Your favorite fine/extra fine nib?

[Zlh296830]

Here are some of my favorite fine/extra fine nibs, which I use to take notes daily. What is/are your favorite fine nib(s)? 

 

1. Montblanc EF, 14K (as I heard a recently updated grind). Precise, sharp, and smooth at the same time. Feel like a simi-italic. I wish it could be a bit wetter (I prime it once in a while with most inks. Sailor Kobe #7 Kaikyou Blue, however, write as wet as I wish it to be).

 

2. Aurora F, 18K. “Responsive” to slight variations in pressure, giving a very subtle amount of line variation that won’t ruin its purpose for taking notes. Aurora pens also have the best weight-and-size balance for me, which just adds on to my love for their nibs.

 

3. Pilot Justus 95 F, 14K. Smooth and bouncy.  Extremely reliable and present to write with. My dream pen would have a nib like this and a piston filling mechanism.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I'm not into EF nibs, but have a Pelikan regular flex 200 EF for editing, and a Geha 790 maxi-semi-flex EF.

 

I like my Pelikan 400NN's semi-flex OF. I have other pens in regular flex and semi-flex in F. And the other widths.

 

In 25-30 of my 90 pens are in my top 10.....can't have many favorites.

 

Depending on if I want line variation or two toned shading of ink, will determine if I go for a semi-flex for line variation or a regular flex (Japanese soft) for two toned shading.

 

In semi-flex is oft a wetter nib and will swallow shading unless there is a perfect ink and paper match. 

And if going for two toned shading a regular flex M does better than F....and I'd not waste Shading inks on the possibility of shading in EF.

Shading inks have to sit on top of the paper pooling in wider parts of the letter and drying at different times........EF would not seem to me to have much pooling of ink. 

 

That might work in Japanese inks....I put my first Japanese ink, Kon-Peki in an old Lamy sub-brand a medium small  Artis* Ballit FK nib.....in this case like with a Geha School nib, FK, means American Bump Under tipping, not real Kugal, which is on top of the stubbed semi-flex nib. This is not a semi-flex nib, but regular flex. In Lamy made only nails, it was logical the Artis had the American Bump Under tipping like the Lamy nails....similar tipping on nibs with different flex rates. Regular flex was a limited flex in the semi-flex era of '50-70....I've only run across the Artis, 120 and Geha school pens in regular flex...I have no ideas of what other companies made regular flex nibs....in that era of stubbed semi-flex.

 

*A pen I've not used in 10 years.....not because it's medium-small, a very popular German size in the '50-60s era, the Ballit, 140, Kaweco Dia, Geha 760, some Osmia pens and a couple other brands I have are medium-small............for a while I was a semi-flex snob.....and when I got better, and learned to admire regular flex nibs.....the Artis Ballit had slipped to the bottom of the walnut humidor pen box....buried before it's time.

 

There was slight shading with that FK in Kon=Peki....just enough to know it was there.

Going to have to try that ink with a M or a semi-flex F....in Japanese inks are brand new to me.

[InesF]

2 hours ago, Zlh296830 said:

Here are some of my favorite fine/extra fine nibs, which I use to take notes daily. What is/are your favorite fine nib(s)? 

Hi.

 

WOW, great macro photos! Interesting, how different the tippings of those nibs are.

 

My favourite fine nib is the gold/black from Lamy which I use currently on my ca. 1980's Lamy CP1. This is, by far, the smoothest and most comfortable nib I own. However, it is not a typical fine, as it is a bit broader than others.

 

My second best is the steel EF which came with a TWSBI Vac mini. I didn't know that an extra fine nib can draw such a fine line that is still wet and rich in ink colour. A big surprise!

 

At the third place are, ex aequo, the Santini fine flexy and Pineider fine quill. Both are a tiny bit too wet and have problems with wet inks, disallowing their use as daily writer. But, both are great nibs and I love them a lot.

[jandrew]

[aimi]

Pilot Posting nib. Love that curved beak look. Not sure if it's the finest stock nib available though or not.

[JakobS]

Esterbrook Renew Point 9450, beautiful extra fine point with an indestructible nib thickness! 

[BayesianPrior]

Bock 250 Titanium in Fine.  I have two of them on Ranga pens and they lay down consistent lines between 0.35mm and 0.40mm, and provide a very pleasant feedback reminiscent of a quality pencil.

