What Are the Smoothest Fountain Pen Nibs? - Q&A Slices 

I've found that across all brands the nibs may be inconsistent. I have a few Pelikans, some with steel, some with gold nibs. Almost every one came with a smooth, well-adjusted nib out of the box. However, my M700 Toledo, an expensive pen, would barely write; it was extremely dry. I sent it back to Pelikan, and they fixed the problem. But I feel that expensive pens should never leave the factory with nibs that need to be adjusted. My best experiences with properly adjusted, smooth-writing pens have been with Pilot. For that reason, I own quite a few of them.

1. The ink that you use matters a lot. Pilot and Sailor are known as "pen smoothers", but there are many other examples. 2. There is no need to sacrifice smoothness in order to be able to put ink to paper. 3. The more you'll use the pen the smoother it will be - but this is a very long process.

My Pilot Vanishing Point EF's smoothness depends a lot on how I feel at the moment of writing. If I'm stressed I tend to write faster and with more pressure and it feels scratchy, but if I'm relaxed, I use almost no pressure at all and it feels smooth. So I have a pen that tells me how I'm feeling and if I should take a break.

To a great extent, smoothness of nibs depends upon ink and paper as much as upon the nibs themselves.

I’m not much of a cursive writer, so I tend to look at nibs that still feel buttery but with that 2B pencil kind of feedback. I find that a fine pilot custom 823 and any Sailor pen with a King of Pen nib tends to fit my tastes. They’re also smooth enough that if you want to do cursive, it’s still a pleasurable experience. But in general, I feel like with my writing style, a super smooth nib tends to do more harm than good.

What a fantastic response to a tough and fairly controversial question!! You hit all the right notes. 1. Smoothness ain’t just a factor of the nib, it’s also about how you hold the pen 2. Smoothness ain’t the golden measure of writing experience. For instance, I enjoy a hint of feedback which is why I don’t enjoy Lamy nibs as much as Sailor. 3. Need for smoothness also depends on your handwriting style and the specific writing you need. I prefer finer nibs for regular writing but broads and above are go tos when I have to label or write flyers!

I never even thought about why nibs from Japanese brands may be more precise and less “smooth” than European nibs! Very interesting point, and it makes a lot of sense when I think about the Sailor Compass versus a Lamy Al-Star or a TWSBI Eco to name a few. I really like the Compass for print writing, but I dislike writing in cursive with it, although I enjoy the precision of it in a very different way than I enjoy other similarly priced nibs from other brands.

I am shocked that you didn't mention Faber Castell. They have, in my opinion one of the best steel nibs. I still remember the first time I inked up the E-Motion. I literally said, "WOW!" You never forget the first and only time.

The Diplomat Pen company is famous for their well tuned and smooth steel nibs. Both of mine with (fine) steel #6 nibs wrote perfectly out of the box.

The smoothest I have experienced is my sons Pilot 823. As my son says, 'Its like writing on oiled glass'. That assessment is right on the mark.

Thanks for the answer! Quite popular question. I think the author of the question mean the examples of particular models with the same nib size (in mm more or less similar, not precisely M/B because american, european and japanese are quite different). As I recall, Brian mentioned previously that Pilot MR has one of the smoothest nibs in low price range. It would be interesting to hear somekind of ranking in every price-range. Thanks!

In general, of the brands I've tried, I've found Pilot's gold nibs to be the smoothest out of the box. Even their fine nibs are very smooth compared to other brands'. I have a medium Custom 74 that writes like butter.

Pilot Prera in F. Never had a problem and they still put down a really fine line.

To extend complexity, it's also important what ink is used and if feed is tend to be on the dry or wet side. Generally speaking the wetter the nib, and the more lubrication comes from the ink the smoother the feeling, so if ink isn't lubricating enough and the feed is on the dry side, you most likely will have pretty solid feedback despite how well the nib is. Plus the paper really matters a lot.

