Better Ink For A Rotring Artpen?

[AmandaW]

I'm finding the stiff nib and slow flow of the ink that came with my 2.3mm Rotring Artpen hard work - difficult to start many letters and needing too much pressure.

I kept hoping it would get better with use and practice but I do have a converter for it - maybe a different ink might help.

 

Recommendations would be appreciated. I'm not fussy about colour at this stage, but would prefer something fairly inexpensive since I expect to go through a lot of it.

 

Thanks.

 

[Noihvo]

[amberleadavis]

You are in the land of some wonderful ink makers. If I may, try Barrier Reef Blue by Blackstone Ink.

[AmandaW]

You are in the land of some wonderful ink makers. If I may, try Barrier Reef Blue by Blackstone Ink.

 

Unfortunately, not in Western Australia because they're not sold here. There are some online retailers, but they are so expensive on postage it's easier and less expensive to get things from England.

 

I will definitely try the Waterman. Thankyou.

[amberleadavis]

Oh darn. What about Robert Oster?

[dcwaites]

Robert Oster doesn't sell directly any more, or via eBay.

 

This is their list of Resellers

 

However, note this page...

Edited May 25, 2017 by dcwaites

[AmandaW]

Someone suggested Notemaker (can't find it now). I will never buy from them again - they started out OK but then got slower and slower and slower. I knew they were expensive but the final straw was when I needed a replacement Lamy nib - almost $30 plus $9.90 postage. For an ordinary fine nib... No way!

[AmandaW]

Significant progress with the Rotring 2.3mm Art Pen today!

 

I've tried several other inks besides the Rotring it came with over the past few days and the best so far has indeed been the Waterman (Serenity Blue bought at a city department store).

 

Even with that, my calligraphy practice has been much more of a struggle than it felt it should be compared to a Parallel Pen or a dip pen. Paying close attention, I found I could get more consistent flow if I held the pen upright! It's not good for Foundational letterforms trying to write with a vertical pen, but the ink was coming out without being so hard on my hand muscles.

 

I looked at the nib with a magnifying glass and couldn't see anything weird, but then I don't really know what I'm looking for. I decided that it felt like the nib was rounded at the point it made contact with the paper. So I took to it (very gently) with my nail file. The nib is now a bit rough and could benefit from being smoothed BUT IT WRITES!!!

 

Once I get something to do that I'll try all the inks again and report back.

Edited May 25, 2017 by AmandaW

[Randal6393]

Hi, Amanda,

 

I feel your pain. Rotring Artpens have their share of "cussedness" indeed. Things that have made it easier for me:

 

-- The nib and feed pull out easily and can be reassembled just as easily. This makes a thorough cleaning particularly easy. That can cure a number of problems in itself.

 

-- As you have found, sharpening your nib can solve a few problems as well.

 

-- The 2.3 mm nib is great for practice. Everyday writing is usually done with a 1.1 mm nib. The practice work, at least in my case, is good for learning an alphabet and reminding me to keep the pen angled to 45 degrees. I use italics as my writing hand and find that even a 1.1 mm nib is almost too broad when I am writing 2 mm high letters.

 

Enjoy,

[aeba]

Hi, Amanda,

 

I feel your pain. Rotring Artpens have their share of "cussedness" indeed. Things that have made it easier for me:

 

-- The nib and feed pull out easily and can be reassembled just as easily. This makes a thorough cleaning particularly easy. That can cure a number of problems in itself.

 

-- As you have found, sharpening your nib can solve a few problems as well.

 

-- The 2.3 mm nib is great for practice. Everyday writing is usually done with a 1.1 mm nib. The practice work, at least in my case, is good for learning an alphabet and reminding me to keep the pen angled to 45 degrees. I use italics as my writing hand and find that even a 1.1 mm nib is almost too broad when I am writing 2 mm high letters.

 

Enjoy,

And that literally means it. One can't use any twisting motion to pull it out, as the feed isn't round.

[Daneaxe]

I recently got a Rotring ArtPen on the cheap, which I have been experimenting with, to see if I can do a bit of calligraphy, despite being a leftie...
😃

I have also had a bit of trouble with ink flow and hard starts, gonna look into taking the feed & nib apart and cleaning them even more thoroughly than what I have done with mild warm soap water in a bulb syringe. Let's see what I can get out of it. 'till now, it's been a bit of a disappointment, mostly for this reason, tho I haven't given up yet, the comments above have inspired me to do some more fiddling and test some more.

BTW, the nib selection on mine is 0.9, 1.1, 1.5 and 1.9 mm stubs. Would love me a 2.3 mm stub - but I ordered a cheap chinese one yesterday with just that, let's see how that works out. But the Rotring is excellent for experimenting and getting to know stubs.

Stay safe,
Daneaxe

[JakobS]

The 2.3mm nib was the first nib I got for my Art Pen too, and I have a similar experience using it. It definitely exhausts my hand/arm after use. I use it to do Running Book Hand, and I think the ink I used was either Pelikan 4001 Black, or Waterman Black...probably the Pelikan. I have also used a few color inks, but can't remember which. I found using the Manuscript nibs more enjoyable to be honest, a bit smoother, and ink flowed well, though they aren't as durable body wise. I think I had better experiences with the 1.5mm and 1.1 mm Art pen nibs, they seemed smoother, though they might have had a similar inconsistent flow.