I am a fan of a big nib that really shows off ink properties like shading, shimmer and sheen. Day-to-day though, I tend to reach for fine nibs more frequently simply due to their practicality. A fine nib allows me to write smaller and write on non-fountain pen friendly paper with less risk of feathering. Nearly every fountain pen brand on the market has a fine and extra fine nib in their lineups but there are a few stand out pen and nib combinations, especially if your writing is small.
Best Fountain Pens for Small Handwriting
Pilot Decimo
I don’t know if there is a more satisfying fountain pen on the market than the retractable Pilot Vanishing Point Decimo. If you are a fan of the clicking noise a rollerball or ballpoint pen makes when deploying the nib you will probably love a Decimo. The biggest issue with the Pilot Decimo is clip placement, you will either find it works fine with your hand or it will be incredibly uncomfortable to use.
Pilot is notorious for producing lovely nibs and their extra fine nibs on this model is no different. As Pilot is a Japanese pen brand their extra fine nib width is also thinner than a western extra fine so if you are looking for something comparable to a western extra fine, a Pilot fine is probably a better choice.
Sailor Pro Gear Slim
I own over 100 fountain pens and Sailor Pro Gear Slim (PGS) pens are the ones I reach for most frequently. Sailor offers the PGS in a huge variety of colours and special editions allowing you to both express some personality through your pen colour and find another PGS in a subtle style for the office. Even fully inked, a Pro Gear Slim is a fairly light pen which is perfect if your handwriting is small as the weight of the pen will not have much effect on ink flow when you put pen to paper.
Extra fine and fine are not my favourite nibs available from Sailor for this pen. That award goes to the medium fine. However, all three nibs provide an incredible writing experience. Sailor had a reputation for producing pens with feedback which to me it feels similar to using a mechanical pencil. The finer you go in nib size the more pronounced that feedback becomes. If that bothers you, a nib smith can tune the nib to remove the feedback when writing.
Platinum 3776 Century
The 3776 Century pen is a pen that can look like a very serious, dare I say, “stereotypical” fountain pen (cigar-shaped, black with gold trim) but is also available in dual toned pink celluloid. Regardless of the pen body, all 3776s are available with a stunning selection of gold nibs. Platinum are one of the few pens to offer an ultra extra fine nib (UEF) on their pens and theoretically you can use anything other than a shimmer ink in them.
Based on reviews and talking with friends, I would put a lubricated ink in mine as it seems like the pen writes more smoothly with a lubricated ink. I think for 95% of people with small handwriting the fine nib will be fine enough and you don't have to use a lubricated ink with it.
Pilot Kakuno
When I talk to people about their recommendation for beginners, a Kakuno is frequently the most recommended pen. Pilot has managed to put a fantastic extra fine nib on a pen that retails for less than $20 USD. Most extra fine nibs in this price category have quite a lot of feedback but these pens from Pilot do not. They come in a huge variety of colours and fit a CON-70 which in my opinion is the best Pilot converter.
And who can resist a nib with a smiley face?!
Platinum Preppy
Platinum is a pen brand that I had overlooked for my own collection. But I did pick up a Preppy and I adore it. Platinum offers both an extra fine (02) and a fine (03) in the Preppy. I think for most people with small writing the 03 nib is the best choice as it works really well with every ink I have tried in it. But it is nice that they offer both options in case you want a slightly smaller line width.
I really like this pen for daily driving as it has a clip and can be eyedroppered meaning I can go months before having to refill mine.
Also, the price (starting at $7) for a refillable fountain pen is hard to beat!
Esterbrook Estie or Model J
Normally I have anywhere from 3-5 Esterbrook pens inked up at any given time and as much as I love the JR & Model J, Esties truly have my heart. While Esterbrook does offer 2 subtle Esties, Raven & Ebony Black, they also have an expansive collection of fun colours and fairly frequent limited editions meaning they should always have a colour available you like.
The other perk with Esterbrook is nibs. With 14 steel nib sizes & 5 18k gold nib sizes available either stock or via special order, Esterbrook truly has a fantastic selection of nibs for you to choose from making your pen totally customizable.
BENU Fountain Pens
BENU does not offer an extra fine nib currently (editor's note: the smaller #5 sized nibs are available in EF) but their fine nibs tend to be fantastic and work incredibly well even with the driest of inks. Schmidt is the nib of choice for BENU pens and they probably make my favourite non-custom fine nibs. One of my favourite things with Schmidt fine nibs is that they work even with incredibly shimmery inks.
BENU has never heard of the word “subtle”. So if loud, sparkley, or hand-painted details are your style, BENU has you covered.
Top Fountain Pens for Small Handwriting
I really struggled to narrow my picks down to one pen so I decided to narrow it down to 3. Each of my picks falls into specific categories; gold nib, budget, & specialty.
Best Gold Nib Fountain Pen
There were three possibilities for this category with the Pilot Decimo, Sailor Pro Gear Slim, & Platinum 3776 all in the running. I do love the Pilot Decimo and would love for it to have been my top pick, but purely because of clip placement I feel like it is something you need to try before you buy. My winner is the Sailor Pro Gear Slim. It is my top recommendation whenever people want to upgrade from steel nibs into the gold-nibbed pen world. My best friend recently received one and loves it because even a medium nib works well with her fine handwriting.
Best Budget Fountain Pen
Both the Pilot Kakuno and Platinum Preppy are highly comparable in my opinion when it comes to actual writing but the Preppy wins as my pick this time. The added clip and ability to eyedropper the pen just make it a better pen in my opinion especially if you plan to daily drive it.
Best Specialty Fountain Pen Nib
The Esterbrook Needlepoint nib (ground by Kirk Speer) had to be my specialty pick. If you have small handwriting and can manage to get your hands on one, it is totally worth the purchase price especially as it fits in both Esties and Model J pens.