I agree with Drew on the Lamy 2000. I've got a medium nib and it writes really smoothly and has very reliable ink flow even with some of the more difficult inks. I have found, however, that some of the smoothest writers are pens with Schmidt steel nibs. I have a few Benu pens and a Muji pen, all of which have these Schmidt nibs. The Muji in particular writes extremely smoothly, which is something because it's a fine nib. I've also had good luck with many of Pilot's nibs. I have a Pilot Metropolitan with a medium nib that's pretty buttery smooth, and even their disposable Varsity pens are pretty smooth writers. On the bizarre end of the spectrum, the Noodlers Tripletail is a pretty smooth writer if you're looking for some flex. But the Schmidt nibs and the Pilot nibs stand out in my experience.

Thank you for answering my question! I appreciate it!

The Twsbi Eco's extra fine nib is amazingly smooth for the price point. This is also my favorite pen. I have several expensive Pilots and their nibs are quite scratchy in comparison.

Thank you so much for your insight and opinions. Very informative, especially since I’m a beginner and learning more about the differences. I’m a customer and absolutely appreciate your awesome videos. Thank you

What if we narrowed the question...what's the smoothest EF nibs you've written with? (I ask this question with the understanding that pens within the same brand, and models of the same brand, have different personalities)...

the smoothest nib i've ever written with was in the pilot custom urushi. it's a huge nib and has some flex/bounce and it feels like writing on air. it's such a wonderful experience unlike anything else i've ever written with

I agree on the balance of the nib smoothness. Lamy 2000 M and a Pelikan M is a good balance and at the same time buttery smooth. I have a Caran d'ache leman slim fountain pen, which has a 18 k M nib, the smoothest nib I ever use, which I feel is too smooth sometimes, difficult to control the nib on paper and depends on the paper I use, it could skip sometimes due to the overpolished nib.

Left handed writing changes the writing dynamic by pushing a nib across the paper, rather than drawing it along. Nib angles may not be optimal in that regard.

Lubricity is the word you’re looking for. Also, Pelikan M1000 BB is the smoothest nib on the planet, bar none. Second place to the MB 149 BB. Third has to be the Lamy 2000 BB.

I can agree with the Lamys being generally smooth. The smoothest I've used are the Safari and the 2000; even though they are both with fine nibs, I can definitely feel the nibs "hydroplaning" and refusing to touch the paper like an air hockey puck.

Very interesting opinions. I like the way you get into the questions. I love you both, guys. Greetings from Spain 🇪🇸.

What does grip have to do with putting ink down? If medium and broad are smoother, and medium and broad also put down more ink by virtue of the nib size, where does grip come into play? Now I am vey confused 🤔

An extremely interesting topic well-dealt with by both of you. Very smooth nibs I’ve personally experienced: Lamy 2000, Visconti Palladium, Pelican Souveran M 600 and upwards. But I’m with Drew. I don’t like really buttery nibs. My ideal feel of a nib is a Platinum#3776 Soft Fine or Medium, a Sailor PG full size M and yes, the steel nib of my Pilot Myurex μ90.

@4:36 The one thing they could discuss is consistency across brands. For example I have a few Kaweco products that use about the same nib size. The smoothness varies greatly between nibs, and many of them are the same size. Quality = Consistency.

Although I have to say that when you write Chinese/Japanese characters (I can't speak to other Asian languages) a lot and are beyond student-level, you're writing quite fluidly with longer strokes as well, as writing every day probably pushes you to write in the cursive version of any language.

No matter how scratchy your nib is, you can always sent it to a nibmeister to smooth it out and get it to write how you want. I had a vintage montblanc 146 that I bought off ebay, had terrible baby-bottom and was pretty scratchy. sent it to marc bacas, and after 4 weeks and 25$+shipping (if i remember correctly) I got my pen back and it was smooth as glass! Now I have really dove off the deep end into custom grinds... Would definitely recommend trying one of the nibmeisters, It's very affordable and adds a whole new dimension to your pen-experience.

Totally agree that smoothness is not the pinnacle of a good nib - Aurora Ipsilon has the most satisfying nib I ever owned, it's super reliable, provides great feedback and even a bit of flex, but it's also plenty smooth. Absolutely stunning writing experience

I must be using bad paper because even with a broad nib (twsbi) it seems to grab quite a bit. But I have a Goulet stub nib I really like. This is why I like going to pen shows (when you are allowed to touch stuff) because there are usually pens to check out and use

Question, if nibs vary so within a brand etc what makes a pen really, really expensive? What are you getting for your money??

