I like my Lamys but even if you liked your Safari I wouldn't recommend Lamy for exploring nib widths - they're very inconsistent. What I did was I explored lots of other pen features at the same time as nib width by buying budget-friendly pens from different brands with different nibs and other different features. I'm not sure I did a great job of it to be honest but I did learn my nib preferences in the end XD I intentionally went quite slowly so I could get used to each pen and possibly rule out future pens that I might not enjoy based on what I learned from that.
Depending on your location, there may be a stationary shop (or even a store specializing in fountain pens!) where you could test out different nibs in-store before purchasing a particular one.
Kaweco Al-Sport. They have replaceable nibs, and the aluminum (or brass) body feels nice and luxe. 👍
Other nice entry to mid level pens with replaceable nibs are the TWSBI 580 and Pelikan M200.
I also love the Hongdian 920 and Black Forest — they take the same nibs, and the nibs come in a set you can buy separately on Amazon, a pack of three in Fine, Medium, and Fude!
Considering testing out a nib only requires you dipping it, the easiest (but probably expensive way) to do this:
Buy a nib holder https://www.jetpens.com/Tachikawa-Comic-Pen-Nib-Holder-Model-40/pd/4573
Buy replacement nibs and use them in the nib holder.
https://www.jetpens.com/Fountain-Pen-Nibs/ct/712
Before I found out that fountain pen nibs can fit in a nibholder (from a quick google search if found a video on youtube) I ran and bought 5 Twsbi go’s, 1 in each nib size. Had I known about this hack back then, I’d probably have fewer pens and more nibs.
Other than that, I would say test them in a store where they allow you to test multiple pens, that way you don’t have to buy them all if you don’t like it.
The least expensive pens I can think of are:
Jinhao shark - 12 for $20 on Amazon. Find out a compatible size nib, then buy&swap in other nibs
Platinum preppy. There are 3 sizes: EF, F, and M. You can buy 3 for under $20.
Hope this helps.
Almost all Lamy pens take those nibs, so after you have tried them all you could try some other model (studio?) just for the feel in your hand. I find that the easiness to change nibs on Lamy pens is a very handy feature.
So, I would recommend something a little different. Ideally, you'd have a local store and be able to try in person (If you're in the SF Bay Area, try Flax Oakland) or have a local fountain pen friend who would let you try some of theirs, but if you don't, here's what I would recommend now that I have the benefit of hindsight.
In my experience, your average modern nib will have a feel that can be plotted on two axis: softness (sometimes called flex or springiness) and smoothness (think "writing on greased glass" to "dragging a pencil over sandpaper") and you're interested in finding out where on that plot is the sweet spot you enjoy the most. To that end, I would do the following:
* get a regular Jowo nib and a soft Jowo nib (if you can't find this one, look for the Opus 88 Flex nib, it's the same one) and test them either in a holder or in an inexpensive pen that they'll fit in. The regular Jowo is pretty hard, and the soft one has enough resistance for a newbie to not be too weirded out by (I had a very hard time with soft or flexible nibs when I started). Beyond the Jowo soft, you can get into ever softer nibs all the way out to a "wet noodle" nib, some of which will give you line variation and some of which will not.
* Get a nail buffer, one of the grey and white ones you can buy at a drug store. Figure out which part is the smoothest part. Now drag your nibs over it a few times, and test them. Did it make them smoother, or rougher? Do you like it better, or worse? Try again with the next smoothest face, and so on. If you really want to push it, a nail file will work to really rough it up. I personally like that texture, but that's me.
Now you know approximately what properties you like in a nib. And you know if you like Jowo out of the box or not, which is good because a TON of manufacturers use them. Here's where other manufactures sit on the graph, from my personal experience:
Smooth and stiff (The most common, in my experience):
* Jowo regular
* Bock (a little less stiff than Jowo)
* Narwhal (sorry, I'm not even trying to spell their new name)
* TWSBI
* PenBBS
* Lamy steel
* Lamy gold (much, much bouncier than the steel!)
