Glad to be here!

[Dip Head]

Am I glad I found you folks! I thought my interest in inks was going to be a individual activity. Nice to see some others with similiar interests.

 

I've also enjoyed your Penmenship section and need to spend some more time there...

 

My user name was generated with the support of my son. Not sure if he was helping or ... Anyway, my current interest is in inks. I have a inexpensive Waterman FP that I picked up in Paris on a business trip many years ago, but that is all I have! I do love that pen and use it daily at work for keeping a engineering journal. A new pen is on the Christmas list, but won't know for awhile if I've been good enough ...

 

Dip pens have captured me though. I enjoy the added time required for letter writing and really enjoy the "music" nibs (hope that's the right name) - lots of flex and variable width strokes in the characters. Started with glass pens but never found the right one. Currently enjoying a assortment of J. Herbin nibs and a few Hunt nibs.

 

I'm very new here and am looking forward to learning what you have to teach and sharing what I have to offer. I enjoy the writing samples of various inks and hope to post some of my own. The pictures and personal tests/testimonies really interest me.

 

Thanks.

[KendallJ]

Dip Head (that sounds like a name my son would come up with too)

 

Welcome! We hope that you find lots of great content and friends here on FPNet. If you are into inks then you should check out KCat's vial trade system in the Inky Thoughts. She just sent me 30 vials and I'm ready to send out samples for folks.

 

James P. is doing a great job in the handwriting area. I also have an interest in handwriting and its a pretty active forum.

 

Watch out for the pen bug. 4 years ago I thought I might have a couple of fountain pens some day. I'm now pusing 30. Trying to keep it at that level.

 

Anyway, welcome!

[Keith with a capital K]

Let me be the second to welcome you to FPN and I love that handle... Diphead... heh heh heh

 

We're really growing with new members coming along nearly every day it seems and most of the forums are pretty active so you should never be at a loss for good reading.

 

The Expert's forums are really nice as in these you can usually find the folks with that extra special knowledge about pens, repairs, inks, and writing.

 

We are blessed to have so many knowledgable people who call FPN their home and they are always very generous in lending help to anyone who might ask.

 

I too enjoy using a dip pen to compose letters and seem to be accumulating more than a few of these as well as a number of inkwells.

 

Four years...30 pens...

 

After twenty years... I've stopped counting.

 

Cheers!

 

Keith

Edited November 27, 2004 by Keith with a capital K

[Dip Head]

Well, thank you all for the warm welcome! I've learned a bit from the few days of 'lurking'. And my son is teaching me new words and techniques for posting in forums. My wife will not be happy to learn that more pens are inevitable!

 

My one and only pen has ruined around 5-6 loads of laundry over the years.. It was even banned from the house for a few years and I had to keep it at the office! But it's been well behaved for awhile now. Probably a good testiment for the durability of FP's though..

 

KCat's exchange program is what really prompted me to sign up. I'll be ordering some vials from her soon and will be happy to offer up what I've got for trade. I'm always on the lookout for anything different. This seems like a great program to get involved with.

 

Thanks again!

 

DH

[KCat]

Hi!

 

I'm sorry, I can't call you DH. My lupie friends refer to their hubby's as "DH" (Dear Hubby) but in my world (having raised one child who just left the nest 3 years ago) those initials mean something else.

 

Anywho - welcome to our humble (okay, not so humble) abode. I'm looking forward very much to seeing your written samples. I like using gouache with dip nibs though I'm not terribly good with them under any circumstances. But they are fun. Glass is not that great *unless* you get Ernst (sp?) which I've heard are outstanding and designed to write, not just look good.

 

let me know no the vials - i have plenty now and can take MO, Check or paypal.

[Maja]

Hi Dip Head!

That's a cool name....You must have a good sense of humour....I just use my regular name (which is pronounced "Mya", btw).....

 

I only have a few dip pens ----two are modern that I purchased at the local pen shop with "Hunt nibs" and the rest are vintage, including an Esterbrook dip pen (but I need to buy the "Dipless" inkwell that goes with it). My father-in-law, knowing my love for writing instruments, bought me a lovely dip pen in Siena, Italy. It is made of Murano glass, but it has a silver "section" (where you grip the pen). I will have to get my husband to photograph it, so I can post it on FPN.

 

In any case, WELCOME TO FPN!

[Free Citizen]

Hey, another dip pen user. Cool. Welcome to the community I have been using a round hand dip pen set made by Nikko of Japan. Not too thrilled with the holder though. What do you use? Looking forward to seeing your samples

[Dip Head]

This is going to be fun! Thank you again for such a great welcome..

 

I took some pictures of my handwriting and my simple set of tools. However, it seems that I can't post images yet. "If the admin has enabled it, you will also see a file attachments option..." I'll find an 'Admin, please help me' link and send off a request.

