Rare, Bizarre, Unique Dip Pen Nibs You Have?

[TXKat]

By now I'm sure everyone here thinks I'm off my rocker, but I've yet another obscure, weird product question regarding dip pen nibs.  Ready?

 

Anyone ever heard of a Laundry nib? It says LAUNDRY NIB right on it! Hardest dang thing to write with in the world. Hard as nails and ink will NOT stay on the nib. It was on one of the holders I purchased. The shape is much like a bank nib (which says BANK NIB on it), and quite round, quite large, but...it's just odd! (Not at home, so no pic at the moment.) Wonder if Laundry is a name and it's just a horrible generic nib, lol.

 

There are the usual suspects, the Gillotts, Hunts, Esterbrooks, blah, blah, blah, but what is the most unusual or off the wall nib you have come across and what is it like?The most recent purchase garnered me a Miller Bros. Bank Nib with a pretty key breather hole. It was unusual for me, but I must say the flex is awesome! I also have a nib I'm guessing was made for a group as it is a "Clan" nib.

 

So info on the nib would be good...your oddest, unique nib and why would be a fun addition.

 

...and GO! 

[Paddler]

I have one with one shank and 5 small niblets spaced equidistant from each other. It is used for making the five staff lines in musical notation. It does a good job of it, too.

[ac12]

The "finger" nib.

It is actually the index finger, but at first glance you think it is the middle finger.

 

 

BTW, if ink will not stay on the nib, you may just have to clean it. Dip pen nibs are coated with oil or something else, so they don't rust before you get it. I clean my nibs with alcohol, but there are MANY ways of cleaning/preparing a new nib for use.

Edited March 18, 2015 by ac12

[TXKat]

The "finger" nib.

It is actually the index finger, but at first glance you think it is the middle finger.

 

 

BTW, if ink will not stay on the nib, you may just have to clean it. Dip pen nibs are coated with oil or something else, so they don't rust before you get it. I clean my nibs with alcohol, but there are MANY ways of cleaning/preparing a new nib for use.

I cleaned that sucker and no matter what...ink runs right off. Maybe I should wash with "Laundry" detergent??

[ac12]

 

 

 

I cleaned that sucker and no matter what...ink runs right off. Maybe I should wash with "Laundry" detergent??

 

Or carburetor cleaner.

I used carb cleaner on a particularly troublesome nib.

 

A match flame is what some people use, to burn off the coating.

[TXKat]

That's a first, but I know where there is some carburetor cleaner! If that doesn't help...maybe Braklean...lol!

 

Still curious what the Laundry nib was for. (A weapon if it doesn't change it's ways.). It's sharp and super hard.

[Jamesbeat]

My guess is that it was for marking clothes with laundry ink.

It is quite common for institutions with communal laundry services to write the owner's name on each garment so they don't get mixed up.

 

Maybe that is why it is a dip pen?

I bet laundry ink would be something that would clog a fountain pen.

 

Or, it could just be a weird marketing thing from a time that we don't fully understand nowadays.

 

A similar thing happens with straight razors.

They often have unusual names for marketing purposes that us modern folk don't always 'get'. I used to have one called 'The Electric', and never figured out why.

 

I bought a small razor once that had 'The Corn Razor' engraved on the blade.

I assumed that this was just another inexplicable weird marketing name, but it turned out that it was designed for shaving corns (hard skin) off your feet!

Edited March 19, 2015 by Jamesbeat

[TXKat]

And here are a few more from a lot I received yesterday. If anyone can help me with what these are for...I would really appreciate this!

[Intellidepth]

They look industrial don't they, like they belong on a machine.

[fountainpagan]

And here are a few more from a lot I received yesterday. If anyone can help me with what these are for...I would really appreciate this!

 

They were used for industrial design. They could belong to Pelikan Graphos:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/178748-pelikan-graphos-dip-pen-set/

[tinta]

On my last trip to Hungary I picked up these nibs at an antikvariát (old books letters, writing implements old paper, pipes, etc,....). These nibs come from the Schuler Co of Budapest.

It was the cruciform breather holes that caught my eyes.

[TXKat]

On my last trip to Hungary I picked up these nibs at an antikvariát (old books letters, writing implements old paper, pipes, etc,....). These nibs come from the Schuler Co of Budapest.

It was the cruciform breather holes that caught my eyes.cruciform breather 2-1.jpg

Those are beautiful....

[TXKat]

Thanks for pointing me in that direction, FountainPagan. Never heard of the thing until now. I'm wondering if the tin hat looking things are for drafting as well. Not sure if they would go on the same handle and they were in a separate box of nibs with pen needles. ??!!!

[Tweel]

I'm wondering if the tin hat looking things are for drafting as well. Not sure if they would go on the same handle and they were in a separate box of nibs with pen needles. ??!!!

 

Yes, they're for drafting. They work like a technical pen, except that you dropper ink into them through the cut-out in the side. Yours might have screwed into a handle for use as a ruling pen, but I have a feeling that they actually were meant to go with something like a lettering set. Whatever they went into would have separately held the needle that goes through the tip.

 

The nibs in the other box in the photo do look like they're from a Pelikan Graphos set.

 

Your laundry-marking nib probably isn't holding your ink because the laundry-marking ink was more viscous. Have you tried India ink?

[phardy]

These may not be rare, bizarre, or unique, but they are a bit mysterious.

Some years ago I visited a stationery shop in a mall in Helsinki. The shop had some wooden dip pen holders plus a little bowl of nibs. Two caught my eye: they appeared to be finished in copper. Looking more closely, I saw they were stamped "GOVT. OF PAKISTAN".

 

The clerk couldn't tell me how they ended up in Finland, but they didn't cost much.

[Intellidepth]

They were used for industrial design. They could belong to Pelikan Graphos

Fascinating. I can easily imagine my inventor grandfather using these now I've seen them attached to their nib holder and section. Too bad all his things were cleared when he passed away when I was younger. I would have particularly liked to have kept his drafted drawings, models, and instruments. I have a great memory of him working at his tilted drafting table in the 3/4 height space under his house in tropical Australia.