XF Nibs

[jdboucher]

Can XF nibs be smooth? I'm worried that getting one would make the writing experience not as good when compared with a medium.

[OldGriz]

Can XF nibs be smooth? I'm worried that getting one would make the writing experience not as good when compared with a medium.

 

Yes they can, especially when you purchase a pen from Richard Binder who tunes them to write as they should...

However, a lot depends on the manufacturer of the pen, new or vintage...

I have an Argentine Parker 61 that has what I would call an accountant nib (finer than a XF) that writes with the very slightest amount of tooth.

I also have a bunch of 51 with XF nibs that run from toothy to very smooth...

[Maria]

Dear jdboucher,

 

I have to agree, that any nib that Richard Binder touches, will be as smooth as a baby's bottom to write with. No snags and no issues; unless you get a Crisp Italic, which is sharp edged by it's nature and requires a 'spot on' use to write with. But, I have an xxxfp nib on two of my Pelikan fountain pens and are extremely smooth.

 

Although the attached chart is with full flexibility of the nib; as I do Spencerian/Copperplate like writing; the nib track you can see from fine, to xxfp by Richard Binder and the xxxfp by Richard Binder.

 

Just take a look at the skinny lines as being standard, non-flex 'track of ink' as you would write with.

 

Respectfully,

Maria

 

Can XF nibs be smooth? I'm worried that getting one would make the writing experience not as good when compared with a medium.

Edited December 2, 2008 by Maria

[officesupplygeek]

Well, I dont consider myself to have too much experience, so please take my feedback with a grain of salt.

 

I recently purchased a Lamy Studio w/an EF nib, and I feel like it writes VERY smoothly, but that is with having a limited number of things to compare to, and I have only written on two different types of paper with it.

[gyasko]

Richard Binder cannot change the laws of physics. The smaller the surface of the tip, the more pressure there will be on any one point on that nib. All things being equal, an xf is not going to be as smooth as a bigger nib.

[griffin2020]

All of the XFs and Japanese Fs that I have touched have had a bit of scratch to them. In fact, I have a Pilot Prera that I simply cannot use because it feels like I am going to rip the paper with it.

[techman]

You can get that amount of flex out of a standard falcon nib? That would make me think twice about the pen I want next.

[TMac]

I usually write with a fine point. I recently acquired a Lamy Studio EF. I absolutely love it. I was surprised at how smooth it glides across the paper.

[RayMan]

The only XF nibs I've used have been brand new of various brands, or vintage Esterbrooks. They have all been very pleasant to use. In fact, my XF Lamy Studio is downright smooth.

 

A good quality XF nib should definitely not be scratchy.

[RevAaron]

Yes, and with a Pilot FA nib. They're not as flexible as a lot of vintage nibs, but they're not unflexy altogether.

 

Again, we come down to the definition of smooth. A properly shaped and tuned XF nib will write very smoothly.

 

If I wanted an XF nib, I'd go vintage or Japanese.

 

[officesupplygeek]

Glad to see I am not the only one with the Lamy Studio XF that thinks it is very smooth.

[WillSW]

For about $125, you can get either a Sailor Sapporo XF, which I can say from personal experience is incredibly smooth, or a Binderized Pelikan M200 with any kind of extra fine or extra extra fine or extra extra extra fine or...you can guess, nib that, as people have attested countless times, will be as silky as you desire.

[OldGriz]

Richard Binder cannot change the laws of physics. The smaller the surface of the tip, the more pressure there will be on any one point on that nib. All things being equal, an xf is not going to be as smooth as a bigger nib.

 

No one is talking about changing the laws of physics, which in this case do not apply...

Until you have used one of Richard Binder's XF nibs, you might want to reconsider the statement made....

Obviously, if someone writes with a lot of pressure on the nib, a smaller surface will not be as smooth as a larger one...

HOWEVER, when using a fountain pen, you ARE NOT supposed to be putting a lot of pressure on the nib...

Also the smoothness of the surface of the nib is more important than the size of the nib...

I have had medium nibs that did not write as smooth as some of my XF nibs....

 

[Jersey Diabolo]

My Sailor F & XF nibs and Pilot F nibs were smooth right out of the box, as have been a number of my vintage U.S. made pens. Stating the obvious, the big change was adjusting my writing touch with FPs and one adjustment has been not writing with as much pressure, especially with XF nibs.

 

Flex nibs can tolerate controlled pressure to give that wonderful line variation. But less flexible XF nibs have responded best, in my experience, when I let the weight of the pen do most of the work. It also helps when I don't use an XF to write at break-neck speed; fast I can do, frantic I can't.

 

Experiment with these two factors. If pen isn't tuned well enough to perform in this way, get a repairer - who really knows what they are doing - to look at it for you.

[Venividivici]

The first fountain pen I ever got was a Cross (not sure what model) with an XF nib. It writes very smoothly. I also had a Lamy Safari that was either XF or F, and it was also very smooth.

[offbase]

Depends on the pen. "XF's" from Stipula and Omas write more like a Pelikan fine and are very smooth. Pelikan xf's can be scratchy (not due to the nib size, but to quality control issues). I have a Binder xxxf fine flex modified Pelikan nib that writes quite smoothly with Aurora Black, and with a bit of tooth with other inks. Mind you, that is a true XXXF nib. I would think that most people who get "scratchy" xf's either have a badly-tuned nib, or has one that is particularly narrow and doesn't have sufficient ink flow. which, of course, leads to that very point ... the heavier the flow, the smoother the writing experience but, the wider the line.

[Blade Runner]

Ink flow and paper are other considerations to XF smoothness.

[seres]

My Sailor F & XF nibs and Pilot F nibs were smooth right out of the box.....

That's been my experience. I have 3 Sailors, a F and 2 XF, and all were buttery smooth out of the box. I've also found the ink plays a part in smoothness; presently I'm using Waterman and Diamine, and both give a very smooth line.

[Rob G]

I had an Ultra Extra Fine point Platinum, which was unbelievably smooth; at least, it was until I went to cap the pen, and, not watching what I was doing, caught the point on the edge of the cap. Now it's about as smooth as a railroad spike.

 

There's a lesson there, somewhere.

 

Oh, well, as I said elsewhere, things could be worse.

[gyasko]

Physical laws apply.

 

If you compare two nibs in the same pen and whose undersides are finished properly and are adjusted in the same way -- by Richard Binder say -- the xf will not be as smooth. Even if the writer does not apply any pressure at all, the weight of the pen will create some, and that pressure will be higher for the nib with a smaller surface area. As a result, the nib will go further into the paper and encounter more resistance.

Edited December 3, 2008 by gyasko