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Nib Sizes


dcohenafp

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To the more experienced FP enthusiasts. What is the most preferred nib size for average office chores, like signing checks, initialing /approving paperwork, journals, making short notes and todo's?

<p>New FP Enthusiast. MB 146M, Pelikan M605F, Lamy 2000M, Lamy VistaF, TWISBIM

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For me, it depends on what I am doing. When I sign a letter at the office, typically fine or medium. Notes will be anything from EF to 1.1 italic.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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Thanks. The only problem with Fine is signing Checks.

<p>New FP Enthusiast. MB 146M, Pelikan M605F, Lamy 2000M, Lamy VistaF, TWISBIM

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You are going to have four pens before you turn around. You can get a spread of widths or not.

 

My advice EF nail...there are very good Japanese F nibbed pens which is a EF in Western you can get cheaply. It's best on cheap paper.....just remember a Japanese nib because of the tiny printed script is a size smaller than western made for cursive writing....on the whole.

There is a lot to read about each company having it's very own standard and slop/tolerance with in that standard.

Don't get AR about which nib is or is not narrowest or narrower and so on. When robots alone make nibs you can worry about exactness. Right now there is variance.

Very narrow, narrow, medium and wider will all vary all the time. It is quite natural for a one nib to be marked F and be F-EF or F-M. That goes for all widths with in that company. The next company has a slightly wider or narrower standard.

Get use to the face you will have lots of 1/2 sizes. You can not compare a Parker to a Waterman or a fat Sailor or skinny Pilot nib. Every company has it's own standard.

If you buy pens from only one company....not done since the Home Computer did away with the green screen, you will still have slop/tolerance.

 

Regular flex....vintage or '90's regular flex pens ... no modern semi-nail ones, in F& M a most underrated nib. Here on this com. I'd picked up a prejudice against it, that got broken the first time I tried a shading ink in M. Both F&M can give good shading depending on the ink.

 

 

 

 

A B nail would be next....vintage is narrower by half a width, making it a writing pen and not a fat blobby modern signature nib.

 

You need the supersaturated inks for your EF....shading inks can be used for the rest.

 

Stay away from ink jet paper....IMO you need 90g laser paper for your scribbling. 80g is not good enough.

Buy good to better paper every time you have bought three new inks. Soon you will have an assortment of papers.

 

Writing is 1/3 nib width and flex, 1/3 paper and 1/3 ink; in that order.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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I find that my Lamy F, skips when signing checks. I sign fast and the ink miss's some of the turns.

<p>New FP Enthusiast. MB 146M, Pelikan M605F, Lamy 2000M, Lamy VistaF, TWISBIM

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For signing contracts, personnel actions, etc., I use either a stub or italic. For the other tasks I keep another pen with either a fine or medium nib close by

Thomas
Baton Rouge, LA
(tbickiii)

Check out my ebay pen listings
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I find that my Lamy F, skips when signing checks. I sign fast and the ink miss's some of the turns.

 

In that case, get the nib serviced. The problem is not nib width but ink flow.

 

My Website

 

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Why would fine be a problem related to signing checks?

I use either F or EF, depending on what I'm carrying. My handwriting is small enough that anything wider tends to blotch. And I've had no problems with this practice, even doing online deposits.

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I use whatever has ink that i think would look nice. When no one objected to me using Scabiosa for timesheets I started using whatever was handy. Since I use broad and stub nibs mostly that's what I use.

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Thanks for your help.

<p>New FP Enthusiast. MB 146M, Pelikan M605F, Lamy 2000M, Lamy VistaF, TWISBIM

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Hi,

A line width of about 0.6mm seems to suit most of my basic needs.

I write with a rather large hand, so that line width seems proportionate, hence supports readability. (IIRC there's a formula that can be useful for estimating the proportion of line width to the size of one's writing.)

A 0.6 line width can be a bit large for marginalia, editing and dealing with poorly designed forms, including cheques. In such instances I most often use the pen with the nib inverted to give a much more narrow line. As I use blank sheets, when I've been issued lined paper, (especially field notebooks), I choose to ignore the lines rather than write at lower speed or revert to drawing rather than writing.

In addition, some ink+pen+paper combos can cause variation of line-width, with the most unfortunate being line-width gain (spread) and degraded line quality, usually on cheap & nasty paper from a pen with a high flow rate. Sometimes that risk alone is enough to motivate some practitioners to choose a nib somewhat more narrow than would otherwise be preferred.

As mentioned by Member Bo Bo Olson, there is considerable variation in line-width from nibs that have the same designation / grade / size. Even though I agree with the likelihood that "You are going to have four pens before you turn around" the same Parker pen with an M nib has been my daily writer for years, and I rarely carry more than one FP.

Bye,
S1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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What nib size is that in western style nibs?

<p>New FP Enthusiast. MB 146M, Pelikan M605F, Lamy 2000M, Lamy VistaF, TWISBIM

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For general writing such as for work or school, finer nibs will cause the least problems and be more versatile. For personal use such as journaling, to do/grocery lists, etc. anything goes. For work and school you need to consider legibility and poor paper while with personal use you control all the variables.

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How about the Japanese nibs?

<p>New FP Enthusiast. MB 146M, Pelikan M605F, Lamy 2000M, Lamy VistaF, TWISBIM

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From what I've seen, "personal writing" tends to favor M and other larger nibs (owing probably to the often smoother feel vs the scratchier feel of F/XF nibs). If you're going for comfort and smoothness, and you're journalling/writing letters/etc., you control the variables (like legume said, you're choosing the paper).

 

For personal writing, I like a M (I don't usually write big enough for a B to be legible) nib. I just got a Parker Vector in M, and I'm digging the line width. I've been using a Pilot Metro in M, which is a bit finer, but it's nice and smooth.

 

For marking student papers, I lean towards finer nibs. The paper quality is extremely variable when I'm marking up different students' loose leaf, and workbook, etc. pages are always pulpy newsprint-like paper.

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First off, as was mentioned, a nib size (XF,F,M,B ) is only valid for comparison within a brand. And even that could change if the company decides to change the size scale, as a couple companies have done.

So you cannot simply compare a Lamy F to a Pilot F or a Parker F. You really need to know the width of the tip, which is sometimes very hard to find. I resorted to measuring my tips with a dial caliper. Here is an objective example.

A Lamy F, an old Parker M, a Pilot M all measure at approx. 0.028 inch wide.

 

As for nib selection, it also depends on what I am writing on.

For college ruled paper, I normally use an old Parker F (= Lamy XF), the max I would use is an old Parker M (= Lamy F).

For wide ruled paper, I use an old Parker M (=Lamy F) and if I had one, maybe a B.

 

As for signatures, it depends on how much space you have, and how big and long your signature is.

- For small boxes, I use an old Parker F (= Lamy XF)

- For large boxes or open space, I use an old Parker M (= Lamy F), or a B if you have enough space.

 

For special letters and Christmas cards, I used a Lamy 1.1 italic nib.

These are unlined, so I am not constrained by lines.

 

And your Lamy F nib needs to be adjusted. Sometimes the Lamy nibs do not perform properly. I have one that is a hard writer, and I have to PRESS to get any ink flow. The other 3 Lamy F nibs write just fine.

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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