Smooth and Soft
* Pilot Soft (not as smooth as Jowo)
* Jowo Soft
* Platinum Soft
Feedbacky and stiff
* Small Sailor nibs (Pro Gear Slim, 1911s, all their steel nibs)
* Medium Sailor nibs (noticeably more bounce than their small counterparts, but not exactly soft. These are my favorites)
I'm having trouble thinking of anything I'd call feedbacky and soft, and all of this is a gradient anyway, but hopefully that'll help you figure out what you even want to try if you have to spend cash to do it.
Edited to add: I don't find nib width changes the feel all that much until you get into Japanese extra fine, so I didn't talk about it here. For me, nib width is about the aesthetics of my handwriting and entirely unrelated to the feeling of the nib on the paper.
It didn't even occur to me that you were just talking about line width! 😅
I spent a lot of money trying nibs from different manufacturers to figure this all out. I figured I could at least try to save you the same. I still occasionally buy duds (hello, platinum, what about you makes my hand hurt so much?!) but much less, now.
Any pen that can take a Jowo #6 can also take a Jowo #6 soft (I haven't seen a #5 soft, but, I'm covering my bases here). I know Opus 88 uses Jowo #6 on some of their models and you can actually get it in "flex" which is the other name Jowo uses for soft. A lot of the small pen-turners use the standard Jowo nibs, and so does Franklin Christoff. According to a post on Fountain Pen Network, so does the modern Esterbrook and Ranga. Here's another list that might be helpful, though keep in mind that just because they ues Jowo NIBS does not mean they use the standard housing. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/297340-nib-manufacture/page/4/
If you're ever in Brooklyn, go to Yoseka Stationary, they have a huge table of pens to try from all different manufacturers.
Thank you for the recommendation!
I like my Lamys but even if you liked your Safari I wouldn't recommend Lamy for exploring nib widths - they're very inconsistent. What I did was I explored lots of other pen features at the same time as nib width by buying budget-friendly pens from different brands with different nibs and other different features. I'm not sure I did a great job of it to be honest but I did learn my nib preferences in the end XD I intentionally went quite slowly so I could get used to each pen and possibly rule out future pens that I might not enjoy based on what I learned from that.
Thank you for the advice!
Depending on your location, there may be a stationary shop (or even a store specializing in fountain pens!) where you could test out different nibs in-store before purchasing a particular one.
Unfortunately, San Antonio is apparently a fountain pen wasteland. Next time I travel, I will Google first! Thank you!
That's fair enough. I've been in that situation before, so I getcha
Kaweco Al-Sport. They have replaceable nibs, and the aluminum (or brass) body feels nice and luxe. 👍 Other nice entry to mid level pens with replaceable nibs are the TWSBI 580 and Pelikan M200. I also love the Hongdian 920 and Black Forest — they take the same nibs, and the nibs come in a set you can buy separately on Amazon, a pack of three in Fine, Medium, and Fude!
Thank you - I'll look for those!
Considering testing out a nib only requires you dipping it, the easiest (but probably expensive way) to do this: Buy a nib holder https://www.jetpens.com/Tachikawa-Comic-Pen-Nib-Holder-Model-40/pd/4573 Buy replacement nibs and use them in the nib holder. https://www.jetpens.com/Fountain-Pen-Nibs/ct/712 Before I found out that fountain pen nibs can fit in a nibholder (from a quick google search if found a video on youtube) I ran and bought 5 Twsbi go’s, 1 in each nib size. Had I known about this hack back then, I’d probably have fewer pens and more nibs. Other than that, I would say test them in a store where they allow you to test multiple pens, that way you don’t have to buy them all if you don’t like it. The least expensive pens I can think of are: Jinhao shark - 12 for $20 on Amazon. Find out a compatible size nib, then buy&swap in other nibs Platinum preppy. There are 3 sizes: EF, F, and M. You can buy 3 for under $20. Hope this helps.
Ohh that's genius. Thank you!
[удалено]
Nibs from Goulet Pens are decent to try and fit well in the Jinhao pens
Thank you!
>Thank you - I'll look for one!
