Using Regular Pens As Dip Pens

[DaveBj]

Sometimes I run across something so obvious that the only reason I can think of why I haven't seen it on the forums is that everyone already knows it.

 

One of my pen pals in a recent letter mentioned that he was using a desk pen as a dip pen and getting a page of writing per dip. Last night I was writing a letter and using it as an excuse to compare the three black inks that I have (the Pilot cartridge that came with my Preppy, the sample of Bad Black Moccasin, and my Quink Black). I didn't have the Quink loaded in anything, so I dipped my Monteverde Invincia F, and it was still going strong a page and a half later, when I closed the letter out.

 

This looks like a good way to test inks without actually loading them, but would we be missing something by not seeing how the ink flows from the converter (or barrel) to the feed? Also, in a pen that has been flushed, will the ink get past the feed and require re-flushing the converter or barrel?

 

 

[Ink Stained Wretch]

You can do it, but you do need to clean the pen right away, while the ink is still liquid. If you do use a fountain pen like a dip pen and then let the ink dry you may end up creating a dam of dried ink somewhere in the ink channel, and that will require a bit of effort to get dealt with.

 

And to be really safe you should flush the pen. Capillary action works in both directions, after all.

 

I used to have a couple of dip pens that had feeds under the nibs. They were advertised as writing about 300 words per dip. Nice stuff. I lost one somewhere and I wrecked the feed on the other one .

 

[ac12]

The Esterbrook dipless pens work in just the manner you say.

It uses a regular Esterbrook FP nib unit that is screwed into a dipless pen that does not have an ink sac. And it is inked/loaded by dipping.

The Morriset constant flow dip pens work in the same way. I use 2 Morriset dip pens (M and XF) to do my ink testing.

 

However the other statement you mention, flow, is indeed a factor in some pens.

I tried dipping a Lamy 2000, and got poor results. Then I loaded it up with ink, and got a totally different result.

So yes on some pens, ink flow from the ink reservoir does make a big difference. It all depends on the pen and ink. You will have to test YOUR pens to determine if this is true for your pens.

 

Having said this, as ISW said, you NEED to clean the pen soon after using it.

The dipless and constant flow pens are designed to sit in ink in their inkwell. But w/o the inkwells, your only option is cleaning the nib assembly. And this is what I do when I do ink testing.

Edited August 18, 2014 by ac12

[Charles Rice]

To set the record straight, I'm the pen-pal mentioned. I have a Sheaffer desk pen which is a c/c. Long ago I stopped using it with cartridges and converters, so for the last maybe 15 years, it has been dip only. There is nothing (no converter or cartridge) inside the barrel. I give it a good cleaning at least once a week. It is by far the most used pen I have.

 

It really does amaze me just how much I can write without another dip. There is a certain pleasure I get from taking the pen from the paper to the ink and then back to the paper, so I guess I dip more often than I need to.

 

And yes, the beauty is that I can change inks very often - not having to wait until a pen is empty.

[Skyppere]

this is a great idea. I have a desk pen and I use it so seldom that the ink in the c/c and the rest of the pen dries up between uses. The idea that I could use it any time as a dip pen is terrific. It would be easy enough for me to wash after use...

 

I assume y'all are talking about Fountain Pen Inks. Anyone ever tried this with dipping inks? I'd like to do that... some of the dipping inks are just spectacular...

skyppere

[Icywolfe]

this is a great idea. I have a desk pen and I use it so seldom that the ink in the c/c and the rest of the pen dries up between uses. The idea that I could use it any time as a dip pen is terrific. It would be easy enough for me to wash after use...

 

I assume y'all are talking about Fountain Pen Inks. Anyone ever tried this with dipping inks? I'd like to do that... some of the dipping inks are just spectacular...

skyppere

If the desk pens have a similar feed to FPs then it kinda works. (0.0000000000001% confirmed do not try it.) But I gave my Ahab dipping ink and it worked.

[ac12]

this is a great idea. I have a desk pen and I use it so seldom that the ink in the c/c and the rest of the pen dries up between uses. The idea that I could use it any time as a dip pen is terrific. It would be easy enough for me to wash after use...

 

I assume y'all are talking about Fountain Pen Inks. Anyone ever tried this with dipping inks? I'd like to do that... some of the dipping inks are just spectacular...

skyppere

 

Yes this is fountain pen ink, NOT dip pen ink.

 

Some/most dip pen inks have pigments or other stuff (like shellac or acrylic) that will jam up a pen with a feed (difficult to clean)

If you want to use dip pen inks, just get a dip pen. Nib less than $2, holder less then $3, total less then $5.