 

Second place would go to my Cleo Skribent steel fine.  A wetter line of about 0.45mm with equally good feedback.

 

Third place to my Sailor Somiko with a steel EF nib.  Line width is 0.25mm and the pen is a smooth writer even for cursive - however it will collect fibres on poor quality paper.

[Frank C]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can see that I need to work on my macrophotography skills. The iphone 12 has a great camera—but not the best for macro. 

[inkstainedruth]

My favorite EF nib is on a Cedar Blue Parker 51 Vac that had the tines opened up a bit so it wasn't scratchy.  If I have to do a lot of writing at one time (such as taking research notes, that's the pen I automatically reach for.  I had similar work done on the EF nib on the Forest Green Parker 51 Aerometric I paid two bucks for at an estate sale a few years ago, and that's also very good now, but for huge amounts of writing that 51 Vac can't be beat.  Not as fine a line, but very smooth and a great writer, would be the EF nib on my Pelikan M405 Blue Black.  

For Japanese pens I tend to avoid EF nibs, but I really like the MF nib on one of my Sailor 1911S pens.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Bo Bo Olson]

The problem with this thread is I can not ink my EF semi-flex Geha 790.....now.....got 8 pens inked, and tomorrow comes the next.

My marbled brown 200 has a EF, nice, but I'm sure that Gea would beat it.....if I can keep a light hand, ....humm, in I like F, why not....it would give me an EF with F line variations.

When I get down to 7 pens again....why not.

[Zlh296830]

11 hours ago, InesF said:

Hi.

 

WOW, great macro photos! Interesting, how different the tippings of those nibs are.

 

My favourite fine nib is the gold/black from Lamy which I use currently on my ca. 1980's Lamy CP1. This is, by far, the smoothest and most comfortable nib I own. However, it is not a typical fine, as it is a bit broader than others.

 

My second best is the steel EF which came with a TWSBI Vac mini. I didn't know that an extra fine nib can draw such a fine line that is still wet and rich in ink colour. A big surprise!

 

At the third place are, ex aequo, the Santini fine flexy and Pineider fine quill. Both are a tiny bit too wet and have problems with wet inks, disallowing their use as daily writer. But, both are great nibs and I love them a lot.

Very interesting!

 

In all the above pens you mentioned, I only had experience with Lamy. I definitely should try the other ones when I have a chance.

[Zlh296830]

5 hours ago, Frank C said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can see that I need to work on my macrophotography skills. The iphone 12 has a great camera—but not the best for macro. 

I had a sailor 1911L in MF, it’s a fantastic nib with some nice bounce to it. It’s more suitable for writing in printed style and East Asian language for me. It’s feedback can make long term writing cursive English tiring for me. This was my memory from two years ago when I still had the pen. I could change my mind if I revisit one.

 

Speaking of writing in cursive, the most suitable nib for me is the Aurora fine flex. It allows for control even with very light pressure. It just make me wanting to write with it non-stop.

 

I have never tried a platinum pen yet, which I think I must do one day. What keeps me from trying one out is that I like my pens to be either piston fillers or vacuum fillers. I like to have a peace of mind when writing in a very long session without worrying about refilling ink. The Justus 95 is exempted from this rule since the nib is exceptionally outstanding.

[Frank C]

44 minutes ago, Zlh296830 said:

I had a sailor 1911L in MF, it’s a fantastic nib with some nice bounce to it. It’s more suitable for writing in printed style and East Asian language for me. It’s feedback can make long term writing cursive English tiring for me. This was my memory from two years ago when I still had the pen. I could change my mind if I revisit one.

 

Speaking of writing in cursive, the most suitable nib for me is the Aurora fine flex. It allows for control even with very light pressure. It just make me wanting to write with it non-stop.

 

I have never tried a platinum pen yet, which I think I must do one day. What keeps me from trying one out is that I like my pens to be either piston fillers or vacuum fillers. I like to have a peace of mind when writing in a very long session without worrying about refilling ink. The Justus 95 is exempted from this rule since the nib is exceptionally outstanding.

I like all of my Japanese pens. They are very well made and usually write well out of the box. The same cannot be said for some European pen companies. Having said that, some European brands always work well. I love my Aurora 88s. My EF 88 took a trip to Italy about one month ago. The finial broke when I dropped it. Aurora 88s are built like a tank—very solid pens. 

