Messages

31

Tools & Supplies / Re: Breaking in new nibs

« on: August 14, 2015, 05:53:57 AM »

Just like Erica said

Basically, a brand new nib will obviously be sharp as there has been no wear and tear on the tip.  For me,  breaking in a nib is basically the amount of pressure I require to put on the nib to get the thick downstrokes. 

I find that a brand new nib , after preparation, gives nice hairlines and the pressure required to get swells tends to be more in the beginning.

After a couple of pages, I guess the tines open up easier and you need less pressure to get the same swell, or can get thicker swells with same pressure.  I found this to be the case in the Easterbrook 354 and 355 nibs and the John Mitchell 0138. 

One thing I found to work for blobbing or railroading for New nibs, 
Prepare the nib (I use only saliva, stick it in my mouth for a while before wiping it and loading it on the holder)
dip in ink like walnut or Fountain pen ink
write a little till the ink is off the nib
I don't clean the nib.  I let the ink dry a little on it and then re-dip and start. 

Most times this works, as the old dried ink on it lets the new ink adhere better.
This may be totally the wrong thing to do   Perhaps the more experienced could comment on it.

-Prasad

Thanks Prasad. I really appreciate your input.  I do use the some method and stick the nib in my mouth before dipping in the ink.    I am interested in the letting the ink dry on the nib.  Makes a lot of common sense to me.  I cant see any harm as i usually wipe my nibs with a 99% alcohol solution I have after each use. 
I am very interested in your mention of the Esterbrook 355. I bought one recently and it is my second favourite nib behind the Gillott 604.  It is such a beautiful nib for me.  I am trying to find a few more.
Thanks Erica and Andy.   I can now understand what it means to break a nib in.    I thought at first it was just using a nib for a long while until the friction of ink on paper make the tip of the nib a bit more smoother.

32

Tools & Supplies / Re: Latest nib experiences

« on: August 13, 2015, 07:17:11 PM »

Hi Andy.  Yes I too like the stubby springy fountain pen nibs.  I have a Pelikan 400 with a stub nib and it is just so smooth and beautiful to write with. I also like the effect you get with an italic nib. 
I havent tried the Gillott 303 but have one on order.  It gets plenty of mentions.  Might be designed for a lady but I tend to father the smaller nibs as I find them better at producing the fine lines and variation I like.  I love the Brause 66EF and I imagine that was regarded as a lady's nib.  I have larger Blanzy Poure nib called "Le Seduisante 750" which I also like very much.  Well named. Think it is french for the seducer. 

That Gillott poster is very interesting.  Is that the actual Gillott factory at the bottom of the poster.  If it is well it is a huge place to produce nibs.  It looks like a place where you would build tractors or aeroplanes and not nibs.

It is funny how your look at things change. I am sorry I didnt get interested in this a bit younger as I am getting athritis in the hands and a bit shaky.  I started off using dip pens at school and now at 68 I am learning them again.    I recall at school my nib pen was used more as a javelin then a writing implement.  We used to play a game of throwing the pen and trying to get it to stick into a desk a few metres away.  All good fun till I embedded by javelin into someones leg.  That stopped that fun.  Remember all the school desk had a little hole in the right hand corner with an ink well and boxes of nibs at the front

33

Tools & Supplies / Breaking in new nibs

« on: August 13, 2015, 06:03:45 PM »

I have read a few comments on breaking in nibs and  would like a little bit of information on this.  Does this just apply to some nibs and what is it that breaks them in.
I have some nibs that I dont like because maybe they rail road too easy or drop blobs of ink etc.  Should I just abandon them or persevere till they are broken in?

34

Tools & Supplies / Re: Latest nib experiences

« on: August 13, 2015, 05:25:48 PM »

You're so kind to offer Laurie, but please keep it and try it.. I have found more Kuhns and have restocked my supply!

Anasaziwrites reminded me what the Mitchell 138 was based on, the Perry & Co 104. It is a similar looking spear nib with three holes but very flexible and wonderful, and a favorite of Nick D'Aquanno, an amazing penman. The Mitchell is an inferior copy. I wish I had extras of the Perry to send you, but I only have one and am keeping it for display only.

