Fine or Medium Nib

[Doc Schids]

Hello.

 

I am a novice fountain pen enthusiast with a nib dilemma.

 

I intend to obtain a MontBlanc Starwalker fountain pen in the next several weeks. While I am aware of the controversies surrounding MB pens in general, I'd like to leave that aside, as my question deals more with the nib and can be generalizable to all fountain pens.

 

What are the respective merits of a "fine" versus "medium" nib?

 

Are there relative advantages and disadvantages? Does anyone have any experience with the Starwalker series? Does a fine tip limit expressiveness? Does fine limit ink flow? For someone heavy-handed (such as myself), will the medium nib leave me in a sea of ink? Do these pens really "open up" with time? Does a "fine" nib make me less of a man (yes, I'm being somewhat facetious here)?

 

I would greatly appreciate any guidance on the subject.

 

-Doc Schids

[Daosus]

Small nibs are useful for writing small. Medium nibs are useful for writing..uh..medium.

 

A pen is a tool and it should suit your needs. I suggest going to the shop (assuming you are buying at a shop) and asking to try out one or seven. That way you can be sure the pen feels right in your hand, the nib is smooth, the size of the nib fits your writing, etc.

[myles]

Daosus probably has the best advice - head to a shop and ask if you can try a few different nib sizes.

However, I'm happy to give you some barely informed blathering.

 

If you are still rather new to fountain pens and still somewhat heavy-handed, my own experience suggests a medium nib will usually feel smoother on general paper, while finer nibs will tend to feel toothier as a heavier hand pushes them into the paper fibres. Some extra-fine-tip ballpoints and technical pens can produce a similar result.

 

On smoother papers the difference will be less noticeable, but on standard photocopy/printer paper you will probably notice the texture more with a fine nib until you learn to write with a lighter touch.

 

However, this is a generalisation and can also vary with the individual nib and the ink used - a smooth fine nib with a more lubricating ink can definitely write smoother than a toothier medium nib with a less lubricating ink.

 

Many people like the fine lines produced by a fine or extra-fine nib, but many also prefer the character and ink variation of a medium nib. In my limited experience, a medium nib will produce a thicker line than a typical ballpoint (if you use drawing markers, something like 0.5mm) although this varies between brands and even individual pens.

 

In my limited experience, medium nibs tend to write wetter than fine points, but this is again a generalisation and not universally true. Wetter writing pens will take a little longer to dry, particularly on small marks like quotation marks, colons, commas, etc, and at the end of strokes. However, this will again vary with the ink and the paper used.

Wetter nibs may also have more tendency for feathering and bleed-through on some paper, but will often also tend to write a little smoother with many inks.

Heavy-handed use will tend to leave a somewhat thicker and wetter line, particularly with a softer gold nib.

 

Personally I like medium nibs, and don't mind a slightly longer drying time - I find the luxuriant thicker line shows off the ink more including colour variation (shading) along a stroke. In my hands, even though I've learned to write lighter, a fine nib tends to produce a less interesting thinner and sometimes more angular line - I may as well use a ballpoint or technical marker. A medium nib in my hands produces a more interestingly textured line with rounder character, although it is less useful for finer lines or writing, which can be a problem in some closely ruled notebooks and forms with tiny spaces for text.

I can understand why some people prefer the bold width of a broad nib.

 

However, many people (male and female) like the delicate (or if you prefer, precise) thin lines of a fine or extra-fine nib, the faster drying times and the smooth feel achievable with a lighter hand on smoother paper, along with less of a tendency to bleed and feather.

 

You'd have to define expressiveness - both a dip pen and a fine sable brush can be expressive in the right hands, and so can both fine and medium nibs, although the scale or character of the expressiveness may be a little different..

 

It's a personal choice, which is one of the nice things about fountain pens.

 

I'm haven't heard about a nib "opening up" with time. I have heard about nibs getting smoother with use as microscopic snags and variations are worn away.

 

Regards, Myles.

[MissIveniv]

Hi,

 

If you're just starting to write with FPs (like I am), the most "delicate" you want to go might be 'fine'. Adapting to write with FP is my biggest struggle right now (compare to ballpoint and japanese gel pens that I am so used to writing with through the years). As said by Myles, the drying time is one of the factors (coz i always mess up the line above if i write too quickly).

 

If you're already used to writing with FP, then it's another story. I'd tend to say more solid lines gives better impression and character (unless one's writing very small and the whole piece of writing just become one clog of ink cloud. ...LOL)

 

Regards,

Vivien

 

[Shangas]

Hello.

 

I am a novice fountain pen enthusiast with a nib dilemma.

 

I intend to obtain a MontBlanc Starwalker fountain pen in the next several weeks. While I am aware of the controversies surrounding MB pens in general, I'd like to leave that aside, as my question deals more with the nib and can be generalizable to all fountain pens.

 

What are the respective merits of a "fine" versus "medium" nib?

 

Are there relative advantages and disadvantages? Does anyone have any experience with the Starwalker series? Does a fine tip limit expressiveness? Does fine limit ink flow? For someone heavy-handed (such as myself), will the medium nib leave me in a sea of ink? Do these pens really "open up" with time? Does a "fine" nib make me less of a man (yes, I'm being somewhat facetious here)?

