Best Inks for Dip Pens?

[ukobke]

What are we trying to do?

 

Fountain pen inks are NOT suitable for dip pen nibs. Anyone can use a bicycle to go from New York to Los Angeles. 1is this correct?

Dip pen inks cost as much as fountain pen inks. So I think is silly to use a fountain pen ink for dip pen nibs. The cost is the same to buy ink for dip pen nibs.

Indian ink is good, bur not for thin hairlines. This is for iron gall inks. So WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

Using fountain pen ink for dip pen nibs, is as we try to write a letter on a A4 sheet of paper with CHALK.

[txinsk]

I have been wondering about this question too... ever since noticing that the metallic dip inks I mix myself (thanks to instruction & inspiration from jbb) behave much better w/ dip nibs than my fountain pen inks. So, has anyone tried mixing a tiny bit of gum arabic w/ regular fountain pen ink to make a more dip-friendly ink? Seems like that might work, no? (As long as you keep it well-labelled! )

 

Here is a question for you or jbb. To set this up, I have some herbin calligraphy ink. It has nice colour and behaves well in application. The issue is that I find that it sits on the paper and can be rubbed off with minor friction. I wonder if this is a side effect of gum arabic. So the question is can you rub off the ink that you wrote? Does this pool or sink into the paper? I want to know.

 

Rick

I am finding that gum arabic helps dip pen inks particularly if the ink feathers and have started adjusting my inks with it. As far as ink that sits on the page wet, try adding more water to your ink -- that makes the ink "drier." I'm assuming that other inks don't stay wet on the paper you're using so the paper itself is not the problem.

 

 

Dip pen & flexy nibs

 

Your right about other inks not sitting on top. I will try diluting this ink a bit. What I was not clear about was that when the ink dries it can be rubbed off. It is not a question of smearing although the effect is similar to a smear but something slightly different, a dry effect. If I am still not being clear, let me know.

 

Rick

[indigirl]

Rick, I defer to jbb, who as usual is several steps ahead of me

 

ukobke, even though dip inks & FP inks cost the same, it still saves me ink money if I can avoid buying extra bottles for different purposes. I am not one of those people who slurps down whole bottles weekly; an ink bottle can last me over a year (especially as I keep acquiring more colors ) so if I can use part of a bottle for another purpose that works out better for me. Besides, I have an attachment to some colors & want to use those in my dip pens as well. Anyway, a lot of us here are just learning, so be nice, mmmkay? :meow:

[jbb]

Your right about other inks not sitting on top. I will try diluting this ink a bit. What I was not clear about was that when the ink dries it can be rubbed off. It is not a question of smearing although the effect is similar to a smear but something slightly different, a dry effect. If I am still not being clear, let me know.

 

Rick

I have that problem (of ink rubbing off) with metallic inks when they don't have enough gum Arabic. So I would think, based on that, that more gum Arabic would help. I haven't used Herbin calligraphy inks myself. Perhaps someone who has will have more insight.

Edited July 1, 2010 by jbb

[jbb]

What are we trying to do?

 

Fountain pen inks are NOT suitable for dip pen nibs. Anyone can use a bicycle to go from New York to Los Angeles. 1is this correct?

Dip pen inks cost as much as fountain pen inks. So I think is silly to use a fountain pen ink for dip pen nibs. The cost is the same to buy ink for dip pen nibs.

Indian ink is good, bur not for thin hairlines. This is for iron gall inks. So WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

Using fountain pen ink for dip pen nibs, is as we try to write a letter on a A4 sheet of paper with CHALK.

Hi Ukobke. Welcome to FPN. I write with dip pens as my primary writing implement and prefer fountain pen ink. I love iron gall ink too but it corrodes my nibs very quickly. I'm not a fan of any of the acrylic based liquid calligraphy inks I've tried. I like India ink buy enjoy the colors and shading I'm getting with fountain pen ink.

[jbb]

...I defer to jbb, who as usual is several steps ahead of me

Oh Indigirl, YOUR gorgeous dip pen writing gives me thrills every time I see it!!!! Indigirl rocks!! Check it out.

