How Universal Are Dip Pen Nibs?

[jdllizard]

I'm a total newb when it comes to dip pens, but along with a black Esterbrook I bought at auction for its 3556 nib, I got an Eagle Pencil co. Arrow, with a patent date of 1887. Exactly like the one in this short video.

 

 

Mine is in better shape than the one in the video, and since I needed a dip pen to play with my J Herbin 1670 inks anyway, I want to use it if I can.

 

 

I'm just wondering how to tell which nibs will fit and which ones won't? Can I use those boxed Esterbrook dip pen nibs that are all over fleabay cheap? Or do I need to stick with Eagle brand nibs? Are there other suggestions?

 

And which nibs would make for a nice writing, flexible nib that will fit my Arrow?

[dcwaites]

Dip pen nibs fall into two sizes - large as above and small. The small are usually cylindrical and are typically crow-quill nibs used for mapping and fine drawing. The vast bulk are the standard large that you already have.

There may be some small differenced between brands of pen nibs but most pen holders can cope with the variation.

[Algester]

http://www.jetpens.com/blog/guide-to-nibs-and-nib-holders/pt/763

may this jet pens guide, guide you

[ac12]

Within the type of nib that you have, there are slight differences in the curvature of different brands of nibs.

Some dip pen holders have a clutch that will hold different size nibs, to accommodate the small curvature differences.

The one exception that I know of is the Speedball holder. That holder is made for only ONE size nib.

 

I don't know if it will fit, it likely will, my recommendation is the G series nibs; Nikko-G, Zebra-G, Tachikawa-G.

These are good starter nibs. They are not as picky as the older steel nibs.

I use these as my standard nib, and I have a LOT of other nibs to choose from.

 

dip pens is another rabbit hole to fall into.

 

I tried it and liked it so much that I have several dip pen holders, and enjoy writing with my dip pens more than my fountain pens. It is just the setup and clean up that becomes a bother.

 

gud luk

Edited October 16, 2015 by ac12