This invention provides an improved compact fine wire incandescent lamp filament and method for making such having a primary mandrel ratio in the range of about 1.40 to about 4.00 and a secondary mandrel ratio which is greater than or equal to the primary mandrel ratio. The improved filament design exhibits an increase in compactness and retains or increases structural rigidity while exhibiting minimal sag when the filament is incorporated into an incandescent lamp of the tungsten halogen type variety. The compact coiling method is particularly useful in designing compact filaments for high voltage applications where it is desirable to eliminate the use of rectifying means to lower the effective voltage across the filament.