Need Help Deciding Which Franklin-Christoph Nib To Get

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I am going to buy a F-C pocket 66 solid ice fountain pen, but am not sure which nib to get. I prefer extra fine nibs for daily writing, but like the line variation found in stub nibs. F-C offers something called an HPS S.I.G. extra fine and I was wondering if anybody knew if that was kind of like a thin-writing stub nib?

[migo984]

I am going to buy a F-C pocket 66 solid ice fountain pen, but am not sure which nib to get. I prefer extra fine nibs for daily writing, but like the line variation found in stub nibs. F-C offers something called an HPS S.I.G. extra fine and I was wondering if anybody knew if that was kind of like a thin-writing stub nib?

 

I have a S.I.G. in Fine, on a FC 45.

 

To me it writes more like an EF; I was going to order extra-fine but now I'm glad I didn't. It wrote extremely well out of the box, good generous ink flow, but not so much that the writing line is compromised. It is firm but not a nail (thank goodness). It has no catches or snags, smooth across the paper but with a nice feedback.

 

It is a reasonably straight-ground stubbish nib (edgy without sharp corners) - S.I.G. describes it well - although being a fine the line variation is limited, as you'd expect. But the difference between this nib & a fine round point is distinct. I'm very impressed with this nib.

 

I also have a S.I.G. with a bold bought for my partner. Jim at F-C has done a great job on these IMO.

 

It's early morning here in Aus :-) I could post a writing sample a little later if that would help?

Edited August 11, 2016 by migo984

[mmg122]

This is FC's newest nib offering. SIG stands for stub, italic, gradient. It gives you more line variation than a stub nib but is smoother at the edges (like a stub) than an italic nib. Additionally, FC stubs, unlike many other, are tipped. It comes in EF - B sizes. HPS is high performance steel.

 

FC nibs are pretty outstanding in my experience. If you get a nib from them and don't like it, you can return it for a different nib. They have excellent customer service. Don't hesitate to call them prior to your order with any questions you have about the nib.

 

Mary

[migo984]

This is FC's newest nib offering. SIG stands for stub, italic, gradient. It gives you more line variation than a stub nib but is smoother at the edges (like a stub) than an italic nib. Additionally, FC stubs, unlike many other, are tipped. It comes in EF - B sizes. HPS is high performance steel.

FC nibs are pretty outstanding in my experience. If you get a nib from them and don't like it, you can return it for a different nib. They have excellent customer service. Don't hesitate to call them prior to your order with any questions you have about the nib.

Mary

Have you got one, Mary? What do you think of it? I have several FC pens & I think this one is really great for everyday writing. Much better than the steel Masuyama nib I have from FC.

[mmg122]

Yes...I have the HPS SIG in broad on a #20 Marietta and like it a lot. Very smooth writer with terrific line variation. I don't have any Masuyama SS grinds but I do have a Masuyama ground gold nib and several FC SS nibs. This is my favorite of the lot for everyday writing.

 

Migo 984...do you know if Jim is doing the nib work on these new nibs?

[migo984]

Yes...I have the HPS SIG in broad on a #20 Marietta and like it a lot. Very smooth writer with terrific line variation. I don't have any Masuyama SS grinds but I do have a Masuyama ground gold nib and several FC SS nibs. This is my favorite of the lot for everyday writing.

Migo 984...do you know if Jim is doing the nib work on these new nibs?

Thanks, Mary. I agree - it's an interesting grind & I'm really impressed with it.

 

Yes, it is my understanding that Jim does work on these nibs, but whether he does them all or if he just did the IPO pens I'm not sure. I also don't know if any others are involved. I'm trying to recall where I read about it, but my memory is rubbish these days. I'm sure Scott or someone else would advise.

[SpecTP]

I got an FC at the DC Pen Show. I opted for a simple F nib with no alteration so that is why I didn't pick the SIG nib or the Mike Masuyama modified nib.

