Pilot Penmanship Vs. Pilot Falcon Ef?

[Kuhataparunks]

Hi guys, I have a simple question that I hope someone can answer. Please, allow me to explain:

 

I am interested almost exclusively in fine point nibs, and I mean really fine; I considered the pilot metro F too thick for me, so I was elated to find the Penmanship with its truly extra-fine nib, being able to simply switch the nibs! The penmanship-metropolitan mod is currently my favorite pen, even over a pen for which I paid literally 10 times the price

 

Thinking it would be comparable, I got a Pilot Elite with a 14K EF nib, and it writes an even thicker line than the F Metropolitan! Grrrrr!

I've had my eyes on a Falcon EF for many weeks now, but I cannot use it pleasurably if it is not TRULY extra-fine.

 

MY QUESTION is,

 

How does the penmanship EF nib compare to the

Falcon EF nib?

Unflexed(minimum pressure to achieve a line), does the Falcon's EF write as finely as the Penmanship's EF?

 

I want a gold nib that's TRULY extra-fine. I'm so mad the pilot elite skimmed me on that

 

Also, I actually do want lots of line variation, so the flex of the Falcon would be well appreciated.

 

 

Eventually I'll plan on getting the Heritage 912 with a posting nib, but I'd like to have a pen below that before dropping $200 on one.

Thanks if you have the knowledge to answer this!

Edited August 6, 2014 by Kuhataparunks

[KBeezie]

Falcon's only come with "Soft" Nibs so they are often wetter and will show a larger line in thickness than even my Pilot Metropolitan with a Fine nib.

 

There's no such thing as a "True" Extra-Fine, Pilot's EF is in the middle of the Japanese Standard (Platinum being the 'common' smaller end of that scale, so a Platinum EF nib will be finer than a Pilot EF, my Platinum Century 3776 with a Soft Fine is a finer line than my Pilot Falcon with a Soft fine). Platinum tends to be smaller than Pilot, Pilot tends to be Smaller than Sailor. Pilot tends to be considered the center of "japanese" standard.

 

Also this may confuse you even further the Soft Fine on my 70s Pilot Elite Mini has a thicker line than my Falcon's Soft Fine.

 

The Soft nibs on Pilot pens are not meant for "Lots" of line variation, they're more to replicate the look of an Asian brush pen, so they won't match the same control/look as a vintage full flex pen without some professional modifications. But the Falcon will easily do variations, even when you may not want it (for normal writing, it's always showing, which may annoy some people, the Soft Fine on my Platinum Century 3776 is more controlled, so I can get consistently even lines during normal writing).

 

You'll probably want a Falcon with a Soft Extra-Fine, which will seem thicker than most other extra-fines due to the wetness (using a drier ink may help, but you may also railroad if you try to flex too much with a dry ink) and line variations due to the extra softness.

Wrote this up just now, which may help.

 

(Apache Sunset seems to have some issue catching onto the Rhodia, kind of like writing with water sometimes).

 

PS: The Platinum PTL-5000 with a 14K Extra-Fine may be a solution, it's around $40-60, but if you're in the United States you'll need to order it directly from Japan such as from Rakuten : http://global.rakuten.com/en/search/?p=1&k=PTL-5000&st= I got mine from Engeika as a painted Maki-e version (tangerine, they don't say it's a PTL-5000 but it is), and I know sbrebrown got his from CultPens for around 50 GBP (~$80 USD)

I have no experience with any of the Pilot Heritage pens.

 

Edit: By the way if you want a needlepoint fine (since you don't think the Penmanship's EF is fine enough) with flex, you're definitely looking at vintage flex pens at a premium price (over 200).

Edited August 6, 2014 by KBeezie