Lamy Fine vs Extra Fine - Which Nib Should I Buy?

If you are in the market for a new Lamy fountain pen ( amzn.to/2EfrjBQ ), you might be deciding between the Fine and Extra Fine nibs. Having trouble deciding? This video should help (even though it can be really hard to tell the difference)!
My advice? When in doubt, go with the fine nib!
#lamy #fountainpens #writing
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[@kathysfineart9152]

Thank you. I am a left handed writer and really appreciate seeing that you are too. Great demo.

[@ichirofakename]

Thanks for confirming my impression that nib grading is extremely inexact. I have experienced a similar situation with broad and double broad nibs.

[@alyantza]

I found the F to be the most balanced. The writing is broad enough and if i want narrower strokes I can flip the pen to use its upper side. Helps a lot when sketching, saves me the headache of having multiple technic pens on hand.

[@AwkwardSilence22]

This helped me tons. Thank you.

[@kokolexx]

I just ordered my first Lamy, a Safari. And I follow your advice to go with F

[@veramariaritter8198]

Nice review, thank you! And a beautiful voice as well!

[@unsharpen]

Many thanks!

[@rahmanwaheed1487]

Important information. Thank u

[@diogosantos8645]

Bought an EF nib Lamy Logo, writes pretty fine imo and I like the pencil feeling I get. I don't have any others to compare but I'm really satisfied as it writes well on cheap paper, maybe I was lucky 😅

[@Nathanchancy02]

Great video!!!! My favorite is the extra fine but when I can't find them i go for the fine.

[@serenityjewel]

Thanks for creating the video!!!

[@unsharpen]

My pleasure!

[@jsmith3980]

Thank you ...very helpful.

[@ricdonato4328]

Agree with you. Though the EF and F nib are almost too close to call I prefer the F nib. The F nib lays down more ink for gliding on paper, than EF thus feels smoother. Lamy's EF at times seems a bit scratchy, from any manufacture EF nibs can feel less smooth than F. My Lamy nibs are one EF, two F, one M, and one B. The M nib is also excellent yet not too much wider than the F nib, thus I do switch between them. Though writing with the B nib is too broad for me it is very smooth. Being as the M and B nibs lay down more ink than EF and F, the good news is using a M or B can truly bring out the color of ink.

[@unsharpen]

Good summary. I tend to use F for smaller writing and the LH (basically a medium) for general notes

[@ricdonato4328]

​@@unsharpen Though I too am LH I have not used a LH nib. My pen angle is straight up from my hand towards top of page 12:00 o'clock position hand below the written text. Many LH writers have their hand over the top of the writing line with their pen pointing down towards them such as towards the 4:00 or 5:00 o'clock position dragging their hand through the ink. Thus I am not sure a LH nib would benefit me.

[@ricdonato4328]

Doing some searching I found your video "Lamy Left handed Nib: Fountain Pen Fix For Lefties?" it answered all my questions. Based on your video I should stay with the M nib (or F nib). Being as both the F and M nib are very smooth they are okay by me. Thank you for sharing.

[@FreyaVal]

There is a big difference if you compare steel EF nib with a gold EF nib from Lamy. My current writer is Lamy Vista + gold Z55 EF nib + black converter. Simple combo and I know that the cheap Vista doesn’t justify the use of gold nib on it, but I love it more than my Visconti. Btw I am also a lefty

[@unsharpen]

I love the Lamy 14k nib as well. Been meaning to talk about it more!

[@25hztolife86]

I'm in-between my Pilot Explorer extra fine and Pilot Kakuno fine. It is hard to decide which is the best.

[@peterr.905]

Hi Sal, great video the extra fine Lakh nib is either extremely hard to get or too expensive for what it is. I like fine and extra fine as the paper I tend to use is very cheap paper that absorbs too much ink if you are using a medium nib.

[@souravbiswas6763]

Hey! I've watched quite a few of your videos. Honestly, I liked all of them. However, I suppose if you position your camera from the top, it would have better focus. The 35-55 degree angle really misses out on details.