[Cryptos]

Haven't tried one of the S.I.G. nibs yet. I do have a Masuyama medium italic though and I like it a lot. However, it is a sharp, dry writing italic. Although I can easily write a 2 mm x-heights and still have good spaces in the round letters (a, e, o and so on) it does take some getting used to - especially if you have never used an untipped italic before.

 

I'd like to get a broad italic but FC aren't selling any of them at the moment.

[migo984]

Further to my reply above, here's a pic of writing samples of some pens I happen to have inked up today. The FC 45 S.I.G. Fine is at the top. You can see that it lays down quite a narrow line, with a little line variation.

 

I've added the others for comparison purposes, including a S.I.G. Broad. Hope this helps.

 

 

 

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I went ahead and ordered the pen with the SIG extra fine nib. If I end up not liking it, I'll just have it exchanged for a regular EF nib. I've heard F-C's return/exchange policy is very good.

 

This is my first post here and I am impressed with how prompt and helpful everybody was. Definitely helped my decision. Thank you so much, I appreciate it.

[psychstudent]

Just to add a little two cents to this post - I just got a Franklin-Christoph HPS broad SIG - I also have a Masuyama HPS medium stub from F-C as well. The broad SIG is now by far the smoothest nib I own and I would definitely recommend it to everyone who asks about it! I find that the sweet spot is much easier to find and stay in on the broad SIG compared to the Masuyama medium stub, which makes the writing experience so much more of a pleasure.

 

Now I'm really interested in finding out how the broad masuyama stub compares to the broad SIG...but the broad SIG is so smooth that I don't know how even a Masuyama broad stub could be any smoother.

 

Side note: I did also find out though that F-C only offers their HPS SIG nibs in polished steel or shadow steel (like their music nibs).

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Update: the SIG EF did not have much line variation and it was too broad for my tastes, so I got it exchanged for a regular steel EF nib. Got the EF in, it was the broadest EF I have ever written with and made my little writing look very messy. So I exchanged the EF for a Masuyama steel needlepoint, which is perfect for me.

[EklecticMonkey]

Wow you must have super tiny writing, now I'm curious! Lol.

 

Thanks for this post, though! I'd really like to get a F-C pen, not even sure which model yet, but the nib has me way more perplexed, so many choices, how to choose?

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Wow you must have super tiny writing, now I'm curious! Lol.

 

Thanks for this post, though! I'd really like to get a F-C pen, not even sure which model yet, but the nib has me way more perplexed, so many choices, how to choose?

 

I try to write small, yes. Larger handwriting, for some reason, just looks messy to me, even if it's neat. I also write my letters really close together and broader nibs make the letters run together.

 

The F-C needlepoint nib I got is the EXACT same line width as my Pilot VP with a fine nib. It's broad enough to produce nice shading with my inks, but thin enough to satisfy my being picky about line thinness. I did briefly own a VP with an EF nib, but was surprised when I did not like how thinly it wrote. I exchanged it for the one I have now with a fine nib and am much happier.

 

I was really overwhelmed with F-C's nib options, too. I wasn't going to pay an arm and a leg for a gold nib, so settled happily with steel. I think F-C must tune their nibs to write wet, though, because the nibs I tried all wrote like they were a line size bigger, or even two. Except for the needlepoint. The needlepoint is so surprisingly smooth, and so perfect. It's my favorite nib of any fp I own.

[zaddick]

Mike Masuyama does great needle point nibs. He used to work at Sailor so understands Japanese nibs well and can make very think points that are still usable.

[cleosmama]

I usually like fine nibs, but when I was at the Dallas Pen Show, I tried the Medium SIG nib and fell in love. It is incredibly smooth, and I love the line variation I get from it. If you like to show off the shading in the ink, but you are a micro writer like me, you might try the Medium SIG nib.

[EklecticMonkey]

I really think I might like to try one of the SIGs, either M or B. I write naturally on the smaller side, but can write a bit larger if I choose, and I recently acquired a couple calligraphy books and want to try working on jazzing up my writing a bit, so I think those might be nice to work with.