Help Finding Adaptable Nibs And Replacement Inks!

[apparentlyapril]

The fountain pen I have was handmade by one of my brother's teachers and now I want a calligraphy nib and I need some replacement inks. The problem is, I can't remember what website she uses to get the nibs and inks.

 

Here's a photo of the nib and you can see the threads where the pen part attaches? This is my first fountain pen and I just want to be able to do calligraphy with it.

 

Thanks,

April

[TimGirdler]

The fountain pen I have was handmade by one of my brother's teachers and now I want a calligraphy nib and I need some replacement inks. The problem is, I can't remember what website she uses to get the nibs and inks.

 

Here's a photo of the nib and you can see the threads where the pen part attaches? This is my first fountain pen and I just want to be able to do calligraphy with it.

 

Thanks,

April

 

April,

 

If you're looking for a nib that will help you do calligraphy, then you're probably wanting a cursive italic nib or a crisp italic nib. Which would best serve you depends on your skill as a calligrapher.

 

If you're just looking to write more "fancy," you should consider a cursive italic as it is much more forgiving than the crisp, and it will let you write much more easily. Or, you may consider the stub italic. The stub is the most forgiving of the grinds and it offers good line variation and very good ease of writing.

 

To my knowledge, only the stub is available without being custom ground for you by someone like me. But beware: The stubs offered by JoWo, for instance, do not have any tipping material on them. A hand-ground stub, cursive or crisp italic should have tipping material, and it will make a difference in the long run.

 

It is likely possible and very easy to replace the nib on your pen. Most likely it is either a #5 or a #6 and these nibs are readily available for reasonable prices. If you choose a medium or a broad (and even a fine), these nibs can be ground to a stub or a cursive italic (and also a crisp italic) to suit your desires.

 

Please feel free to contact me through my website (in the signature below) if you'd like to discuss this further.

 

Also, a number of good inks are readily available. Please do not use the inks you'd find in your local hobby shop as they will likely kill the pen. Stay with good, name-brand inks like Waterman, Parker, Diamine, etc.

 

Blessings,

 

Tim

[DanF]

That is a standard #5 nib. A broad should be able to yield about a 1mm cursive italic with the tipping still intact. Any wider, you will have to grind away all of the tipping. The standard stub nib do not have tipping, as Tim stated.

 

Dan

[apparentlyapril]

Thank you both so much! The information is super helpful!