Finally tried the Blue Pumpkin!...

[QM2]

My husband bought a small Brause calligraphy set for the purpose of ink testing. In addition to italic nibs of different sizes, the set includes the Steno 361 "Blue Pumpkin".

 

I was really excited to try it, but the excitement soon turned to confusion: While the other nibs in the set wrote very well with both Higgins Eternal and with fountain pen inks (even the thinner, more watery inks), the Blue Pumpkin refused to hold ink, even the Higgins. The nib could write out maybe 2 letters at best before needing to be re-dipped. I primed the nib sufficiently and tried it on different papers, so this was not due to problems with a specific paper or residual oils.

 

In the end, the Pumpkin performed only after my husband fashioned a t-shaped flap out of aluminum foil, which he wrapped around the nib like a makeshift reservoir. With the flap, the flow is even, the flex is great, and I can get 3 lines of text out of the nib before re-dipping.

 

But my question is, why won't my Blue Pumpkin write without this addition? I assume that it was meant to write as is, and dipping on every 2nd letter could not have been part of the design.

 

Any feedback appreciated,

QM2

 

[Edgar Allan Bo]

I had the same experience with that nib... I don't know why, I'm not a dip-den-nib-noob, I wrote with near hundred different dip pen nibs and specially liked the flexy ones (Gillot 303, Leonard Principal...) and I know how to prepare them for writing, with flame and other tricks, but nothing worked with the Brause pumpkin nib... after some work I menaged to write few words but the much smaller Gillot 303 could hold ink for 10 times more of writing... maybe it's because of the unusual shape of the pumpkin... the ink just won't stay on the nib...

Edited January 10, 2009 by sk2yshine

[MDI]

Here are the pictures of the modified nib:

 

http://queenmargot.com/pumpkinflap1.jpg

 

http://queenmargot.com/pumpkinflap2.jpg

 

http://queenmargot.com/pumpkinflap3.jpg

 

The modification was relatively easy and only took a few minutes for the whole process of cutting, shaping and molding around the curvature of the nib. It does not affect flex at all since it is attached at the rear solid part of the nib and does not touch the tines even with extreme flex. It also happens to hold lots of ink. If this works, I might make a permanent flap out of a sturdy material (or perhaps use one from an existing Speedball or another brand nib).

[Edgar Allan Bo]

yeah, that sure helps to hold the ink on the nib... without it, it runs off the nib too fast, the underside of the nib is too big to hold the ink... at least fountain pen ink, I never tried it with india ink...

[QM2]

Interesting that you had the same problem. I have never read any complaints about this nib before, only praises -- which is why its inability to hold ink surprised me. Higgins Eternal is a thick calligraphy ink that works in any other dip pen I have ever tried. I'd be interested to hear what people use in the Blue Pumpkin to make it flow, gouache?..

[Splicer]

I get 15-25 words per dip with Speedball Superblack. The biggest trouble I have with it is making sure that so much ink doesn't blob up on the underside of the pen and dump out in a huge puddle when I start to write. I think the curved shape of the Steno lends itself to slurping up too much ink with surface tension. The Brause Rose only gets me 7-10 words per dip.

 

I don't have any Higgins here to compare. I remember it being a thinner ink, but I have trouble accepting that it would make quite this much difference.

[QM2]

I get 15-25 words per dip with Speedball Superblack. The biggest trouble I have with it is making sure that so much ink doesn't blob up on the underside of the pen and dump out in a huge puddle when I start to write. I think the curved shape of the Steno lends itself to slurping up too much ink with surface tension. The Brause Rose only gets me 7-10 words per dip.

 

I don't have any Higgins here to compare. I remember it being a thinner ink, but I have trouble accepting that it would make quite this much difference.

 

Speedball Superblack -- thanks, I will give that a try. 15-25 words per dip would be an entirely different universe from 2 letter per dip!

 

Has anybody used Ackerman pump pens with this nib?

[Splicer]

Speedball Superblack -- thanks, I will give that a try. 15-25 words per dip would be an entirely different universe from 2 letter per dip!