I find that most nibs will become super smooth… with a bit of work. I pretty much tune every nib I buy myself until it feels the way I want it to. I have had a few that I’ve not been able to get feeling right. (A couple of Schmidt fines). But some of the smoothest nibs I have are Lamys (esp a 14k one) and cheap Chinese Jinhao mediums that are just beautiful.

I love a very smooth (buttery) nib. I find that Diplomat, Pelikan, TWSBI, Lamy gold, and Pilot Broad and medium nibs are the smoothest.IIn that order smoothest to less smooth). Yest there are lots of variables. But Sailor and Aurora nibs have some toothiness. Edison even has a bit of toothiness, but just a bit. If you want a super smooth nib, try a Diplomat steel or gold Broad nib. It's the smoothest Iwith which I have written. Pelikan steel and gold are a very, very close second in Broad and Medium.

i had a rotring calligraphy ef that i used while at art college & somehow just continued using as my go-to pen for almost 12 yrs after graduation. that nib was incredibly smooth by the time i decided to get a « proper » fountain pen instead. my initial hunt was such a constant disappointment because every single pen i tried was scratchy compared to the rotring, & it took an advisor at a penshop to explain that my rotring was seasoned with years of consistent use for me to realise that any pen i get will have to undergo a similar consistent use to respond to my specific pressure, angle and style & smoothen in time. interestingly, perhaps as it was a calligraphy pen to start with, having an extra fine nib did not stop the rotring from allowing smooth fluid strokes from first use.

@6:12 Cushion. More ink on the paper creates a cushion between the nib and the paper.

Nothing beats the pilot nibs for me especially the mediums and broad. And the lamy gold nibs are in a different league as compared to their steel nibs. My lamy scala with a gold medium nib is one of the smoothest nibs I've used.. so does my Pilot 823 medium. A great paper helps the smoothness too.. i don't know where i am going with this now.. LOL

By far the smoothest I've ever tried is Yardoled broad. It's amazingly smooth without being overpolished, so a good balance too, u can use sightly drier inks if you like a bit of feedback. Honestly, for me, nothing even comes close to my yol with a slightly wet ink. But, the steel nib Faber castells are REALLY GOOD, definitely second (the gold ones aren't too much better, and have a bit of a 'singing nib' thing going on, which I don't like)

After reading the comments, and my own experience, I guess nibs are hand tuned. So there is a bit of different 'feel' on the nibs, even it's on the same model. An example is the Visconti Dream Touch palladium nibs. It's either you stuck gold (perfect nib), or it's back to the shop or a nibmister for tuning.

The Sailor pens I have in medium nibs give feedback and that’s just Sailor and I accept it. Nothing wrong in my mind there. On the other hand my 800 series Pelikan pens in fine nibs are totally smooth but are wet and produce broader lines. The smoothest pen I have is an inexpensive Pilot E95S which writes as well as the Pelikans without feedback of thee Sailors. My recommendation is don’t buy from a retailer that is not willing to tune the nib prior to shipping. Saves a lot of headaches! 👍

Smoothest winner: Pilot Prera M (mine anyway) Very Smooth: Visconti Homo sapien, Leonardo 14k, pilot metropolitan, Asvine P20, Asvine v169, Hongdian n8, Pilot Custom 845, Pineider steel nibs F models, Lamy 2000. Pelikan m205 Minor feedback but precise: Twsbi eco/580, Leonardo steel F models, Lamy Al-star/ Safar, Pelikan M4xx/6xx

I am gradually becoming less interested in pens and inks and paper and more and more fascinated by these amazing shirts! Just to be clear, not the plaid, Brian, although I am a huge plaid fan (my favorite color and it would be great if they made a plaid ink) but the bold styling of Drew! Every one of your cool shirts would upset my wife no end if I wore them. I know because I have a closet full of shirts she hates. You are my fashion hero.

