Binding energies and other global properties of nuclei in the middle of the pf shell, such as M1, E2 and Gamow-Teller sum rules, have been obtained using a new Shell Model code (NATHAN) written in quasi-spin formalism and using a j-j-coupled basis. An extensive comparison is made with the recently available Shell Model Monte Carlo results using the effective interaction KB3. The binding energies for -nearly-all the 1f 7/2 nuclei are compared with the measured (and extrapolated) results. PACS number(s):21.10.Dr,21.60.Cs