Fine Or Medium Nib?

[Blazing]

Hello,

 

I've recently been looking online and decided that I'll be buying an Italix Parson's Essential from Amazon [MrPens have delivery which I'm not willing to pay for]. I'll be using this pen for school work as an all-rounder along with my Faber Castell Loom [M nib]. There could be a bit of alternating with the pens in different subjects, and I'll probably use the Italix Parson's Essential for more longer writing sessions due to the screw cap.

 

Right now, I'm siding more towards the medium nib because I think that it compliments my handwriting more. I've liked my Pilot MR but the grip is just too narrow [even for my tiny hands]. I've been using this Pilot MR for my finer writing, so I'm not sure but I think that might have changed my view about fine nibs to be more negative.

 

Thank you.

[The Blue Knight]

I always find it hard to decide too. As on one hand a medium nib generally feels smoother due to the larger point however I find fine nibs produces more legible hand writing. I'm happy with a true medium but I don't like pens with a M/B nib. My advice would be to try read lots of reviews and find out how medium the pen actually is and decide from that. Like with the M200 that I will probably order in the next I have chosen to go for a fine as I have read the nibs tend to write broader.

[Blazing]

I always find it hard to decide too. As on one hand a medium nib generally feels smoother due to the larger point however I find fine nibs produces more legible hand writing. I'm happy with a true medium but I don't like pens with a M/B nib. My advice would be to try read lots of reviews and find out how medium the pen actually is and decide from that. Like with the M200 that I will probably order in the next I have chosen to go for a fine as I have read the nibs tend to write broader.

Thank you. By fine/medium nib, I'm talking about Western Fine/Medium here, so I'm still not sure.

[sotto2]

I started out really liking fine or extra fine nibs, particularly if they were soft or flexy. I still like them. However, I realized I like to change inks pretty often. So now I'm switching my nib preferences to broad or even double-broad. A music nib has been even better lately. I understand many FP enthusiasts eventually find themselves making this transition, so I think you should think a little about actually getting the broadest nib you can find and just saving yourself some time and money.

Edited May 24, 2014 by sotto2

[Bo Bo Olson]

"""I have read the nibs tend to write broader."""

 

Isn't it the pits when no one says which pen it is broader than...other than Japanese....

Lamy is "broader"....MB is "broader"

 

Well Aurora is narrower...near as narrow as those fat Sailor nibs.

 

No one says which pen they are using as a standard for being 'broader'.

I have charts that show Parker wider than Sheaffer wider than Pelikan...

Then I've seen Parker and Sheaffer as narrower than Pelikan....so odd.

out of date charts from when Pelikan made 'true' regular flex nibs...I guess.

 

But what irks me...is some one taking a myth with out backing it with a fact of "I have xxx*** in F and it is skinnier than Pelikan.

Waterman makes two nib sets...one just as wide as Pelikan, the other skinnier...except in EF where Pelikan is narrower.

 

***Not counting mis-marked Japanese nibs...whom everyone knows is 1/2 to 1 full size narrower than marked on their nibs.

[Blazing]

I started out really liking fine or extra fine nibs, particularly if they were soft or flexy. I still like them. However, I realized I like to change inks pretty often. So now I'm switching my nib preferences to broad or even double-broad. A music nib has been even better lately. I understand many FP enthusiasts eventually find themselves making this transition, so I think you should think a little about actually getting the broadest nib you can find and just saving yourself some time and money.

Broader than a medium nib is not an option at all, I have to use paper and work books that the school provides and the broader nibs won't be able to do very well for me with these types of paper.

[risingsun]

I have always tended toward fine to extra fine western nibs if they are a standard tipping, but some of my favorite nibs I own are modified/ground mediums. I have bought medium nibbed pens with the specific intent of having the nib ground to a cursive italic.

[Runnin_Ute]

I like/have a nice mixture of widths in my roughly 12 pens - from EF to 1.1 mm italic. Different tools for different uses.

 

Pelikan: EF, F, M, M

Parker: M, F(?)/M(?) (unsure of size)

Esterbrook: EF, F, F (2 extra nibs)

Lamy: 1.1 mm, F (extra nib)

Noodler's: B, stock flex nib (extra nib)

Pilot: M

Waterman: M

True Writer: F

[KBeezie]

Western (Faber-Castell, Monteverde, Jowo/Goulet Nibs, etc) Fine is usually the largest I'd like to go for most stuff, for stuff like note taking I'm more of a Japanese Fine in terms of preference (my MontBlanc 225 is more of a Japanese fine/extra-fine).

 

I will on occasion go larger, like a 1.5mm Goulet stub with R&K Salix to address envelopes and such.

 

But in the end my preference is somewhere between a Japanese Extra-fine to a Medium (Western XXF -> F).

