What’s in a nib? A fountain pen nib guide

Getting into fountain pens and confused by all the nib choices? Let’s take a closer look at what makes a fountain pen nib fun and interesting!

One of the big considerations when buying a fountain pen is the nib. They come in many shapes, sizes, and materials. Some pens allow for the nibs to be easily swapped, some don’t. Some are scratchy and some glide like an ice skater. The nib is one of the biggest influences on how your writing will look. Come with me, and we’ll explore some of the basics of choosing a fountain pen nib.

Fountain pen nib sizes

The first thing many of us will look at when buying a new pen is the nib sizing. The most common offerings are “EF”-extra fine, “F”- fine, “M”- Medium, “B”- broad, and “BB”-double broad. Generally speaking, nibs in these sizes will be a comfortable place to start. The tips of these nibs are made so that you get a nice, consistent line width relative to the size of the nib.

Quick tip (lol, nib pun): Nicer Japanese pens will often have a smaller nib than a western pen of the same size. My Procyon fine nib writes a much thinner line than my Preppy and Majohn fine nibs do.

When considering what size nib to go with, ask yourself what you want from this pen. Do you want a smooth experience and normally write with 0.7mm gel pens? You’d probably like a medium or broad fountain pen nib. More of a fineliner or needlepoint pen kind of person? Do you typically write really small? Check out extra fines and/or Japanese fines. Are you super excited to see some awesome sheen, shading, and shimmer inks in your journal? Bigger nibs will show those inks off best!

A note on numbered nib sizes

You may come across some pens that mention nib sizes in numbers. For example, my Jinhao Tiandao pen has a #8 medium nib and my Noodler’s pens use a #6 sized nib. These numbers reference a standard that refers to how large the entire nib is. The ef, f, m, etc., is a reference to the tipping size of the nib. The number size of the nib doesn’t have much bearing on how the ink looks on paper.

Specialized fountain pen nibs

If line variation and a bit of calligraphy-style flair is more your speed, consider some of these options. The flexible nib has been surging in popularity lately, and for good reason. It’s so much fun! As a lefty, I’ve had to teach myself to change my writing style completely in order to use one, but I’m enjoying the process. These fountain pen nibs can really show off a cool ink. They also add so much old-school cool to your writing. I’ve got a long way to go to becoming proficient with one, but I’m thoroughly enjoying the ride.

For a simpler way to get some extra pizazz into your handwriting, the stub nib is a great choice. While you do need to pay attention to getting it angled properly, it doesn’t force an entirely different way of writing. As you can see from my sample above, the stub fountain pen nibs stand out from the standard sizes well. They’re also generally great for showing off some nice shading inks. The Lamy nib is also quite a smooth writer.

Less common nibs

Those two styles of nib are what I see commonly available on many pens today. Beyond these, there are so many more options! The architect nib is often what I think of as a sideways stub. It produces a thick line where a stub is thin and vice versa. I’ve yet to get my hands on one, but they look like a blast.

There are music nibs, originally designed to assist composers with writing sheet music by hand. There are oblique nibs, italic nibs, cursive nibs, left-handed nibs, and the list goes on. I don’t have the experience yet to get too far into these, but my advice is to look for writing samples if one of these specialist fountain pen nibs peaks your curiosity.

Characteristics of different sized nibs

Besides different line widths, fountain pen nib sizes also have distinctly different characteristics when writing. Generally speaking, an extra fine nib will have more feedback (or a tendency to feel more “scratchy”) than a medium or broad nib. Stub nibs can be quite smooth if they are a bit rounded like the Lamy, or if they’re more knife-edged like my DIY Noodler’s stub, they can feel a bit more scratchy. If a smooth, glassy feel is important, it’s hard to go wrong with a good medium or broad nib.

When it comes to using flashy inks, larger nibs tend to show them off better. They’re laying down larger lines, which often means more ink. If you’re after some shade, sheen, and shimmer, bigger is often better. That’s not to say you can’t get some of that with finer nibs. You can see some shading in my Procyon sample above, and it’s the finest nib I own. However, if you compare that to the big stubs or even the Tiandao medium, you can see what I mean.

Quick note: There are exceptions to these, of course. A wet writing pen with a smaller nib may show off ink as well as a dry writing pen with a bigger nib. Many variables can influence these characteristics.

It’s a wonderful world of fountain pen nibs

In the end, choosing the right fountain pen nib is a pretty personal choice. It seems many people prefer either smaller or larger nibs. I’m enjoying trying them all! I’ve found that I like using my pens with different inks and nib sizes for different purposes, even though they all see journal duty at some point or another. Pairing up a good ink, nib, and pen is a huge part of the fun with fountain pens. I encourage everyone to experiment with what they can and enjoy the process.

If you’re a beginner to the world of fountain pens, what nib size do you think you’ll try first? If you’ve got some already and have read this far, I’m curious to know what your favorite nib is as well. Leave me some comments and let me know! If you’re more of a rollerball enthusiast, check out my Noodler’s Konrad Rollerball review.