Newbie Dip Pen Nib Question

[jabberwock11]

I have several E+M holders, they use the standard ferrule (aka clutch) and will hold almost any nib from the tiny brause EF66 all the way up to the large vintage Esterbrook nibs.

 

If you are using your pen for standard writing, then an oblique holder is really not necessary. I do both calligraphy and general writing with my holders and find a straight holder works well for both (I actually intensely dislike oblique holders).

 

As the other folks have stated, vintage Esterbrook nibs and G nibs are excellent choices for general writing (I am especially fond of the Esterbrook Falcon 048, Esterbrook 788, and the Zebra G).

 

The best part about dip pens is their ability to use inks that would KILL a fountain pen such as Sumi inks and India inks (in fact these inks usually work much better with dip pens than fountain pen inks, which tend to run off of dip pen nibs too easily). I highly recommend Yasutomo Traditional Chinese (Ultra Black) ink (which can be found at Hobby Lobby) and Walnut Ink Crystals (which can be found on line here: http://www.paperinkarts.com/walnt1.html ). I find that the Paper And Ink Arts formula for walnut ink is way too thick and use about 1 Teaspoon of crystals to 20ml of water (and absolutely do NOT do what the Web site says and just fill the jar with water, you'll end up with super thick mud instead of ink).

 

Enjoy the dip pen and don't let all of the options overwhelm you, they're just options.

Edited September 19, 2015 by jabberwock11

[AAAndrew]

I second the walnut ink. I love the look of it. You can dilute it to get the look you want as well.

 

I use a 1 oz nalgene bottle I bought at REI, put in a quarter teaspoon of crystals and fill with water. Works great. Even a 1 oz bag of the crystals will last you a long time.

 

And I can fit four or five of those bottles and some paper toweling into a single sandwich-sized plastic container (which seals water-tight) for a traveling set of ink pots. For those of us who REALLY have a problem.

 

As jabberwock says, try a few out, don't worry about all of the options, you'll eventually find some that you like. But it can very well be a slippery slope, but then, we do specialize in gentle shoves down such slopes here on FPN (pens, inks, paper, nibs, ...).