Dunking also feeds an excessive amount of ink to the reservoir and nib, causing the dreaded blots. Many years later, I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop with an expert calligrapher who demonstrated the proper way to load a pen using a dropper or a brush.ĭunking can be done, however the downside to dunking is that the pen holder will pick up ink from around the inside edge of the ink bottle and this will inevitably find its way to your fingers. This was back in the days when calligraphy wasn’t very popular and there were no courses or workshops available. I must confess that when I first started calligraphy (and didn’t know any better) I would just dunk the pen nib in the ink and make quite a mess. You weren’t just going to dunk the pen into the ink, were you? A little adjustment might be necessary for long nibs.īefore you can start creating beautiful lettering, you have to get some ink into the pen nib. Generally, adjusting the reservoir so that it is about 1/16″ from the end of the nib should work fine as a starting point. The position of the reservoir is important as to how the ink will flow – too high up and the ink won’t reach the end of the nib too far down and the ink will just blot. The Mitchell reservoir has a bend in the center and can easily be gently adjusted to ensure the tip of the reservoir touches the back of the nib. As with the Speedball nib, reservoirs on the top of the nib should be centered and have the tip touching the nib. Mitchell nibs use a slip-on reservoir underneath the nib, while the Brause, TO and Tape nibs have the reservoir on the top. Variety of Pen Reservoirs and Side View of Speedball Nib Speedball nibs have the reservoir attached so you don’t need to do anything – just check to make sure the lower section of the reservoir is centered and lies flat against the nib. slides easily off the nib), simply press the tabs in a bit so that the reservoir holds tight but can still be moved a little up and down the nib. The most common dip pen nibs will have the reservoir attached by a couple of metal tabs. Depending on what type of nib you prefer, the reservoir will either be on top of the nib or underneath the nib. The reservoir is what holds the ink and feeds it to your nib. Next, take a look at the reservoir for your pen nib. Other sources have suggested dipping the nib in gum arabic or hot water – whatever method you use, just make sure that you wipe off any excess water and dry the nib thoroughly or it will rust! If your nibs are new, they will need to have the factory-applied lacquer removed (this is used to prevent rust.) I normally clean them with a bit of warm water, dish washing liquid and scrub them with an old, soft toothbrush. If you can see light behind the split, it is probably time to “retire” the nib and replace it rather than trying to fix it. ![]() Check the tines of your nib – sometimes old, used nibs will have the tines splayed out from the split (usually by heavy hand pressure) which will cause problems with ink flow and lettering.
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