Topics

1

Tools & Supplies / Burl Pens

« on: November 18, 2015, 01:50:16 PM »

Anyone that follows me on IG knows I'm obsessed with burls so I wanted to post some recent ones here since I've been MIA recently :O Plus the burl grains are so much nicer on a larger screen.

These are my carved ergonomic holders and they're pictured without a flange except for one.

Two-Tone Amboyna Burl



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Dyed Birdeye Maple Burl



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Honduran Rosewood Burl



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Dyed Spalted Maple Burl



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Tools & Supplies / Vintage Holders

« on: February 06, 2015, 04:39:48 PM »

As someone who enjoys making holders I naturally love collecting vintage holders (but which one of us doesn't ) so I wanted to post my little collection and see if anyone else has some they'd like to share. Ahem...maybe someone in Nevada... With the help of Chris I was able to identify most of them.

So here are mine, from top to bottom:
- Spencerian (2nd generation)
- Zanerian Excelsior
- Magnusson
- Unknown (might be "Crown")
- Zanerian Fine Art Pen Holder (aka Zanerian Fine Writer)
- Tower, Mitnik, Strahm Holder.
- Homemade (Features contoured tripod grip)

3

Tools & Supplies / Ink Cage Review

« on: January 11, 2015, 05:07:05 PM »

As promised here’s my review of Jim’s Ink Cage reservoir, which started with this thread.

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen my quick, hand-made, “bowl” reservoirs which are really fun to use but I haven't had time to experiment with them since so when I ran across the Ink Cage on ebay I was curious. I was on the fence about ordering until I saw Jim offering an Ink Caged Gillott 604EF and decided to jump on it (and finally get to try the 604EF ).

ORDERING
Jim had my item shipped within a few hours of it being placed and it arrived at my home a few days later extremely well packaged. He also threw in an extra Eva crown nib, which was a great touch, thanks Jim!

BUILD
The nib and reservoir looked just like they did in the online pictures. Upon examining the Ink Cage, as expected, it's clear the spring is not your ordinary ballpoint pen spring--it appears to be a higher tension spring with a very specific profile that's been worked out just for this purpose and very well so. Of course you could always try and attach a cheap pen spring to one of your nibs, but just like any other product out there you're paying for the quality of all the R&D, spring, workmanship and nib. Overall I was very impressed with the build quality.

SIZE/FITTING
The main reason I held back on buying one for as long as I did was the fact that the Ink Cage seemed to take up a lot of real estate both along the body of the nib and in clearance space underneath, which isn't such a big deal with a straight holder but can be problematic for oblique holders. I took the plunge anyway since I figured I could just use it with one of my holders adjusted for longer nibs.



LOADING
I tried dipping the nib at different depths to find the best balance of ink on the Ink Cage and figured out that about half was perfect. It was a lot of ink but not too much that I could easily have an accident, at one point I filled it to about 80% and had a large blob drop while writing. Half loaded was plenty enough though, I was able to write for quite a while (easily about 10x as compared to a single dip, if not more). The coil feeds the eyelet steadily and keeps a consistent ink flow while writing.



FLEXING
The 604EF is known for it's great swells so I was really looking forward to seeing how it compared to my favorite nibs. Unfortunately for someone who prefers a lower nib angle, like myself, the clearance becomes an issue when flexing--this would likely not be a problem with a straight holders as the angle is inherently higher. However, this is is something that could likely be adjusted by moving the Ink Cage back a few millimeters.



CLEANING
I only attempted to use the Ink Cage with walnut and sumi ink and both washed off relatively well but I would likely not attempt to use something like gouache on it because i'm prone to leaving it on there and just making a mess.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I really like the concept, craftsmanship and final product execution for the Ink Cage but there are some simply size/clearance adjustments before it's perfect for oblique holder use, at least for me. Primarily shortening the coil to about 1/2" long since I don't really need that much more ink along with moving back away from the tip a little bit. I would not hesitate to order again from Jim if I was looking to get another because he has offered to customize the Ink Cage to our specifications. Overall a great product that makes writing long pieces much easier and great service.

EDIT
Well, this is interesting. After a total of about 30min of actual use I managed to break my 604 EF. I'm not sure if it's just not supposed to flex this much but the first time I tried pushing it to flex as much as my Spencerian 1s my tine snapped clean off (the nib did feel weird from the start but I can't compare since I've never used another 604 EF). I think the high nib angle had something to do with it lesson learned.

4

Tools & Supplies / Anyone use the Esterbrook 128?

« on: November 25, 2014, 01:20:24 PM »

I'm just trying to see who's used it and if they can give a short review, mostly how it compares to other nibs (Principal, Esterbrook 357/358, etc).

