I have been practicing my self-made "manuscript font" for an Illuminated Manuscript project. And the better I get, the more I realise that the italic nibs I own do not produce enough line variation for the kind of effect I want to achieve.

What I currently use are Lamy Joy 1.5mm nibs, Rotring Art Pen 1.3-1.5 nibs, and Pilot Plumix BB Italic. The latter is the crispest, but still not enough for what I want.

What pens do professional calligraphers use to produce the kind of variation seen in blackletter / textura type writing? I do not want to use dip pens, so I am hoping there is a fountain pen option. I need a few of such pens, as I alternate colours within the same paragraph, necessitating having 2-3 pens with equivalent nib widths inked at the same time.

Many thanks,
QM2

If you want a truly crisp italic for professional results, dip-pens are the way forwards.

But Richard Binder advertises his crisp italics to be very crisp...

You will not get professional results using fountain pens for italic calligraphy. The nibs are too thick and too rigid. Also, the ink is never as opaque as ink intended for calligraphy and it never looks the same (calligraphic ink contains substances that would foul a fountain pen in short order).

Professional calligraphers often cut their own goose quills. Takes practice!

However, they also use metal nibs for italic calligraphy (probably as much or more than goose quills). Some brands:

-- Brause
-- William Mitchell (Buy the reservoirs for these, otherwise you will be dipping in the middle of every letter)
-- Hunt (Old nibs, no longer made, but they are the same as Wm. Mitchell nibs, still in production)
-- Speedball (C-series nibs)

I have made nibs for special projects by whittling dried sticks.

For very large letters, you will need to use Coit pens or box pens (aka "automatic pens" or "auto pens")

Good source -- reasonable prices, good selection: http://www.jandtblackman.ltd.uk/

Coit pens have their own Web site: http://www.coitpens.com/

No dip nibs, because the environments where I write make this impossible.

I've been considering ordering a crisp italic steel Pelikan nib unit from Richard for my M215; but in order to have several pens inked at a time, I would have to spend quite a lot: 3 nib units and 2 extra bodies : ((

Another reason why the pros use dip nibs. They generally cost no more than $2.50, usually less than half that.

Why can you not use dip pens?

I have a huge 2.7mm rotring artpen that is very crisp and two Reform piston fillers one at 1.9 and the other at 2.3mm. The reforms are the way to go if you want to keep several inked in different sizes or different colors. Got my from Speer Bob. I also have a sweet 1.1mm Crisp italic from Richard that you just can't beat.

Oh...

Hm... Well, thank you for that information; I will have to think about what to do then. Brause and Speedball are easy enough to get, but I was so hopeful that it is possible to go the FP route and still achieve convincing "manuscript font" results.

The Coit pens are... um... quite something (!!).

QM2

Two reasons:

I basically work around the clock, often in hectic and/or public environments, and have to squeeze in my writing practice wherever I can. This is impossible, if I must carry ink bottles and lay out a setup with multiple dip pens every time. But if I simply carry 3 filled FPs and a notebook in my briefcase, it is absolutely fine.

The other issue is that my hands shake. Somehow, the shaking is stabilised when I use FPs. But when I try to use dip pens, the ink splatters all over the place : (

Get a Pilot Parallel Pen. The double-plate nib's edge produces a 0.5 mm line to obtain maximum line variation. More info:

http://pigpog.com/node/1076

Then you haven't seen the magic done by Ward Dunham of Atelier Gargoyle with regular fountain pens and Mottishawed nibs. Granted, the *very big* letters - up to an inch wide - he creates with a bamboo nib, custom cut by himself for whatever size he needs, but everything smaller than 6.0mm is created using fountain pens. I've seen him do it in person, and it's truly amazing.

Here's a sample from Mottishaw's website: http://www.nibs.com/calligraphicwriting.htm

Fountain pens can get crisp lettering. If they are ground crisp, used lightly, and the user has the knowledge and experienced necessary to get good results. Here's what I have done to learn how:

Buy a set of inexpensive calligraphy pens, say Sheaffer Viewpoints or Manuscript or Osmiroid or Panache or ... You get the idea, whatever you can find. Then get a few sheets of waterproof sandpaper or a barber's hone or a fine stone/slip of some type. Look up how to cut a quill or how to grind an italic nib on the Internet or in a book. The later editions of Fred Eager's The Italic Way to Beautiful Handwriting or Graily Hewitt's Lettering or Edward Johnston's Writing or Illuminating or Lettering. Next, sit down at your desk and work on your pens until you get them crisp. Be sure to smooth the chisel edge and corners enough to stop the pens grabbing at the paper -- but not enough to lose the crispness. Now you have a decent pen for italic or textura or uncials or ...

