Dip Nib Holders

[USMCMom]

I am just getting into using dip nibs and holders. Played with them a little earlier, but now I enjoying them so much. I have quite an assortment of nibs from those that are very small to large size nibs. The holders I have are 2 oblique and 5 in wood or plastic. Two holders are for small nibs that have cylinder like ends. The other 3 holders are alike and looking a the end, you see a circle ... the end of the nib slides in the outter edge of the cirle and the holder edge. Going through all the nibs I have last night for the first time, I noticed quickly that not all nibs will fit the holders I have. This has prompted my question ... do nib holders (not oblique) come in various sizes?? If so, how do you know what sizes to get ... just buy holders that appear to be different than what you have??

 

Another question that has come to mind since last night ... how do you organize your nibs, if you have a rather large collection?? Do you organize by brand, type (flex, medium firm ...) or by brand followed by number or do you organize them at all??

 

I apologize if my question or the way I have worded it, makes little sense.

Edited July 21, 2011 by USMCMom

[Bo Bo Olson]

My two flexiest nibs are in a pen stand. The rest just sit on this or that ink well with a base or double ink well set. :embarrassed_smile: I've got about 20 from full flex to 4 ranges of wet noodle, weak kneed wet noodle, drunken weak kneed wet noodle, air kneed wet noodle, and I don't have the 303 which would be a Helium kneed wet noodle.

 

I don't use them yet....I really don't have the hand for it. Some day....and by then I'll have enough paper to see which papers go best. I'll have to get the Usual Suspects in inks too.

[jbb]

I have quite a few dip pen holders but I don't have one that fits every single nib I own. There are no sizes that I'm aware for the holders. BTW, Crow quill dip pen holders are much smaller than others and they will only fit those tiny crow quill nibs.

Edited July 21, 2011 by jbb

[USMCMom]

My two flexiest nibs are in a pen stand. The rest just sit on this or that ink well with a base or double ink well set. :embarrassed_smile: I've got about 20 from full flex to 4 ranges of wet noodle, weak kneed wet noodle, drunken weak kneed wet noodle, air kneed wet noodle, and I don't have the 303 which would be a Helium kneed wet noodle.

 

I don't use them yet....I really don't have the hand for it. Some day....and by then I'll have enough paper to see which papers go best. I'll have to get the Usual Suspects in inks too.

 

LOL ... love your nib descriptions!!

[USMCMom]

I have quite a few dip pen holders but I don't have one that fits every single nib I own. There are no sizes that I'm aware for the holders. BTW, Crow quill dip pen holders are much smaller than others and they will only fit those tiny crow quill nibs.

 

A Crow quill dip pen holder ... I'll have to check those out and see if that might be the small holder I have. Thanks!

[USMCMom]

jbb ... I just did a quick search to see the Crow quill nib holder. Yes, that's what I have (2 of them).

[jbb]

I've got some basic holders. PM/email me if you're interested in some.

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2730/5725922987_a2a80b06b6_b.jpg

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5227/5726629880_32f88370bc_b.jpg

[Mountolive]

There are many different types of dip pen holders, in many shapes and sizes, containing many different mechanisms for holding in a dip pen. Some of the vendors online give a description of what kind of nibs work with each holder.

 

(See, for example: http://www.jandtsartandcalligraphy.co.uk/online-shop/dip_pen_nib_holders.php or http://www.scribblers.co.uk/acatalog/Calligraphy_Penholders.html or

http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/80)

 

I have a number of different brands/types of penholders, with at least eight different mechanisms/designs for holding in the dip pen. Some of them are suitable for only one size of dip pens (as jbb points out, crowquill penholders only work with crowquills), and some are more universal. The best relatively cheap standard-size dip penholders I have found are the mahogany penholders sold by naragansett on Ebay (see http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-6-New-Mahogany-Dip-Pens-Penstaffs-/150624868796?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2311f119bc). These mahogany dip pens are smooth, comfortable, and quite sturdy (I have yet to have the end split on one, even when I am trying to force in an extra large nib. The oak penholders sold by the same seller are also quite nice for the price but will sometimes split if you are too rough with them.)

 

The most beautiful wooden penholders I own come from Steven and Pippa Engen (see http://dippens.net/).

 

If you want to cover all different sizes of dip pens, I recommend you get at least one regular penholder with a standard ferrule, one penholder that will hold smaller dip pens (see, e.g., http://www.jetpens.com/Tachikawa-Comic-Pen-Nib-Holder-Model-40/pd/4573), and one crowquill pen holder. I have many different types of nibs, and all of them fit in one of these three types of penholders.

 

As for storing nibs, I usually only buy complete boxes of dip pens these days and I put them in double-zip Ziploc freezer bags (only one type of nib per bag; e.g., Esterbrook 356's are stored in a different bag than Esterbrook 556's) and then I put stick-on labels on each bag. Even if you only have a few dip pens of a different type it might save you some eyestrain if you keep them in a separate labeled container so you aren't constantly sorting through your dip pens trying to find the one that you want.

