What's The Least Scratchy Fine Point Nib You Know?

[mitto]

I don't have any F or even EF nibs that remain scratchy after coming in my hands. I tune them and they are as smooth as could be.

[Maurizio]

Thank you for all of your quick responses. Gave me some ideas. I should have mentioned that I already have a Pilot E95s in fine and a Pilot Metro fine. Both are unpleasant to write with. So, my first question is for Mitto. Sir can you tell me your smoothing secret? I do have some Mylar film and I could try some smoothing on the Metro before I even think about messing with the E95. I've read that a few figure 8s on the Mylar may be enough. Can you share some of your method and technique?

 

I like the idea of a Lamy Safari ( I have a Safari in medium and it's a reliable writer) and a Platinum Balance and may try one of those. Can anyone comment on their Pilot Custom 74 with a fine nib? I have a medium which I like but, based on my disappointment with the fine nibs on my Metro and my E95, I'm not sure I want to take that chance unless I hear from some that their 74 fine nib is a nice smooth writer.

[newkid12]

My Parker 51 Special from 1950 has the smoothest fine nib I ever used.

[Cordovian]

I take a lot of notes at work too (and cram a lot of info on one page). The smoothest F and EF nibs I've found have been Delta's Fusion nibs. I don't think the gold piece has anything to do with it but I do think they have better QC on the Fusion nibs.

[Orthostylos]

I recently acquired a Platinum Preppy 0.2 mm, and was very impressed with the thinness of the line width, because I also take copious notes and want to fit a lot of info on a page and annotate other documents.

 

Though the nib was not "scratchy", I adjusted the nib a bit and with a few figure eights on micromesh, the nib is now almost super smooth.

[TheRealMikeDr]

Visconti Homo Sapiens. Hands Down no contest.

 

That said - it's smooooooooooth because it's wet. So you lose some of the fine-ness (writes more like a western fine) of the line going down on the paper. But boy is it nice.

[Proto]

Smoothest fine I've used is my Vanishing Point in fine, without a doubt.

[Arkanabar]

I've been quite pleased with the smoothness of my Jinhao 992. It was kind of dry when it was PIFfed to me, but SBRE Brown's instant wetness increase has helped. It's an ink miser, and I'm trying to write it dry, so it's been my only pen for a week or so, except for an occasional use of a Hero 616 (which is currently also rather smooth).

 

Seriously, all my other pens are in the cleaning queue.

[ENewton]

My Parker 51 Special from 1950 has the smoothest fine nib I ever used.

 

I have mostly fine-nibbed pens. Of those, my two Parker 51s are the smoothest.

[eachan]

My fine Vanishing Point is very smooth.

[fphilipp]

My fine Vanishing Point is very smooth.

I agree 100%. The fine on the Pilot VP is both smooth and (very) fine. Highly recommended.

(edited for spelling)

Edited September 8, 2017 by fphilipp

[goodpens]

I have a F nib from a super-inexpensive Pilot 78g that is amazing. It fits into a Metropolitan, where I'm currently using it, though it is made from a different metal than the current Metropolitan nibs. It is gold/bronze in color, rather than silver color.

 

The F Pilot Vanishing Point nib is great, too, as is the XF nib in my TWSBI mini.

 

Edited to add: I don't use this pen enough, but my Parker 51 F nib is really amazing. Everything about that pen really is fantastic and it is obvious why it is such a classic.

Edited September 8, 2017 by goodpens

[Sasha Royale]

I am not a fan of extra-fine nibs, but I have two, that are quite smooth : Montblanc 144 EF nib, and

Bexley Corona with an "Accountant" nib. To be fair, I write with a relatively light touch, so nibs don't get "scratchy".

[FPRebel]

.... but SBRE Brown's instant wetness increase has helped...

I have a few pens that could benefit; will you please elaborate?

Google was not my friend for this one.

 

[senzen]

My smoothest "fine" are a Sailor H-M, Sonnet steel F (with Verdigris), Man 100 F (seems to like some papers more than others). Guessing from my EF, I'd say a Faber Castell F should be very smooth.

Edited September 8, 2017 by pseudo88

[inkstainedruth]

I have a lot of vintage pens, and the preponderance of those have F or F-ish nibs. I love my 51s and Vacs; and at the moment I've got an old Sheaffer Balance Oversize inked up, which I think might be an F (it originally belonged to my husband's grandfather). For modern pens, I have a Pelikan M405 with an EF nib (European nibs tend to run a little wider than Japanese ones) and it's a doozy. For less expensive (way less ) I've been very happy with the F nib on the Safari and would definitely consider an EF were I to get another one.

I did NOT particularly like the F nib on a Pilot Metropolitan I tried -- I thought it was scratchy -- so for that I ended up buying a medium.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[sandy101]

Waterman carene comes with a lovely fine nib that's not scratchy.

[dogpoet]

Waterman do some smooth fine nibs generally, I've found.

I think the smoothest western fine nib I have is in my Rotring 700. In my experience Rotrings generally have smooth nibs, so a 600 or even a Core (if you can get those in a fine) might do just as well.

[dcwaites]

Of the pens I own, these Fine points are the smoothest -

 

1970s Parker 75 F (gold)

1980s Parker 45 F (s/steel)

2015 Parker Urban F (s/steel)

Blackstone Axiom F (s/steel)

Pilot DPN-200 F (gold-plated s/steel)

Pilot Waverley (gold)

 

I would mention my Jinhaos, but they all tend to be Medium.

 

These were all perfectly smooth out of the box

 

I have many other nibs that are now perfectly smooth, but I have had to work on them, including Pilots, Platinum 3776s, Sailors.

 

Some will say that Mont Blanc nibs are all very smooth, but I believe that many of them are over-polished to achieve this, and many have excessive baby-bottom. This is ok, so long as you are using soft paper, but as soon as you use a hard, smooth paper like the Japanese papers, they tend to skip.

 

You need just a tiny amount of baby-bottom to give you a smooth nib. If there is none, the nib will be scratchy. If there is too much, the nib will skip.

[displacermoose]

+1 for the Pilot Metro/Prera/Kakuno. They all use the same nibs and are splendid writers. Just find the one that fits your hand the best and go to town.