Fountain Pens with Nib Size: XF

What is more important, flash and style or hard-working dependability? If you want a pen you can count on to be a true workhorse, try out an Esterbrook J-model pen from the 1950s. Built to be daily drivers, these were the preferred pens of high schools, secretaries, journalists, stenographers and other folks who lived and died by the pen. Easily personalized and customized with dozens of different screw-in nibs, this vintage pen comes with an upgraded 9550 steel nib. It is firm and sensitive as it scrawls an extra-fine line with a little feedback. We restored the pen with a new ink sac. The cap and barrel are crack-free, but they show moderate signs of wear. The tail "jewel" is chipped. J pens were the widest grip models in the J-series. 12.7cm capped.

In the 1950s, the writing was on the wall. Pen users were in love with the new, mess-free disposable ballpoint pen. Sheaffer addressed the problem head-on with a new mess-free fountain pen, the Sheaffer Snorkel. Our Sheaffer Saratoga is one such overengineered piece of writing brilliance. Its ink sac, O-ring and point seal have been replaced, and the pen is in great working order. This vintage pen is in excellent condition with no cracks or scratches. Minimal wear and a really crisp imprint. You will write an extra-fine to fine line with its firm, 2-tone 14k gold nib. We think it is smooth in its sweet spot, but there is only a minimal amount of feedback outside the sweet spot. 14.2cm capped.

Surprisingly smooth is how we describe the extra-fine 14k gold nib on this Sheaffer Admiral. Fully restored with a new ink sac, O-ring and point seal, this vintage pen is a great daily driver. The barrel is in excellent shape with a crisp imprint. The cap saw a lot more light surface wear. No cracks or deep scratches. No brassing, either. Just a good, all-around foray into snorkel pen bliss. 14.2cm capped.

If you have a weakness for orphans and really smooth extra-fine nibs, you will love our Sheaffer Val-toga. One day a Sheaffer Saratoga lost its cap and spent ages looking for it only to find a lost Sheaffer Valiant cap on a similar quest. The fit so well together, they decided to start their own family. We found this pen this way, and it looks good and works great. It has been restored with a new ink sac and O-ring. Its ink-view window is surprisingly green and fresh. Oh, and the nib! Its two-tone, 14k gold glory writes a remarkable, smooth extra-fine line. Click the headline for a close-up. The cap and barrel have some wear from their adventures, but they are in good, overall condition. 13.5cm capped.

Check out the clean green of the ink view window. Our Sheaffer Craftsman fountain pen is looking almost as good as new. Fully restored with a new ink sac, the pen barely shows any trace of wear. Crisp imprint, no cracks or scratches or brassing. Click the headline to spot some slivery plating missing from the two-tone 14k gold "Feather Touch" nib, but that's about the only real flaw on this fine vintage pen. We find its writes an extra-fine line that borders on fine with firmness and a hint of feedback. 12.8cm capped.

Rube Goldberg would be proud to own a Sheaffer Saratoga fountain pen. Why? It features the world's most overcomplicated filling system: the snorkel. We restored it with a new ink sac, O-ring and point seal. Its deep burgundy cap and barrel look like they are dipping close to the boundary of purple. The blind cap looks a little lighter. Click the headline for a closer look at the two-tone 14k gold nib in the open design. We think these actually write better than the Triumph (conical) models. Marked "F3," we feel it writes a very firm, very smooth extra-fine line. No cracks and only light wear from use. 14.2cm capped.

Pen-pencil combos were popular in the 1930s. An ultimate two-fer, you could cover all of your writing needs with one instrument. Our Onward Combo writing instrument was made by the same parent company that owned Wearever! We restored the pen with a working ink sac, but the pencil seems jammed beyond our capacity to clear it. The steel nib was originally gold plated, but the plating has nearly all gone. It writes a firm, extra-fine line with a little feedback. No cracks, and the brownish red cap and barrel really stand up and shout with the inlaid gold tinsel. A fair amount of brassing but not a lot of wear. 14cm capped.

We love the flakes and layers of this vibrant, sapphire blue Stipula I Castoni fountain pen. It looks like new with minimal wear. The silvery trim is the perfect complement to the radiant blue. You will get a converter, but it also takes standard international cartridges. Its 14k gold nib is marked extra fine, and it writes a very dry line with a little feedback. 13.6cm capped.