If you only have one holder...

[SunnyMoni]

If you only have one holder but want to switch out nibs, do you wait until you've essentially "used up" the nib you're currently using or do you switch it out, setting the partially used one to the side so you can switch back and not mix it up with your fresh nibs?

[prasad]

Switch out as needed. I normally have a container for used/prepared nibs.  Keep used nibs in there and keep switching as needed.

-Prasad

[Jasmine Writer]

Thanks MotherofPhoenix for asking that, and thanks prasad for answering! I'd been wondering this for so long, but I felt nervous about asking!

As an add on from me, do you need to regularly use those set-aside nibs to avoid rust/deterioration or anything of the sort? Any special way you need to keep them?

Thanks!
Jasmine Writer

[Heebs]

Yep, you just switch them out whenever you want. I have a tin with maybe 20 different nibs that have all been used and that I will go back to when I feel like using a different one, I just clean them with water and rubbing alcohol before putting them back in the tin and I've never had rust problems--dry well of course.

[Jasmine Writer]

Thank you, Heebs! That is really great to know.

[rabbitship]

Someone told me that if you rub the nibs with your fingers, the oil will transfer to the nib and prevent it from rusting. Don't know how true this is haha 

[jeanwilson]

Someone told me that if you rub the nibs with your fingers, the oil will transfer to the nib and prevent it from rusting. Don't know how true this is haha 

this comment pulled a memory out of the recesses of the dustiest part of my brain that i was very surprised to even recall. i took one lettering class in college, broad edge, taught by Stan Hess who was a wealth of knowledge on many historical techniques and mediums (egg tempera, real fresco, etc) - he suggested that we clean off our nibs with water and a lint free cloth, and then rub the nib along the crease that is on the outside of the nostril that curves into the cheek. he said there was just enough oil there to keep the nib from rusting. i don't think he considered that women might have makeup on and how that might affect things. i never did this. but, maybe rubbing your finger along the crease of your nose first would collect enough oil for the nib. Stan seemed like the kind of person would only pass along tried and true methods. i just keep nibs in an air tight container with those little desiccant packets.

[AAAndrew]

I change nibs constantly because a lot of what I do is try out different vintage nibs, or write letters and I feel like a different nib on this letter, or want to use different paper, or I'm just messing around writing for the sheer fun of writing. As an example, I'm currently working on another nib comparison, this time with 9 different stub nibs. I'm also going to do a re-working of my informal Falcon comparison and I'm up to around a dozen different Falcon nibs. That's a lot of prepped and ready-to-go nibs to just sit in a tin and sort through.

I wipe mine off thoroughly, but don't re-oil them. I've yet to have one rust on me. If I re-oiled them, then I'd have to re-prepare them to use again. I actually try very hard to not get my fingers on the underside of the nib so that I don't have to re-prep a nib before using it again.

I'm actually trying to figure out a good way of keeping all of my prepared nibs that are ready to go, out and stored so that I can easily grab one and write without having to dig through a tin and possibly get my finger oils on it again. I'm thinking something like those magnetic strips you sometimes see for storing knives on a wall, but smaller and on my desk. Maybe some small magnets with an inlaid metal strip across them in a wooden holder. Slanted, so that you can see the nib, but also grab the heel of the nib rather than touch the body of it. Hmmmm.

Anyway, back to the original question, I do switch out nibs often, but keep my prepped nibs separate from my unused ones.

[schin]

So fun to see everyones methods!

I HATE removing nibs and reinserting blablablah... so I just collect a lot of different holders, each with a nib stuck in there for months usually. Whenever I do have to remove a not-quite-spent nib to replace with another, I put the previous nib aside... (and usually lose it anyway).

I don't re-oil any nibs but I heard WD-40 is fine. You can also use some of those silica gel packets you find in electronics boxes to help keep moisture out.

AAAndrew: To organize nibs like that, I use a long pin and stick it through the hole of the nib and stick that into a cork board. You can collect about 5+ nibs on each pin. The magnet idea sound way cooler though

[melanie jane]

AAAndrew: To organize nibs like that, I use a long pin and stick it through the hole of the nib and stick that into a cork board. You can collect about 5+ nibs on each pin. The magnet idea sound way cooler though

I like this idea - nice and simple (and cheap).  Like Andrew, I'm currently trying out loads of nibs, and my current method of storage seems to be to have them randomly scattered about my desk!  I was keeping them in a tin, but there ended up about 40 in there, so whenever I wanted a different one I had to tip them all out and sort through them.  At the moment it's easier to just keep them on the side of my desk, already out.

With regard to switching them out from penholders, I make my own penholders, so have plenty available, however I still switch them about a lot.  I also don't like to leave the nibs in the penholders as I'm sometimes a bit concerned that they'll rust in the flange, so I prefer to take them out and make sure everything is dry.  I tend to pull them out with a bit of kitchen roll, it avoids getting oil from my fingers on them, and I use it to give them a final wipe to make sure they're dry.

[AndyT]

I'm the same as Schin, and leave them in there until they die.  For all intents in purposes I only use two types of nib in oblique holders nowadays, so it's not as if i need a whole bunch of them.  Notice the phrasing ... I do have a bunch of them, as it happens. 

[Bianca M]

I, too, try to avoid swapping out.  When I must, I put them aside in a used nib container that I can come back to, like Heebs.  I tend to lose track of them, however, when I do this- ah well.  I also keep a holder for each nib I use regularly so that I can minimize swapping - one for a G nib, one for a Hunt 101, another for a Hunt 22b, one for a Principal EF (when said nib behaves), and so on.  It's impossible to avoid ever swapping out when you need/want to make use of a random nib, but that's ok!

I haven't had any issues with out-of-use nibs rusting, so I don't oil them up again.

Jasmine, you should never feel silly about asking questions here!

[garyn]

I will swap nibs if I have to, but I also have a few holders, so I can leave the nibs in the holders.  I use one holder for a nib with a certain curvature (Nikko/Zebra G), and another holder  for a nib with a different curvature (Esterbrook 556).  This lets me avoid having to readjust the flange for different nibs.

When I pull a nib to swap, I keep it in a specific compartment in my nib box.  This keeps my 'in use' nibs separate from the unused nibs.