Looking To Get Into Dip Nib Pens, Any Recommendations?

[Arctic_Wolf]

Looking for recommendations of super flexible and/or italic-ish nibs to try for a dip pen. I figure this'll be a lot less expensive than going after a full-flex fountain pen and not even knowing how to make use of it, and it'll be easier to clean too. Ink recommendations also welcome, I know they're generally different from regular FP inks.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Arctic_Wolf

[Randal6393]

Hi, Welcome to FPN. Glad to see you here.

 

For flex work, recommend a good elbow oblique holder. This assumes you are right-handed. Lefties generally use straight holders. My favorite is the Blackwell from John Neal, Books. But there are many other great holders that will work well. I favor the Blackwell since it will take dip nibs from very small to very large. The best way to check out nibs is to get three or four each of what looks interesting. I prefer Brause Rose nibs, Brause 66EF's, Leonardt Principals, and Gillot 303's. One of the best newer nibs are the G-nibs, made by Zebra, Nikko, or Tachikawa. My favored ink for pointed work is a good iron-gall, sumi inks for practice. There are many listed at online supply stores, everyone has their favorites. Papers, practice is good on copy papers, final work is usually on something like HP 32-lb laserjet bond. Again, everyone has their favorites.

 

For Broad-edged work, my preference is for Wm. Mitchell pens in a straight holder. Be sure to get ink wells to put on the pen. I recently tried Tachikawa nibs and they work great, have a double ink well. Really neat work. Be prepared to sharpen your nibs, may be needed to get good thicks and thins. Inks, again, sumi works well. Higgins Eternal is one of the best practice inks. I find Calli inks to be fun and easy to use. Paper, much the same as for flex pens.

 

Best of luck to you, take the time to enjoy your writing,

[Arctic_Wolf]

Hi, Welcome to FPN. Glad to see you here.

 

For flex work, recommend a good elbow oblique holder. This assumes you are right-handed. Lefties generally use straight holders. My favorite is the Blackwell from John Neal, Books. But there are many other great holders that will work well. I favor the Blackwell since it will take dip nibs from very small to very large. The best way to check out nibs is to get three or four each of what looks interesting. I prefer Brause Rose nibs, Brause 66EF's, Leonardt Principals, and Gillot 303's. One of the best newer nibs are the G-nibs, made by Zebra, Nikko, or Tachikawa. My favored ink for pointed work is a good iron-gall, sumi inks for practice. There are many listed at online supply stores, everyone has their favorites. Papers, practice is good on copy papers, final work is usually on something like HP 32-lb laserjet bond. Again, everyone has their favorites.

 

For Broad-edged work, my preference is for Wm. Mitchell pens in a straight holder. Be sure to get ink wells to put on the pen. I recently tried Tachikawa nibs and they work great, have a double ink well. Really neat work. Be prepared to sharpen your nibs, may be needed to get good thicks and thins. Inks, again, sumi works well. Higgins Eternal is one of the best practice inks. I find Calli inks to be fun and easy to use. Paper, much the same as for flex pens.

 

Best of luck to you, take the time to enjoy your writing,

 

 

Thanks for the advice Mr. Randal, I'll definitely look into these

[Cryptos]

Somethings take some getting used to. I actually find using a straight holder with a flexible nib more comfortable than with an oblique, although that is slowly changing. Obliques are a bit weird at first.

[ac12]

The reason for using an oblique holder for a right handed person is that it lines up the nib with the down stroke. So that you are pulling straight down with the nib. In a straight holder, for me at least, the down stroke would be a diagonal stroke of the nib, and that sometime spits and spatters because I am pulling diagonally on the nib rather that downward. I started with straight holders, then I switched to obliques and only use my straight for nibs that will not fit in the oblique holder.

 

Another good flex nib is the Leonardt Hiro 41. I have one, and it is a nice soft flexible nib. They have been having QC problems with "something" (maybe silicon oil) getting on the nib which prevented ink from sticking or stick well.