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Tools & Supplies / My Hand Made Oblique Holders

« on: September 16, 2014, 03:28:03 PM »

While I'm at it I wanted to share the holder's i've been making in my spare time. As many of you know I started making my own Bullock flanges a few months back and also converting some straight holders to obliques using those flanges. I never tried making pens because I don't own/know how to use/have a place to put a lathe but I've always wanted one of Bill Lilly's natural grip holders but they seemed a bit too small for my hands. Then, in his most recent batch, Jake Weidmann finally released some of his ergonomic holders but unfortunately due to a lack of funds (I wasn't expecting the $350 price tag) I missed out But that same night after a simple "you can prob carve your own!" from the awesome Linda Y. a new obsession began...

So here they are, the evolution of my hand made holders, from top left to tight.

• Century Oblique for size comparison
• First attempt made from a small dowel, got me started but certainly too small for my hands
• Second one was quite an upgrade. Made from butternut lumber and finished with acrylic and a clear coat
• Third was the Cheshire Cat, another butternut holder with acrylic paint. This one was an experiment with an oversized grip
• The last two are my favorites by far and are the most comfortable to use. Made from black walnut and simply clear coated with, amazing weight and grasp

Closer looks







There are a couple of custom ones that I've sold but forgot to take pictures but these give a good idea of the evolution. I'm extremely happy with the latest ones.

6

Tools & Supplies / Review: Industrial Inkwell by Salvador

« on: September 16, 2014, 03:03:33 PM »

Here's a quick review of the aluminum inkwells sold by Salvador (@petsinguimendez on Instagram or [email protected]).

I had been eyeing, as I'm sure many of you have, the McCaffery inkwells for quite some time--I have spilling accidents quite often using small plastic containers or jars so the weight was my main draw to the McCaffery inkwells. Of course the beautiful industrial look was a plus but the price was certainly holding me back.

Already owning two of Salvador's aluminum holders and seeing the quality first hand, I emailed him as soon as he posted about his new inkwells (I'm a sucker for industrial design). I wasn't sure what to expect but at almost half the price of a McCaffery I took the plunge and was not disappointed. I have it filled with Walnut ink as it's my primary ink and is easy to clean (read ahead about airlock system caveat below).

(Sorry about the photo quality/colors, my DSLR is down so I used my 5S )

It's certainly a hefty inkwell that wont be tipping over easily at 2 inches wide.



Detail of the Ez grip cap.



The rubber O-Ring provides an airlock seal for transportation anywhere without leaking.



Wide mouth makes it easy to dip just about any size holder.



There is a caveat with the airlock system--because the air is held in by the O-Ring if you shake up the inkwell and consequently open it right away you're going to have a mess. This is what it looks like after opening it slowly and letting the air release slowly otherwise ink would be all over the place. I clean the cap and threads after each use to prevent any ink from crusting. This might be why McCaffery doesn't use an O-Ring.



Size comparison next to a bottle of McCaffery's



Review Rundown

PROS

• Heavy, extremely difficult to tip over
• Large capacity
• Extra wide opening
• Ez Grip
• No leak seal
• Very easy to clean
• Price, only $45+Shipping vs $75 for a McCaffery

CONS

• Airlock System can cause a mess if not opened slowly or overfilled

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Workshops & Conference News / IAMPETH 2015 & 2016 Announced

« on: August 06, 2014, 01:51:19 PM »

For those of you not at the convention or following news on facebook, Dr. Joe Vitolo just made this announcement. Portland 2016 is looking especially fun for the designer/calligrapher

Time to get started on some planning.

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Tools & Supplies / Oblique Flange Preference

« on: July 02, 2014, 08:36:27 PM »

As many of you know I've recently become slightly obsessed with flanges...So this is mostly to entertain my curiosity but for anyone that has had a chance to use obliques with different flange angles/distances, I was wondering what your thoughts were. Or if you've only used one, do you think you might benefit from the other? (These are the kinds of obscure things I think of when I should be working )

For the most part, with the notable exception of the adjustable ones from PIA, widely available and custom ones (I only have experience with Brian's) come with the flange set so the nib is very tight to the staff. This seems to follow the footsteps of most obliques from the Golden Age and earlier, the flange on my Magnusson pretty much wraps itself around the foot of the holder, but once in a while I see some people who prefer the flange further out. Bill Lilly's personal holders were the first clear examples I noticed with this and it has become my personal preference. The nib has a different spring-back which seems to suit me better, it's also easier to avoid getting ink on the flange/holder since the nib is slightly further out.

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about, the Century Oblique on the left has a flange that came with one of the holders from Brian (misplaced the original) and on the right is one of the straight holders I converted to an oblique with one of my Bullock flange. (Note: The tips of the nibs are both set to the center of the holder but the angles the holders were sitting at makes it look otherwise.)

