What Nib I Need For Arabic Calligraphy?

[osamaabusalh]

Hello guys, I was looking for a fountain pen with a nib which is suitable for Arabic Calligraphy, I think that Italic Nib is the good one, but I still not sure enough so I need your help guys.

ِArabic Calligraphy requires right-oblique nib with a very sharp edge for a broad (up-and-down) strokes and narrow strokes (sideways).

Arabic Calligraphers usually use an ancient handmade pens made of bamboo for the large letters, and 'Hatat nibs with a holder' for the small letters that could be modified by grinding (I found this too hard to write with, this why I'm searching for a fountain pen).

By the way, I need a 0.5 mm or 0.7 mm nib for typing a small letters.

 

I attached some pictures showing the Arabic Calligraphy, also the bamboo pen, Hatat nib and the holder.

 

Note: If possible give me an Aliexpress or eBay purchase link or any worldwide online store. Thanks for your time!

 

Thanks for your time, and your help would be much appreciated!

Edited September 16, 2015 by osamaabusalh

[grainweevil]

For an economical option, you might look for a Dollar 717 piston filler with oblique italic nib - eBay example.

[hari317]

Look for a fountain pen with an left oblique italic nib. The pics also show left oblique cut reed pens.

[osamaabusalh]

Thanks for both of you guys, I still need more information and how to pick the right pen.

[osamaabusalh]

Where I can find a fountain pen with Left-Oblique Italic nib?

[smk]

Osama, I don't think you will find a left oblique nib at that size that is suitable for Arabic Calligraphy. The Dollar Qalam is about 1mm broad but the stroke transition is not really sharp enough for the job - it needs to be modified (i.e. made thinner) for it to write well even at that size.

 

You can search for Manuscript sets with left-oblique nibs. They come in sets that have several nibs. I don't think you'll find one as small as .7mm though. The smallest they have is about 1mm. You can try grinding the sides off a bit but even then at this small size the flow of the ink is going to make it tough to maintain the stroke transitions from thick to thin. The smaller your nib, the more dependent the results are on paper and ink.

 

Another alternative is to have a fountain pen with a Broad nib modified to a fairly sharp left-oblique. This is going to be tricky as you will need to have the flow adjusted to make it write fairly dry.

 

There are pens available with a Hebrew/Arabic nib grind (also known as the Architect's point) where the tipping is ground to produce thin verticals and thick horizontals. These nibs are not suitable for Arabic Calligraphy as they don't accommodate the nib manipulation inherent to writing Arabic.

 

I have found left oblique dip pens the best tools for small writing.

 

Regards,

Salman

[osamaabusalh]

  On 9/20/2015 at 3:43 AM, smk said:

Osama, I don't think you will find a left oblique nib at that size that is suitable for Arabic Calligraphy. The Dollar Qalam is about 1mm broad but the stroke transition is not really sharp enough for the job - it needs to be modified (i.e. made thinner) for it to write well even at that size.

 

You can search for Manuscript sets with left-oblique nibs. They come in sets that have several nibs. I don't think you'll find one as small as .7mm though. The smallest they have is about 1mm. You can try grinding the sides off a bit but even then at this small size the flow of the ink is going to make it tough to maintain the stroke transitions from thick to thin. The smaller your nib, the more dependent the results are on paper and ink.

 

Another alternative is to have a fountain pen with a Broad nib modified to a fairly sharp left-oblique. This is going to be tricky as you will need to have the flow adjusted to make it write fairly dry.

 

There are pens available with a Hebrew/Arabic nib grind (also known as the Architect's point) where the tipping is ground to produce thin verticals and thick horizontals. These nibs are not suitable for Arabic Calligraphy as they don't accommodate the nib manipulation inherent to writing Arabic.

 

I have found left oblique dip pens the best tools for small writing.

 

Regards,

Salman

Thank you for such a helpful reply my friend.

Well, I already have an oblique nib with a holder and I grind-ed it to become left-oblique, but here comes the problem.. it's very scratchy and it flows a lot of ink and I find it too old and ancient tool to write with.

I'm wondering if there's a fountain pen with a nib that could be able to grind and also with small size of 1mm maximum.

 

Thank you once again

[smk]

You are most welcome Osama. I am glad you found my reply helpful.

 

The scratchy nib you have can easily be smoothed out by using fine grit sandpaper. I use 1200 grit for shaping and 2000 grit for smoothing of dip pen nibs. You can find these at car body repair section of automotive parts stores. A nail buffing pad (the kind with 4 sides of varying roughness) can also be used. Go slow and do not apply pressure when sanding. Check the nib after every 2 or 3 strokes on the sandpaper. It is too easy to take too much material off.

