Pens With The Most Interchangeability?

[Noangels]

I am new to the fountain pen world and was wondering what pens have the most interchangeability? Which pens can have the nibs and feeds swapped out? I would especially like to test different types of nibs so that I can find out what type works out best for me.

 

Coming from the rollerball world I am currently looking for something that is extra fine (my .38 G2 Pilot rollerball is still too thick of a line) and writes dry because I use cheap paper (for now).

 

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

Thanks

[zwack]

Vintage Esterbrooks with Renew point nibs... There are a Lot of Esterbrook nibs, plus some others like Osmiroid nibs that you can also use. (Over sixty are listed at http://www.esterbrook.net/nibs.shtml and that is only nibs he can verify as having actually been made)

 

For more modern pens, the Lamy Safari or Al-star are relatively cheap and have nibs ranging from EF to 1.9mm stub (seven nibs if I remember correctly) that you can swap on to the same feed.

Edited August 14, 2016 by zwack

[Bo Bo Olson]

Pelikan 200, is like all Pelikans with a screw in nib. The plain steel nibs (@ $27 ea) which are as good as the gold plated ($25-40) are a springy 'true' regular flex; what use to be on many pen companies pens in the '90's and before as regular issue.

There were of course nails and semi-nails also in and before that era.

Today a springy true regular flex is seldom to find.....I don't know anything about Japanese pens.

 

The modern gold nibs of the Pelikan 400/600 are fat, blobby and semi-nails, so Ham Fisted Ball Point Barbarians don't bend them so easy. That's why I keep saying, 'true' regular flex...in it's not so regular any more, but it was.

 

The 200/215's nibs are @ 1/2 a size narrower and lay a cleaner line.

 

Some folks coming over from nail-semi-nail think that the springy 'true' regular flex must be semi-flex...there is that much difference. They are not.

 

If you want the skinnest nibs you can find....and you seem too....don't worry about the Pelikan; even the 200....it's made for cursive writing...the miss marked one size small....in Japanese pens only became main stream in the late '90's and were made for tiny printed Japanese script.

So a Japanese F = EF in western. EF = XXF.

The narrower the nib the more scratchy it will be.

 

Those who start with Japanese pens always claim Pelikan is fat....modern is, the 200 is not. I who started with American and German nibs claim Japanese nibs are all too skinny for the marking.

Aurora is the skinnest eruo pen maker...but is not a twist out nib..as far as I know.

 

Pilot is the skinny Japanese nib, Sailor the fat one.

There is no reason to waste money buying a Pelikan 200 when you can get a good cheap Japanese beginner pens for some $10-12 or so. Metropolitan I believe is one of the names.

 

I don't live in the states or I'd bought a couple just for the hell of it.....even though I think EF in European or old American too narrow for me.

I how ever like shading inks which shade at European/old American F but not at EF.

 

You do need good to better paper, Laser 90g....to keep a nice narrow line....depends on if you use a wet or dry ink too. and how Heavy Handed you are. Better paper costs two cans of machine coke or two cups of Starbucks coffee more than 80g copy paper.

Do Not use Ink Jet Paper....it will feather and give you a big fat line.

 

For such skinny nibs as you say you want...you need vivid (boring ) supersaturated inks that are more maintenance intense to see the line well.

As I said, I like shading inks.

 

Do remember when you buy that pilot Metropolitan pen, it is miss marked one size too skinny.

 

The wider the nib the easier it is to write with...it's not so scratchy/you don't have to hold it so precisely...a Japanese M is a European F, so buy one of them too....a Japanese B is a European M. and M is slightly easier to write with than F.

 

I don't know if the Pilot nibs are nails, or semi-nails. or even 'true' regular flex....someone will tell you.

[ac12]

I think FP ink will spread wider than a roller ball.

If your rollerball at 0.38 is mm, that is a problem. The smallest I have is a Pilot XF at 0.38 mm, and that is pretty darn sharp.

The problem with a narrow/sharp nib is that it can snag and scratch on 'cheap' less than smooth paper. And personally, unless I have hard smooth paper, I hate writing with a nib this small. IOW you will have to use the more expensive papers for a nib this fine.

 

I don't know if my XF Esterbrooks are this small. I will have to go measure them.

Neither Lamy nor Pelikan has a nib this fine.

I think you will have to go with one of the Japanese brands, and I don't know if they have interchangeable nibs.

 

You can always have a nib meister grind a nib this small for you. But that will cost $$

[ehemem]

Vintage Esterbrooks with Renew point nibs... There are a Lot of Esterbrook nibs, plus some others like Osmiroid nibs that you can also use. (Over sixty are listed at http://www.esterbrook.net/nibs.shtml and that is only nibs he can verify as having actually been made)

 

For more modern pens, the Lamy Safari or Al-star are relatively cheap and have nibs ranging from EF to 1.9mm stub (seven nibs if I remember correctly) that you can swap on to the same feed.