I want my fountain pens to write themselves. In other words, I want the nib to be so smooth that I don't even feel the nib on the paper. There are very few nibs that can deliver this kind of smoothness, especially right out of the box. My Lamy 2000 in medium nib is one of them, as are my Montblancs (mostly 146s and B or BB nibs). Recently, I purchased several Pineider pens with the 14k quill nib (M, B). All of them are exceptional. Also, I purchased several 14k gold nibs (OB and B) for my Lamy Studios and Lamy Scalas - all of them are nicely smooth. Conversely, I have not been able to find one Pilot nib that is smooth - all have too much tooth for me. The same with Platinum. But I haven't tried Sailor yet. So, next year, a Sailor 1911 or Pro Gear is on my list.

Thank you for addressing this topic - one of my favorites. You make many good points. However, one of the biggest surprises of my FP experiences is that I've found incredibly smooth steel nibs, ones that often beat out the gold ones I've bought. Without a doubt, Platinum's steel nibs are consistently, exceptionally smooth, especially when compared to their gold 3776. Diplomats and Faber-Castells also are quite smooth. And I have to tip my hat to TWSBI #6 for its smooth with some feedback appeal. I have a Pelikan Souveran M800, and I've even had to have it smoothed by Kirk Spear, but I can't get quite as good a writing experience as with a number of my steel nibs. You're right that the Lamy 2000 is a standard-setter... that is, if you can find the sweet spot. Forget Lamy's steel nibs, though. Pilot pens like the VP are ok, but I wouldn't rave about their smoothness. As for the rough Sailor, I have to take issue with having a nibmeister smooth it to make it fit into the smooth category. I have a 14K M nib that I had Marcus Bacus smooth and reshape into a stub 1.1, and I still found the feedback to great. In fact, Bacus told me specifically that I'd never be able to push a Sailor into the smooth category. It's just not what Sailor has designed its pens to do. Perhaps it's the gold vs. alloy balance. But enough. I could go on about nibs and smoothness all day.

I own a Sailor Pro Gear with a 21K Gold Medium nib. Candidly, I enjoy using the Sailor because it is a stylish looking, elegant fountain pen. I don't think it is smooth at all, it is reminiscent of using a hard drafting pencil. My TWSBI Diamond 580AL with a Broad nib is very smooth, incredibly smooth. The TWSBI Broad nib glides with aplomb across Rhodia paper whereas the Sailor Pro Gear presents more scratchy feedback. The TWSBI fountain pen costs less than $100 and the Sailor costs $310. The Sailor Pro Gear did not include a converter and the TWSBI well...it is a piston filler pen. The workhorse is definitely the TWSBI Diamond 580AL, easier to use and service, great performance, and it allows your super cool inks to shine with a broad nib.

Great point on eastern vs Asian writing flow! 👍

I have a Lamy 2000 with extra fine nib size which was previously purchased from your company. My handwriting is small in size and I write slowly. So I decided to buy Lamy 2000 with extra fine nib size. But this nib size is less smooth. Should I go for Lamy 2000 with Fine nib size? Please suggest.

Restating the question in a way that might yield some insight: "out of the box" which brands tend to deliver a writing experience that YOU might enjoy. some folks like wet writers that glide across the page, some like a little "toothiness" in the ink laydown... I have found that Japanese nibs tend to deliver on good ink delivery with a little feedback and that Omas, Leonardo, and Aurora nibs also tend to deliver wonderful nib performance with almost no feedback.... my suggestion, buy whatever model strikes your fancy and have a nibmeister customize it to your tastes...

I have a few Waterman’s and they’re all smooth.

Kaweco's rhodium plated 14k nib is scary smooth. I'm a flex nib writer. Using the rhodium nib was like ice skating for the first time. I don't know why, but I tend to write smaller with smoother nibs.

In my opinion P1 is the Visconti Homosapiens palladium nib P2 Parker sonnet 18 k gold nib P3 Sheaffer lady 14 kt gold nib P4 Sailor KOP Note- any nib is going to get smoother and looser as you write with it more. And I say that with proof I have had a Sailor Pro Gear for about 5 years and when I had bought it , it had a lot of feedback but when I kept on writing with it it has become the smoothest nib I've ever written with. The only reason I did not include that in the list is because i was listing these nibs as stock

Been curious to what brand the one in the thumbnail picture is. Looking around what brand has 14k in a circle. I look around have seen pictures but no brand there is too much too look at and I gave up. However am still curious.

