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Hi, I currently have two Parker 75 pens, and I love them. I am thinking of buying a factory-italic nib to use in them (or perhaps another 75 that has a factory italic nib). My handwriting is rather small, so I am conscious that I won’t be able to use an italic nib if its width is as broad as that of e.g. the ‘fine’ italic nib in the Vector ‘Calligraphy’ set. I expect that only a 75 ‘FI’ or ‘MI’ nib will be narrow enough to suit my cramped handwriting. As replacement 75 nibs are no longer made, they are not cheap. I don’t want to spend a lot of money to buy one, only to then find that it is too wide for me to be able to write with it. So, I would like to ask the FPN ‘Hive Mind’ for any information that you can let me have about these nibs. I don’t expect anyone to be able to measure the nibs’ widths, and then tell me that a ‘Fine Italic’ 75 nib is e.g. 0.34mm wide, or that a ‘Medium Italic’ 75 nib is 0.45mm wide, but I would be very grateful to receive any guidance that you can offer to me. So, would you say that the 75 ‘FI’ nib is ground to a similar width as a ‘normal’ 75 ‘F’ nib? Or perhaps that its grind would be nearer to - or wider than - that of a ‘normal’ 75 ‘M’ nib? Is a 75 ‘MI’ nib ground as wide as the ‘fine’ italic nib in a Vector calligraphy set? Or is it considerably narrower? Can anyone perhaps show me pictures of cross-hatching #### that they have drawn with their ‘FI’ or ‘MI’ nib, alongside comparison cross-hatches that they have drawn with a ‘normal’ 75 ‘F’ or ‘M’ nib, or the ‘normal’ ‘M’ nib of any modern Parker, or the ‘fine’ nib from a Vector ‘calligraphy’ set? My thanks to you in advance! Slàinte, M.

I currently have a pelikan M800 medium nib using Montblanc permanent blue ink and are very pleased with the results, especially the line width. I'm aware that European nib widths are slightly wider than American ones, so should I go with the medium nib or a broad nib for the Conklin? I wouldn't like to go any thinner line wise than at present, and I find Montblanc flows better than Noodlers Wardens ink, so any suggestions, medium or broad nib ?

Hi, I have, regrettably, allowed what ought to be a simple and concise request to turn in to another of my trademarked Screeds I apologise to you all in advance. I have a request for your help, dear reader, in the form of information from those of you who are Carène owners. I am thinking of buying a Carène - both because it is a Thing of Beauty, and because I have read lots of praise of them on here from people who already own them. I already know that their nibs are stiff, and have read about the need to return a couple of drops of ink to the bottle when using a converter, and to NOT let my fingers wander down on to the edges of the inlaid nib. I have also read about how to adjust the interior brass collar so that the ‘stern end’ of the pen's barrel lines up at the correct rotational angle when screwing the barrel back on after re-filling. I also know about the pen's huge feed/ink collector, and that it is very hard to disassemble for cleaning, and so to never fill it with e.g. iron gall inks, or ‘high-maintenance’ inks, or inks with shimmer particles, or any remaining vintage supplies of the fast-drying ink that was developed for the original Parker "51" (some say that this ink was the inspiration for the blood of the ‘Alien’ in the Ridley Scott film...). I also know that the above intellectual knowledge isn't enough, and that I really ought to feel one in my hand to check its size, mass, weight, and balance before I ‘just buy one’, but... ...doing that would require me to travel Some Way in order to see one ‘in the flesh’. On England's overcrowded roads. To a city that I have never previously visited, let alone driven or parked in. On a weekend Now, even though I am willing (keen) to do so, doing it wouldn't tell me everything that I need to know before I place my order - because the only store that I can find anywhere near me that stocks the Carène ONLY has them with ‘Medium’ nibs. I.e. I won't be able to try out different nibs for width, wetness, smoothness, etc. (Additional info: Personally, I would feel bad if I were to go to the store just to try one in my hand, because the chain doesn't stock the pen in the finish that I want anyway. I suppose that I could ask whether they could order it, but knowing how Corporate chains tend to operate here, I would be surprised if the staff in any store (including the manager) is allowed the freedom to do so.) I do know that, should I decide that I don't like the width of the nib that I order, I can simply send it back to the vendor for replacement, but I would far rather 'get it right first time' if at all possible. So: I would be very grateful if some of you would post photos that show samples of your writing with Carènes of different nib widths. My own preference is for nibs that run fairly narrow, so I would like in particular to see samples written with Carènes with EF, F, or M nibs - but other potential future purchasers would presumably appreciate samples written with the B or Stub nibs, or with any of the obliques that can be had. Ideally, in order that I can evaluate the appearance of the writing accurately, I would like to remove as many of the variable factors as possible from the samples, so I would like to see pictures of writing samples made using some of the ‘commonly-owned’ inks & paper that I already own myself. So, I would like you to please post pictures of writing samples that conform to the following formats: I would like to see samples that have been written on one or more of the following types of paper: lined Rhodia paper (whether from No.13 pads, No. 18 pads, or Webnotebooks, or some other 90gsm Rhodia paper, but with the distance between ruled lines indicated), or, as I am in the UK;a sheet from a ‘WH Smith’ Wide-Ruled Refill Pad, or;‘Basildon Bond’ paper (but this would also need the poster to add in some pencil-ruled lines and indicate their separation).I have named those papers because I already have an idea of their particular tendencies to show things like shading, line-spread, feathering, bleedthrough, etc. Of course, it might prove to be useful for non-UK residents if some of you were to post samples written on papers that are commonly owned in other countries, but I freely admit to having a selfish desire to see samples written on those particular papers As for ink, please use: Waterman ‘Serenity Blue’ or ‘Havana Brown’, or;Parker Quink ‘Blue’ or even ‘Washable Blue’, or;Pelikan 4001 Black or Violet, or;Noodler's Black, or (if anyone has them);Pelikan Edlestein ‘Tanzanite’ or ‘Topaz’.Again, I am familiar with those inks, and they seem likely to be safe to put in to a Carène. I would also be grateful for any other advice culled from your experience of owning the pen - things such as: Do you find that a particular nib width tends to ‘write wet’ or ‘write dry’? Does ink tend to feather or show/bleed through from certain nib widths? Are there any inks that have given you problems in your Carène? Are there any inks that have made the experience of writing with the Carène especially delightful? Will posting the cap cause scratches on the lacquer of the barrel? My thanks in advance for your help. Cheers, M.

