get any smoother.

[Surfbits]

So I have been wondering after looking through my pens what is the smoothest nib I have ever tried, mine would be a Sheaffer Balance upturned nib smooooth as glass!

 

So my question is what is the smoothest nib you have ever tried?

 

Also as a side note what is the most economical and smoothest nib out there?

 

A lot of folks really don't like smooth as a nib trait. I like a little feel to my nibs, but smooth is a nice change of pace also.

My Phileas nibs in Medium have to be the smoothest out of the box I tried. I do like the Pelikan 400 and the 605n of mine too for smoothness, but I think I'll have them Pendleton Brown ground soon to get a little feel to their writing.

[opitzs]

My Sailor 1911 with cross nib puts the ooh in smt

[Kaptenmork]

My Hero, the nib if just flying on the paper, and my parker sonnet, I can feel every fiber and yet still fly over them!

[pajaro]

Pelikan M1000 with O3B nib, and Montblanc 144 with B nib until yesterday, when I inked an ordinary looking Parker 51 Special with a broad octanium nib. An ebay purchase, the pen and pencil set came with instructions in Spanish, and the pencil fell apart when I tried to put in a good eraser. Using it last night, I couldn't put it down and did most of my work yesterday with this Parker. It has the smoothest nib I have ever used, with the most perfect flow (for me), which I would guestimate at 6. This pen is the most perfect pen I have ever used. Wouldn't you know it would have to be a Special with black jewel. I have never written with such a perfect pen, and upside down it writes the smoothest extra fine line I have ever experienced. It's kind of a shocker.

[Bill]

As expected, the responses are all over the place because of the many factors that influence our perception of smoothness. Even scientific microscopic measurements of nib tips would not eliminate the variances we would feel.

 

I once did a tournament-style "bracket" elimination of what I felt were the smoothest pens I had. As I worked up through the brackets, the head-to-head competition became closer so that by the time I got to the "Sweet 16", any of the remaining pens (mostly modern non-custom by that time) would put a smile on your face. The winner was a Visconti Van Gogh Midi with medium steel nib. Go figure.

 

And I haven't used that VG in 2-3 years. I guess smoothness isn't everything ;-)

Edited September 3, 2011 by Bill

[DrPJM1]

Logically, larger-tipped and wetter on higher quality paper should result in the smoothest writing experience. However, in the real world, human experience is subjective.

My music and stub nibs have less drag/friction than my fine nibs.

Among the fine nibs, the Sheaffer upturned "waverly" nibs are the smoothest.

[DAYoung]

Usually, my broader, wetter nibs are smoothest. Here's my Pelikan 140 with Diamine Sapphire Blue - I'm barely touching the paper, it's so wet.

 

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n5/DAYoung_2006/140SapphireBlueitalic-closeup.jpg

 

The smoothest EF I've tried was a Sailor 1911. Absolutely astonishing, for such a fine line.

[BrandonA]

I don't have any smoothness issues with an of my MB pens. If you forced me to pick one though I'd say the Twain as the newer nibs do feel about 1% nicer to me than some of the older ones.

[Hohn]

Sailor 21k M-F on a pro gear.......like butter

 

+1 for an F nib. Love my 21k M-F Sailor (1911 medium size)

 

Still, any nib so fine will necessarily have more tooth than a paintbrush-like BB or 3B. Comparing my Sailor to my Lamy XF, the Sailor is both much finer AND much smoother.

 

 

IMO, it is somewhat inappropriate to compare smoothness across tipping sizes. A tip that is half the size will have effectively 4x more pressure on the paper for the same writing force. Going from an extreme (like a sailor F or XF) to a Lamy Broad or Pelikan Broad could easily be a difference of 3x the tip size, giving 9X less pressure.

 

Remember pressure=force X area. For the same force, shrinking the tip size (area) effectively cranks up the pressure applied to the tip.

 

If a person has a very light touch, then a truly fine and truly smooth nib can be appreciated. To a heavy-handed writer, even a super smooth nib may seem excessively toothy.

 

Which, imo, makes the Sailor nibs even more impressive...

[Chevalier]

It's still the Online Vision (M) I bought few months ago. I still think I've been lucky picking this particular pen out of the display though, my other Online Vision pens aren't that smooth.

Edited September 4, 2011 by Chevalier

[fabrimedeiros]

M1000medium and BBB. Now my HSapiens 1.3mm stub.

[UDog]

For me, it would be the Pilot/Namiki Falcon (M), soft and smooth. And I think the distinction for me--the softness.

[rapid_butterfly]

nos sheaffer 444 fine (inlaid nib), followed closely by a couple of other nos sheaffers. all "lowly" steel nibs, but they feel fantastic (mostly fine, one or two xf).

 

edited to specify nib

Edited September 5, 2011 by rapid_butterfly

[sloegin]

A steel nibbed medium UHU Primus.

[DrPJM1]

Sailor 21k M-F on a pro gear.......like butter

 

+1 for an F nib. Love my 21k M-F Sailor (1911 medium size)

 

Still, any nib so fine will necessarily have more tooth than a paintbrush-like BB or 3B. Comparing my Sailor to my Lamy XF, the Sailor is both much finer AND much smoother.

 

 

IMO, it is somewhat inappropriate to compare smoothness across tipping sizes. A tip that is half the size will have effectively 4x more pressure on the paper for the same writing force. Going from an extreme (like a sailor F or XF) to a Lamy Broad or Pelikan Broad could easily be a difference of 3x the tip size, giving 9X less pressure.

 

Remember pressure=force X area. For the same force, shrinking the tip size (area) effectively cranks up the pressure applied to the tip.

 

If a person has a very light touch, then a truly fine and truly smooth nib can be appreciated. To a heavy-handed writer, even a super smooth nib may seem excessively toothy.

 

Which, imo, makes the Sailor nibs even more impressive...

 

Wait until you feel the Sailor Music nib, it will make your M-F nib like a toothy Aurora!

[max dog]

Cross Townsend 18K Medium and Fine, and Pelikan M400 14K Fine.

[georges zaslavsky]

ok here are mine:

mb 149 long tines short should shoulders flexible fine and extra fine as well as medium oblique fumm flexible nib

mb 146 medium oblique, oblique broad and extra fine semi flex nibs

parker duofold big red oblique fine semi flex nib

vintage french made parker oversize with a flexible stub

waterman le man 100 fine, extra fine, medium and broad

omas 360 and paragon fine and medium

pelikan m1000 fine an medium

pelikan m800 old style fine and medium

dunhill ad 2000 fine and broad nibs

sheaffer balance life time,sheaffer triumph and sheaffer inlaid nibs

Edited September 6, 2011 by georges zaslavsky