 

Favorite Nib for Western Fine : Faber-Castell on my BASIC, probably the smoothest fine I have. (everyday wise I probably would like the EF size)

Favorite Western Extra-Fine / Japanese Fine : Goulet Extra-Fine 2-tone or the Pilot Metropolitan's Medium

Favorite in the Western XXF/Japanese Fine : Montblanc 225 with what was listed as a 'fine' nib, very smooth, but no line variations at all (firm but soft feeling)

 

Only thing I have finer than that would be a Platinum PTL-5000 with an extra-fine (jpn) or a Sheaffer Touchdown Admiral with a Feathertouch Accounting nib, but that's pretty much my limit, a little *too* fine for my taste.

 

I do have a couple 'medium' (w) but I don't use them much such as on my Snorkel Admiral and Jinhao 159 (goulet Medium), about everything else is either a large stub or it's Fine(w) and smaller.

[sgage]

I find the Lamy Fine nib is just right for my usage. It's not really fine by Japanese standards, I take it, but it works for me. I just like to write with it. My Parker 45 has a Medium nib, which behaves very differently with different inks. With some inks it just pukes ink all over the place. With Parker's own "SuperQuink" (my last cartridge- purchased in the late 70's), it is very well behaved.

 

So, as always in this business, there is no single best answer. It depends on the different definitions that manufacturers seem to have for 'fine', 'medium', etc. Also the ink you're going to use, the paper, and your application - keeping a journal? Writing letters? Sketching.

[Blazing]

I find the Lamy Fine nib is just right for my usage. It's not really fine by Japanese standards, I take it, but it works for me. I just like to write with it. My Parker 45 has a Medium nib, which behaves very differently with different inks. With some inks it just pukes ink all over the place. With Parker's own "SuperQuink" (my last cartridge- purchased in the late 70's), it is very well behaved.

 

So, as always in this business, there is no single best answer. It depends on the different definitions that manufacturers seem to have for 'fine', 'medium', etc. Also the ink you're going to use, the paper, and your application - keeping a journal? Writing letters? Sketching.

I've already stated that it will be an Italix Parson's Essential, which has a German [Western] nib. I will be using it on cheap school paper for all round writing, maths, notes etc with Pelikan Brilliant Black and/or Lamy Blue.

[tinct]

If you write small, go with a fine nib. If you space letters out or make nice round loops, go with a medium nib.

 

My cramped handwriting becomes illegible in medium, so I like fine nibs.

[KBeezie]

I find the Lamy Fine nib is just right for my usage. It's not really fine by Japanese standards, I take it, but it works for me.

 

Lamy's not Fine by western standard either (In between a Western F and M).

[sgage]

 

Lamy's not Fine by western standard either (In between a Western F and M).

 

I reckon that's why I like it so much - hits kind of a sweet spot for me.

[KBeezie]

 

I reckon that's why I like it so much - hits kind of a sweet spot for me.

 

I think there's enough people who like M-F(W) that they actually call it a Finium nib. (or however it's spelled). I wonder if Lamy did that on purpose.

[discopig]

I swear Lamy just makes a bunch of unmarked nibs and randomly writes EF/F/M/B on them. I absolutely cannot tell any difference between Lamy's F or M nibs, and the EF looks like a fat F or M to me. Their M also looks like a B.

[sgage]

 

I think there's enough people who like M-F(W) that they actually call it a Finium nib. (or however it's spelled). I wonder if Lamy did that on purpose.

 

Could be! Make mine Finium ;-)

[sgage]

I swear Lamy just makes a bunch of unmarked nibs and randomly writes EF/F/M/B on them. I absolutely cannot tell any difference between Lamy's F or M nibs, and the EF looks like a fat F or M to me. Their M also looks like a B.

 

Sort of like how, at the gas station, you have Regular, Premium, etc., but all the pumps pull from one big tank underground ;-)

 

I have 2 Lamy 'F' nibs - the one that came on my Safari, and the one that came on my Al-Star, and to me they seem identical.

Edited May 24, 2014 by sgage

[risingsun]

Re: Lamy nibs

 

Some are perfect, and others need some tuning to make them write like the letter on the nib. But I find that all of them can be made to write superbly with a little effort. I think they are great nibs, and the ease of switching is truly a great selling point with their pens. None are Japanese EF's, but I have several that I would say are a true western EF, and if I flip them over, I can usually coax a Japanese EF line if I need it.

Edited May 24, 2014 by risingsun

[KBeezie]

Re: Lamy nibs

 

Some are perfect, and others need some tuning to make them write like the letter on the nib. But I find that all of them can be made to write superbly with a little effort. I think they are great nibs, and the ease of switching is truly a great selling point with their pens. None are Japanese EF's, but I have several that I would say are a true western EF, and if I flip them over, I can usually coax a Japanese EF line if I need it.

 

It's one of the reasons I don't have a Lamy right now because not even their EF is close to a Japanese F, and based on Nib Nook, it's fatter than a Jowo EF, so counts their entire selection outside of the range of my preference (plus I'm not a fan of the 3-way grip shape). I do imagine that there are re-grinded lamy nibs out there especially if you can actually buy a 14K Gold 2-tone Lamy nib.

 

It's probably something I'd look into if I had a preference for medium/broad and if they switched to using a rounded grip/section.