Fountain Pens with Nib Size: XF

Members of the Black Pen Society certainly know the joy of an oversized Sheaffer Lifetime Flattop. This is the "radite" black model, but we think it was once fixed by Sheaffer with slightly later 1930s Balance parts. Notably the section and inkfeed. We restored this pen with a new ink sac. This pen was somebody's favorite, back in the day. It has lots of wear and brassing from use. There are a couple bite marks, too. The imprint is still legible, but it is more worn in the center. It writes extremely well for a firm extra-fine nib. Then, again, it is a 14k gold nib from Sheaffer's best years. How could it not write beautifully? 13.4cm capped.

When pens of the Roaring Twenties get discussed, the Parker Duofold often sucks all of the oxygen out of the room. However, the Sheaffer Lifetime was an equally good pen that still performs well nearly 100 years later. We restored this senior-sized model with a new ink sac. The original pale jade green is still in great color and not badly stained with discoloration, as so many of these pens are. It does have a little discoloration, but it remains a respectable piece for any collection. It has the straight, flat clip (no hump) with minimal brassing. The cap band has a couple small dimples and the engraving "Pros. O.V. Meslar." You will write a sharp extra-fine line. We say sharp because it isn't scratchy in traditional sense. 13.3cm capped.

This one goes out to all you extra-fine lovers out there. Here it is, the Esterbrook J model fountain pen in black. The ultimate utility infielder of vintage pens, these writing instruments were affordable, functional and constantly adaptable with their screw-in nibs of more than three dozen point sizes. We restored this pen with a new ink sac. It also comes with the upgraded 9550 nib. You will write an extra-extra-fine line with a little firm feedback. We think this one might be a pen from the early days of the J-era because it has a slightly chocolate-hazed section of ebonite/black hard rubber. You'll find some wear from use but no cracks. 12.6cm capped.

Looking to stay competitive during the Great Depression, Parker created a more affordable line of pens under the brand Parkette. We aren't sure of the model name of this truly handsome pen, but it has a nice clear Parkette imprint. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. It also is one of the few Parker-made pens to have a lever filler. An elegance pervades on this red-and-marble design with gold-plated trim. The clip sports a lot of brassing but the rings are mostly okay. You will write a fairly scratchy extra-fine line with a fair amount of flex with its 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. No cracks but a little wear from use. 12.2cm capped.

Hold on to your hats, if you love buttery smooth extra-fine nibs! Our Sheaffer Lifetime pen might be a smaller junior-sized vintage pen, but its two-tone 14k gold nib really has what it takes. We restored it with a new ink sac. Solid for now, this pen shows the early warning signs of some possible krazing forming in the cap. Heavy brassing. You might not make it a museum piece, but it will be a helluva daily writer. 11.3cm capped.

According to this pen's original owner, it started life as a Pelikan Souverän M400 with a gold nib. Some how, somewhere along the line, this handsome tortoiseshell colored luxury pen ended up with an extra-fine steel nib like an M200. Where does that leave it? It leaves us with a very attractive pen in great working order. Just light wear from use. You can twist the piston filler smoothly and easily from the blind cap in the tail. Writing is fun, firm and a little feedback that doesn't feel particularly scratchy. On top of the cap is a logo with a black field and golden mama pelican with a single chick. 12.5cm capped.

Shimmering blue-green luster makes for a brilliant Kaweco Art Sport fountain pen known as "metallic turquoise." Our preowned pen is also like new and/or new old stock. If it was used, it was only used once or twice. It looks stunning. These are limited edition pens no longer in production. You only fill it with short standard international cartridges. The neat thing about this steel nib is that is can be unscrewed and replaced with other point sizes from Kaweco. Kinda like old Esterbrooks or modern Pelikan, even though it won't fit their nibs. You will write an extra-fine line with this one. Minimal, if any, wear. 10.1cm capped.

We're gonna make someone mad by declaring Sheaffer Targa's vintage, once again. We waffle on this debate all the time, with the design being nearly 50 years old. Either way, this is a beautiful pen. We aren't sure if this is the 1970s "Gold Checked" model or the 1990s "Geometric" model. Each was given the same model number of 1007. Each was basically the same pen. Our vintage pen is in good working order with an original Sheaffer aerometric-style converter that works. We flushed the pen and gave the nib a sonic cleaning, but a little hint of black ink refuses to leave the converter entirely. Its nib writes a very nice extra-fine to fine line that seems a little dry to us. There is a hint of feedback, but we don't find it too distracting. Click the headline for close-ups. The pen looks good with only a few little traces of wear from us. The black section/grip shows more wear than the gold-plated cap and barrel. 13.5cm capped.