That was a cop out answer by Brian. I took the question to mean; "with all else being equal, what is the smoothest nib for a fixed width?

Paper is a big factor, as well as ink viscosity. Composite & alloy nibs is certainly an area of R&D in the industry, as well as geometry of the nib. Also Roughness Factor (engineering term) is needed to measure smoothness of surfaces.

The M800 Pelikan Extra Fine nib and the Custom 743 with a Soft Fine nib are in the "writes like butter" category. Surprisingly, the Luoshi Labyrinth with it's Medium steel nib is extremely smooth.

I really like the Visconti HS palladium nibs, really smooth

I'd like you to discuss what constitutes the best writing experience...I think smoothness is definitely an important component but not the whole story...its that undefinable factor that makes you pick that one pen out of the others when you have to write....probably a personal thing.

My Edison Ascent w a medium nib, one smooth puppy, especially for a steel nib. Lamy 2000 M is pretty smooth, now I want a BB.. I want to try a Pelican M 605, or 805.. I have a Franklin Christoph M nib which is smooooooth.. really a subjective topic. My Pilot E95S M is super smooth. Fun vid.

My Lamys have proven to be inconsistent of late :( As a big Lamy fan, I got both the special edition terra and savannah Safaris last year. I then separately bought a broad nib to swap out since, at time of purchase, only M was available. It wasn't as smooth as I'd expected. Okay, if I'm being fair, I am comparing it slightly with a pen I bought and used almost exclusively and daily when I was in university. That pen has over a decade of wear on it and is AMAZING, whereas now I have many more pens in rotation so the use will be more limited. But I'm finding Lamy's QC to be not what it once was.

What's with Drew's asymmetrical headphones adjustment?

Where did you get that shirt from, looks awesome. Great content btw

Solid gold Medium nib MontBlanc 149, and Lamy Safari EF.

how smooth will be a pilot falcon Medium? Is it something comparable to the ones I bought from you Pilot 823?

Lamy Persona 14K is the Smoothest pen I own, definitely much smoother than any Pelikan, and I have 6 of those.

In reality . Each individual nib of the same make and size can vary . For instance a mm edium gold nib of one brand can be much much smoother than the same medium nib of the same pen make . The more expensive pens in general have smoother nibs . That is why trying a four in rain pen in a retail shop is really your best option in my opinion.Having said that one of my favourite nibs is on a Pilot France medium . It is so smooth . matched by only by a medium on my Souveran m600. by Pelikan.Brian Goulet I consider despite his young age is an expert . He is humble enough to deny this but it is true.

my own opinion/experience: Lamy 2000 Medium: not as smooth as I hoped, Pilot Custom 823 is very smooth but the shop in Japan did some nib tuning on it. It also comes down to paper, I'd rather write with a cheap Parker Vector or Pilot Metropolitan on very cheap paper. My Lamy 2000 on cheap paper sounds so scratchy I get goosebumps.

Being a vintage lover, my thoughts might be irrelevant. Parker (UK) Duofolds from the 1940s and '50s have firm nibs, but all are impeccably smooth writers, as are most Sheaffers; Conway Stewart invariably came with smooth, slightly softer nibs. As for more current nibs, I really liked the Goulet 1.1 stub, but found the Noodlers art set excruciatingly scratchy.

Good discussion. RS. Canada

Pilot Custom Urushi & Pelikan M1000 are the smoothest nibs I’ve experienced

I would use the word hydroplaning of the nib on the broader nibs.

There should be more videos made where more reasons are given to people to stay interested in pens. I mean not the luxury element or pens, I mean the utility’s and at least some reasons why people may concern themselves with what nib feels like and ink looks like. Why should people basically stay interested in pens?