 

Has anybody used Ackerman pump pens with this nib?

 

I've had pretty good success with them. You still have to be careful with the thing. It's really not something you can toss around like a fountain pen. For best results, send mail to Charles Ackerman asking which of his "perfect feeds" would be best. He's put a lot of time into matching feed design with dip pens and I'm pretty sure he's familiar with the 'Steno'.

 

I hope the Speedball ink works out for you. I'm finding it hard to believe that there's that much different between the Speedball and Higgins inks, but I hope that it's that simple.

[QM2]

Speedball Superblack -- thanks, I will give that a try. 15-25 words per dip would be an entirely different universe from 2 letter per dip!

 

Has anybody used Ackerman pump pens with this nib?

 

I've had pretty good success with them. You still have to be careful with the thing. It's really not something you can toss around like a fountain pen. For best results, send mail to Charles Ackerman asking which of his "perfect feeds" would be best. He's put a lot of time into matching feed design with dip pens and I'm pretty sure he's familiar with the 'Steno'.

 

I hope the Speedball ink works out for you. I'm finding it hard to believe that there's that much different between the Speedball and Higgins inks, but I hope that it's that simple.

 

Thanks; will try Ackerman and will report on which feed is needed for this nib.

I too find it puzzling that there can be such a difference between Higgins & Speedball ink. I think the Speedball ink should be cheap enough though, so when I have a chance I will pick some up and compare how the two flow.

 

 

[Cerbeos]

I've had pretty good success with them. You still have to be careful with the thing. It's really not something you can toss around like a fountain pen. For best results, send mail to Charles Ackerman asking which of his "perfect feeds" would be best. He's put a lot of time into matching feed design with dip pens and I'm pretty sure he's familiar with the 'Steno'.

 

 

How sensitive are the Ackerman pens? I was considering getting one or two because I just got an order in today of many various nibs as I want to begin to learn calligraphy. What I would really like is to be able to just take the pen with me when I got to campus and have a dip pen with me without the hassle of having to carry around an entire bottle of ink. I have a few couple hour breaks that really all I want to do is to try to improve my hand and practice.

[QM2]

How sensitive are the Ackerman pens? I was considering getting one or two because I just got an order in today of many various nibs as I want to begin to learn calligraphy. What I would really like is to be able to just take the pen with me when I got to campus and have a dip pen with me without the hassle of having to carry around an entire bottle of ink. I have a few couple hour breaks that really all I want to do is to try to improve my hand and practice.

 

The impression I get from reading the website, is that you should be abe to carry them around with no problems. The pens cap, and they don't need to be cleaned out right away, so I don't see why not.

[Splicer]

How sensitive are the Ackerman pens? I was considering getting one or two because I just got an order in today of many various nibs as I want to begin to learn calligraphy. What I would really like is to be able to just take the pen with me when I got to campus and have a dip pen with me without the hassle of having to carry around an entire bottle of ink. I have a few couple hour breaks that really all I want to do is to try to improve my hand and practice.

 

I'd be very hesitant to toss the Ackerman in a pocket or knapsack and forget about it like I would a fountain pen. The feed is not as regulated as a fountain pen's and if the pen isn't nib-up, you're asking for gravity to dump your ink on the inside of the pen.

 

Two things that will help: be aware that the clip rotates around the cap, revealing a breather hole. Expose that hole when removing the cap, else the suction of the cap will pull ink out of the reservoir. Covering the hole when the cap is on will help to prevent any ink that escapes from going beyond the cap.

 

Also: make sure that you use india ink. Fountain pen ink will go through the feed much too quickly and I guarantee ink all over the place.

 

I consider the Ackerman to be a great studio tool, and it can be a great transportable tool, but I'm hesitant about recommending that you carry it around casually.

[QM2]

UPDATE: I have now tried other flex dip nibs (about a dozen vintage ones), and actually almost all of them have this problem. Unless I construct a makeshift wax or foil feed, they simply won't hold ink for more than a few words. It is also extremely difficult to get consistent flow out of them. I know that calligraphers swear by dip flex nibs, but I find vintage fountain pen flex nibs much easier to manipulate. What am I doing wrong? I haven't had a chance to pick up Speedball ink yet (my local shops don't seem to have it), but I would be amazed if it made a significant difference from Higgins and the others I have tried.

