Looking For A Slim Pen With A Japanese Xf/ef Nib. Cavalier?

January 17, 2014

Hello, everyone.

I've been using fountain pens for about a year now and I'm at the point where I'm trying to find my ideal pen. It's more challenging than I thought it would be; apparently I'm a bit of an oddball.

Basically, I'm looking for a nice, slim pen with an extra fine nib. By extra fine, I mean XF/EF by Japanese standards - what most westerners would consider a needlepoint nib. I found a chart a few weeks ago with information on nib tipping sizes; Japanese EF/XF nibs are anywhere from .18mm to .23 mm, which is what I'm aiming for.

The problem is, aside from the Chalana, which seems a bit too thin and too expensive for me, I can't really find a lot that fit my specs. I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions.

I'm thinking of a Pilot Cavalier, but the nib is just a fine. Is it possible to replace the Cavalier nib with one from a Pilot Penmanship, or is there any way I can buy one with an extra fine nib? Are there any other options I'm overlooking? Any feedback would be appreciated.

SJ84

January 17, 2014

You may just want a nib meister to grind a nib down, but figuring that they charge a bit, you may want a pen that it would be economical to do this on.

January 17, 2014

You may want to try the Platinum desk pen (DP-1000AN). it comes with a cap for the pen and is available in EF nib size. I don't recall the nib width for the Sailor Recruit, but I owned one before and the nib was quite tiny but smooth. Here's a review by someone: http://daviswebtech.wordpress.com/category/brands/sailor-brands/. There's also the Sailor High Ace Neo which isn't that thin but is supposed to write a very fine line despite being labelled a fine. The Platinum desk pen and the Sailor High Ace Neo are available via Engeika.com, and Jetpens also has the latter pen. The Sailor Recruit is probably not in production anymore but I've seen at least one place selling it through Googling. Best of luck!

January 17, 2014

The cheaper pilot pen nibs are all interchangeable. I switch them around quite a bit depending on which body I find most comfortable. Another very fine nib is the Pilot 78g F nib which you can get quite cheaply on the bay. It is probably one of the thinnest nibs I have ever had especially in that price range. Good luck with your search

January 18, 2014

My first thought was, if you're interested in a standard-type pen like the Cavalier, that the Pilot Custom Original (FK-700R-B-EF) with its14k EF nib might be a good fit.

The Pilot Penmanship (FP-50R) available at Jetpens comes with an EF nib. It's a "squid"-shaped pen (no clip, tapered barrel), but its nib can be removed and placed into a Pilot Prera or a Pilot Metropolitan or a Pilot 78g.

I recently purchased a Platinum Carbon Pen from Goulet. It's a desk-type pen (no clip, long pointed barrel) with a feed that's made especially for Platinum's Carbon Black permanent pigment ink. It puts down a very fine line.

-- Constance