Best Fine and Extra-Fine Pens and Nibs

[benjitzu]

Hi All!

I'm very new to Fountain Pens but already have an addiction :) Purchased my first FP about a month ago and have since bought 6 more. I currently have two Safari's F and EF, Lamy Vista EF, two Ahab's, a Pilot Metropolitan, Waterman Kultur F, and the Kickstarter Visionnaire Pen (how I initially started with fountain pens).

After much writing the past month with all the above pens, I've discovered I LOVE fine and extra-fine pens. I want to expand my pen collection to some nicer pens now - in the $50 and up range (money isn't really an issue as I'm sure I'll get a few pens in each price range).

Forgive me if there's already a thread about this question: What are some of your favorite Fine and Extra-Fine pens?

I like both heavy and light pens; don't like really skinny pen bodies, so leading more towards medium or larger ones; write a TON so want something that's comfortable for all-day writing sessions; I like the twist caps, though it's not a deal-breaker, and I rarely if ever write with the cap posted...

Very curious and excited to hear from your expertise and experience. Thanks so much in advance and Happy New Years!

b

[ac12]

Try the Chinese pens, their F is like a western XF, and their XF is really thin.
Also the Japanese pens have nice fine nibs.

BTW, the Lamy XF nib puts down an ink line like my old Parker F nib, and the Lamy F nib is like my old Parker M nibs.

But when you get into these fine nibs, your writing experience is more dependent on the paper, and the smoothness of the paper surface.

[benjitzu]

Try the Chinese pens, their F is like a western XF, and their XF is really thin.
Also the Japanese pens have nice fine nibs.

BTW, the Lamy XF nib puts down an ink line like my old Parker F nib, and the Lamy F nib is like my old Parker M nibs.

But when you get into these fine nibs, your writing experience is more dependent on the paper, and the smoothness of the paper surface.

Yeah, I'm beginning to learn quickly that the paper and ink influences the line dramatically. Looking at some Parker models and have already ordered some nicer paper too. Thanks for your quick reply...

[shudaizi]

My Aurora 88 (modern) Large with a Fine nib writes very close to a (European) Extra-Fine. It's a "pitchfork" (extremely stiff), but perfect flow, effortless to use. It's not butter-on-a-hot-skillette smooth, but I like the touch of feedback it has. The piston is smooth and solid too. It's light, even posted, but not small or skinny -- I find it perfectly sized for me. Good ink capacity too.

[benjitzu]

My Aurora 88 (modern) Large with a Fine nib writes very close to a (European) Extra-Fine. It's a "pitchfork" (extremely stiff), but perfect flow, effortless to use. It's not butter-on-a-hot-skillette smooth, but I like the touch of feedback it has. The piston is smooth and solid too. It's light, even posted, but not small or skinny -- I find it perfectly sized for me. Good ink capacity too.

Ooo, that looks like a NICE pen! I'll have to do some more research into Aurora's. How long have you had yours and what is your favorite ink(s) to use with it?

[shudaizi]

Had it just a month. But it sees use every single day. I'm hopeful (from other people's experience) that it will continue to be a workhorse. I've been using Mont Blanc Midnight Blue (old iron gall formula), Noodler's Aircorp Blueblack (really a green-black), and Scribal Workshop Siren in it. No problem with any of these -- Noodler's is the wettest, but even with Siren (which many people say is a "dry" ink), flow has been great, just a little more feedback on the paper.

[AndyT]

Pilot Penmanship and Platinum Carbon pen are both pretty good and very inexpensive. The Pilot nib can be transplanted into a Metropolitan apparently, so maybe there are other upmarket possibilities - I doubt if there's anything finer available off the shelf. John Mottishaw's Spencerian modification to the Namiki Falcon (needlepoint with some extra flex) has received some favourable reviews.

My personal favourite is a Swan 6142 with a semi-flex needlepoint which gives the finest hairlines I've seen from a fountain pen ... unfortunately that's a #1 nib so you'll probably not find one in a large body. You might find a bigger nib with the same grind though.

On a related note, iron gall inks are especially good for tight, fine lines.

[ac12]

If you want some cheap paper for journaling or other writing, go to Staples and look for notebooks and filler paper that is MADE IN BRAZIL.
I found those papers to be good for my Fine nib pens, and they are less expensive than Clarifontaine.
But they are not as heavy.
Another alternative is HP 32# Premium paper. But it is blank/no lines, so you need to use a guide sheet under it, to keep your writing level.

[brewsky]

my absolute favorite EF nib comes on a pelikan m215. Mine is extremely smooth and the pens look awesome. Best bang for your buck in my opinion. I also have a vanishing point with an EF nib, which writes an even finer line than the pelikan, but this nib is VERY scratchy. I like them both for different reasons.


having something being "best" is very subjective. To me, i strive for quality and smoothness to describe best. Others prefer nibs with some feedback.

