To Remove the Nib, or Not to Remove the Nib. That is the Question.

[JanisTX]

After lettering, do you remove the nib from the holder, or not??

I try to go to IAMPETH every-other year.  (This year, it’s in San Antonio!  That’s kinda sorta in my backyard!  Well, OK!  That’s almost 500 miles away!  But, in Texas, we consider that to be “right next door”!). At my last convention, I learned that “most” calligraphers take the nib out of the holder, after cleaning it.  I DO NOT do that!! My go-to nib is the Brause 66EF.  It’s tiny & delicate. It’s easy to damage it when putting it in or taking it out of the holder.  So, I just leave it in the holder until it wears out.  Sometimes when I pull it out of the holder, it’s pretty rusty & “icky”.  If the rust doesn’t affect the writing, I guess that I don’t really care about that!  What do YOU do??

Janis

[BrightStar]

I never take mine out until they wear out either. And yep, they are rusty and kinda slimey but they're trash anyway. Once the nib is out, I do dip the flange in a little cleaner and shake it out. Sometimes I might put a little WD-40 on the old nib and run it through the flange a few times just to get the rust out.

[Erica McPhee]

I never take mine out either until it is worn out. Sometimes it’s a bit rusty, sometimes not. I try to just flame the writing part when I prepare the nib so as not to remove the coating from the whole nib. And I am careful to not dip the whole nib and flange in water when I clean it. This helps keep it from getting too bad. 

[TeresaS]

I leave mine in also…they always seem so hard to get in and out that I feel I do more damage then good if I am always taking them out.  It also may be a tad bit of laziness on my part!

[tiffany.c.a]

Oh this is interesting! I do both, depending on the type and material of the holder. (I assume Janis was primarily referring to oblique holders.)

Straight holder: If the holder has all plastic “internal” parts that contact the nib, I sometimes leave the nib in and sometimes take it out. But I definitely take the nib out if the internal part is metal. I’ve had nibs rust so far inside the holder that I couldn’t get them out. When I could separate them, the holder was still never right after that.

Oblique holder: I often leave the nib in unlike with straight holders, and I haven’t had one yet that wouldn’t come out. I think even when they’re left in, they get more air to help them dry faster. Even so, I occasionally practice taking the nibs out of oblique holders as it encourages me to try different nibs next time and not be so set in my ways, helps in finding out what I like best for what type of writing.

Wow, why is my answer so long?!

[Erica McPhee]

LOL @tiffany.c.a ! Not long. Just right.    And good point! I also take mine out of straight holders, especially if it’s a broad nib.

[handmadeletters]

Haha, this is a funny and interesting thread. I never paid attention to this detail.

Like Teresa, a bit of laziness is the main factor here and so the nib remains. Sometimes I take nibs out (both pointed and broad) to clean and put them back. It's nice to be able to grab a ready-to-go holder and just write.

Out of curiosity, do you people put away their calligraphy materials (inks/tubes, drying racks, rulers, lightboard, etc.) every day, after project completion, or never?

I try to put things away every day to stay tidy (and keep away from my cats), but this is very hard to do.

[Erica McPhee]

NEVER. LOL... I always leave them out on my workstation. If I put them away, I forget I have half of them. But I do keep them in a nice holder. And I line my inks up. Who am I kidding - it's usually a mess and I have to move "piles" of practice sheets, reference books, etc. all the time. I have no surface space left.   

[handmadeletters]

Haha, Erica! The piles, SO MANY piles!

[Mark T]

Sounds like the okee kokee........

You leave the Gllott nib in, You take the Gillot nib out.
Nib in, nib out - you shake it all about......


I'll grab my coat 

[Erica McPhee]

LOL - we call it the Hokey Pokey across the pond. Raise your hand if you read @Mark T ’s post to the tune? 

[Bianca M]

Lol my hand is raised - excellent little ditty, Mark!

And I never remove my nibs when I’m done working. 

[JanisTX]

I never remove my nibs until they are worn out & unusable. And, I have some gorgeous, wonderful oblique nib holders, some made by experts here at the Forum.  Do I use them?  No, unless I’m showing off! 😃. My go-to, everyday choice is a little black plastic Speedball holder!!  Why?  It’s what I used when learning Copperplate/Engrosser’s script!  It just “feels right” in my hand!  Why are calligraphers such creatures of habit??

I don’t know what y’all use to insert & remove the nibs in your oblique holders. - I have some little jewelry making pliers that I got at a craft store.  I’ve used them for more than a decade & they’re just like new!  But, I use Brause ef66 nibs 95% of the time& they are tiny & delicate. I think they can easily be damaged. So, I tend to leave them in the holder.

When I am traveling with a nib in an oblique holder, I put a small piece of a plastic drinking straw over the nib.  That works great to protect the nib! 


Janis