[Splicer]

UPDATE: I have now tried other flex dip nibs (about a dozen vintage ones), and actually almost all of them have this problem. Unless I construct a makeshift wax or foil feed, they simply won't hold ink for more than a few words. It is also extremely difficult to get consistent flow out of them. I know that calligraphers swear by dip flex nibs, but I find vintage fountain pen flex nibs much easier to manipulate. What am I doing wrong? I haven't had a chance to pick up Speedball ink yet (my local shops don't seem to have it), but I would be amazed if it made a significant difference from Higgins and the others I have tried.

 

I, too, would be amazed if there was really much difference between Higgins and Speedball.

 

Some of what you're seeing is simply the nature of the beast. With a light touch the Brause Steno "Blue Pumpkin" puts down a line as fine as what we in the fountain pen world would call an XXXXF and flexes to wider than a BB, and does so without an iridium ball at the tip. It's going to be more temperamental and take a more practiced touch. I wish I could say I had that touch. Fountain pens generally write well on an upstroke, whereas a pen as fine as the Steno will dig into paper and tear it to shreds on an upstroke.

 

How many is "a few words" and in what style are you writing? If you're doing lettering with a heavy graphic, that might just be it. There is a reason the fountain pen was invented, and that's because stopping to dip every few words cuts into the time spent writing. When I said I got 15-25 words, that was on smooth paper and writing as I would in a journal, not lettering for any sort of effect.

 

I'm very interested in seeing a comparison between the flex characteristics of your vintage fountain pens and the dip pens you're using. Many pens with less flex are easier to control than pens with greater flex, so if you're comparing a fountain pen of equal flex to the Steno, that's very interesting indeed!

[QM2]

http://queenmargot.com/indian_flex6.jpg

 

I do not have a comparison at the moment, but here you can see samples of me writing with a fairly standard Wahl flex nib (fitted into a Varuna ebonite pen): https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=94536

 

and here is a sample written with a Morrison flex nib (somewhat more flexible than the Wahl):

 

http://queenmargot.com/morrison_flex1.jpg

 

I could not write a single complete word in either of these samples with the dip nibs, with the same degree of consistency and non-blobbiness : (

 

 

[Splicer]

what's the ruling on your paper? Are those 5mm squares?

Edited February 13, 2009 by Splicer

[QM2]

On the top sample, the paper is 4mm squares (MiquelRius). Here is a larger sample below. In the "Morrison" sample, each line is about 1/2" in height. I could not have written either of those with dip nibs. It just doesn't work. The nibs write fine when no pressure (or only the mildest pressure) is exerted, but then go nuts when I try to actually flex them.

 

http://queenmargot.com/indian_flex7.jpg

Edited February 13, 2009 by QM2

[RoyalKooparillo]

Hmmm I may have to give your husband's foil trick a try...I have a Brause Rose nib that won't hold ink at ALL. I've tried prepping it with toothpaste, with saliva, with flame--nothing has gotten it to write more than a letter or two. It's very annoying!

[mikey]

This is all kind of disappointing to hear as I am just about to jump into dip nib writing starting with several of the nibs and inks mentioned in the thread. The shade of blue on the steno nib is simply stunning though.

 

Thanks,

Mike

[wykpenguin]

On the top sample, the paper is 4mm squares (MiquelRius). Here is a larger sample below. In the "Morrison" sample, each line is about 1/2" in height. I could not have written either of those with dip nibs. It just doesn't work. The nibs write fine when no pressure (or only the mildest pressure) is exerted, but then go nuts when I try to actually flex them.

 

http://queenmargot.com/indian_flex7.jpg

 

 

Very nice script. Crisps hairlines and no blobs of ink.

 

I go for the cat's whisker approach that a FPN member posted here way back when. Anyone care to resurrect the post?