 

I recommend that you not start with a supper flexible nib. They are so easy to flex that they can be difficult to write with. As Randal said, a G nib (Nikko, Zebra, Tachikawa) is a good starting nib. The G nib is my standard nib. Once you are comfortable with it, then graduate to the more flexible nibs.

 

Important, you MUST prepare the nib for writing. What this means is to clean off any manufacturing oils and gunk from the nib. I wipe the nib with rubbing alcohol (inert ingredient = water), other use toothpaste, or a match for a few seconds, or ...

 

As for ink, I got Higgins Eternal ink after advice here, and it is soooo much better than the Speedball ink that I had been using.

But you can also use regular fountain pen inks. I usually use FP ink with my dip pen when writing letters.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I have one each Hunt 99-100-101 that when an earth quake happens in California the nibs flex in the cup.

I do live in Germany. The nib still flexes in the Cup. They make a wet noodle look uncooked.

 

I have Sonnecken and a few others.....those are much more than wet noodles also, but not in the Hunt 99-100-101 or Gillette 303/404 range.

 

I'd suggest working your way up to the true super duper flex of the those Hunts mentioned. There are other Hunt or Esterbrook nibs that have less flex. Brause also.

You can smooth the nibs so they are not too scratchy.

 

An oblique holder better than the Speed ball is something you need if right handed like mentioned. That is not a place to save $10.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Bo Bo Olson

[BCastle]

As others have suggested... For flex pens, one of the G nibs, more than enough flex to be getting on with and smooth on the upstroke. There is a nice blog post here which is well worth a read...https://thepostmansknock.com/the-best-beginner-calligraphy-nib/

[Goudy]

The Zebra G and the Brause Blue Pumpkin are both really easy to use nibs with a lot of flex. An iron gall ink such as Diamine Registrars will show off the line variation better than standard fountain pen inks. A smooth paper such as Rhodia will help to prevent the nibs from snagging. And a simple straight holder such as those in the videos I've linked to will feel most natural if you're transitioning from fountain pens. Oblique holders make slanted calligraphy easier - but you're not obliged to learn calligraphy just because you're using a dip pen!

[AAAndrew]

If you're interested in truly learning copperplate, or even if you just think you might, print out one of the guideline sheets that include the lines and angles. It makes a huge difference, especially as you're trying to get consistent.

 

If you're not that interested in calligraphy, but just want to have thick and thin lines in your writing (shaded writing), then you don't need, and probably don't really want, one of the super-flex pens. A vintage nib like one of the flexible falcon nibs from Esterbrook, or my current favorite, the Spencerian Forty (#40) Falcon which give you just enough thick while also being durable, easy for a beginning and smooth.

 

An example of that kind of writing as opposed to the full-on flexing for copperplate.

 

[Inky.Fingers]

If you're interested in truly learning copperplate, or even if you just think you might, print out one of the guideline sheets that include the lines and angles. It makes a huge difference, especially as you're trying to get consistent.

 

If you're not that interested in calligraphy, but just want to have thick and thin lines in your writing (shaded writing), then you don't need, and probably don't really want, one of the super-flex pens. A vintage nib like one of the flexible falcon nibs from Esterbrook, or my current favorite, the Spencerian Forty (#40) Falcon which give you just enough thick while also being durable, easy for a beginning and smooth.

 

An example of that kind of writing as opposed to the full-on flexing for copperplate.

 

Just curious, what is the scale of your writing AAAndrew (i.e, how big are your letters 10cm tall)?

[AAAndrew]

That was written in a Black 'n Red spiral bound notebook. It's called "standard rule" but can't find specific measurements. Can't measure at the moment.

 

The guide I made for myself does use a 10mm line height. I'm trying to develop a way to write at this small scale. The big problem I have at the moment is keeping the shading thinner but still have it there.