Smoothest Writting Fountain Pen Under $100

[Davros]

Kara's Kustom Ink - every nib has been smooth as silk. Honorable mention to Goulet nibs and Jowo nib in a Gama pen.

[max dog]

Smooth is over rated. If you polish a $5 Jinhao nib it can be smooth as glass.

For under $100, my $25 Kaweco Sport is smooth, but more importantly it is responsive (ie springy such that I get good line variation from minor variances in pressure as I write).

Edited January 18, 2015 by max dog

[Moshe ben David]

Pilot Metro with the M nib.

Probably many of the other Japanese pens would also write SMOOTH.

 

Vintage pens can be a (bleep)-shoot. If you buy from a "good" restorer, you can rely on it being a good writer, if you tell him what you want first. Off eBay, it is the roll of the dice. Example, I have an Esterbrook that is a very smooth writer, but I also have one that is rather scratchy (worn nib).

 

Any other pen at about the $70 and below mark and send it to a nib meister. I don't know where you live, so this amount can go up/down, depending on shipping to/from the nib meister and what he would charge for the nib adjustment, to keep you under $100 total.

 

Comments about smoothness in writing.

• In general, the smoother you want the nib, the wider you want the nib to be; M rather than F. This is to spread the load of the pen on the paper over a larger area. Also the wider nib will glide over surface texture that the smaller nib will fall into.
• You also want the pen to be on the wet side, as the ink acts as a lubricant between the nib and the paper. But not too much ink, as that creates other problems such as feathering, bleed through and slow drying.
• You also want SMOOTH HARD paper. Paper makes a BIG difference.
• And YOU are the 4th variable. You need to write with a light touch. Pressing down increases friction which makes the pen write less smooth.

Some times the nib adjustment is easy, but if you do not know what you are doing, you can easily botch the adjustment and ruin the nib. There have been a few nibs that I gave up on and had an expert work on it for me. So...if you have no nib adjustment experience (which I am guessing you don't), best to send it to a nib meister:

- John Montishaw

- Mike Masuyama

- others

 

+1 well stated!

 

Additionally, I can add is that given the factors ac12 cites, I have found that the Pilot Metropolitan (MR) M nib and Pelikan 20x M nibs are very smooth writers. My Pelikan 20x was previously owned and I bought it for under $100. Some retailers (e.g., Fountain Pen Hospital and Fahrney's) may still be selling certain variants new for under $100. I'm not sure that everyone on FPN has had identical experience with Pelikans of late however. Pilot Metropolitans are frequently cited as very smooth writers.

[ink-syringe]

Just strictly smooth? Super glassy silky smooth?

 

Sailor Young Profit. $70. Steel Nib but greased lighting.

 

I have one in M, wet, with some slick ink in it and if you hit the sweet spot it just skates all over the page.

[ddyager]

Many excellent and useful comments above. I'll just add that I have been very pleased with some Easterbrook J pens I got recently. Very smooth, but still a feel of the paper that I found just right. They had been restored and tweaked by some very competent folks and still came in well under $100.

[SockAddict]

User-grade vintage fountain pens, restored by someone of reputation. (I'm saying it that way to omit 'random ebay seller who may or may not have replaced that sac.') These have been tweaked and tuned, and will almost without exception write very, very nicely. If you look at user-grade rather than collectable, you can easily get one or several for under $100.

[flipper_gv]

I've heard Faber Castell nibs are very smooth

 

Same here.

 

Their converters are really good too.

 

And like some people already said, vintage pens are the way to go if you want a gold nib.

Edited January 19, 2015 by flipper_gv

[Red Dragon]

I've heard Faber Castell nibs are very smooth

The steel nibs are real smooth, though, in my experience, I find that it's too smooth to use on Clairefontaine. There is a drag when I write...it's a terrible feeling. The nib glides on rougher paper though (the tip of the nib has a bigger ball than my safari which appears to grasp fiber from newspaper).

[studiohead]

As a nib worker which regularly works on certain nibs. I will say, look for a pilot pen for half the budget and send it to someone who can tune the nib to perfection. Would be my default response. Comparing the tipping material from Pilot, JOWO and Bock, you can squeeze the most from the Pilot more than JOWO and Bock. But really, the amount of time spend to finish or tune a nib makes all the difference, hence pens from Sailor (gold nibs) and Mont Blanc are very nice to write. Avoid the Sailor Steel nibs from Taiwan. Their QC is not as good as their gold nibs. The Young Profit is slight different.

 

Pens out of the box really depend on their nib manufacturers and what the pen manufacturers to do it. Even certain manufacturers have bad years like JOWO and Bock in 2013.

[Joe in Seattle]

+ 1

Levenger True Writer

Kaweco Sport

 

Both F nibs.

[gweimer1]

You can find Bexley pens being sold under $100 online, if you look.