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Tools & Supplies / Transporting Nib Holders

« on: June 05, 2014, 04:59:53 PM »

I'm not sure if these have been brought up yet but I wanted to share how I transport my oblique holders when I'm going to be using them away from my desk. For a long time I used a small wooden box with a sliding top but it was barely long enough for my holders and if the box happened to collapse/break, my holder's would certainly suffer the consequences. Then one day, while aimlessly strolling through my local Blick art store, I found the Holbein Adjustable Brush Holder. For five dollars it was certainly worth giving it a shot, six months later I'm glad I did.

It's made out of a somewhat hard plastic (something slightly thicker than a typical rubbing alcohol bottle would be made out of) and while it certainly won't protect your pens from being run over on the highway or attacked by a hammer, it will do just fine in your bag or luggage.





You can slide the two pieces in and out for different sizes, 8 inches being the smallest in can collapse to with locking notches at 10 and 13 inches. For added protection I wrap my holders with something soft, usually the suede wrap Brain shipped my holders in, this prevents them from scratching one another or up against the plastic.



You can fit two oblique holders pretty comfortably if you want to take more than one.



The only thing that would make this better is if was made out of a hard plastic but the portability and protection it offers for five dollars is a great value.

10

Show & Tell / Sometimes I like to live trace.

« on: April 16, 2014, 12:49:25 AM »

Hi everyone! Just wanted to share something, inspired by Linda's post, that I like to randomly do when I'm bored and don't feel like spending too much time starting from scratch. Live tracing in Illustrator is almost never the right thing to do unless you want to end up with a thousand anchor points, although it does have its uses. I pretty much work in Illustrator 80%+ of the time at the office so I quite enjoy it over all of the other vector software. This is something I mostly do with broad-pen work but sometimes pointed pen work as well. Here goes...

This is a piece I did a month ago that some of you might have seen on my IG, here are the basic steps I used to create it.

Started with a big Molotow marker on a large pad (admittedly, I should have done this with a much smaller tool but it was something I made on the fly for fun) which meant I had to take a photo of it with my phone and brought it in to my computer.


Brought it into Photoshop to crop and grayscale.


Adjusted levels and contrast to get the background as close to white as possible (note it still maintains some of the texture of the paint).


Removed the background using the magic wand (unchecked 'Contiguous') and after two passes it was mostly gone. With the background gone I went in and did another pass on the levels and contrast to darken it while keeping the pixels forms the same.


The final step in Photoshop was to go in with the pencil and eraser to clean up the letterforms which included adding "the" (same process as above). This is where I fix anything I didnt like or wish I would have done differently on the original sketch.


Although I could achieve something relatively close to the final result in Photoshop, I like to bring the art into Illustrator and live trace it. Here's the resulting bevy of anchor points.


However, due to the fact that it was such a large image to start with and after playing with the live trace settings, the final result is quite smooth. The inspiration for this piece was a space flight book I was looking through while Johnny Cash happened to come on so I added an image I liked and there it is.


Timeline:
Lettering - Maybe 15min
Photoshop - Grayscale/Levels/Contrast/BG 5min, Cleaning up the letters and fixing what I didnt like took the longest at about 1.5 hours.
Illustrator - 15min

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Introductions / Hello from SoCal, too.

« on: April 08, 2014, 01:58:37 AM »

It dawned on me that I never introduced myself  so here goes...

Hi everyone! Mi name is Heber but my friends call me Heebs, I'm a graphic designer and self diagnosed typomaniac. I have an addiction to design and in particular letterforms and books. After graduating from college about a year ago I began playing around with parallel pens and that turned into a full blown broad edge pen addiction and has recently lead me to the pointed pen. I love studying the history of letters and communication so learning about penmanship has been quite the treat. I am currently working on my copperplate but I quickly get distracted and end up drawing flourishes... but i'll be getting that under control soon...

When I'm not designing or making letters you will probably find me making books by hand. I make my own sketch books/journals, usually two needle coptic since it lays flat, but I was lucky enough to have a great professor in college that taught us several binding styles. In a way its very therapeutic for me, I don't have to conceptualize like I do at work all day or worry about counter spaces like I do when I'm making letters--I simply work with my hands and create them as I go. I started making so many that I recently found myself with over 20 small books just piled on my shelves and after giving some as gifts I opened an etsy page following several weeks of hounding by my friends. Unfortunately I haven't had time to make a real website with my work but if you visit the link in my signature (and click on the 'h') you can see the work from my student portfolio.

Im glad I joined and I can't wait to learn and share with all of you!