Extra Fine Nibs

[Leftytoo]

Yes, Japanese pens (I have 2). Another option are some of the older classic pens. I have an Eversharp Skyline EF that is softer and smoother than either of my modern pens. A good recondioned Skyline should cost less than $80. Also owned a classic Waterman that was EF, but quite stiff and a little bit scratchy - more like modern pens.

 

Bob

[Oranges and Apples]

If you're willing to explore to the $100-150 range, the Pilot Vanishing Point extra fine is worth trying out. The extra fine is the finest nib I have ever tried.

 

I'll post a picture later on this week.

[adallak]

Any Japanese pen from the big three (Pilot, Sailor, and Platinum) can satisfy your need for an extra fine.

 

This is pretty much the only option without going to get a custom grind. If you're willing to gamble, many Chinese pens also have very fine nibs, but the quality control is less strict than it is for Japanese companies.

Did not know the Chinese made pens. I will look at that as an option. Thank you!

What? Is there anything Chinese do not make nowadays? Chinese have been doing very good fountain pens for decades, by the way.

[jzents]

Any Japanese pen from the big three (Pilot, Sailor, and Platinum) can satisfy your need for an extra fine.

 

This is pretty much the only option without going to get a custom grind. If you're willing to gamble, many Chinese pens also have very fine nibs, but the quality control is less strict than it is for Japanese companies.

Did not know the Chinese made pens. I will look at that as an option. Thank you!

What? Is there anything Chinese do not make nowadays? Chinese have been doing very good fountain pens for decades, by the way.

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?

[jzents]

If you're willing to explore to the $100-150 range, the Pilot Vanishing Point extra fine is worth trying out. The extra fine is the finest nib I have ever tried.

 

I'll post a picture later on this week.

Question. Every time I look on the Pilotpen.us site they only list F for the Vanishing point pen. How did you get an EF? I Like the idea, and am open to trying when the money is available.

[coleam]

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?

TWSBI is Chinese (technically Taiwanese), but they use Bock nibs, so their fine is basically a Western fine. Hero supposedly makes pretty fine nibs, especially for their Parker 51 clones (330, 336, maybe the 1000 as well). You can get them for dirt cheap on ebay, but there are some fakes (yes, people apparently fake a sub-$5 pen) out there. isellpens.com (no affiliation) is a safe bet for getting a genuine one, and there are some trusted ebay sellers as well. You'll have to ask around here since I can't recall their names off the top of my head.

 

Question. Every time I look on the Pilotpen.us site they only list F for the Vanishing point pen. How did you get an EF? I Like the idea, and am open to trying when the money is available.

The Goulets (www.gouletpen.com) sell them, as does isellpens. I'm sure other online retailers carry them as well. (again, no affiliation)

[imadeadend]

I received my Platinum 3776 with a steel EF nib yesterday, and I have to tell you, it's a dream to write with even though it's basically a needle thin line, flows absolutely perfectly with diamine steel blue (as well as my Sailors, which are flawless), and even though it's steel, anyone using one without knowing that would say its 14k gold or better. For 60 dollars, it's an amazing pen I hope to get more of! Definitely a budget alternative for those wanting an extra fine Japanese nib!

 

This pen alone has bumped pilot off their second place in my top three down to third (and I own many many pilots):

 

1. Sailor

2. Platinum

3. Pilot

[jzents]

If you're willing to explore to the $100-150 range, the Pilot Vanishing Point extra fine is worth trying out. The extra fine is the finest nib I have ever tried.

 

I'll post a picture later on this week.

Question. Every time I look on the Pilotpen.us site they only list F for the Vanishing point pen. How did you get an EF? I Like the idea, and am open to trying when the money is available.

Thank you very much!

[jzents]

I received my Platinum 3776 with a steel EF nib yesterday, and I have to tell you, it's a dream to write with even though it's basically a needle thin line, flows absolutely perfectly with diamine steel blue (as well as my Sailors, which are flawless), and even though it's steel, anyone using one without knowing that would say its 14k gold or better. For 60 dollars, it's an amazing pen I hope to get more of! Definitely a budget alternative for those wanting an extra fine Japanese nib!

 

This pen alone has bumped pilot off their second place in my top three down to third (and I own many many pilots):

 

1. Sailor

2. Platinum

3. Pilot

Good news! Might I inquire as to where you got that pen? Might want to put something like that on the Father's Day list. Heh, heh! Cheers!

[jzents]

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?