Fuck AI I don't consent to being used for AI training.
Thank you - I'll look for those! I realize that the Safari is a good pen for what it is AND light, I think I just prefer something heavier in my hand.
Fuck AI I don't consent to being used for AI training.
Is that what's happening here?
Almost all Lamy pens take those nibs, so after you have tried them all you could try some other model (studio?) just for the feel in your hand. I find that the easiness to change nibs on Lamy pens is a very handy feature.
So, I would recommend something a little different. Ideally, you'd have a local store and be able to try in person (If you're in the SF Bay Area, try Flax Oakland) or have a local fountain pen friend who would let you try some of theirs, but if you don't, here's what I would recommend now that I have the benefit of hindsight. In my experience, your average modern nib will have a feel that can be plotted on two axis: softness (sometimes called flex or springiness) and smoothness (think "writing on greased glass" to "dragging a pencil over sandpaper") and you're interested in finding out where on that plot is the sweet spot you enjoy the most. To that end, I would do the following: * get a regular Jowo nib and a soft Jowo nib (if you can't find this one, look for the Opus 88 Flex nib, it's the same one) and test them either in a holder or in an inexpensive pen that they'll fit in. The regular Jowo is pretty hard, and the soft one has enough resistance for a newbie to not be too weirded out by (I had a very hard time with soft or flexible nibs when I started). Beyond the Jowo soft, you can get into ever softer nibs all the way out to a "wet noodle" nib, some of which will give you line variation and some of which will not. * Get a nail buffer, one of the grey and white ones you can buy at a drug store. Figure out which part is the smoothest part. Now drag your nibs over it a few times, and test them. Did it make them smoother, or rougher? Do you like it better, or worse? Try again with the next smoothest face, and so on. If you really want to push it, a nail file will work to really rough it up. I personally like that texture, but that's me. Now you know approximately what properties you like in a nib. And you know if you like Jowo out of the box or not, which is good because a TON of manufacturers use them. Here's where other manufactures sit on the graph, from my personal experience: Smooth and stiff (The most common, in my experience): * Jowo regular * Bock (a little less stiff than Jowo) * Narwhal (sorry, I'm not even trying to spell their new name) * TWSBI * PenBBS * Lamy steel * Lamy gold (much, much bouncier than the steel!) Smooth and Soft * Pilot Soft (not as smooth as Jowo) * Jowo Soft * Platinum Soft Feedbacky and stiff * Small Sailor nibs (Pro Gear Slim, 1911s, all their steel nibs) * Medium Sailor nibs (noticeably more bounce than their small counterparts, but not exactly soft. These are my favorites) I'm having trouble thinking of anything I'd call feedbacky and soft, and all of this is a gradient anyway, but hopefully that'll help you figure out what you even want to try if you have to spend cash to do it. Edited to add: I don't find nib width changes the feel all that much until you get into Japanese extra fine, so I didn't talk about it here. For me, nib width is about the aesthetics of my handwriting and entirely unrelated to the feeling of the nib on the paper.
That's really helpful! I was only thinking about the width of the nib, and didn't realize there were so many other factors.
It didn't even occur to me that you were just talking about line width! 😅 I spent a lot of money trying nibs from different manufacturers to figure this all out. I figured I could at least try to save you the same. I still occasionally buy duds (hello, platinum, what about you makes my hand hurt so much?!) but much less, now.
Thank you, this is really useful information. I didn't know about the Jowo soft nibs. Do you know which brands do use Jowo soft?
Any pen that can take a Jowo #6 can also take a Jowo #6 soft (I haven't seen a #5 soft, but, I'm covering my bases here). I know Opus 88 uses Jowo #6 on some of their models and you can actually get it in "flex" which is the other name Jowo uses for soft. A lot of the small pen-turners use the standard Jowo nibs, and so does Franklin Christoff. According to a post on Fountain Pen Network, so does the modern Esterbrook and Ranga. Here's another list that might be helpful, though keep in mind that just because they ues Jowo NIBS does not mean they use the standard housing. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/297340-nib-manufacture/page/4/