So it sounds like the Perry 104 is as rare as the Gillott 604.   I have a 604 and I am too scared to use it in case I damage it.    I never thought when I got into learning copperplate that I would end up having a collection but that is the way it turned out.   It all started when I was on the FP Geeks forum and trying to experience some of the old flexy fountain pen nibs like the Marie Todd pens sometimes had.   A member of that forum who is very wise told me I could waste a lot of money buying old fountain pens in the search for a flexy nib and so he suggested I buy some flexy dip nibs and a holder and get the experience that way.  So that is how I got started.  Funny the dip nib experience has put my fountain pen experience in the background and I havent used any of my nice fountain pens for some time.  I keep getting drawn to the dip nibs.  For me it is the line variation that I think makes the handwriting beautiful.  So I am always looking for nibs that produce those fine hairlines and nice thick strokes under pressure.   I just want to get reasonably proficient at copperplate and building up a nice small collection of nice nibs. 

I have purchased quiet a few that dont seem to give me the line variation that I want but I suppose it is a matter of just buying different ones and experimenting.   I found a very good article on the Iampeth website which goes through the various good nibs for copperplate. I think the author was a person named Herford. Might be wrong there.  I am lucky that I have a friend who sells nibs on Ebay and he recommends various nibs to me that dont seem to get any mention in the reviews.  Some are very obscure.  Some have been great and others not so great.  But the search is probably part of the fascination

35

Tools & Supplies / Re: Latest nib experiences

« on: August 13, 2015, 07:20:21 AM »

Sounds like a good collection... could you post a photo? I don't remember nib names very well, but I do know what they look like!

Here are some pictures of some of the nibs.  I didnt include what I thought were the obvious.  My apologies for picture quality.

Oooooh those are some pretty good nibs!!!
I have some of those, but haven't tried em yet.
The Blanzy and Baignol are popular ones.
The Blanzy plume and gorilla are expensive and hilarious.. I think they're pretty good nibs too.. but I only have one of em so I'm not gonna use it.
The Mitchell 138 is based off a famous nib.. with three holes like that. It should be pretty good.
Dude the Kuhn 108 is like my new holy grail, I can't believe you have it. I tried it once at Iampeth, got soooo addicted!!

Hi Schin
I am quite happy to give you the Kuhn 108 if it is your holy grail.  I am very old and just learning this wonderful skill and I am sure you will appreciate it more than me.  I have plenty in my herd to keep me going for my limited time.   So I am prepared to post it to you for no charge.

Regards

Laurie

36

Tools & Supplies / Re: How to use the Kallipos website

« on: August 13, 2015, 07:13:21 AM »

Success at last!  Problem was that I entered the number of my house before the street name.  I noticed that the form said the otherdway around but I thought they delivery would not find me if I had the street name before the number.  Wow cant we get some standardisation here.  Bit like the date. In Oz we have the day/month/year.  In USA we have Month/day/year.  Very confusing at times. Anyway we got there and I have my order in the system
What I find interesting is where do these guys find these antique nibs.   Do they come up when some one dies who has been a caligrapher and the kids find a huge stash of nibs and the estate advertisers them?   Thinking about where they find all these antique nibs is a  very interesting subject in its own.

37

Tools & Supplies / Re: How to use the Kallipos website

« on: August 13, 2015, 01:51:59 AM »

HI,
After you fill out the address and details, at the bottom of the page You will have a

"Please confirm "  Tick that box and press Zur Bestell-Ubersicht/article report
This takes you to order confirmation

Once you confirm it, you get an Email in a couple of days (latest) telling you how you can pay.

Hope that works.
-Prasad

Thanks Prasad. I will give it a try. What an aweful website. Terms and conditions which are in German with no translation and you have to tick that you understand. Wow. But I do hear they are very helpful and they do have a lot of interesting things.

38

Tools & Supplies / How to use the Kallipos website

« on: August 13, 2015, 01:00:42 AM »

I am trying to find out how you complete an order at the following German calligraphy supply website
http://www.kallipos.de/gb-calligraphy-shop.html
After adding matters to your cart you go to next and fill out your address etc and I cant get past that section. There is no check out or placing order provision.  It just seems to come to an early end.  Am I missing something?
I am sure some of the members of this forum have made orders on this site

39

Tools & Supplies / Re: Latest nib experiences

« on: August 12, 2015, 11:48:36 PM »

Sounds like a good collection... could you post a photo? I don't remember nib names very well, but I do know what they look like!

