Trying to Find My "Goldilocks" Nib Size

[Peony Blush]

I'be been trying out several nibs on various pens, and I'm having trouble finding "the One". When I write with a rollerball gel pen (gasp!), I prefer a .07 mm nib. I found a handy little chart on the Pen Chalet web site that gives the various fountain pens and their sizes the equivalent mm size. What an eye opener! I knew a "fine" for example, could vary between manufacturers, but I had no idea it was so much. https://www.penchalet.com/nib_tipping_sizes.aspx

 

My question is that since the gel pen .07 and the fountain pen .07 clearly use different types of inks, would they produce similar line widths? I'm thinking the .07 fountain pen would be a broader line since the ink has the opportunity to spread a little, unlike a gel pen. Any thoughts? 

[Sailor Kenshin]

The type of paper and ink is also a biiig factor in how wide a line will look.  And two of the same brand pens with the same size nib and same ink can also produce different line widths.

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

5 hours ago, Peony Blush said:

My question is that since the gel pen .07 and the fountain pen .07 clearly use different types of inks,

 

Not even different brands of gel ink ballpoint pens with the same nominal width can be reliably counted on to produce the exact same line width on the same sheet of paper, in my experience, never mind comparing that against various brands of fountain pens (and which brand specifies a .07 for its nib width, anyway?) using an unspecified and non-uniform choice of ink.

 

Just to be clear, nothing Jetpens, Goulet, Pen Chalet, etc. say in a chart can be considered authoritative or overriding what the individual manufacturer does or does not specify for that brand's products, even if the consumer thinks such charts make for a handy reference especially across different brands at a glance.

[Peony Blush]

I haven't given too much thought to the viscosity of the individual fountain pen ink other than it would vary greatly from rollerball gel. Any resource that gives a general idea of what to look for in the wetness or dryness of inks would be appreciated.

 

I understand there no two pens, sizes, manufacturers, etc. that are alike. I'm trying to hone my limited knowledge by getting a vague idea of what's available. Specifically, getting something that approximates what I'm already comfortable with. Up to this point, I've always chosen a fine nib and used them with a handful of different inks, and it's not working for me.

 

I've played with switching nibs on a Kaweco Sport. Fine is too fine, medium might as well be a fine, and broad is too wide. This is what I've found with my other pens:

• Conklin Duragraph marked as fine that writes like a medium
• Waterman Phileas fine that writes like a fine
• Monteverde Ritma fine that writes like a fine
• Two Osmiroid Copperplate Easy-Change pens (circa 1980-1990), one with a soft fine, the other with a soft medium, that came with an array of calligraphy nibs that I haven't explored much yet. I've had a problem with them skipping, regardless of the nib. 

The papers I've tried so far are:

• Mnemosyne, 
• Itoya ProFolio Oasis
• Moleskine
• Leuchtturm1917
• Mediovalis
• Crane 100% cotton 32# 
• An assortment of Crane blank flat and folded note cards
• Any no-name paper that happens to by lying around 

I haven't found one in particular that blows my socks off, but I do have to find something that works with the Crane as it's personalized.

 

Inks:

• Kaweco
• Waterman
• Sailor Kiwaguro
• Pilot Iroshizuku

So basically, I'm left with spending hundreds of dollars on a crapshoot?

[A Smug Dill]

56 minutes ago, Peony Blush said:

So basically, I'm left with spending hundreds of dollars on a crapshoot?

 

Quite so, if the central idea behind your buying and trying different oranges is to replicate the experience of eating an apple. Even then, it doesn't mean what you bought are lemons.

[Sailor Kenshin]

@Peony Blush, try looking at Mountain of Ink for those kinds of ink specs.  And check LizEF's extra-fine nib and ink reviews, right here in the Ink Review sub-forum.

 

Whatever ink colors appeal to you, you might try buying samples before settling on a whole bottle.