Edited July 1, 2010 by jbb

[indigirl]

...I defer to jbb, who as usual is several steps ahead of me

Oh Indigirl, YOUR gorgeous dip pen writing gives me thrills every time I see it!!!! Indigirl rocks!! Check it out.

 

you're too sweet!

[ukobke]

What are we trying to do?

 

Fountain pen inks are NOT suitable for dip pen nibs. Anyone can use a bicycle to go from New York to Los Angeles. 1is this correct?

Dip pen inks cost as much as fountain pen inks. So I think is silly to use a fountain pen ink for dip pen nibs. The cost is the same to buy ink for dip pen nibs.

Indian ink is good, bur not for thin hairlines. This is for iron gall inks. So WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

Using fountain pen ink for dip pen nibs, is as we try to write a letter on a A4 sheet of paper with CHALK.

Hi Ukobke. Welcome to FPN. I write with dip pens as my primary writing implement and prefer fountain pen ink. I love iron gall ink too but it corrodes my nibs very quickly. I'm not a fan of any of the acrylic based liquid calligraphy inks I've tried. I like India ink buy enjoy the colors and shading I'm getting with fountain pen ink.

 

TX!!!!!!!!

[larsenproject]

I use dip pens a lot. My current round of nibs are mostly vintage (Gilbert Blanzey Pourre No. 2552) with some modern manga style nibs mixed in. One of my favorite inks, that really can be used in most anything (brush and in Kuretake brush pens) is Dr. Martin's Black Star Matte. It is waterproof, fade proof and, if this is even a concern, scans really well because it dries to a matte finish. I am using my pens mainly for drawing, but I also letter in this ink. It comes to as thin a line as your pen can manage, but also can be used with a brush to cover a large area with dense black.

 

Dr. Martin's Bombay (india) inks are really nice as well. Also waterproof/ lightfast, and they come in a wide variety of colors. I use them a lot when I want to do colored outlines.

 

Again, I am using these to draw, but you can get a sense of the colors and the flow...

 

http://40.media.tumblr.com/03dca39f64ad07d628dfc39d218b45ea/tumblr_n5e7kmAtv91qhjavzo1_1280.jpg

 

(Bombay magenta with watercolor)

 

http://41.media.tumblr.com/1fb91b5846be2979b4c6b64deb1edfe9/tumblr_nbv94umfmq1qhjavzo2_400.jpg

 

Black Star Matte and colored pencil.

 

I can't recommend this line high enough for dip pens. Especially vintage dip pens. Even my prissy Brause Rose Nib (not vintage, but it thinks it is) flows nicely with this ink.

 

BUT: Ink is very personal, and I have only been able to purchase this online, from Art Supply Warehouse without being ganked on shipping. It's pricier than some fountain pen inks, but I think 7-8 bucks a bottle is well worth it (though I've seen some online stores that sell it for around 9 or 10. I did a lot of comparative shopping after I discovered how much I loved it. I think the first bottle I bought was a staggering 11 dollars). The Bombay inks run a little cheaper. About 5, at my local art store. They both come n 30 ml bottles.

[ac12]

I used to think that FP ink won't work with dip pens, but not any more.

I have successfully used several FP inks with my dip pens (Nikko G and Esterbrook 556).

I also use Higgins Eternal dip pen ink.

I have used Speedball acrylic ink. Great stuff, but it dries fast and cakes on the nib, so the nib need regular/constant cleaning.

 

For me, the trick to using some of the inks is to clean the nib with alcohol. Without the alcohol, the ink won't stick to the nib. After wiping with alcohol, the ink both FP and Higgins sticks to the nib much better.

[arcadeflow]

J. Herbin fountain pen inks come in a bottle that, to me, feel as it was designed for a dip pen, maybe a glass pen. Everyone complain that it is not a well suited bottle for filling piston/converter pens. But I've seen SBRE Brown's video where he dip tests inks with a glass pen and I felt it did not work that well. But I never tried dip pens, I am only supposing that this brand might be designed with this in mind.

[janeblundellart]

I really like Art Spectrum pigmented inks for dip pens. They come in a huge range of colours including CYM colours and are lightfast and waterproof. Calli also makes nice dip pen inks, and for black Indian Ink and Higgins Eternal work well.