Next, get a copy of Margaret Shepherd's Learning Calligraphy or Marc Drogin's Medieval Calligraphy and start studying the hands you are interested in. Now practice, practice, and practice. In three to six months, you should be able to create any type of text lettering you need.

Learning ain't easy. But, IMHO, it's fun.

Best of luck and send me an email or two if you have any questions.

Yours,
Randal

I loved my Coit pens. They are amazing. You can load them with anything from black ink to watercolors to gouache and they perform perfectly.

Ink splatters are not the result of shaky hands. They are the result of too much pressure. Also, edged nibs are a bit (emphasize "bit") less prone to this than the pointed nibs used for certain types of ornamental calligraphy.

You're right, I haven't seen Dunham's work. But I stand by my statement. If for nothing else, for the other 99.99999999999999999999999999% of calligraphers and calligraphic work.

Thank you for the replies -- though I admit that now I am more confused than ever : )
Again, I do know about the Mottishaw & Binder crisp italics, but if I go this option I figure I will end up spending over $250-- as I need at least 3 nib units ($50 each for steel from Binder, so $150 total) and 2 additional Pelikan bodies, since I only have one ($100 for 2 M200s from Binder) . It may be a good idea as a long-term investment and I am giving it some thought.

But I will give the Osmirod a try, as I have not done so yet. And if that is not crisp enough, then I may also finally take the plunge and try my hand at nibgrinding: will try to alter my Lamy Joy and Rotring Art Pen nibs to crisper italics. Anybody ever done this?...




It is definitely the shaky hands : ) The ink splatters directly from the dip-pen's nib, before it even touches the paper. With fountain pens, I suppose the ink is better "contained" in the feed, so this does not happen.

If you get a Lamy Safari/AL-Star you can grind the nibs quite easily. I've done stubs and cursives and there is a caliken post with an illustration of a grinding jig that should be able to produce a sharp nib. PM me for the link if you can't find it.

Doug

For privacy reasons, I can't give you a list, but I sell crisp nibs to many professional calligraphers -- including Ward Dunham.

Richard, what size(s) do these customers tend to get? Is the Pelikan 1.1mm steel nib unit enough, or do you make wider custom versions for them?

QM2, if you haven't already tried it the Sheaffer Calligraphy Set is quite crisp and inexpensive - it comes with a set of 0.8mm, 1.3mm, and 1.8mm crisp italic nibs, and take cartridges.


http://www.dickblick.com/zz208/23g/

I have received mixed feedback about these pens. But heck, the kit is $8, so I'll give it a try.
Done. Thanks Bananafish : )

And the nibgrinding holder should make it easier to "touch up" the Sheaffer nibs. A new Sheaffer calligraphy nib is usually, IMHO, more of a stub or cursive than a crisp italic. By hand, on a smoothing stone (either Norton India or hard Arkansas), it takes about 15 minutes work for me to make the Sheaffer stub into a crisp. No more than five light strokes, test on writing paper, another five strokes, test ... A good 10x loupe makes it a lot easier to see what effects what. If you start slow, with a nib that you know you aren't going to regret losing, you should soon find yourself turning out good crisp italics.

Yours,
Randal

Pardon the naivite of this question, but what exactly do you do, in order to sharpen an italic? Swipe it horizontally flat and even across the paper?.. In other words, how is the hand motion different from say, regular nib smoothing/grinding? I have never done this before, obviously, but am planning to buy a kit from Richard Binder in a week or so and give it a try.

Thanks,
QM2

QM2, you're welcome. Hope the Sheaffer turn out to be suitable. Are you making the Illuminated Manuscript as a work project, or for personal pleasure? I'm fascinated by Illuminated Manuscript, and always enjoy looking at them; at museums and from books of course, don't have a personal copy

Working on a quick tutorial on sharpening nibs. Will get it up and posted by Friday, August 8. Many words but relatively few illustrations to describe. Will put up a quick note when my notes hit online.

Yours,
Randal

My notes are online now. Here is the link.

Hope it is of service to you.

Oh! -- Thank you Randal, the instructions on your webpage are great. I will try this when I am back in the US at the end of the month. My plan is to start with the Sheaffer kit, and if that is successful, move on to my Lamy italics. Will let you know how it goes!