The Obsession With Fine Nibs

[Blade Runner]

Pros: writing small, can write on poor quality copy papers, less ink use.

 

Cons: looks feeble, not much shading, doesn't do as well on highly sized and textured papers.

[brewsky]

because i prefer them to larger nibs? need i explain any more than that?

[Blade Runner]

Don't you have to choose it according to the size of your handwriting??

Mine is small and would be all blurred if I'd use a medium (or some mediums). That said, I much prefer a fine italic than a plain fine. Gotta get some more...

Unless one's writing is extremely small, nibs with line variation, broad stubs and cursive italics for example, can be used by those with fairly small writing and still keep letters open.

[Namo]

One of my favorite nib is a very wet medium Lamy Studio 14k nib. But my handwriting is very small (see post num. 12 there...). Hence the need of fine and EF nibs. Among them, I love vintage Pelikan 14k F and I have a flex EF Danitrio nib that is a real wonder. BUt I am no fanatic: I do have a B Delta nib, wonderful, but no fit for anything else than short notes.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Namo

[KrazyIvan]

I think it is a personality trait. The more private or introverted you are, the smaller you write. My small lettering would be obliterated by anything other than a fine nib, preferably EF. I purchased a 1mm rollerball once and had to give it away to my wife (who just happens to be an extrovert). She loved it.

[BrandonA]

I think of fine nibs as the default, the norm. Fine nibs are sort of like vanilla ice cream. You go to the store and look in the ice cream freezer and what do you think you'll see most of? Yep, vanilla. It's not because people have an "obsession" with vanilla; it's not because they find this a very exciting flavor. It's because vanilla is what everyone's familiar with, and it's inoffensive to everyone.

 

Having said that. . . Human beings are highly adaptable and can get used to anything. If you get used to a M nib, then a F will look too thin. If you get used to a EF, then a F will look too fat. For a little while. Until you get used to it.

 

I'm afraid I disagree, in the UK at least I'd say a Medium nib is the norm and the one you are likely to see most of. If you want to move away from a medium you ever go fatter or thinner.

 

I almost started a thread on this same topic earlier in the week as I was thinking the same as the original poster.

 

I don't have any broad nibs but I have a few thins and I'd far rather use one of my medium nibs than these pens. I can see what people are saying about the size of the writting. I think though that fountain pens are supposed to be free flowing and glide effortlessly over the paper, to me the fatter the nib the more this is true.

 

I guess this is the joy of pens though, so many options are available and everyone has their unique preferences.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I find medium to be the nib that is most diss'ed. Oh, medium...next.

 

I'd picked up that prejudice here, until my first good shading ink.

MB Toffee. Regular flex nibs.

Fine was light with dark trails.

Medium was 50-50....boy that was a pleasant surprise....

Broad was dark with light trails.

 

In spite of all my ranting and raving about semi-flex nibs. I think everyone should have a nice set of B, M, F and EF nibs in regular flex.

There are ink tones that are different than in semi-flex.

 

Mark 1 Eye Ball, there is a half a letter difference between EF-F-M-B.

 

Many use only skinny lined paper and poor paper that bleeds through and feathers with what ever ink they are using so they are forced to go to EF and F.

 

In that I never had, a problem writing large, medium or small as I wished...I do have a problem understanding, why some one says....I must use skinny nibs....because I don't have the ability to write larger.

 

I have some EF nibs and once in a while I'll use them. Than god it was a Geha 790 OEF with the reserve tank...it was empty. I used it more than suspected.

 

Wider lines on better paper might help.

[furple]

I simply tend to write small. If I need to write larger, however, I can still do that with a fine nib. It's hard to write small with a medium or broad and have the letters legible, depending on the paper. Sometimes a signature line isn't all that big.

[kernando]

Why do some people really like broads?

 

Some people write in cursive that fits on lined paper.

[mholve]

One advantage to wider nibs is the stroke width sets the writing apart from ballpoints even more, which only go so far... Bonus if there's a special grind on it or offers line variation. Something ballpoints just can't do.

[MikeF]

In that I never had, a problem writing large, medium or small as I wished...I do have a problem understanding, why some one says....I must use skinny nibs....because I don't have the ability to write larger.

 

We all have the ability to write larger or smaller.

But I believe we all have a tendency to write in what is our usual size.

 

And then it all depends on how you're writing and what's the purpose.

 

Regarding papers, I, for instance, don't get the chance of writing in the paper I choose. Depending on the place I am working and depending on what exactly I am writing, I have to use the paper, form, whatever, exists in that institution for that purpose. It's quite different from a writer that chooses the paper he likes, or a student that can choose his notebooks.

And I will write faster in my usual size. I'd bet if I'd try to write in a different size it would take longer. And usually at work I have to write fast... no time to waste at all. One of the reasons I write with fountain pens is because they allow me to write faster and in a less tiring way than using ballpens.

Edited February 24, 2011 by MikeF

[professionaldilettante]

Some times it's out of necessity. I need to take a lot of notes, and ink sometimes is inconveniently far away and writing space is at a premium. I'd rather write with a fine fountain pen, than a ball point by any day. I have tried some thicker lined pens, and I do like them. I just can't see how I can incorporate them into my daily use, so out of practicality, I resort to fines. However, I find that they aren't that bad, and allow you to be just as expressive with them.

[ConnallMac]

When I first got into fountain pens I wanted broad nibs; the wider, the better. As I began using them at work and filling out forms it was too hard to write legibly and stay in the spaces on the form. So I began trying finer and finer nibs. I really began to gain an appreciation for finer nibs. They help make my writing a lot more legible and can show plenty of shading with the right ink. Now if I can just convince Richard Binder to try and grind me a 0.2mm stub!

[ethernautrix]

I don't think about other nib sizes. I like what I like, and if my tastes vary, then I look around for what might work (and usually find it), but I don't... what? disrespect? other nib sizes. What a notion!

[Rafal]

I like fine nibs but they have to be wet. There are a few great fine nibs and a lot of mediocre ones. The best fine nibs I've seen were vintage Sheaffer pens and they put down a very decisive, rich coloured line. They are also very smooth without being teflon-like. 80% of my pens have fine nibs. I find them most practical.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Many use only skinny lined paper and poor paper that bleeds through and feathers with what ever ink they are using so they are forced to go to EF and F.

 

In that I never had, a problem writing large, medium or small as I wished...I do have a problem understanding, why some one says....I must use skinny nibs....because I don't have the ability to write larger.

 

I have some EF nibs and once in a while I'll use them. Than god it was a Geha 790 OEF with the reserve tank...it was empty. I used it more than suspected.

 

Wider lines on better paper might help.

 

I default to writing with tall, thin, narrowly spaced letters on whatever paper I'm using - lined or unlined, good or bad quality. Broad nibs in that style are an unreadable block of ink, and if I make my writing larger it looks childish and with no character.

 

I could, of course, teach myself to write differently. But as I like how EFs write and feel, and do like my writing when I take a bit of time over it, I'll stick to using my few wider nibs for titles and headings and such like

[ethernautrix]

Okay. What I meant is that it isn't an obsession; it's just what works.

[Ghost Plane]

I'd rather run my fingernails down a chalkboard than write with F or XF nibs. Personal preference. I figure the more of those people focus on, the more broader nibs out there for me!

[Surnia]

XF really helps when you try to do chemistry notes. Ever try to draw and differentiate electron pushing arrows vs. radical arrows with a medium/broad? =p

[ethernautrix]

I use broad nibs to mark the contents of moving boxes and to send packages by USPS. They have their uses.