Jump to content

Proper Paper For Mccaffery's Penman's Ink Black


GustavF.

Recommended Posts

Hello fellow calligraphers!

 

Recently I got my hands on a bottle of the above mentioned ink and, scribbling around with it for the first time, it came almost like a shock to me to see the dramatic difference in the colour and density of the ink when it dries on different kinds of paper. In the picture attached you can see the ink being used on two different kinds of paper, the bottom one is some more expensive Fabriano sketch paper and the top one is some random, equally dense paper from a block of paper I got for free at a fair at my university. The Fabriano gives a hue on the ink that is... well, pale and grey, really watery in appearance and definitely not suitable for calligraphy in my opinion. The cheap no-name paper though produced some rather nice, dense black shades, though the difference between the two is perhaps not the easiest to see on the picture (sorry about that!).

 

So, this ink being an iron gall ink, what kind of paper would be suitable if one desires a dense script with rich blackness, and why? I assume it has something to do with the alkalinity and acidity of the paper and the ink in combination with each other. Also, are there any specific brands/models of paper you would recommend for this particular ink?

Many thanks!

 

/Gustav

post-117504-0-75956500-1422990513_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 1
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Randal6393

    1

  • GustavF.

    1

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Glad to see you like the looks of the McCaffrey's Penman ink. One of the best iron-galls, I use it fairly often. Most of the paper I use with it is of moderate quality and not really great for fountain pens. Any good, smooth paper seems to work okay for me. Sometimes a cheaper paper works out better, if the pen doesn't pick up fibers or catch on the paper. Ken Fraser swears by the 100 gsm Mondo papers for most work he does.

 

Not sure where you are acquiring your papers from but John Neal Bookseller (www.johnnealbooks.com) carries a paper sampler that might be just what you are looking for. Look him up and see what he can do for you.

 

Enjoy,

Yours,
Randal

From a person's actions, we may infer attitudes, beliefs, --- and values. We do not know these characteristics outright. The human dichotomies of trust and distrust, honor and duplicity, love and hate --- all depend on internal states we cannot directly experience. Isn't this what adds zest to our life?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33559
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26744
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...