 

You will need to work out the ink and paper issue. Adding a bit of Gum Arabic to ink can make it flow better off the nib. Sometimes a Brass reservoir can help with controlling the flow. Here is an article on troubleshooting dip pen problems from calligraphypen.wordpress.com: Troubleshooting dip pens

 

I think you should look for a Manuscript left-oblique calligraphy set. I think they make it for left handed people but it works perfectly for writing Arabic. You can fine tune the size of the nib by careful sanding. These pens are not tipped.

 

Here is an example: Manuscript 3 nib set - left handed

 

You can also get them at John Neal Bookseller's: JNB - left handed calligraphy sets

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards,

Salman

[subbu68]

Did you check with Lamy website?

[Ghost Plane]

If you search the forum, our beloved SMK did a few videos in the last few years that showed his pens in use.

[Randal6393]

New on eBay, there are several pen sets offered from India (Arul Pens?) that are left-oblique, with nibs from 1.1 mm and up. Also, Hero pens is offering, on eBay, sets of pens that run from 1.1 mm to 2.5 mm, in five sizes. Look fairly decent. It will take a month but I will get one of the Hero sets and see how well they work out.

 

Best of luck,

[Arcadian]

While I have no personal experience in this area, I remembered stumbling across this a while back:

 

 

makes a nib less smooth than an unmodified rigid nib. In short, if you’re not sure you need added flex, you’re probably fine without it.

Architects Point

http://nibs.com/www/WEBSITE%20PICS/Nib%20Folder/Customizations/architects-point-nib-customization-image-back.jpg http://nibs.com/www/WEBSITE%20PICS/Nib%20Folder/Customizations/architects-point-nib-customization-image-side.jpg http://nibs.com/www/WEBSITE%20PICS/Nib%20Folder/Customizations/architects-point-nib-customization.jpg

A more exotic regrind is that to Architect’s Point. Named after the style of writing used by Frank Lloyd Wright, this regrind is the opposite of cursive italic, and provides for broad cross-strokes and narrow down-strokes. You can also achieve this style by holding a nib with a cursive italic regrind at a nine o’clock angle, parallel to the writing line. This also tends to be a particularly useful customization for those practicing Arabic or Hebrew calligraphy. The Architect's Point is best made from a Sailor Zoom or Naginata Broad nib, or a BB or 3B nib in other brands. The more "height" the tip of a nib has, the more dramatic the difference can be between a narrow down-stroke and broad cross-stroke. The price of the customization to Architects Point is $75.00.

 

 

It is C/P'ed from nibs.com. No affiliation.

 

 

 

[smk]

A note about Architect's point and Arabic writing:

 

The Architect's point is sometimes called an Arabic/Hebrew nib. I believe this is because Arabic writing have thicker horizontal strokes. However, such nibs are uncomfortable for Arabic writing and especially unsuitable for Arabic Calligraphy. I do not know about their suitability for Hebrew writing as I have never attempted that.

 

The horizontal strokes in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Pushto writing vary in their thickness which require a fair bit of twisting of the nib as it goes through the stroke. A left-oblique nib provides a natural angle for this manipulation. Rotating the writing edge by 90 degrees means a rotation of the nib would lift the back part of the nib off the paper - this means a rather awkward movement of the scribe's wrist is required for keep the edge planted.

 

Now there are some scripts (e.g. Nastaliq) that require parts of certain strokes to be written with a quarter or half of the nib touching the paper. These could conceivably be easier to make with an Architect's nib but the accompanying limitation on nib manipulation makes this advantage insignificant IMO.

 

- Salman

[deepak23]

I do know that an architect point can give a nice line variation that is not as 'ostentatious' as that of a stub or italic. It also suits most Indian scripts where the writing is from L to R.

[hari317]

  On 10/14/2015 at 4:58 PM, deepak23 said:

I do know that an architect point can give a nice line variation that is not as 'ostentatious' as that of a stub or italic. It also suits most Indian scripts where the writing is from L to R.

usually a Right oblique pen is recommended for Devnagari. I think Tamil and Malayalam might be best served by a monoline or a regular Italic nib pen. What nibs do Telugu and Kannada calligraphers prefer?

[flummoxed]

  On 10/17/2015 at 8:15 AM, hari317 said:

What nibs do Telugu and Kannada calligraphers prefer?

Based on my limited reading and writing in these scripts, we tend to have rounded strokes rather than down or up strokes. The curved/rounded downward and upward (if you can call them that) are where we would need the wider areas from a readability point of view. This assumption is based on printed (as in different from hand-written and not printed vs. cursive) material that I have read in these two languages. Hope I was able to explain the nature of the script!

 

In short, it would mean wider rounded strokes and thinner vertical or horizontal strokes. I do not know if it would mean a flex nib or a differently ground nib.

[Omaslover]

Very nice calligraphy!