[WirsPlm]

Pilot Metropolitan. I know you think I'm kidding but I'm really, really not, and if you want a super smooth F nib the Prera or 78G are also great bets.

Edited January 20, 2015 by WirsPlm

[beboy]

Pilot Metropolitan. I know you think I'm kidding but I'm really, really not, and if you want a super smooth F nib the Prera or 78G are also great bets.

I also love the smoothness of Pilot Metropolitan nib. On of the best in the price range below $25. The step however is a really big issue for me and I am unable to write with that pen for an extended period; so better try it and see how it feels in your hand before you buy it.

[Vinayj009]

It's not about being a smooth pen. Each nib is made differently. Buy a nice vintage pen that suits your hand and has tipping left on it and send the nib to a nibmeister.

[Drone]

For me, nib smoothness is not about money, I adjust and smooth my own nibs. For example, I have a lovely blue ripple Chinese-made Baoer pen that cost less than $5. After working on the Medium nib, it writes as smooth as any pen I own.

 

But to be fair, the cheap Baoer pen was pretty scratchy out of the box. But then again, I have received factory new pens worth hundreds of dollars that are also lousy writers straight out of the box.

[wikeh2004]

Almost any Japanese pen. Really. I think they're the most consistent and almost always have very smooth nibs. Make sure it's made in Japan.

[penviper]

Nakaya?? eyeing one of their Tamenuri...but above $100....

 

Just cant decide which nib or model to choose...

[Tresconik]

I'm not sure how much nib meisters charge, but it must be less than 100 no?

[penviper]

gotten the Noodlers Ahab with Goulet nibs, it is real smooth when it writes.

 

But I noticed that one of my Ahabs had a poor-starting problem with Goulet Medium nib installed. When u happened to invert the pen with ink filled, the next time I try to write, it would not write.. no ink would flow out from the nib. Each time, I had to struggle to a fair bit on paper before I could get the pen to start writing... any idea why and how do I resolve it? I had also flushed the pen thoroughly before inking.

 

Pls advise.

Edited February 6, 2015 by penviper

[markleewebb]

 

frankly, this is the only relevant post in the thread.

 

you can describe the smoothest nib in the abstract, which means that it has very little to do with the brand.

 

consider examples of very common pens that many people own both of; perhaps we can talk about the Lamy 2000 and the Pilot VP. Get 10 copies both pens in the same nib width (measured, not indicated), segment them into pairs and probably 7/10 times the Pilot will have less friction. But the other 3, it will be the Lamy. Which pen is smoother? Well, in the aggregate it's the pilot. But does that do you any good if you lost the nib grinding lotto? I have seen this very example play out on this forum.

 

fountain pen nibs are not terribly complicated. when you lose the grinding lotto with a knife or if you're really unlucky a camera lens or mechanical watch you are up the creek. but a nib? shim and align the tines, apply increasingly fine abrasives and then spend your money on paper and ink if smoothness is really your most important focus.

 

Yes +1000 on these comments.

 

You can't really judge the quality smoothness flow or "intuneness" of a pen you'll receive in the mail based on other people's experiences. I'm reading some of these postings and laughing out loud because I have some of these same pens recommended here and their nibs work like garbage.

 

My personal new pen-buying-process is now to forget buying what I consider "kit" pens as in bodies made in Asia, "German" nibs, assembled and sold by another party. It's all about the individual nib you're getting on you're pen. I'm looking at a half dozen pens I purchased over the last year that are less expensive (less than $100, most less than $50) that are virtually unusable because of the nibs. Bad flow is the #1 issue. Then skipping and scratchiness.

 

Best to pick a reliable big brand and spend a few bucks more buying it from someplace like nibs.com who tune and test the nibs of every pen sold. Or FPH that have a generous 30 day return policy. Colorado Pens the same as far as generous return policies. A few other retailers allow returns but charge fees if pen is inked, and some don't allow any return if pen is inked.

 

 

Having said all that, I'd maximize chances for a good nib by buying a Parker Sonnet or Waterman Expert. Sailor 1911M. Pelikan has an inexpensive c/c model now available. Some of the Pilot's too. All in $100 range. All with good nibs that give you a better opportunity to score a good performer. Buy them from nibs.com and they'll test and tune it before sending to you. Then if it still isn't working well it's an easy exchange return process. That's the best way to virtually guarantee a smooth writing nib with plenty of flow. There is a reason nibs.com doesn't carry every type of pen and not even every model of the manufacturers they do carry; they've chosen the best and most reliable pens to sell and then inspect tune and test them before shipping. This isn't a commercial for nibs.com or FPH or Colorado pens. It's just they have great return policies and nibs.com works on your nib before sending it to you. I'm a project manager and I'm all about identifying risks and managing risks, and buying a fountain pen has certain risks that can be managed if you stick with brands and models that are known performers and then buy from a retailer that allows 30 days returns, and if they also tune and test prior to shipment that's an added bonus.