 

But for details, nothing fancy here: The nib came in a J. Herbin box of "12 Plumes Assorties" that I picked up in a little handmade paper shop in North Carolina. It seems to be marked "Hero" and then Leonardt -40- England. It is just a blast for me to write with. The holder is a standard Speedball plastic nib holder with one of the foam finger grips like the kids use on school pencils. It really made the difference for me having a thicker/softer area to hold.

 

The nib in the avatar was a Hunt Globe Bowl Pointed, 513 EF. I used it to test some inks because it's very easy to wipe clean. But I'll include the other nib in the photo with the handwriting.

 

By the way, is this a proper place to continue posting pictures or do I need to start a new topic in another area? And are there recommendations on picture sizes? I've reduced my equipment picture to 320x240 and the handwriting at 640x480. Hadn't found any suggested size limitations yet.

 

Hope to post my samples soon!

[KendallJ]

By the way, is this a proper place to continue posting pictures or do I need to start a new topic in another area? And are there recommendations on picture sizes? I've reduced my equipment picture to 320x240 and the handwriting at 640x480. Hadn't found any suggested size limitations yet.

DH -

 

You can post pics to any of the forums so depends on the topic of your post. There is a forum for handwriting, and one specifically for pictures of pens and other things. Many people have been posting scans of handwriting done in particular ink in the Inky Thoughts forum.

 

You will need to locate the pictures off site and then link to them using the IMG button. There are several free hosting sites for pics. I use Photobucket.com.

 

No limit on size per se, unless your hosting site has one (Photobucket reduces all pics to <250K) but I would not use pics wider than about 600 pixels as some people may have to scroll to the side to see the whole thing.

[Guest Denis Richard]

Hi Dip Head,

 

Although It's been said many times, many ways, Merry FPN to you !

 

Can you tell the holidays are coming ?

 

Seriously, enjoy the site !

 

Denis.

[KCat]

By the way, is this a proper place to continue posting pictures or do I need to start a new topic in another area? And are there recommendations on picture sizes? I've reduced my equipment picture to 320x240 and the handwriting at 640x480. Hadn't found any suggested size limitations yet.

Hi DipHead.

 

As Kendall said, you just want to make sure the images are 600 or less. I shoot for 500 because of the frames and such in the forum. There are only a few "rules" about posting. If the goal of my post was to show my writing as a result of using a special pen, i'd put it in the Penmanship forum. If it was to show ink colors, the Inky Thoughts forum. Or if it was just for general edification of the reader - the Pictures. any of those will work. For tools and such, Pictures forum.

 

At grave risk to your checking account - have you seen a Paper & Ink arts catalog? They have a webpage and I know they were or are working on putting their catalog on-line in full. But the paper catalog is too much fun and quite dangerous.

 

There's a new nib brand (to the US anyway) called Nikko and these are supposedly very smooth but flexible dip nibs. I'm going to use the catalog for some Christmas stuff and will use it as an excuse to try these little nibs.

[Dip Head]

Don't have one of those yet - but I will soon! I just love a flex nib that gives variable widths. Give's the writing some character... For me, the further I can get from a straight, even, smooth, consistant line - the more fun I'm having!

 

Thanks for the other tips. This is exactly what I had hoped for when I joined. What a great group!

[Free Citizen]

By the way, is this a proper place to continue posting pictures or do I need to start a new topic in another area? And are there recommendations on picture sizes? I've reduced my equipment picture to 320x240 and the handwriting at 640x480. Hadn't found any suggested size limitations yet.

Hi Dip Head, image size of 640 x 480 is just fine. For pictures, this is the size I use to post. Unless you are a paid subscriber, photobucket.com has a limitation for image size. Anything larger than 250KB will be reduced in size. This would compromise on the quality of the picture. If your images is larger than this limit, try using imageshack.com. Imageshack will host your images for one year from the date your image is last accessed. That means almost forever. As with photobucket, you don't have to use the "IMG" tags here. Just copy everything in the field and paste it in your message. It is that easy.

 

Secondly, scanning is the best option for written images. I do not know what you use but some detailed knowledge about the performace of your camera is required if you want to get a good macro shot. For more advice on this, you can post to request Digital Photography tips in our Pictures Forum. Some of our members may be able to provide you some answers. Especially Stylophiles, Bill is a professional that specialises in Pen photography among other things. Good luck

[Dip Head]

Thanks for the tips. Grumpy recommended villagephotos.com and now with imageshack.com I should have plenty to choose from for my next images.

 

I've seen Stylophiles pictures! Very impressive.

 

I am going to try to get some scan's done. Don't have one here at the house, but do have access to some. Will submit them when I get them...

 

Thanks for all the good info!