Messages

256

Tools & Supplies / Re: Show us your favorite nib holders!

« on: April 04, 2014, 12:31:00 PM »

OK, here are my primary holders. 

Left to right...

1. Walnut, Buckeye Burl and Tasmanian Blackwood (Nib Varies)
2. Cocobolo, Green Dyed Buckeye Burl and Ebony (Musselman Perfection)
3. Ebony, Maple Burl, Holly and Flame Maple (Esterbrook 358)
4. Antique Walnut, Magnusson Shape (Gillott Principality No.1 )
5. Walnut, Ancient Kauri, Olivewood Burl & Holly (Gillott 604EF)
6.  Solid Buckeye Burl (Gillott 601EF)
7. Ancient Kauri Carrot (Gillott 404)

257

Tools & Supplies / Re: Show us your favorite nib holders!

« on: April 04, 2014, 11:10:48 AM »

Here are a couple of my favorites I have made...

I'll post some of my personal holders after the rain stops

________________________________________________________________

I had to come back and edit because this made me realize what a difference a good camera makes in photos....thank you DSLR

258

Tools & Supplies / Re: Favorite Practice Paper

« on: April 04, 2014, 08:57:12 AM »

For everyday practice I use Hammermill Digital Color Copy Cheap, 28lb, very smooth and holds all inks perfectly.
For Nice white paper & #10 Envelopes I use Conqueror Brilliant White. Paper doesn't get any better than this for writing
For lined paper for letters I use Rhodia Lined Pads
For Graph Paper I use Rhodia Grid
For colored and card stock I use the 12x12 smooth card stock from hobby lobby. The pages that are sold individually. It holds all ink well without feathering.

259

Tools & Supplies / Re: My Favorite Nibs for Pointed Pen

« on: April 04, 2014, 08:44:05 AM »

My favorites are

1. Gillott 604EF (use this 95% of the time)
2. Musselman Perfection Red
3. Musselman Perfection Blue
4. Leonardt Principal EF
5. Esterbrook 358

260

Tools & Supplies / Re: Yoke Pen Co. Nib & Pen Wipes

« on: April 04, 2014, 08:37:29 AM »

So you did! Thanks Linda, I'll get them mailed out today. The holder details didn't photo well, wait until you see it in real life!

261

Tools & Supplies / Re: Making your own walnut ink?

« on: April 04, 2014, 06:20:22 AM »

Just the husks, the shell and nut are for the squirrels 

262

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: What's your workstation like?

« on: April 04, 2014, 06:03:08 AM »

The space is a small 15 x 30 one room (now two room) "cabin" built in the 1850's by my family which sits next to my home. There were originally 7 people living in it until and as they constructed the main home. I just completed the renovation this past summer and so nice to have my own space!

My desk is an old school teachers desk I found on Craigslist. Solid oak, deep drawers and built like a tank.

The paper storage to the left I built out of antique doors which were in the barn at my home. Three flat drawers, 3 ink and nib storage drawers and a 12x12 paper filing drawer.

Lastly, which replaces the plastic chest on my desk, is a recently completed project I just built. Built from the same solid walnut door that my paper storage cabinet top is made from. The ultimate penman toolchest! All solid walnut, ink storage top, nib drawer, customized holder storage drawer. 14" wide overall and drawer width allows me to store my 12" holders.

263

Tools & Supplies / Yoke Pen Co. Nib & Pen Wipes

« on: April 04, 2014, 12:20:44 AM »

I wanted to let everyone know that I just finished working with a company to develop the first (to my knowledge) disposable wipe exclusively made for nibs.  I created it due to always having problems with lint and fuzzies on my nibs when using a paper towel. They are made by a company which makes clean room wipes for the computer and hospital industries.

They are 100% lint free and each one lasts me about a month with daily practice for about two hours. Although each one is more expensive than other disposable towels, you use less and save money in the long run. Plus you are producing less waste!

I have a small sample supply now and offering them as singles for $1.50 for you to try with Free US Shipping and $1.15 for International Shipping, limit one per person, until my main supply comes in. Once the main supply is in the cost will go down dramatically per wipe, as about half of the above cost is my shipping cost.

All the details about the wipes are at the below link.

Yoke Pen Co Nib & Pen Wipes

264

Spencerian Script / P.R. Spencer Sr. Documents

« on: April 04, 2014, 12:00:08 AM »

I know some of you have seen the small images of this via my IG or Facebook, but I thought I'd share here in high resolution.

I recently was able to obtain an original specimen of writing from P.R. Spencer Senior, the man who created Spencerian. If you would like to view it, it is located at the link below in high resolution.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-pHg0csChGgc004cnNER0NYSkU/edit?usp=sharing

Also included was a second envelope..

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-pHg0csChGgdGZHeTA0LXdNWHM/edit?usp=sharing

265

General How To's & Projects / Re: Italian Capital How To!

« on: April 03, 2014, 11:30:22 PM »

Here is an example from my great great grandfather of the style, circa 1875

266

General How To's & Projects / Re: Italian Capital How To!

« on: April 03, 2014, 11:15:01 PM »

This was a style done at the turn of the century and my great great grandfather actually wrote this style. After showing the examples I have of his with Michael Sull, they were done with a straight holder. It was typically referred to as flourished script in the US, and very few penman did it due to it's complexity.

A straight holder is held in the traditional offhand flourishing style, where the point of the nib is towards your body and it is written from left to right.  As a result the upstrokes (thicks) are pulled away from your body and the downstrokes (thins) pushed towards your body.

It can be accomplished the way Erica described, but the old timers (and those at the time of printing of the Ames guide) did it in the way I described.

267

General How To's & Projects / Re: How to make a DIY Lightbox?

« on: April 03, 2014, 11:02:41 PM »

I made my own lightbox.....

The way I did it was made a wood frame out of 1x2's and then put 1/8" hardboard on the back. I attached 3/8" clear acrylic to the top. For the acrylic take 80 grit sandpaper and sand it until it is frosted looking on one side, place the smooth side up when mounting to the frame.

 For the inside I lined it all with aluminum foil and used spray adhesive to adhere it to the box frame to reflect the light. I then installed white LED strings lights throughout the inside of the box. The kind that look like a long flexible tube. I drilled a hole and ran the electrical connector out the side of the box.

It works great and its a 3ft x 2ft writing surface.

268

Tools & Supplies / Re: Making your own walnut ink?

« on: April 03, 2014, 10:48:06 PM »

I'm way behind on topics and trying to catch up, too many nib holders to make.

Anyhow, I make my own walnut ink. You don't have to wait for them to turn black or brown. The green husks work just fine as you are extracting the tannin's which are present whether green or black. I typically wait until the husk cracks open, slightly brown, because the are easier to shell.

• Remove the husks and smash into smaller pieces with a hammer.
• Place them in a pot with water , just enough water to cover the husks with about an inch of water and boil for around an hour (makes your house smell WONDERFUL!)
• Once Boiled down the water will be a dark brown, strain through a panty hose into a glass jar
• Decant into small container as you use it and I add a couple of drops of Gum Arabic to bind it

Very simple to do and works great. Some people add 5% denatured alcohol to the large storage container as it keeps it from molding. I have never had any of mine mold yet.

269

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: nib snagging on paper

« on: January 14, 2014, 08:38:12 PM »

Also one more thing is to adjust your nib to paper angle. Too steep of an angle can result in snagging.

 A great video from Dr. Joe Vitolo is at this link...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqF5-dKmViQ