[@unsharpen]

Thanks for the tip. Been Considering this

[@shastunos]

thank you for this comparison. this answers my question if i should buy F nib to replace EF at lamy al-star, which shipping i'm awaiting at the moment. looks like i really should not

[@55yxalaG]

have you tried the fine on some generic cheap notebook paper? How rough is it? I have the Platinum Preppy for comparison.

[@Kitwilbur]

I find the extra fine to write a little dryer too. I find it a little too dry on good paper.

[@jakublulek3261]

EF isn't worth it, in my opinion. Mine is pretty dry and with annoying feedback, and with Lamy or Waterman inks I cannot see any difference against fine nib. It is broader than my Pilot Metropolitan with Medium nib and roughly on par with Sailor 1911S with H-M nib. As with Lamy broad nib, it really depends on what ink you use with it. With Montblanc Royal Blue, there is difference against fine but I am not using that ink in Lamy Safari. Sailor Jentle is another ink that makes difference but again, a bit expensive ink to use in Safari. Fine nib works well and my favourite Lamy nib is Medium or 1.1 italic anyway, so I use EF mostly as a novelty. Lamy nibs are all pretty dry, so I have no issues even with Medium one on bad paper. I heared that gold Lamy nibs are a bit wider than steel ones, so maybe gold EF is good?

[@barbarajloriordan2697]

I have both sizes and don't see a lot of difference. Sometimes I think that the fine writes more finely than the extra fine. That may be because my "fine" nib is a black one, and my "extra fine" nib is silver colored.

[@ruparanjanee7430]

Thanks ill go for Ef

[@herrkeks8509]

The fine is totally okay for smaller handwriting in a 5 mm grid ruling. No need to go to an EF!

[@maggiearmenta8626]

Does it really not have much difference? Because from Lamy's website they have a sample handwriting and the thickness difference between EF and F are very noticeable. I hope you can answer my question so I can save some money from buying an extra nib :)

[@herrkeks8509]

@@maggiearmenta8626 I m just gonna paste in here my other comment I wrote under this video a year ago... Seems like your EF is on the broader side. I can actually tell the difference between my EF‘s and my F, but it still is not huge. I would say if you can use the F and if it is not too broad for you, go with the F. The difference isn’t huge, but you will get a much better writing experience, and it is a very balanced nib. Not too broad, well smoothed and you still feel what paper your writing. I wouldn’t consider this as feedback. You can just tell what type of paper you are using by the vibrations you are getting while writing. ...end of paste. Present me here: I don t know in which direction you want to go and if you either the EF or the F. If you have the EF: If you think that you could still write with an F nib in terms of thickness and inkflow, that would be great. Because then the F might be an option for you. I got lucky on my one and only Lamy F nib and it writes good. You could probably benefit from a good fine nib in terms of writing experience compared to an EF nib. If you have the F: If this is perfectly fine in terms of nib width and inkflow, not too wet or too broad, then stick with the F I would say. The difference is not huge. Though it still could be the bit that makes the difference for you when you when you need something a bit finer. You probably know if you think that you could need something a bit finer. If it is just a bit, it might be worth a try. Though if it would need to be a lot finer than an F, then you should probably consider other pens that offer some really fine nibs. I hope I was able to help you. :) But you can still ask me if you have more questions.

[@paulll47]

Wish my F nib was this fine, it's actually almost as wet as my B, I love their pens but Lamy's quality control really sucks.

[@unsharpen]

Yes the Lamy nib variance is a problem!

[@adzplus1]

Nice video. I personally don't like the Lamy. I purchased a Lamy studio EF and it felt like writing with a medium nib. It writes even thicker than my Pelikan Fine nib If I buy an EF is because I really want thin lines. The best EF fountain pens I've found are Pilot ones. They really write thin and are reliable

[@unsharpen]

Yea Lamy doesn’t do a true EF in that sense. It and most other European nibs tend to be on the wide side relative to their rating.