Here are some pictures of some of the nibs.  I didnt include what I thought were the obvious.  My apologies for picture quality.

Oooooh those are some pretty good nibs!!!
I have some of those, but haven't tried em yet.
The Blanzy and Baignol are popular ones.
The Blanzy plume and gorilla are expensive and hilarious.. I think they're pretty good nibs too.. but I only have one of em so I'm not gonna use it.
The Mitchell 138 is based off a famous nib.. with three holes like that. It should be pretty good.
Dude the Kuhn 108 is like my new holy grail, I can't believe you have it. I tried it once at Iampeth, got soooo addicted!!

Hi Schin
Can you tell me what the Mitchell 138 was based on?  I went back and had a try and it is a nice nib with plenty of flex. The only problem is that it does not produce very fine hair lines.  I have another interest pen which is very similar in shape with 3 holes. It is a very large nib called a Cobalta.  I just had a try and it is fairly similar to the Mitchell 138 and probably has more flex and quite smooth

40

Tools & Supplies / Re: Latest nib experiences

« on: August 12, 2015, 07:51:56 PM »

Last set of nibs as the file was too large for previous post.

41

Tools & Supplies / Re: Latest nib experiences

« on: August 12, 2015, 07:46:59 PM »

Sounds like a good collection... could you post a photo? I don't remember nib names very well, but I do know what they look like!

Here are some pictures of some of the nibs.  I didnt include what I thought were the obvious.  My apologies for picture quality.

42

Tools & Supplies / Re: Latest nib experiences

« on: August 12, 2015, 04:49:22 PM »

Sounds like a good collection... could you post a photo? I don't remember nib names very well, but I do know what they look like!

Will do schin.  I find the names are also very confusing. When you browse through a seller with multiple needs you get used to the look of the nib rather than the name and I also have a great deal of trouble trying to read the name on the stem of the nib.  I have a magnifying glass but still find it difficult with some nibs.  I think my 3 favourites would be the Gillott 604, the Spencarian No. 5 and the Esterbrook 128

43

Tools & Supplies / Re: Latest nib experiences

« on: August 12, 2015, 04:46:13 PM »

I like the versatility of the Zebra G - I feel like it works well on a lot of surfaces and with a lot of inks. It's a consistent nib.

My other two go-tos are not on your list: Brause Steno and Brause 66ef. Not to add to your list 

Sorry I also have the Brause Steno and 66EF and they are also in my preferred list. Dont know how I missed the Brause 66ef.  It is so small and gives such great line variation

44

Tools & Supplies / Latest nib experiences

« on: August 12, 2015, 05:53:15 AM »

I am just a new member but trying very hard to learn the roundhand writing and accumulating some dip nibs I enjoy.  I make my own pen holders and brass nib holders and enjoy everyone aspect of this wonderful experience.  I am starting to get a small knowledge of the nibs I like.   My favourites nibs that I have purchased are as follows (not in any order but the Gillott 604, Spencarian No. 5 and Esterbrook 128 feel so good in my hand. Well here is my list:

Blanzy Dept Cementee 2552
Baignol Henry 2730
Esterbrook 128
Gillott `70 Unwarranted
Spencarian No. 5
Zebra G
Nikko G. Brause 54 EF
Gilbert Blancy Plum Tremplin `60
Blanzy Gorille
Mitchell 138
Carl Kuhn Wien `08
Leonart Principle
Blanzy Le Seduisante
Carl Kuhn 530 and
Sommerville 757 Lincoln

I am trying to refine my herd of nib down to my very best but it is so hard.

What do others thinks of my present herd?

45

Tools & Supplies / Re: Are these Gillot nibs OK

« on: August 09, 2015, 05:50:13 PM »

Thanks. I just ordered some of the Zebra G's,   It wasnt free post so i think that only applies to CONUS.  However the postage was around $9 so I can live with that.
I also have some nibs I am considering ordering from Paper Ink Art.
1.  Hunt 103 and 104.  Hiro 41.  and the Brause Rose.
I did have a Brause Rose which I found very difficult to use and I note Schin also has had trouble getting it to begin but it gets so many reviews it must have something going for it. I think the one I have is ready to dump so I thought I would give them another try.

Any thoughts on these nibs?