Can anyone pin down a precise width measurement of the Targa F nib verses the Targa M nib? Due to the flexibility of these nibs, it's hard to tell whether the nib I have is an M or an F. A line of thought that might help: do Targa nibs generally have F nibs that are as fine as the "vintage" F nibs (like Snorkel nibs), or are they fatter, more like modern Western F nibs?

Due to the infuriating lack of nib marking on inlaid nibs, I can only leave it to the experts.

Best,
Summer

I happen to have some notes that I wrote down a couple of weeks ago....

Sheaffer used a dial gauge/runout gauge to measure nib size. The ones I was had a date of a 1970 for their new standard - and the gauges were in use when the factory closed back at the end of March. They would stick a nib in the gauge, and the nib would fall in a range for different sizes. I assume that this is for width, and not just thickness of the nib.

The standard for the fine nib was 18 to 25 thousandths.
The standard for the medium nib was 25 to 31 thousandths.

Thanks, Ron. Now if I had a way of measuring this, I would be in luck.

I am also interested in this topic. I have a Targa, F nib, which I like a lot but find a bit too thin for my taste, so I am thinking of buying an M section for it (or a full targa with an M nib). The nib in my Targa is made of steel, no gold, so the questions are:

.- Can any of you post a photo comparing an XF, F and M nibs, in terms of width?

.- Does it make a difference the material of the nib (steel vs gold), in terms of line width?

Thank you in advance.

Hi,
http://www.sheaffertarga.com/images/various/nibs.JPG
You might find this useful as a guide,but like Ron wrote on his reply they worked within a tolerance so a fine at the top of the tolerance will be close to a medium at the bottom .
Also ink flow of the nib and the paper used can make the line vary.
I don,t think the targa nib vary much from a steel to a 14k in line width.
Gary

Having owned many, many post-1970 Sheaffers, I can confirm that there is a range in the nibs -- some fines seem finer, and others more close to medium, and the same for mediums. And, as has been pointed out, it also depends on the paper and flow. So, it isn't an exact science -- one of the things that makes fountain pen writing so interesting and fun.

Dave

The softness of these nibs seems to come into play too. My F comes out closer to an M with moderate pressure because the nib is more flexible than many modern nibs.

Best,
Summer