TWSBI is Chinese (technically Taiwanese), but they use Bock nibs, so their fine is basically a Western fine. Hero supposedly makes pretty fine nibs, especially for their Parker 51 clones (330, 336, maybe the 1000 as well). You can get them for dirt cheap on ebay, but there are some fakes (yes, people apparently fake a sub-$5 pen) out there. isellpens.com (no affiliation) is a safe bet for getting a genuine one, and there are some trusted ebay sellers as well. You'll have to ask around here since I can't recall their names off the top of my head.

 

Question. Every time I look on the Pilotpen.us site they only list F for the Vanishing point pen. How did you get an EF? I Like the idea, and am open to trying when the money is available.

The Goulets (www.gouletpen.com) sell them, as does isellpens. I'm sure other online retailers carry them as well. (again, no affiliation)

Goulets I know of. I have only bought ink from them at this time. Did not know about isellpens.com. I will check them out. Thank you for the information!

[Oranges and Apples]

There are some pics of the extra fine.

[imadeadend]

I received my Platinum 3776 with a steel EF nib yesterday, and I have to tell you, it's a dream to write with even though it's basically a needle thin line, flows absolutely perfectly with diamine steel blue (as well as my Sailors, which are flawless), and even though it's steel, anyone using one without knowing that would say its 14k gold or better. For 60 dollars, it's an amazing pen I hope to get more of! Definitely a budget alternative for those wanting an extra fine Japanese nib!

 

This pen alone has bumped pilot off their second place in my top three down to third (and I own many many pilots):

 

1. Sailor

2. Platinum

3. Pilot

Good news! Might I inquire as to where you got that pen? Might want to put something like that on the Father's Day list. Heh, heh! Cheers!

 

Ebay. There are a few on there. The model is the Platinum 3776 PTB-5000B which are the cheaper steel nibbed versions, but as I said, don't be afraid of the steel nib It's truly wonderful. At the moment however all I can find are medium and ultra-extra-fine nibbed versions. Don't worry, they'll come around. Or you could just buy them online from a retailer!

[tanalasta]

What is your definition of 'fine' or 'extra fine'?

 

The standard H-F in the Sailor is probably more of an EF by Western standards, whereas the H-EF is more of a needlepoint. If you want anything super, super fine, then the saibi-togi nib (John Mottishaw's site at nibs.com) has a description. In terms of fine nib work, I recommend John Mottishaw and Mike Mayusama, both are found online easily and reputable. Mike was a nib worker at Sailor for many years and can be trusted to grind down any nib to your preferred width, as can most of the other highly regarded nibmeisters.

 

Obviously, a finer nibbed pen has less tolerance and can be scratchy if too dry or the tines misasligned, or if you write hard. They are also sensitive to vagaries of paper fibres and types - toothy papers do not worth well with EF pens.

 

There is a nib nook comparison tool at the Goulet website. Good luck!

[inkpenguin]

I transplanted a Penmanship EF nib onto my Pilot Knight. Had to tune the nib a little as their tines tend to be tight, resulting in very dry flow.

 

It makes my F nib look thick in comparison. The lines can be thinner but I like writing with it using Heart of Darkness as the ink and it tends to result in thicker lines.

[mirosc]

So TWSBI is one of those Chinese makers?

Careful...

Now we're entering the realm of politics...

 

 

For the definition of UEF, XF, F,... If I remember correctly R. Binder had a chart with line comparisons before he stopped his general restoration service (mail). Is this chart still available somewhere?

[CAG_1787]

So TWSBI is one of those Chinese makers?

Careful...

Now we're entering the realm of politics...

 

 

For the definition of UEF, XF, F,... If I remember correctly R. Binder had a chart with line comparisons before he stopped his general restoration service (mail). Is this chart still available somewhere?

 

He does have examples of the different widths on his website.

[mirosc]

He does have examples of the different widths on his website.

 

Well, it's been gone from the original place where it was, there are only the remains of the following text:

"If you are unsure about stroke widths, please check our stroke width chart for illustrations of stroke sizes that our nibs produce. To do this, right-click the image in the gray box below (Macintosh users control-click) to download the chart in PDF format (for Adobe Reader)."

But nothing to download anymore and no picture

 

But I have looked and at another place of his site, it's still there:

Binder Strokewidths.pdf

[Biber]

Binder's stoke width chart is great for giving you an idea as to relative stroke widths, but even he seems to admit that it's only a fair approximation at best - see his note #3.

[Bigeddie]

My Lamy EF is about the same as a Pilot M...

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7103/7132379967_c3c1c0024d_z.jpg

Nib width comparison by Bigeddie100, on Flickr

[Biber]

My Lamy EF is about the same as a Pilot M...

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7103/7132379967_c3c1c0024d_z.jpg

Nib width comparison by Bigeddie100, on Flickr

 

That looks just about how my Pelikan 150 EF stacks up.