[Penguincollector]

@Peony Blush, have you thought about going to see/sending your pen to a nibmeister? I have had great experiences in getting too broad nibs ground into the just right size and type of nib for me. I think there’s a pen show in Ohio yearly, but it may have already happened. There are also some options like corresponding with a shop that grinds pens that they sell or your own pen. It sounds like you need something between medium and broad (at least in terms of your Kaweco). I tend to use Kirk Speer at Pen Realm, but there are several people that do this type of work all over the country and folks here that are from your area may know of someone localish to you. 

 

  Crane 100% cotton can feather with fountain pen inks, so for that particular paper I use iron gall or very dry inks and a smaller nib. Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black is an inexpensive, beautiful one. Rohrer & Klingner also has some nice iron gall inks that aren’t too expensive. For dry inks, I like Herbin for both color variety and general ease of use.

[Mark from Yorkshire]

As @A Smug Dill said the nominal width is exactly that nominal, the pen, paper and ink will all have a bearing on the line width. That and also no two nibs are the same even from the same manufacturer 

[Peony Blush]

4 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 try looking at Mountain of Ink for those kinds of ink specs.  And check LizEF's extra-fine nib and ink reviews, right here in the Ink Review sub-forum.

 

Whatever ink colors appeal to you, you might try buying samples before settling on a whole bottle.

 

Thank you - that's a helpful suggestion. I'll check it out.

 

Edited September 3 by Peony Blush

[Peony Blush]

4 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

have you thought about going to see/sending your pen to a nibmeister? I have had great experiences in getting too broad nibs ground into the just right size and type of nib for me. I think there’s a pen show in Ohio yearly, but it may have already happened. There are also some options like corresponding with a shop that grinds pens that they sell or your own pen. It sounds like you need something between medium and broad (at least in terms of your Kaweco). I tend to use Kirk Speer at Pen Realm, but there are several people that do this type of work all over the country and folks here that are from your area may know of someone localish to you. 

 

  Crane 100% cotton can feather with fountain pen inks, so for that particular paper I use iron gall or very dry inks and a smaller nib. Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black is an inexpensive, beautiful one. Rohrer & Klingner also has some nice iron gall inks that aren’t too expensive. For dry inks, I like Herbin for both color variety and general ease of use.

 

Just yesterday I ordered a Platinum #3776 Celluloid pen in Calico, broad nib with cursive italic grind from Dan at The Nibsmith. I had considered Brian Gray at the Edison Pen company here in Ohio, but Dan had what I was looking for.

 

Thank you for the ink suggestion on the Crane paper - I will surely try them.

 

The Ohio pen show is in October, so you haven't missed it yet.  https://theohiopenshow.com/registration-%26-admission

 

https://www.galenleather.com/blogs/news/nibmeisters

 

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. There is quite a bit here to help me find what I'm looking for.

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

@Peony Blush, if you skip to the end of this video you'll see the difference paper makes with ink color and nib.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EgveujAwdRc

 

...sorry, can't seem to paste the video into this reply...

[inkstainedruth]

On 9/3/2024 at 4:21 PM, Peony Blush said:

The Ohio pen show is in October, so you haven't missed it yet.  https://theohiopenshow.com/registration-%26-admission

 

Thanks for the heads up!  I was just thinking a day or two ago that I should see about when OPS is this year so I can get reservations and also hotel reservations (I was a bit bemused that there are ALREADY ads for the Baltimore/Washington Show and that's not till the spring!) -- I try to find less expensive places in the area so I have more money to spend at the show itself....  

OPS is the "close" show for me (about 3-1/2 drive from Pittsburgh).  Big enough that the odds are good that there will be enough repair people for me to patronize, and that I'll maybe find some gem of a pen that I absolutely MUST have....  But not so big that it's overwhelming (my first pen show was DCSS in the old site and I was completely overwhelmed -- and it didn't help that I was driving down there on zero sleep, after flying back early from visiting friends in the Pacific Northwest after going to a family wedding outside of Seattle).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth