Inks With The Traveling Pen

[tringle]

Bullfly took them with her, and Frank took his. I'm looking for mine.

 

Hey, wait, Tringle, you had it first, where are your samples?

I know----I was too ashamed

[ScienceChick]

The traveling pen arrived today! Very odd but interesting. I want to know more. The pen is on an A5 (Rhodia No. 16) pad. Sorry for the rotated images, I can't make them upload in the correct orientation.

Edited July 17, 2015 by ScienceChick

[tmenyc]

Sorry, can't be more helpful on this. As noted above, it is Chinese, for calligraphy, but I simply don't know more than that.

Your writing with it is FAR better than anything I could do...

 

Tim

[amberleadavis]

WOW! Science Chick, I am truly impressed.

[tringle]

ScienceChick: Yay! I think you have the most successful attempt so far.

[Luma]

Can you put me on the list for this please? Thanks. Meanwhile I will resort to scouring Google for any information I can find!

[ScienceChick]

Sorry - I missed Tim's earlier post saying it's Chinese. The "tines" aren't aligned; I wonder if they're supposed to be? I hope Luma comes up with some additional info; I haven't found anything online that looks like it.

 

Thanks for the encouragement I'm still playing with it to see all the different line variations and will post more pictures if I come up with anything.

[Luma]

Closest I have found is called a 'ruling pen' but it is adjustable, especially the modern ones.

 

 

I am guessing it's from the same family with the style being more primitive. Are there any markings whatsoever on it?

Edited July 17, 2015 by Luma

[ScienceChick]

Closest I have found is called a 'ruling pen' but it is adjustable, especially the modern ones.

 

 

I am guessing it's from the same family with the style being more primitive. Are there any markings whatsoever on it?

 

None. The handle is decorated (floral and geometric) but no marks there or on the section or "nib." I broke out a loupe to be sure.

[Luma]

Out of curiousity, what does the end of the handle look like? From the photo it seems like it has a tiny protusion. I wonder if this can be turned to tighten the tines or to release them? If so, maybe it will reveal more clues but then again... it would be best to let the pen's owner take it apart.

[ScienceChick]

It has a decorative finial but it's just decorative. There's no way to adjust anything - other than manually bending the "tines."

[Luma]

Darn. Can you post a front view of the tines whenever you have a moment? Thanks.

[tmenyc]

it would be best to let the pen's owner take it apart.

Luma -- I am getting huge pleasure from seeing this get used ... feel free to do whatever you think needs to be done to unlock its treasures. I thought the protrusion on the end was decorative, not functional. But, I didn't actually try to open or dislodge it beyond what my fingers could do.

 

Tim

[Luma]

Tmenyc: I would rather not cause it any harm. My reasoning behind finding if it is able to be taken apart is to see what type of mechanism is used in order to pin point the age of the instrument. I've had no further luck beyond finding more info about 'ruling pens' other than a few more types. One is the 'bowpen' but there are no pictures of it that I can find... Will need to do some more digging!

[clazbill]

That's one fascinating pen! Never seen anything like that; reminds me of a folded nib pen taken to an extreme.

 

Seems like it would great for sampling inks, or at least using up ink fast.

[tringle]

I thought the pen was actually silverware when I first opened the packaging.

Edited July 17, 2015 by tringle

[amberleadavis]

That's one fascinating pen! Never seen anything like that; reminds me of a folded nib pen taken to an extreme.

 

Seems like it would great for sampling inks, or at least using up ink fast.

 

What's a folded nib pen?

 

And yes, I didn't think about it, it was fun for testing inks at the extreme.

[chewytulip]

A folded nib pen is basically a dip pen that chugs ink. On mine, the metal nib is a small sheet of metal that was folded like a taco. The sides of the "taco" don't touch, and the ink sits in the fold until it's touched to paper. Or flung around with wild hand gestures.

It's very expressive, with a wide range of line widths, but it's not flexible.

 

 

I borrowed my own instagram photo to show what the pen looks like.

[amberleadavis]

Thank you! We appreciate the description. Do you want to go on the list to try the pen?

[chewytulip]

Heck yeah. I already messaged sciencechick!