 

I would greatly appreciate any guidance on the subject.

 

-Doc Schids

 

Good evening, doctor. First, forget about the Montblanc controversy and just enjoy the pens. I don't care about it, so neither should you. Don't let it bother you. I have never owned a Starwalker, but I do own a Montblanc fountain pen. A 145 Chopin.

 

In my experience (of which I gained a bit, while hunting for my coveted 145), I learnt that Montblanc nibs are wet and broadish. A fine MB nib might be equal to a medium in another penmaker's measurements.

 

As for the benefits or pros/cons, it's really up to you.

 

People with small and/or loopy handwriting (such as myself) prefer finer nibbed fountain pens. Fine nibs produce fine lines and use less ink. This is useful because different nib-sizes would cause the loops that we write to flood with ink and change instantly from pretty swirls to huge ugly blobs of black (or whatever other colour you're using in your inks).

 

Medium nibs provide a wider line, but use up more ink. I've found that Montblanc pens are very generous with the inkflow and that with a medium nib under daily use, you could be refilling that pen pretty often (as often as once every fortnight or three weeks).

 

Now, a fountain pen nib is not a (censored). Just because you use a fine nib does not make you 'any less of a man'. Forget about junk like that. You use what you are comfortable with and what works for you.

 

To conclude: The wider the nib, the more ink is used. This may mean that the pen writes wetter and runs out of ink faster. A wet nib has the benefit of being nice and smooth, as the ink lubricates the nib as you scribble along. A narrower nib might be a bit rougher (this may be dealt with with some nib-smoothing, best left to a professional) and may be a bit starved on the ink. They produce thinner lines and these will dry much faster, which is convenient. If the pen writes excessively dry (and skips at times), you may need to fix it. This can be as easy as cleaning the pen with cold water, a water & ammonia solution or tweaking the nib-tines further apart (again, best left to a pro, but this can be done yourself, if you're careful).

 

Hope this was helpful

 

[dvorak]

Wow, good advice here. In addition, here are some factors that come into play when I make personal decisions about pens for me...

 

I write small. I started out with a medium nib and it was a disaster... there was just this undetailed series of puddles on the paper when I tried it out for the first time. I tried writing larger, and it looked great - but biomechanically there was no way I could continue. I switched up to a fine nib, and was much happier. So think about your handwriting style, and let that be a large influence.

 

Different inks will give significantly different types of lines out of the same nib. I'd suggest trying different types of inks for fun, just to see how different inks look, differing dry times, propensity to feather, and so on. If you're not interesting in experimenting, pick a strong performer and go. But honestly, puttering about with different inks is a big part of the fun for me.

 

Brent

(who used to use a lot of MB Black ink, but has experimented his way to other inks since then...)

[Inkquest]

My handwriting size varies with the paper and purpose, as it would with most everyone (or so it would seem) so there should be a place in my writing for all different sizes of nibs - but for me, the typical medium rounded nibs sort of fall into the "dead zone"... they're too wide for most documents, paperwork I do, etc, but not wide enough to be interesting. I guess I like my lines skinny or fat but not average middle of the road. Perhaps I just enjoy playing both ends against the middle. :-)

 

Being "Heavy handed" is something that years of ballpoint use has bestowed upon your writing, and the more you use fountain pens, the more of a gliding, barely touching the paper with basically the pressure applied by gravity (not your hand) skill you will develop. It's relaxed and almost effortless... that's one of the great aspects of using a fountain pen - that virtually effortless glide. Of course, later when you become a calligraphy guru and are adeptly wielding your flexi nib with the accuracy of the Jedi Light Saber, you'll be applying controlled pressure, but not tension (or excessive force such as needed with a ball point). Being consistently heavy handed can also deform/warp the nib over time.

 

There's much good advice in the posts above and at the moment of truth only you can decide what you like or need (if you are going to use the pen most to fill in tiny boxes with letters on forms, then a Fine might be too wide). I agree with the tool analogy. While many of our pens are "toys" that we enjoy, at the most basic level they are indeed tools and one size will not all people or situations.

 

Lastly, don't merely choose a pen from a brand name or from solely the appearance. That particular pen might not fit your hand well and you'll have dropped a good bit of money for something that looks great but is also neither comfortable nor enjoyable for you. For example, with Montblancs.. I like 'em.. the 146 is a perfect size for me, and the Boheme is quite comfortable... but the Classigue is too skinny (I have a beautiful 144, burgundy/Vermeil cap that sits in a case and rarely used) and the 149/Diplomat is too fat. Go try a few different shapes and sizes to get a true feel for what is most comfortable for you. The Starwalker could be merely 'okay' while something else could be "MAN this is GREAT!!!"

 

Good luck with it and welcome to the wonderful world of fountain pens!

 

Dave

[beezaur]

What are the respective merits of a "fine" versus "medium" nib? . . .

 

A nib should match your purpose and your style. For me, F is about right for writing things for myself, although sometimes I would rather use an EF. I like M nibs better for signatures on typeset documents and the like.

 

Larger nibs will hide handwriting irregularities better. I practice my handwriting with the finest nib I have available for this reason.

 

My M nibs are generally used only for signatures and personal correspondence. I use F or EF nibs for writing in journals and notebooks, or for doing math.

 

Scott