[@nicsrocking1]

What's name of ink used in medium nib? That blue looks really good.

[@unsharpen]

I believe that is a Pilot Kon-Peki. unsharpen.com/pilot-iroshizuku-fountain-pen-ink-review/

[@encapsulatio]

what ink is your favorite?

[@ming19910802]

QC of Lamy steel ef isn't that great, most of the time it is just dryer, and after you tune it, it pretty much write just like a fine.

[@aneeshprasobhan]

what do you mean "tune it" ? I'm a fountain pen noob and yesterday I bought a Lamy Vista with fine nib :)

[@ushinkou8569]

When they said Lamy's quality control for fine and extra fine was low. They weren't kidding. Those don't look different at all!

[@unsharpen]

Yes the fine and extra fine are basically interchangeable unless if you buy a large number of each and select the ones with the correct tolerances

[@herrkeks8509]

Seems like your EF is on the broader side. I can actually tell the difference between my EF‘s and my F, but it still is not huge. I would say if you can use the F and if it is not too broad for you, go with the F. The difference isn’t huge, but you will get a much better writing experience, and it is a very balanced nib. Not too broad, well smoothed and you still feel what paper your writing. I wouldn’t consider this as feedback. You can just tell what type of paper you are using by the vibrations you are getting while writing.

[@encapsulatio]

What is your favorite fountain pen you write with?I am looking for the smoothest writing experience on the market with fine or extra fine nibs.

[@Rhunzzz]

Does this apply to the gold nibs too?

[@unsharpen]

Not really. The gold nibs write wetter.

[@msshaffer5]

Lamy’s fine nibs are not at all fine in my opinion. I stick to Japanese brands for that. The LAMY 2000 however is a wonderful pen with a butter smooth nib no matter what size you get.

[@celestialjunipers6829]

I usually use a Muji 0.38 or a Pilot G-Tec 0.3. What nib should I buy?

[@celestialjunipers6829]

@@unsharpen thank you so much! I've been thinking about this for a while!

[@scathasmith5701]

EF

[@celestialjunipers6829]

I already got the EF and it writes well. A little feedback, but it's okay.

[@hollo0o583]

Lamy fine and extra fine are a joke! The only nib I was able to get my hands on when I bought my pen was medium. I separately bought a fine and half a year later an extra fine. The first time I changed the nib, there was a significant difference that made my writing more legible (cause my hands cramp very quickly and the middle zone turns illegible.) The second time, I wrote the first half of my diary entry with the fine one. Then switched to extra fine.literally no difference. And it’s an expensive notebook!

[@billclockwell]

8:20 what did you do to that poor nib, Lamy mediums shouldn't make that much noise, maybe it's because you a lefty idk

[@AdrianSalomo]

You seem to have bought a fake Extra Fine...Just compared your EF to other KZbin EF's, and yours is definitely distinct.

[@unsharpen]

I’ll compare the EFs I have and try to figure out where I got that one from.

[@AdrianSalomo]

@@unsharpen Did you ever think of having an All-Star collection, say the best of each within its category, in the hypothetical case of having a bag to pack and weight to spare; say you chose for yourself stationary of your highest liking and of most exemplary historic and technological representation for a trip across the galaxy á la Star Trek? Tell me if this is nerdy, obsessive, or eccentric, but I can tell you that the 'investigation' is a truly satisfying experience ;)

[@unsharpen]

Prototype for something similar is here unsharpen.com/best/ but yea, definitely something I think about

[@AdrianSalomo]

@@unsharpen Thank you so much! I was able to adjust my list from the AG7 to the CH4, based on what I read on your website. I hoped to find a Contact link, so I could share with you the list of stationary I'd most certainly include in my alltime best list. Not that I'd have the hands on experience with a large variety of writing utensils, but perhaps some of them could make it into your 2021 list! :)

[@dyloak6450]

Lol why is the hand writing so bad