Dip pens

[AllenG]

I trust picked up a few holders and a handful of nibs from the local Dick Blick.
I will say that I love my fountain pens even more now, 'cause these dip nibs are freaking hard to use.
My handwriting sucks all over again. God these are critical. Either have perfect form or go home- no forgiveness at all. They bite worse than a dull razor too.
One thing that is nice is they are cheap. $15.00 and you have a big handful of different nibs to try.

Im going to look for an oblique holder and see if that helps at all. Anyone use a dip pen? Any pointers?

 

[joshua1970]

hmmmm.. was looking at them on Gouletpens, but I have some points on amazon and was looking at a few of the options there - glad I didn't pull the trigger. will be watching this thread

http://www.amazon.com/Dip-Writing-W...=UTF8&qid=1350069304&sr=8-1&keywords=dip+pens

http://www.amazon.com/J-Herbin-Tape...UTF8&qid=1350069335&sr=8-22&keywords=dip+pens

 

[AllenG]

I got one of the glass pens from the Goulets. They are much more forgiving than the flex nibs. The line is a touch thick for my handwriting but they hold a lot of ink. I can write almost a page with one before I need to re ink it.

That wood holder looks just like the one I bought from Dick Blick. That one is the challenge. Well, the flex nibs are.
I also picked up a few gothic nibs. Much easier to use. I haven't tried gothic script for many years. I was surprised how much I remember.

Flex nibs though--god almighty my respect for the Spencers has gone up. They are a challenge and a half.

 

[joshua1970]

I got one of the glass pens from the Goulets. They are much more forgiving than the flex nibs. The line is a touch thick for my handwriting but they hold a lot of ink. I can write almost a page with one before I need to re ink it.

That wood holder looks just like the one I bought from Dick Blick. That one is the challenge. Well, the flex nibs are.
I also picked up a few gothic nibs. Much easier to use. I haven't tried gothic script for many years. I was surprised how much I remember.

Flex nibs though--god almighty my respect for the Spencers has gone up. They are a challenge and a half.

taking notes. never used a flex nib, that I know of, tho it's been many years since I've used a FP.

and.... just got my 'shipment sent' email from goulet! WOOHOOO!!

 

[AjaxLepinski]

I drew a comic strip for the weekly newspaper at my old college. I used a variety of Speedball brand, calligraphy, dip pens. I still have them and use them every once in a while for kicks. They work well, give a nice dark line and are great for hash lines and shading. They create really nice, flowing, natural looking line and I was sometimes surprised by the way they added unintentional beauty to my drawing. They also were prone to blotching and ruining a drawing. I tried Rapidograph pens but, I didn't like them because they didn't have a good variety of nibs to choose from and they only made lines of uniform thickness. I just ordered my first fountain pens from a recommendation I saw in "the cheap pen thread" - they were really inexpensive - under US$10 each. They are coming from a website called Slow Shaving at bentonclay.com. Can't wait to try them out!

 

[Mr5x5]

I have one that I have pulled out a few times. Nice assortment of nibs that are stamped Hotel Syracuse. Something to play with when my Ahab is acting up and I am procrastinating from what I should be doing.

 

[AllenG]

I have found that the quality of paper makes a huge deference with these nibs.

 

[AjaxLepinski]

Agreed about the quality of the paper's effect on this type of nib - absorption, linting, aging, brightness, rub resistance, quality of the coating. The Speedball nibs are prone to picking up paper lint resulting in a wider opening and subsequent blotching. The thing I like about Speedballs is that they can be pressed harder to vary the line thickness but, when you press, you pick up lint and have to keep wiping the tip. They are also inexpensive so, if you press too hard and cause damage, no big loss. They just don't look nearly as nice as as a gold tip Sailor or Mont Blanc.

 

[AllenG]

Agreed about the quality of the paper's effect on this type of nib - absorption, linting, aging, brightness, rub resistance, quality of the coating. The Speedball nibs are prone to picking up paper lint resulting in a wider opening and subsequent blotching. The thing I like about Speedballs is that they can be pressed harder to vary the line thickness but, when you press, you pick up lint and have to keep wiping the tip. They are also inexpensive so, if you press too hard and cause damage, no big loss. They just don't look nearly as nice as as a gold tip Sailor or Mont Blanc.

My favorite note paper does well with my fountain pens, it's a pitted scratched through mess with the dip pen nibs. They do wonderfully on quality stationary though.

Getting the shading where the Spencer Brothers put the shading on letters is hard, just stating for the record.

And I'm loving the way iron gall ink changes colors. The stuff I have goes fro Parker blue to jet black.

 

[AllenG]

Anyone have a preferred nib.
Of the three I have, two are more scratchy than a flea ridden cat and the smooth one dumps ink.

 

[AllenG]

FWIW 400 grit sandpaper takes all the scratch out of my scratchy nibs. I wouldn't want to try shaping up my Monteverdes but ill put a buck ninety nine nib to the grit in a second.

 

[Mike Schutz]

Back in the 60's, the good sisters tought us how to use dip pens in art class. I still have the old Speedballs and a few dozen types of nibs. They're fun to take out and play with on occasion. They do need a little bit of practice to use but are not impossible. Keep practicing and have fun.