This particular pen is an "Extra Fine" tip and it is one of the first pens I picked out of the lineup on Jetpens.com when I first started. It's very forgiving of the heavy-handed, making it a good choice for the beginner who is looking for a pen they can use for smaller type size. The variation between thin and thick is that noticeable but you can still achieve enough of a difference to create the brush calligraphy effect.