On my recent trip to Japan I was able to play with fountain pen tester displays by Platinum and Pilot with pre-filled pens and supplied paper. Upon returning, I had been meaning to make a comparison with some Western nibs and generic writing implements. Unfortunately I only have a Sailor EF nib at the moment, but will soon get a Sailor 14K music nib to add to the comparison. These were scanned at 600DPI for more detail, so the images are pretty large if you zoom in on them. Not sure if this post should go here or to Regional Focus -> Japan - Asia. First, the spliced comparison table (courtesy of Photoshop) using scanned sheets: And these are the individual sheets, scanned at identical size setting, from which this comparison was made:

Hello guys, after years of writing with my Pelikan M600 I am proud to have become part of the elusive MB-community. Because there is no MB-rep in my region, I have ordered myself a 149 with a medium nib and a 146 F-nib (both in new condition) from a reputable dealer. http://i.imgur.com/rsiUvmy.jpg?1 As you can see both pens write in a very similar manner. I was told and read multiple times that a 149 F-nib may write as wide as a 146 M-nib. Strangely, it now is the other way round. I feel that the 146 writes too wide, not vice versa. Do you think this is due to a too broad nib or a too generous ink flow? Should I change the nib with another F-nib or would you advise me on switching to EF? Kind regards, VanWolff

I own a beautiful Pilot/ Namiki "Capless" Vanishing Point pen- it's a Decimo, which is slightly slimmer and lighter than the regular VP pens, but takes the same nib- and I LOVE it. I have heard that the nibs for these pens are not well standardized. A few weeks after getting my pen, I broke the nib and had to replace it (rather a costly accident, but nevertheless). The nib size of my pen was, and is, a Fine; but I notice the new nib does not write quite as fine a 'Fine' line as the previous, original nib did. I liked the thinner line (didn't want to go to "Extra Fine", because I thought an EF nib might be too delicate- requires a light hand,) Is there a way I can have the nib adjusted? Would it cost as much, or nearly, as buying a whole new nib again? Any thoughts? thanks! - M

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls - I'm trying to identify the nib thickness for this burgundy "51." At first I thought it was a wet, wet medium nib, but I'm starting to wonder if it might actually be broader than the average medium. Rhodia paper, with a fine on the right. Any help or insight would be much appreciated!

I've been fortunate enough(hopefully) to pick up a 147 is visually good condition for somewhat a reasonable price off eBay. I'm finding it hard to determine what type of nib its using, I usually use a Lamy 2000 and it writes as thick as the Lamy in an M, I'd assume therefore its a B nib, however the tip is very "square". Also the nib has a very narrow angle of writing, turn it slightly and it stops, however it does work upside down. Not sure if this helps, but it appears to be a pre-97 model as theres no pix under the clip but has a ID number (unless of course I've been had and its fake lol)