Lamy 2000 on Rhodia paper. Cannot be beat. But, not all Lamy 2000's are created equal. I've got an extra fine that only needed two refills to get to be buttery smooth. I read about many cases of people having troubles with broader Lamy nibs. It's hit or miss even with the most reputable companies.

Short answer: ST DUPONT line D in Broad or Medium sizes.

My, my…this depends on *so* much: years ago, when I was a strictly-Lamy guy, I had both a 2000 (M) and a Persona (also M). The Persona (neé Imporium) was so smooth that I actually found it frustrating to write with, as the near-total lack of feedback made it tough to maintain a proper line on a page. The 2000, by contrast, offered much more control, although it could be a tad scratchy, depending on the ink. Since I jumped to Pilot some ten years back, I've had quite the education: using the 823 in both F and M nib sizes helped me delineate between proper feedback/tooth and the kind of scratchiness that defines badly-tweaked tines, especially when writing for an hour or two straight. Took a while to find my happy place in this regard, but I've pretty much hit the mark now

I have gold nibs from Pilot, Sailor and Platinum, and while one can argue that Pilot M are the smoothest of the bunch, they are my least favourite. I prefer Sailor Fine and MF, and Platinum F and M. Pilot M are smooth but to me they feel like they are just gliding uncontrollably around the page, and I don't "feel" what I am writing, they give poor sensations. Pilot F are toothy on the verge of scratchiness in the best of cases. Sailor FM is my favourite, it gives the nicest feedback, like writing with a pencil. Of course everything is totally personal, and someone else will feel differently.

You just turned on a lightbulb...thank you.

Isn't it true that you can tune most nibs to be really smooth?

Can you pls talk about fude nibs also. Sailor makes them.

👑PARKER 51👑, 45......whenever, wherever, forever

Try TWISBI eco & faber castell loom

Danger, Will Robinson! Most people here and in the pen community in general are great. This one though, is as dangerous as saying Windows is better than Linux in certain places on the Internet. I wouldn't have blamed either one of you for not answering this one...And, if anyone is bored, all of the Lost in Space episodes are free here on RU-vid. I just looked that up. Good for a laugh.

Faber Castel Loom EF Butter smooth

My very smoothest are: Caran d'Ache Ivanhoe with M 18K Rhodium coated gold nib. Additive Pens Double Helix optioned with 18K-750 M nib. This is an eyedropper. Mabie Todd Blackbird Fountpen eyedropper with a little MT 14 carat flexible nib, a delight to use. This one is over 100 years old. I have formed the impression that having a really wet inkflow is half the solution, so simple, vintage feeds and eyedroppers may be an advantage.

Lubrication seems the right word.

Very interesting to hear that an overly smooth nib has a downside with respect to getting the ink onto paper.

Have you tried the Lamy LX, it's very smooth; if you ask me. Much different from the Lamy AL-star. None of them is gold.

A great great Q !!!!

honestly you can't even get he same model and same nib size to be the same twice, it's what I don't like about fountain pens, so much inconsistency, heck even sizes aren't always the same... two feedbacky nibs, one non-writing nib, and one smooth nib could all be had if you buy 4 of exactly the same pen + same nib.

Just to add to Omer's comment, my Sailor with a 14k nib wrote horribly scratchy on all papers using Noodler inks, but is quite smooth with Lamy ink. If the ink matters that much, regardless of paper, then there is definitely an issue with lubrication. That said, I have Waterman pens that are silky smooth with Noodler ink.

Nothing about Montblanc?

Pizza slices of QnA

Drew I love you but sometimes let's not record in 4k. Some yellowing of teeth is considered healthy but you look like you're from the 16th century. Again I say this out of love. It's all I could focus on once I noticed. Keep up the great pencasts!! ❤️❤️❤️

As cheap as they are, the Jinhao 992 is unbelievably smooth.

I think smoothness is overrated. It can be like driving smooth tires on a wet surface. You need a bit of grip, a bit of traction.

Can *y'all*

Wait, George Clooney is in pen business now?

mediums and broads guys. no fine is smooth.

I have a Narvhal pen that has so smooth nib that I even don't like it 🤣

I’d add that, in general, Titanium nibs are going to be the toothiest of all materials, no matter what size or angle.