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First I’d like to say hello! My name’s Ava Marie. Born and raised in the south (little German town right outside Austin, TX), but I live and breathe in Portland, OR. I’ve loved pens since I was very young. I would see your typical ‘Unused Corporate Desk Pen Set'™ while roaming the halls of IBM’s Austin campus with my mom in the 90s. I always got so excited when she let me pick up and inspect them. I wanted to understand them and just...create. Writing eluded for a lot of reasons, but being dyslexic & dysgraphic tend to be the top 2 on the board. I’ve always hated anything that required picking up a pen as it all got worse. So I just put it all out of my mind and carried my laptop everywhere for 15 years. Though I was never caught without my trusty Parker Jotter (guess it’s in my blood, eh?). ——— Last year marked the end of that extra 5 pounds I walked around with all day when I needed to take notes quietly in a few seminars I was planning to attend. I finally revisited writing and took a new approach this time. I started to rummage through old letters from friends and family…comparing my letter forms to the ones I liked in those pages. I formed my own set of “rules” for myself on how to write each letter. Now I’ve formed that bond with analogue I wanted as a kid (even managed to find it somewhat as an adult, being a tube amp & vinyl nut, too). Every day of my life is full of ink on paper now, and it feels great. ——— But for the sake of keeping this somewhat brief I’ll just show you how far the rabbit hole has taken me so far without the help (and I’m sure enabling nature) of FPN so far. Really happy to be here to learn more and maybe even pass a few tidbits of my own on. http://i.imgur.com/v8xM1Aa.jpg?2 My 'Daily Drivers' right now are the Pilot Heritage 92 (Fine Nib, Noodler's 'Borealis Black'), the Lamy Al-Star (1.9 Stub, Diamine's 'Imperial Purple'), and a little prototype of my own fitted with an EF Bock 250 (between the VP & Urushi Brush) sporting Pilot's Standard Blue.

Hi there, I am an avid user of fountain pens and I also love to write with an italic or stub nib for calligraphy. However, I'd like to venture into copperplate and Spencerian script so I'm looking for dip pen nibs. I want to be able to write small letters so that I can write things like letters without running out of space. I'm new to this area so I don't know if it's possible or even desired to have writing that would fit onto the lines of standard lined paper, but that is what I'm looking for. Any suggestions for nibs? Also, is it necessary to have an oblique holder for calligraphy? Thanks, Danny

I am happy to announce my workshop on Copperplate Calligraphy on January 7th 2017. I will be introducing my system for learning Copperplate Calligraphy in this 4-hour workshop. We will work through the fundamental forms that make up the minuscule (small) and majuscule (capital) letters of the alphabet. This class will benefit both beginners and those with some experience in Copperplate or other pointed pen scripts. Tickets for this even are available here: Copperplate Calligraphy with Salman Khattak - Jan 7th, 2017

I am offering a small selection of these premium holders just in time for your Christmas shopping. These are all ready to ship and available in my Etsy store at: Expressions Art Shop 1-1 & 1-2 - These are my 'short-form' holders. These 4.5 inch holders are carved from Cherry with Zebrano and Rosewood accents in the grip area and Bubinga in the finial. Although short, they feel like full sized holders in the hand. ($120 for the set) Sold 2 - This 'Swan' holder is carved from Cherry. It was a challenging project but I am happy how it turned out. ($140) 3 - This 'Tulip' holder is carved from Bloodwood and Tree of Heaven. ($140) Sold 4 - This classically styled holder is carved from Olive wood for the grip area and Bubinga for the shaft. Two Brass ring accents are placed where the two woods join. The finial is separately carved from Curly Maple and Ebony. ($140) 5 - This holder combined light and dark Walnut and sports a triangular grip. It will suit users with a modern grip who like to hold their pen high. ($120) Please feel free to browse my Etsy store or PM for purchase or custom orders. - Salman

Last year I became fascinated with the notion of new and old technology being used together. With that thought in mind I purchased a 3D printer and began to design and fabricate dip pens from ABS plastic. Once I had a CAD design I was happy with (there was a lot of trial and error there), I started to experiment with different finishes. As you may know, 3D printed items generally have a cold, rigid feel to them. The process I developed leaves them feeling smooth and warm in your hand. They weigh just 1/8 oz. and are available in a variety of colors including glow in the dark (the glow in the dark ones almost look like light sabers). Thanks for looking!

