What Nib Size

[danhere]

hello,

i am a new user at FPN. i just have begun to use low end pens, and i would like to know what nib is suitable for me. first of all, i want a line similear to 0.7 rollerball tips , and as i put a lot of pressure on my pen, i also want such a nib , that does not leave a mark behind the page/paper.

 

 

 

 

any advice ?

 

 

 

qwnm

 

[ehemem]

Vintage Sailor Trident. I think that is the only fountain pen that would suit your heavy hand.

[ac12]

A 0.7mm rollerball tip would be "about" a Lamy M or B nib. The 0.7mm rollerball that I used put down a rather wide ink line, to me. BUT, note that the actual ink line put down on the paper by both the rollerball and fountain pen is dependent on the pen/nib, the ink used, the paper, and you the writer, and they are interdependent.

 

Paper. A HARD surface paper will keep the ink in place, but an absorbent paper will spread the ink into the fibers and make the ink line wider than a HARD paper.

 

Ink. A dry ink will tend to not spread, but a wet ink will get into the paper fibers and spread. A very wet ink can spread significantly out.

 

Pen/nib. A wet pen, will put down more ink onto the paper. That extra ink could spread and make the ink line wider.

 

The interaction is, a wet pen with a wet ink on absorbent paper will have a very wide ink line compared to a dry pen with dry ink on hard paper.

 

You the writer. The harder you press the pen down, onto the paper, the more ink you will release from the pen. The more ink on the paper, the greater the chance of a wider ink line. My wife presses down on her pen, and with the same pen, her ink line is wider than my ink line.

And if you press down hard, you WILL leave a depression in the paper, from pressing down on the pen. If you do not want to leave a depression in the paper, you need to lighten up on your hand.

 

Note. Since you put a lot of pressure on your pen, you will need to do one of 2 things

1. Learn to lighten up on your hand. To not leave a depression and to not damage the nib of the pen. A fountain pen requires ZERO pressure from your hand, it will write under its own weight.
2. Find a pen with a STIFF nib that will not flex/bend under your pressure.
   Such as an Esterbrook with a manifold nib.

Pressing hard on a standard nib can/will damage the nib. There are nibs that will take a fair amount or pressure, but you need to look for the pens that have those types of nibs, which not all pens have.

Edited March 19, 2015 by ac12

[danhere]

A 0.7mm rollerball tip would be "about" a Lamy M or B nib. The 0.7mm rollerball that I used put down a rather wide ink line, to me. BUT, note that the actual ink line put down on the paper by both the rollerball and fountain pen is dependent on the pen/nib, the ink used, the paper, and you the writer, and they are interdependent.

 

Paper. A HARD surface paper will keep the ink in place, but an absorbent paper will spread the ink into the fibers and make the ink line wider than a HARD paper.

 

Ink. A dry ink will tend to not spread, but a wet ink will get into the paper fibers and spread. A very wet ink can spread significantly out.

 

Pen/nib. A wet pen, will put down more ink onto the paper. That extra ink could spread and make the ink line wider.

 

The interaction is, a wet pen with a wet ink on absorbent paper will have a very wide ink line compared to a dry pen with dry ink on hard paper.

 

You the writer. The harder you press the pen down, onto the paper, the more ink you will release from the pen. The more ink on the paper, the greater the chance of a wider ink line. My wife presses down on her pen, and with the same pen, her ink line is wider than my ink line.

And if you press down hard, you WILL leave a depression in the paper, from pressing down on the pen. If you do not want to leave a depression in the paper, you need to lighten up on your hand.

 

Note. Since you put a lot of pressure on your pen, you will need to do one of 2 things

1. Learn to lighten up on your hand. To not leave a depression and to not damage the nib of the pen. A fountain pen requires ZERO pressure from your hand, it will write under its own weight.
2. Find a pen with a STIFF nib that will not flex/bend under your pressure.

   Such as an Esterbrook with a manifold nib.

Pressing hard on a standard nib can/will damage the nib. There are nibs that will take a fair amount or pressure, but you need to look for the pens that have those types of nibs, which not all pens have.

i could do that.

btw, im thinking of buying a jinhao safari pen with medium tip . would that be equal to 0.7 ?

[jar]

Lighten up. Do not put pressure on fountain pens.

[vig2432]

i could do that.

btw, im thinking of buying a jinhao safari pen with medium tip . would that be equal to 0.7 ?

yes, slightly less than 0.7mm. Also, buy good quality paper as generally fountain pens would leave a thicker line due to the absorbent quality of paper

[tanalasta]

I agree. Lighten up and don't put too much pressure on a fountain pen!

 

If you are heavy handed, stay away from the Lamy steel nibs (e.g safari) - they are quite soft and can bend or misalign if abused.

 

Again, a light hand is how a fountain pen was designed to be used. In that sense, no nib should put a mark on the reverse onto paper. It may take some adjusting but I would adapting to the use of a fountain pen rather than having the fountain pen be adapted to you.

 

Would a Pilot disposable fountain pen work as a first example? At least if it doesn't work, you can throw it out!

 

A Lamy 2000 comes readily to mind as an affordable fountain pen with a nib that can take a relative amount of abuse. I suggest the 'M' for your requirements.

[danhere]

ok

i have tried to lower the pressure on the nib

......OK i can do that ....

can any one tell how to apply no pressure?

thank you if your giving advice

[ac12]

Hold the pen LIGHTLY in your hand.

Someone should be able to pull the pen out of your hand. If they can't, you are holding too tight.

Then you write by moving your hand and arm.

 

If you grip the pen TIGHT, you likely cannot control the downward pressure of the pen, because the finger/hand muscles are tightened, and you loose fine control of your hand.

 

If you write with your fingers, you will have some difficulty in lightening the pen pressure, because in order to write with your fingers, you end up holding the pen tight enough to control it to write.

 

You need to develop a feel of the pen with your fingers. Then you will be able to tell when you are pressing down or not.

 

As for no-pressure, you will feel that you are holding the pen UP, which in fact you are doing. This reduces the pressure on the nib, by countering the weight of the pen itself. In this scenario, the tip of the pen is barely touching the paper. This is more important for the guys using a pointed dip pen, as the sharp point can/will dig into the paper on the up-stroke if you don't hold the pen up.

[Sasha Royale]

Liquid ink flows to the paper on contact. It is neither necessary, nor desirable to

BEAR DOWN . A fountain pens is not a ball pen. Learn to use a fountain pen

correctly, practicing with the low-end pens. Then, choose your nib.

[jar]

ok

i have tried to lower the pressure on the nib

......OK i can do that ....

can any one tell how to apply no pressure?

thank you if your giving advice

 

Cradle the pen between the paper and the webbing of your thumb. Your fingers are there only to keep the nib from rotating. Write by moving your hand and your arm, not your fingers.

[Morphling27]

I agree, a Lamy with its basic steel nib is the best. The one I have is a beast, unmoving sucker. I still dislike Lamy's nibs overall, but it seems like it can take abuse.

 

The Pilot Varsity nibs are great I think, but much more springy than the Lamy. I've never sprung one, but I've handed a couple out and seen it happen to people. I told them light pressure, which is why they only got one.