Shading - Are You A Fan?

[corniche]

Greetings Brian, et al,

 

There are two principal reasons why I prefer fountain pens to all other types of pens and shading is one of them, (the other is their smooth, fluid writing performance). So, yes; I love shading.

 

In general terms, wet writing pens with broader nibs usually shade the best. My best shaders are:

 

Parker 51 Aerometric with medium nib

Waterman Phileas with medium nib

Esterbrook Model Js with #9668 medium or the medium stub nibs

Sheaffer 330 Imperial with medium nib

Sheaffer Balance with broad nib

Sheaffer Targa with broad nib

 

Again, in general terms, the best shading inks I've run across are generally the more "wet" and/or fluid inks:

 

Waterman

J. Herbin

Quink

Most Diamine

Some Noodler's

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited May 23, 2011 by S. P. Colfer

[Mauricio]

Another big lover of ink shading! I experience wonderful ink shading with those broad, double broads, stubs, and very flexible nibs. Here are a couple of samples. The paper used was Rhodia Block 13 in all writing samples:

 

Diamine Raw Sienna ink

 

 

 

Diamine Sepia ink

 

 

Noodler's Apache Sunset ink

 

Waterman South Sea Blues ink

 

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae327/VintagePen/IMG_1234.jpg

 

 

Diamine Light Green ink

 

 

 

[frazzlerazzle]

WOW Mauricio! All I can say is wow! Thanks for those wonderful examples, enough to make me go weak at the knees. Certainly sets a benchmark as to what outstanding shading looks like. The close up on the South Sea Blue is fantastic. Thanks for sharing this.

[corniche]

WOW Mauricio! All I can say is wow! Thanks for those wonderful examples, enough to make me go weak at the knees. Certainly sets a benchmark as to what outstanding shading looks like. The close up on the South Sea Blue is fantastic. Thanks for sharing this.

 

+1 to that- beautiful work, Mauricio.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[DonLeone]

Lamy Studio 14k F gold nib

J. Herbin Café des Iles

 

I tried making a picture with my phone but it failed. The scan somehow changes the colour to be more red. It looks better in reality.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11522602/Pub%20Photos/export/lamy-studio-cafe-des-iles-s.gif

Ignore bad writing, I'm tired

 

 

I have 3 kinds of pens in terms of shading.

First are pens that simply don't shade at all.

Second are pens that shade randomly. They'll start dark then go light then randomly go dark again. They'll dump a drop at the beginning and end of a line.

Third are pens that shade top to bottom. So the upper part of the text is lighter and the lower part is darker. I like those best.

 

Café des Iles doesn't shade in the other pens I tried it in (cheap old Watermans I don't know the name of, and a Waterman Graduate). I guess that is because they're too thin and too nail-like. They'll sometimes do random shading when they're partly dried out. My softer pens shade slightly.

I let others try the studio and they too get the shading, so I don't think it has much to do with my handwriting.

 

I suspect that cassis des larmes (purple) will get similar shading from the studio.

 

 

edit: It shades much more heavily when there's a pressure change. Like when I go up several levels in a high building or when I mess with the converter.

Edited May 24, 2011 by Don Zardeone

[frazzlerazzle]

Thanks Don, very nice top to bottom shading on that sample and very clear gradients of colour. These suggestions have been very helpful for those who want to explore more powerful shading and experiment with the factors involved in improving shading quality. Very interesting

[Wyre]

Hey Brian! My favorite shading combo is this:

 

My Parker 51 Custom 1.3mm Stub nib along with Noodlers Cayenne. I'm looking for a good brown ink with tons of shading but haven't found "the one" yet...

 

I love, love, love shading!

 

Regards,

777

 

I would highly recommend P.W. Akkerman ~ Bekakt Haags

 

It is very nice dark honey brown with wonderful shading properties. I would highly suggest that you pick up a couple of other colors that you might like as the shipping isnt much fun. If you dont like the colors I can almost guarantee you that you will be able to resell them on here. like to me...

[frazzlerazzle]

Hi Wyre, do you know suppliers for P.W. Akkerman. I'd like to try and get hold of some, I'm in the UK and haven't had any success tracking down a good local supplier here. Cheers. Brian

[KrazyIvan]

When I used rollerballs, I did not know what shading was and was anoyed with a set of Uniball pens did this. I associated it with them being cheap. With fountain pens, I find it strangely attractive. :hmm1:

Edited May 24, 2011 by KrazyIvan

[DonLeone]

Bekakt Haags?