 

BTW, I have an Esterbrook nib assembly that has gold ink/paint/? on it, that I have NOT been able to remove.

Edited August 18, 2014 by ac12

[Scribblesoften]

Already mentioned above was the fact that capillary action works both ways. If using a c/c pen with out a converter ink can go into the body of the pen. Stay on your cleaning and you should have no problems. When you see vintage pictures of FDR he is signing documents with a desk, dip pen equpped with a feed.

[DaveBj]

Yes, of course, cleaning after use goes without saying. Otherwise, one might have an uff-da.

[Cryptos]

It appears to me that the obvious connection here is to fit a feed to a dip pen to use as a reservoir instead of the inbuilt gravity well on the nib. So when dipping the fins on the feed take up a lot of ink. Of course, that's my hat over there, I could be talking right out of it!

[bstnnyc]

I use regular pens as dip pens when testing new ink samples, because I have a hard time predicting what a color will really look like in a fp when applied on the page using a glass dip pen. Judging the ink flow will not be as accurate as when filling a pen, but, if you are testing multiple inks against each other, you can usually get a pretty good sense of which ones flow better than others from simply dipping. I like using a c/c pen with the converter removed and flushing in between shades with a bulb syringe like the one from the Goulets. Flushing with the bulb syringe makes the cleaning of the dipped fp almost as fast as the rinsing of a glass dip pen

[Skyppere]

but if I had a fountain pen dedicated to dipping would I really care if it jammed up the feed?

skyppere

[ac12]

 

but if I had a fountain pen dedicated to dipping would I really care if it jammed up the feed?

skyppere

 

Yes, because the feed is where the pen will be storing the ink. If it is clogged with shellac or acrylic, you won't be storing much ink.

Also if later you want to use it as a regular fountain pen, you got a tough job ahead to clean the feed, if it can be cleaned.

You also killed the resale value of the pen.

[DaveBj]

 

 

You also killed the resale value of the pen.

SELL my PENS?!?!? What a horrible thought!!!

 

(I've been using that emoji a lot recently.)

[Icywolfe]

SELL my PENS?!?!? What a horrible thought!!!

 

(I've been using that emoji a lot recently.)

How about when you are in a box and your children are in the great depression part 2?

[ac12]

SELL my PENS?!?!? What a horrible thought!!!

 

(I've been using that emoji a lot recently.)

 

Well I say sell, but I personally don't.

However, IF you decide or have to sell at some point in the future for whatever reason, it would be better if you had not killed the resell value of the pen.

 

If you want to use dip pen ink, use a dip pen.

And be careful of WHAT dip pen. Dip pens like the Esterbrook dipless or the Morriset constant flow, have a feed that will get jammed up with dip pen ink. So use the dip pens nibs that do not have a feed. There are dip pen nibs with ink reservoir that act like a feed, these are OK.

 

Do learn how to use and take care of a dip pen, so your experience will be good, and not a frustration.

Dip pen nibs WILL rust if you don't clean and dry them after using.

Edited August 19, 2014 by ac12

[Icywolfe]

 

Dip pen nibs WILL rust if you don't clean and dry them after using.

GNib tends to rust either way. It's must be made from extremely flexible yet not rust resistant steel. That is why those nibs you buy them at a 5 for 7 USD pack. For Kuretake 3 for 7-8 USD. (Good rust resistance and very flexible.)

Edited August 19, 2014 by Icywolfe

[DaveBj]

If I go the route of getting special dip pens, I probably will be using ordinary fountain pen ink. Cleaning and drying them after use sounds like a given anyway.

[PS104]

My grandmother used a fountain pen (an Esterbrook I believe) to write all her correspondence by using it as a dip pen to write in the most beautiful 19th c. Spencerian hand that I've ever seen in the 50s and 60s. I'm sure she didn't go through the acrobatics (at her age) to fill it with ink. I also doubt very much if she obsessed very much about cleaning the nib but back in the day there were not all the super-saturated inks that we enjoy today. Parker and a couple of other brands. If it didn't write then run it under the water faucet for a while.

How I wish I had some of the birthday cards and notes she sent to me

Even more so how I wish I had that pen

[Sasha Royale]

If you test inks containing lacquers, etc., you will clog and ruin the fountain pen.

If you are testing only fountain pen inks, give the nib and feed a good rinse afterward. Soak for a few minutes, if you wish. Wick dry.

Since you are not drawing ink into the rest of the pen, you won't have to flush there. "Dipping" the nib and feed is part of the process

of filling a fountain pen from a bottle.

 

Fountain pen ink ONLY in fountain pens.