Review of Sheaffer Calligraphy, fine nib

A while ago, I reviewed the Sheaffer Calligraphy pen with a medium (1.5 mm) nib. In that post I said that I would consider getting a fine nib for everyday writing (as the medium nib was too broad for my smallish handwriting).

Well, not long afterwards, I went ahead and bought one. They are fairly widely available, but I got mine for just under a fiver from Amazon, including P+P.

It comes in a card-backed blister pack and the pack contains the pen and two Sheaffer cartridges (which are different from both international standard and Parker cartridges) – one black and one blue. However, once I had opened the pack, I moved the cartridge I had in the medium-nibbed Sheaffer calligraphy pen (which had been filled with Diamine steel blue ink) and cleaned the medium nib (it is really too big for everyday writing. I will ressurect it if/when I start doing calligraphy again).

Blister pack

Unpacked. Top (L-R): black cartridge, blue cartridge, nib, cap
Bottom: barrel (showing cut-away)

The pen is lovely. Like the medium-nibbed version, it has a rubberised grip and is extremely light in the hand. There is a cut-away so that you can see how little/much ink is left in the cartridge. The nib is 0.8 mm wide which is a perfect width for my (admittedly quite small) writing. Here you can see a comparison of the medium nib and the fine nib:

Top: medium-nib (1.5 mm)
Bottom: fine nib (0.8 mm)

There's no denying it is a basic pen – plastic barrel and no presentation box (though sometimes, the presentation box is so not worth it! Yes, Ohto Tasche, I'm looking at you), but the nib lays down enough ink even with my fairly rapid writing (unlike the medium-nibbed version) and it is smooth and comfortable to write with. For less than a fiver, it is a great little pen!

[I have no affiliation to Amazon]