Edited July 21, 2011 by Mountolive

[USMCMom]

There are many different types of dip pen holders, in many shapes and sizes, containing many different mechanisms for holding in a dip pen. Some of the vendors online give a description of what kind of nibs work with each holder.

 

(See, for example: http://www.jandtsart...nib_holders.php or http://www.scribbler...Penholders.html or

http://www.johnnealb..._detail_list/80)

 

I have a number of different brands/types of penholders, with at least eight different mechanisms/designs for holding in the dip pen. Some of them are suitable for only one size of dip pens (as jbb points out, crowquill penholders only work with crowquills), and some are more universal. The best relatively cheap standard-size dip penholders I have found are the mahogany penholders sold by naragansett on Ebay (see http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item2311f119bc). These mahogany dip pens are smooth, comfortable, and quite sturdy (I have yet to have the end split on one, even when I am trying to force in an extra large nib. The oak penholders sold by the same seller are also quite nice for the price but will sometimes split if you are too rough with them.)

 

The most beautiful wooden penholders I own come from Steven and Pippa Engen (see http://dippens.net/).

 

If you want to cover all different sizes of dip pens, I recommend you get at least one regular penholder with a standard ferrule, one penholder that will hold smaller dip pens (see, e.g., http://www.jetpens.c...odel-40/pd/4573), and one crowquill pen holder. I have many different types of nibs, and all of them fit in one of these three types of penholders.

 

As for storing nibs, I usually only buy complete boxes of dip pens these days and I put them in double-zip Ziploc freezer bags (only one type of nib per bag; e.g., Esterbrook 356's are stored in a different bag than Esterbrook 556's) and then I put stick-on labels on each bag. Even if you only have a few dip pens of a different type it might save you some eyestrain if you keep them in a separate labeled container so you aren't constantly sorting through your dip pens trying to find the one that you want.

 

Thank you! The way you store nibs, is what I was thinking of, but using one of the organizer boxes and labeling the compartment. I've never seen the Manga holders before. Have you used one and like it? After reading jbb's post, I found that the small holders I have, are the Crow, so my guess is that the other 3 I have (they're alike) are standard. Perhaps I wasn't pushing some of the nibs in hard enough and just thought they didn't fit. Thank you again.

[Mickey]

The Paper and Ink Art Adjustable and Hourglass Adjustable holders will handle almost any nib, even crow quills. The fixture has three coaxial slots, the outer one for most standard sized nibs, the middle one for mapping nibs and smallish nibs like the EF66, and the center most will hold crow quills. The Blackwell holder from John Neal, will handle almost anything except crow quills.

[USMCMom]

The Paper and Ink Art Adjustable and Hourglass Adjustable holders will handle almost any nib, even crow quills. The fixture has three coaxial slots, the outer one for most standard sized nibs, the middle one for mapping nibs and smallish nibs like the EF66, and the center most will hold crow quills. The Blackwell holder from John Neal, will handle almost anything except crow quills.

 

I'm on the Paper and Ink website now, but I'm not able to locate the adjustable or the hourglass holders. I guess I'm just having difficulty maneuvering around the site.

[Mickey]

The Paper and Ink Art Adjustable and Hourglass Adjustable holders will handle almost any nib, even crow quills. The fixture has three coaxial slots, the outer one for most standard sized nibs, the middle one for mapping nibs and smallish nibs like the EF66, and the center most will hold crow quills. The Blackwell holder from John Neal, will handle almost anything except crow quills.

 

I'm on the Paper and Ink website now, but I'm not able to locate the adjustable or the hourglass holders. I guess I'm just having difficulty maneuvering around the site.

 

Home > Supplies > Penholders > Oblique

 

They are toward the bottom of the list, just ahead of the "Red or Blue Comfort Speedball Holders.)

[USMCMom]

The Paper and Ink Art Adjustable and Hourglass Adjustable holders will handle almost any nib, even crow quills. The fixture has three coaxial slots, the outer one for most standard sized nibs, the middle one for mapping nibs and smallish nibs like the EF66, and the center most will hold crow quills. The Blackwell holder from John Neal, will handle almost anything except crow quills.

 

I'm on the Paper and Ink website now, but I'm not able to locate the adjustable or the hourglass holders. I guess I'm just having difficulty maneuvering around the site.

 

Home > Supplies > Penholders > Oblique

 

They are toward the bottom of the list, just ahead of the "Red or Blue Comfort Speedball Holders.)

 

Thank you ... I found them.

[Mountolive]

I've never seen the Manga holders before. Have you used one and like it?

 

I've used it a bit, but not much. It seems to work fine but I mostly use regular-aized dip pens for writing text and for those I prefer the penholders with the ferrules. Also, I seem to prefer the more slender penholders when writing for some reason, which is a bit strange given that my favorite fountain pen is a Pelikan M1000.