 

I do concur that a piston-filling pen is classic. I like all filling systems. A Pilot Custom 823 with a fine nib is my daily user. The advantage of cartridge-converter pens is the ease of cleaning them. With a bulb syringe, you can run more water through a section with one fill than you could with 60 strakes of the piston. Pens that use a Pilot Con-70 converter are a nice compromise. I also use a Pilot Custom 74 on a daily basis. 

 

I see that you live in Berkeley. I attended a little university there a few years ago. I used a rotation of my entire fountain pen collection at that time: Montblanc 149, Montblanc 146, Montblanc 144 burgundy, Pelikan 800, Waterman Leman 100, and a Parker Duofold. They are all still among my favorite pens, although a few more have showed up at my house since then. 

[mth]

[Bo Bo Olson]

Pens are delivered to my B&M in small pallets; so don't have Online Mail jar the nib out of alignment.

He said he never has that problem with any of his nibs..............so it is mailing problem, 'gift' display boxes are made to display not ship through very rough and tough mail systems.

 

Goulet has no problems....in he wraps the items in drop out of the air plane at 5,000 foot proof packaging.

 

Buy at a B&M and avoid mail problems is the surest cure.

 

What do the Japanese do differently in packaging?

[sirgilbert357]

17 hours ago, Zlh296830 said:

I had a sailor 1911L in MF, it’s a fantastic nib with some nice bounce to it. It’s more suitable for writing in printed style and East Asian language for me. It’s feedback can make long term writing cursive English tiring for me. This was my memory from two years ago when I still had the pen. I could change my mind if I revisit one.

 

Speaking of writing in cursive, the most suitable nib for me is the Aurora fine flex. It allows for control even with very light pressure. It just make me wanting to write with it non-stop.

 

I have never tried a platinum pen yet, which I think I must do one day. What keeps me from trying one out is that I like my pens to be either piston fillers or vacuum fillers. I like to have a peace of mind when writing in a very long session without worrying about refilling ink. The Justus 95 is exempted from this rule since the nib is exceptionally outstanding.

 

The Justus 95 can also take a Pilot CON-70 converter, though. That one holds a generous amount of ink, especially when you add up what the pen's feed contains right after filling. It's easily over a ml.

 

Having that much ink on hand in a Japanese Fine or Extra Fine nib would make for a very long writing session. I'd say that's a very good reason for it to be an "exception" to your rule. 👍

[maclink]

The F nibs on my MB 146 and Classique are my favourites. 

 

Another great F nib, IMO, can be found on a Pelikan M20x.

 

I'm also a fan of the Lamy 2K's F and EF nibs.

[Paul-in-SF]

My tastes have gotten progressively Finer until many of my recent pens have EF nibs. Also many of my vintage Parkers and Sheaffers are nominally Fine, but on the EF end of Fine. 

 

MB 149 from 1989, 18K EF in name only, it's really a Fine and that's fine. It's a lovely writing experience.

Same with my Lamy 2000 14K EF. 

Aurora Optima 14K EF, just exactly what I want an EF to be, crisp and clean, but not dry. 

Visconti Medici 18K EF, ditto. 

Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66, steel Needlepoint, about the Finest I have. Ground perfectly by Nagahara.

 

And then I decided to try Japanese EF. Oof, didn't work out so very well at the beginning:

Sailor 1911L EF was unusable out of the box, so bad I had to send it to a nibmeister (there are reasons I didn't send it back for exchange). It writes well now, just at the upper limits of tolerable feedback for me.

Platinum President EF, also not great out of the box, but I was able to tune it myself so it writes well. Less feedback than the Sailor. 

I like both of these pens or they wouldn't be here. But it took some doing to get to this point. I see a positive mention above of a Pilot Posting nib, so I might try one of those. 

[collectorofmanythings]

A Pilot VP (F), Pilot Metropolitan (F), and Kaweco Sport (F)

[Bo Bo Olson]

A few months ago I won in a live auction a @ 1990 Waterman Mann 200 regular flex and I found the old battles were right, Waterman made then a very thin nib. It's F is = to my 'new' Pelikan 200's EF.

 

Are Waterman nibs still regular flex?, or now semi-nail or nail?