 

 

Yep, what zwack, sez...

 

Both of those will give you the best bang for your buck. Some of the Esterbrook nibs are very fine and not too wet. The Safari nibs, on the other hand, are rather inconsistent: I have a Safari with an old fine nib that is like a Japanese fine, but I have some others that are more like a Japanese medium. That's been my experience with Safari nibs...

 

But I don't think you can go too far wrong with either of these choices.

 

If your line width is the most important thing to you, then I would steer you in the direction of Japanese made pens. But until you really know what you prefer, Esterbrook and Lamy Safari should be good enough to experiment with.

[zaddick]

Lamy is a good reliable and easy to find choice.

Edited August 14, 2016 by zaddick

[sandy101]

A good place to start is to buy a set of Pilot 78Gs. They are cheap & cheerful - so you can get a fine, medium and broad stub for very little money and usually come with a converter thrown in so you can use bottled ink too. You can usually get all three for less that £20.

 

If you want an alternative - the Platinum Preppy comes with an EF, F and M (you don't get a broad option).The EF writes with a 0.2mm line. These can be boight for £4 each, but will not last more than a couple of years.

 

If you want one pen - then Lamy probably has the cheapest interchangeable nib system.

[zwack]

 

If you want an alternative - the Platinum Preppy comes with an EF, F and M (you don't get a broad option).The EF writes with a 0.2mm line. These can be bought for £4 each, but will not last more than a couple of years.

 

If you buy an EF preppy and like it then you can buy a Platinum Plaisir which is effectively the same pen with a metal body and cap (The usual problem with the Preppy is the cap cracks apparently). The Plaisir is not available in EF but the sections are identical so you can swap a Preppy EF section in.

 

The comments about Japanese pens being finer are also true... But you asked about interchangeability not fineness of nibs. I would suggest that fountain pens are not like gel pens and you might find that you like the line variation that a stub gives you.

[Sandy1]

 

Hi,

 

While a pen such as the Noodler's Ahab allows one to affix a considerable array of nibs, yet if limited to narrow nibs I would reach for an Esterbrook J or SJ. The Easterbrook narrow nibs are very narrow - rivalling the narrow steel Japanese nibs.

 

Should your cost constraint allow, the Parker 75 has a vast array of gold alloy nibs; and as the nib+feed units bear a designation, the exact nib type can be determined.

> Our friends at Classic Fountain Pens have graciously provided us with a list @ http://www.nibs.com/Parker75NibVarieties.htm

 

As you are coming from the alien "rollerball world", kindly consider the 1nnn series of Estie Manifold nibs AND giving the Pilot Penmanship with an EF nib a fair go.

 

I used Estie nibs a fair bit in my Ink Reviews, so after savvy searching by entering the 4-numeral nib number, atrocious written examples may be revealed.

See also https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/282704-esterbrook-9450-extra-fine-nib-tines/?p=3242066

 

As for nib width, the scaled NIB-ism image included in the IRs might be useful. Many of my recent IRs include lines & labels from a Pilot Penmanship, so even more examples await.

 

Also, one needs to adapt to the lighter gravity of the FP world: FPs with narrow nibs are at their best when one writes with a light hand, and grasps their pen in a gentle manner. I suggest reading a bit of Topics that are returned using search terms such as 'death grip', 'tripod grip' and 'baby bird paste'.

 

Regarding inks, the Pilot Blue-Black remains one of my default suggests for a work horse ink. We can explore the iron-gall and nano-particle inks in due course.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited August 15, 2016 by Sandy1

[Arkanabar]

In addition to several inexpensive, entry level Pilots, with largely the same nibs and feeds across the line, such as Metropolitan (slim section, brass construction, snap cap), 78G (same slim section, plastic construction, screw cap), Kakuno (a kid's pen, with a hexagonal section and no clip), and Prera (slip cap), there is the disposable Pilot Varsity and the nearly disposable Platinum Preppy, available with nib widths as tiny as 0.2mm. Preppy nib/section units are interchangeable with those in the much tougher, aluminum-construction Platinum Plaisir, which is only sold with nibs of 0.3mm and 0.5mm width.

The ink and paper you use will both affect line width. For bad paper, I would use Noodler's Heart of Darkness, which uses a cellulose reactive dye, and is less prone to smudging than basic Noodler's Black. Others will suggest Rohrer and Klinger Salix and Scabiosa, both iron gall inks. As an IG ink dries, the tannoferrogallic acid, which is clear in solution, oxidizes into a dark grey, water-insoluble solid. If using an IG ink, it's best not to let it dry in the pen. Sandy's suggestion of Pilot blue-black, which has excellent fade and water resistance, is likely also good.

The chief advantage of using a fountain pen is that you can get it to write while holding it in a nearly slack grip. Practice doing so, while moving no muscles below your elbow; it will make the pen feel smoother and allow you to write for much longer periods.