[Baric]

My favorite fine nib is my M800 with a custom left oblique cut by John Mottishaw. The combination of a great pen and a nib cut to your needs is hard to beat.

Right behind it is the left oblique medium nib on my Nakaya Neo Standard. It may say medium, but it sure writes like a fine, I can only guess how fine an actual fine Nakata nib is, or even their extra fine or super extra fine.

The fines on my Levenger True Writer and Edison Pearlette are both wider then the two above by a significant margin. Nothing wrong with that, it's purely a matter of personal preference.

[WirsPlm]

Pilot 78G in F is about the same as a US/EU XF, and it's a sturdy plastic pen with a twist cap. It's one of my EDC pens, along with a Pilot Metroplitan that I put a Penmanship XF nib onto (the XF has a little bit too much feedback to use it all the time, and the nib feels a bit too stiff). In general, a Pilot or Sailor F nib will be about the same as a US/EU XF, and I find Pilot nibs in general to be very smooth and comfortable to use.

For a nicer Pilot pen with an F nib, the Prera is well recommended (YMMV, I've never tried it).

[kaisnowbird]

Try the Chinese pens, their F is like a western XF, and their XF is really thin.
Also the Japanese pens have nice fine nibs.

BTW, the Lamy XF nib puts down an ink line like my old Parker F nib, and the Lamy F nib is like my old Parker M nibs.

But when you get into these fine nibs, your writing experience is more dependent on the paper, and the smoothness of the paper surface.

Yeah, I'm beginning to learn quickly that the paper and ink influences the line dramatically. Looking at some Parker models and have already ordered some nicer paper too. Thanks for your quick reply...

From my experience, the nib grade of modern Parker is entirely different from the older, vintage Parker. Whereas a vintage Parker's F nib writes like a Lamy EF or even finer, today's Parker F appears thicker than Lamy F. I had one Parker Sonnet M nib that wrote like a Broad by any other standards.

[Runnin_Ute]

A True Writer Silver Anniversary - comes in F M and B, brass barrel, I don't post any of mine but is a beautiful pen. German nib (Schmidt I believe) It is one of my wider Fines, but is nice.

I have a Pelikan 120 with an EF that is amazing. I absolutely love it. A Waterman Phileas F which is really nice. (bit fancier version of the Kultur) And my Esterbrook J - I have both F and EF nibs for it. I usually use the F. The 120 and Estie are the more slender models.

[stevekolt]

I have a number of EF nibs, Pelikan, Montblanc, Edison etc. For a fairly economical pen I think it is hard to beat TWSBI. I have pretty much all their nib sizes, and the EF is fantastic, very smooth and a true EF line.

[LagNut]

Pilot VP with F nib. (14k not steel). Try one at a shop, some folks don't like the clip position, but these are pens I love to use.

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[LagNut]

Also +1 on the Twsbi EF. Great for a steel nib writing long bits.

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[David Yan]

The finest nib so far I used is Sailor Saibi Togi 14K nib. Other than that are the Sailor EF 14k nib, Pilot PO nib and Platinum UEF nib. For line variation Platinum SF is fun. For slightly thicker line Kaweco EF nib is also good.

[Tony Rex]

Nice. But before this descend into "mine is finer, but my camera is broken" let me kindly remind you this ain't your usual forum yeah. We do things differently here. http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/3575-Sheaffer-Stupid-Fine-(SF)-Nib?highlight=Stupid+fine

Carry on :)

[axolotl66]

Pilot Penmanship and Platinum Carbon pen are both pretty good and very inexpensive. The Pilot nib can be transplanted into a Metropolitan apparently, so maybe there are other upmarket possibilities - I doubt if there's anything finer available off the shelf. John Mottishaw's Spencerian modification to the Namiki Falcon (needlepoint with some extra flex) has received some favourable reviews.

My personal favourite is a Swan 6142 with a semi-flex needlepoint which gives the finest hairlines I've seen from a fountain pen ... unfortunately that's a #1 nib so you'll probably not find one in a large body. You might find a bigger nib with the same grind though.

On a related note, iron gall inks are especially good for tight, fine lines.

+1 for the Pilot Penmanship, the nib is the best EF (EEF?) I've ever used! I have a Binder Pelikan XXF which is wonderful but was still not fine enough for me in my search for the eeeeextrafinist nib I could find! I have a Pilot G-Tec C 0.25 "Hyper Fine" rollerball and the Penmanship nib is just as fine and a much better writer; better flow, no skipping, more inks to choose from etc etc
Graham

[benjitzu]

Thanks everyone SO much for your insights and suggestions! I have a nice list if pens to research this weekend and hopefully can get a few of the suggested pens in my hands for a bit of a scribble when I visit the local stationary stores soon.

I'll definitely post my findings and some pics too in the process!