Flex Nib For Copperplate

[discopig]

I, and many others, wouldn't recommend the Noodler. I nearly gave up on fountain pens because mine was SO BAD! And it still is!

 

Joe

 

I wouldn't say Noodler's pens are bad, but they are definitely not for Copperplate or Spencerian. They require way too much pressure to flex and aren't fun to use at all.

[prasadvenkat]

Hey there,

 

I just bought a Lamy Safari for everyday use in school and all of that fun stuff.

 

However, I really want to learn more styles such as Copperplate and Spencerian.

From what I've heard: I need a pen with a flex nib.

 

My question to you all:

 

1. Which pen do you recommend that has a good nib with good flexibility for Copperplate? Dip pen or fountain pen? Please be specific

I am a student, so I have given my self a budget of 100$.

 

Thanks In Advance,

mountainrider

HI Mountainrider,

This is an old post and you probably have the answers for it. Just thought I would give my 2 bits as I started learning Copperplate about a month ago.

 

I live in India and have a very very tight budget too. :-) Most of my budget gets used up in the shippings costs.

As suggested, Johneals book stores has some great stuff for beginners (no affiliation)

I don't have any affiliation with any of the sites I have mentioned. I have got them from people in this forum and other google searches and found them to be wonderful for me.

 

I bought this:

 

http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/84

K100-B. Copperplate Kit: Basic with Book

 

It comes with a holder, assortment of nibs, ink, instruction book and a pad of Layout Visual Bond paper.

 

My suggestions for starting on a budget with copperplate:

1) http://www.iampeth.com/lessons_copperplate.php had great information with videos on forming each letter

 

2) Practice initially on normal copy paper (80gsm or so) with the Nikko G nib, until you get a feel for the pressure and letter formation. Being on a budget, better paper is not an immediate option for me as shipping costs to India are between $25 to $40 and makes paper very very expensive for me.

 

3) It is a little difficult to use guideline sheets behind this as the paper is quite thick. You may want to print out the guides on the sheet itself or draw them with pencil

http://www.shipbrook.net/guidelines/ good site for printing guidelines

 

4) The Nikko G is more forgiving than the Gillot 303 or 404 included in the kit. This is mainly important for the upstrokes, as the nib tines snag on paper if the pressure is too much.

 

5) Once you have the feel for the nib and pressure (totally different from using fountain pens) you can try the Layout Bond sheet given in the Kit. Its a wonderful paper, thin and takes ink beautifully. Being thin, you can have guideline sheets behind it and makes life easier

 

Once you are comfortable with the stuff, you can buy individual nibs (the ones you like) and paper as you like.

 

http://www.paperinkarts.com/

This has all the stuff included in the Kit but can be bought individually and a reasonable price.

 

A very kind gentleman from this forum is sending me (free of cost ) a few sheets of different papers including Tomoe River paper. I will try those out and tell you how they are too.

 

A bit late posting this info, but I hope it helps.

Hope you enjoy copperplate. I am hooked on it now.

Edited April 20, 2014 by prasadvenkat

[Ego Id Veto]

 

I was thinking about trying this. So you say the Brause Rose fits? Did you damage the feed and/or section when you "jammed" it in?

 

How about when you're writing with the Brause Rose, does the end of the feed hit the paper? Can the flow keep up or are you fighting railroads?

Well it hasn't damaged the feed, but the steel dip nib leaves a residue on the inside of the section that's a bugger to get off.

 

And you need to hack the feed to increase the flow and avoid railroads. Also, some inks are impossible to use in it (contrary to the video, x-feather performs horribly in it), including x-feather and Caran D'Ache Caribbean Sea Turquoise.

 

The inks that I have used to great success are Iroshizuku Asa Gao, Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine and Private Reserve Tanzanite.

 

Edited to add: and if you position the feed correctly, it shouldn't hit the paper much, as the nib is longer than the usual noodler's nib.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Ego Id Veto