 

I had to see this for myself. It really says Bekakt Haags.

Translated, that's "Pooped on, Hague's"

[Silvermink]

I get lovely shading from my Aurora Hastil B. Last ink I had in there was Noodler's Widowmaker.

[Wyre]

I just sent an email for what I wanted to Paul Rutte. He sent a respose with a paypal request and they shipped everything directly to my home. I hope that this is of some help!

Edited May 24, 2011 by Wyre

[frazzlerazzle]

Thanks Wyre, there's some beatiful inks there, I am just itching to order. The Laan van Nieuw Oost Indigo looks amazing. I've got to get some!

[andybiotic]

Love shadings, it gives character to your writing, uniqueness and vintage-ness. But I use a fine/medium all the time (as it is most acceptable to the rest of the population!) its therefore, difficult to get any good shading.

 

Interestingly, I found that the best shading ink I have is from my "ink dump". When I want to change ink in my pen, I expel all the inks out into a "dumping bottle" (not back to the original ink bottle to risk contamination) and after a few ink colour and brand mixing it becomes a very nice, heavily shaded blue/black!

[Wyre]

Bekakt Haags?

 

I had to see this for myself. It really says Bekakt Haags.

Translated, that's "Pooped on, Hague's"

 

All colour names refer to the city of The Hague (Den Haag in Dutch). The adjective of Den Haag is 'Haags'.

The Hague is commonly known in the Netherlands for having some rather posh areas. The Dutch name for (speaking) posh is 'bekakt'.

The name Bekakt Haags therefor means 'The Haguean posh'

.

That leaves us with the matter of the colour brown. The root word of bekakt is kak. And kak in Dutch in fact also means .......... pooh.

Hence the colour brown.

 

Regards, Tim

[copperx]

Just to chime in: Shading is the reason I've fallen in love with fountain pens.

 

Well, that and italic nibs.

Edited May 25, 2011 by copperx

[dcpritch]

Just to chime in: Shading is the reason I've fallen in love with fountain pens.

 

Well, that and italic nibs.

 

+1

 

I just today put some JH Orange Indien into a Bexley with a big 1.3 mm stub nib, and the shading is fantastic. And I have Visconti Bordeaux in a Waterman 32 with a flexible nib - again, tons of fun! While my writing will never rival Mauricio's wonderful forms, I nevertheless have a great time using pen and ink.

[frazzlerazzle]

@andybiotic: "But I use a fine/medium all the time (as it is most acceptable to the rest of the population!) its therefore, difficult to get any good shading."

 

I definitely understand you there. I have been told off for using fountain pens at work! So stuck using mediums and fines because people find it difficult to read! yet the irony is that it's much tidier and nicer to read.

 

+1 @copperx: "Just to chime in: Shading is the reason I've fallen in love with fountain pens." !!

[Mauricio]

A few more great inks that shade well when used wiht those Broad, Double Broad, BB Stub and very flexible nibs. Enjoy them!

 

 

Rohrer & Klingner in Alt Goldgrun color. Bagasse white paper from Staples

 

 

 

Diamine Turquoise. Rhodia Bloack 13 paper

 

 

 

Noodler's Golden Brown. Rhodia Bloack 13 paper

 

 

 

Noodler's Golden Brown. G. Lalo Ivoery paper

 

 

 

Diamine Grey. Rhodia Bloack 13 paper

 

 

 

Diamine Amber. Rhodia Block 13 paper

 

 

 

J. Herbin Vert Olive ink. 3x5" stock card from Wal-Mart

 

 

 

 

Noodler's Turquoise American Eel ink. Rhodia Bloack 13 paper

 

 

 

Diamine Jade Green ink. G. Lalo Ivory paper

 

 

 

Iroshizuku Yama-Budo ink. Rhodia Block 13 paper

 

 

 

Iroshizuku Kon-Peki ink. Rhodia Block 13

 

 

 

Private Reserve Spearmint ink. Rhodia Bloack 13 paper

 

[redisburning]

I have been told off for using fountain pens at work! So stuck using mediums and fines because people find it difficult to read! yet the irony is that it's much tidier and nicer to read.

 

sounds like someone where you work needs to lighten up.

 

though I suppose that's true most places now a days...