Help Me Get Started With Dip Pens

[theexpanciluser]

Hello,

I am looking for information on the right insturments to buy for a beginner. I am not looking to make ornate calligraphy, but to simply write letters and other things the old way. What ink is right for a dip pen? Paper?

[AAAndrew]

You'll want something probably a little thicker than fountain pen ink, though it can be used. Some will take fountain pen ink and add gum arabic to thicken it. You can't use that ink in a fountain pen anymore, and I don't know how much to add, but that's what I've heard. Or you can try fountain pen ink that you like and see how well it does. I haven't experimented much to know if "dry" inks or "wet" inks have any effect, or if some other aspect of the ink impacts how well it works with dip pens. It also has something to do with the nib as well, I'm sure.

 

Mostly you can use india ink, Japanese or Chinese liquid sumi or painting ink, or any of the inks (like some iron gall inks) made for calligraphy.

 

You'll need a holder. If you're not trying to do Copperplate or Spencerian, then a straight holder would work. These can be cheap or expensive and everything in between.

 

You'll also need a nib. Again, there are a lot of nibs out there. Do you like to write with a fine line, a wider line, a stub? All are available in dip nibs.

 

And paper. You'll want something a little smoother than copier paper. Rhodia works great, but then so does HP Premium Laser paper bought by the ream.

 

A great place to start is John Neal booksellers. If I were in your shoes, I'd give them a call and be in front of your computer to see what they're talking about. They're very friendly and helpful. Let them recommend a nib and ink based on what you already like with fountain pens. If you want to try the fountain pen ink and gum arabic trick, they can sell you the gum arabic as well. I'm assuming you can figure out what paper you want. You'll also need a holder, but you can look on their site and see the choices. Just confirm with them once you've chosen a nib that your holder works with it.

 

Good luck! It's a lot of fun, and unless you get into the real exotics, it can be a whole lot less expensive than fountain pens. Just not quite as easy to carry around.

[ac12]

Are you Right hand or Left hand?

This makes a diference with the holders. I am RH so can really only give a RH recommendation.

I started with a straight holder, but quickly switched to an oblique holder.

- With the straight holder, my downstroke of the letter is a diagonal stroke of the nib. This is not good for a flex nib, it snags and spits ink. But it is just fine for a bowl or stub nib.

- With an oblique holder the nib is in line with the downstroke of the letter, so the nib flexes evenly and there is no spitting. I use the Peerless Oblique holder for almost all of my dip pen writing, which is mostly letter writing.

 

Note that back in the days of dip pens, they only had straight holders. So they held the holder/pen diferently, to align the nib with the downstroke of the letter. That is a somewhat difficult grip for some of us used to the 'tripod' grip. IOW another learning curve to master. The oblique holder aligns the nib with the downstroke of the letter, yet lets me hold the holder in a familiar way.

 

As for nibs. I started with bowl and stub nibs. These write similar to a fountain pen, so they were good starting nibs. And they have a little bit of flex, so you can play with that. I use these nibs in the straight holders.

Then for flex I am using Nikko G and Zebra G nibs. The G nibs are great starter flex nibs. The tip is just rounded enough that it does not snag like a pointed steel nib, yet it will do decent fine lines. I use the G nibs in my oblique holder.

For any of the pointed nibs, you need to write with a very light hand, or the nib will scratch or snag the paper on the cross and up-strokes. And you really need to use smooth paper.

 

As for inks. I use both fountain pen inks and Higgins Eternal ink. The Higgins is a dip pen ink, so do NOT put it into your fountain pen. The good thing about the Higgins Eternal is that it cleans up with water. I wipe my nibs with alcohol before using them, that makes the fountain pen ink able to stick to the underside of the nib. 70 or 90% rubbing alcohol, with the intert ingredient = water.

 

As for paper. For pointed pen work, IMHO, you NEED smooth paper. It is difficult enough to write on smooth paper, for novices like me, without the complication of writing on textured paper. My favorite paper is Staples, Sustainable Earth, 20#, sugar cane paper. It is about $8 a ream. This is much less than the HP 32# Premium paper. But the HP 32# paper is smoother.

 

gud luk in your journey