Hello all, a quick question: I've just been to a calligraphy workshop where we have used Standardgraph China Inks in Pilot Parallel pens. Now the question: what is a china ink? According to google it's india ink so basically shellac with some pigments, which is definitely NOT supposed to be used in fountain pens, which, Parallel pens definitely are. According to Standardgraph's catalog: http://i64.tinypic.com/106lxl2.jpg It seems they don't recommend it to be used in FPs... so I'm puzzled... maybe a thorough rinse after each sessions might save the pens ad enable us to use those china/india inks in Pilot Parallels? Any ideas, experiences? Thanks!

Hello guys, I was looking for a fountain pen with a nib which is suitable for Arabic Calligraphy, I think that Italic Nib is the good one, but I still not sure enough so I need your help guys. ِArabic Calligraphy requires right-oblique nib with a very sharp edge for a broad (up-and-down) strokes and narrow strokes (sideways). Arabic Calligraphers usually use an ancient handmade pens made of bamboo for the large letters, and 'Hatat nibs with a holder' for the small letters that could be modified by grinding (I found this too hard to write with, this why I'm searching for a fountain pen). By the way, I need a 0.5 mm or 0.7 mm nib for typing a small letters. I attached some pictures showing the Arabic Calligraphy, also the bamboo pen, Hatat nib and the holder. Note: If possible give me an Aliexpress or eBay purchase link or any worldwide online store. Thanks for your time! Thanks for your time, and your help would be much appreciated!

I bought an Eclipse pen on eBay and it just arrived. Warranted nibs were the go-to replacement nibs - you'll find them on every kind of pen, but once in a long while you'll find something like the instrument attached to this pen. It belonged to a professional calligrapher and it really truly does handle like a brush. Interestingly, I think I paid about two hundred dollars less for it than I would have if it were a Waterman of similar qualities...it's what the near-mythical Artist's nib is supposed to be like. I'll try to post some pictures when I get to a computer that will let me.

With the start of the new school year, the Reed College Calligraphy Initiative is adding an "italic handwriting group" to the twice-weekly calligraphy-oriented "Scriptorium." This pleases me enormously. Handwriting is an "everyman's (and woman's) art." It's too important to leave to the artists! I am sure Lloyd Reynolds and Alfred Fairbank are smiling down from Heaven. In other news, The Calligraphy Initiative, which has been instructing Portland school children in italic handwriting for a few years, is now collaborating with the Portland Calligraphy Society in this venture. They have donated 500 Pilot Parallel pens to this program. David

I'm fairly new to the world of fountain pens, and I'm itching to try something with a good amount of flex that I don't have to apply too much pressure to to achieve a lot of line variation. I've tried the noodler's nib creeper, and while it of course had better line variation than a stiff nib, it really wasn't what I was looking for. I know that to get a really good wet noodle fountain pen I'd have to look for a restored vintage pen, but I really don't have anywhere near the budget for that. Given that, I had an idea. I know a lot of calligraphy nibs, although not meant for use in fountain pens, have a huge amount of flex, and I was thinking of getting a calligraphy nib and replacing the nib on one of my fountain pens with it. Does anyone have any ideas of what kind of nibs and pens to use, or want to tell me that this is a terrible idea? Any advice is appreciated!

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/312819-reed-calligraphy-initiative-starts-italic-handwriting-group/?do=findComment&comment=3694852 David

And no, it's not a tremor. Backstory. For eight years I've worked in my hell hole at a corporate desk job at which the most handwriting involved is writing down my lunch order onto a Post-It once a week. I sometimes jot down 6-digit numbers too. Real intense. Handwriting has always been a passion of mine and I've been dismayed to watch mine give up the ghost. I committed fully to learning calligraphy in some serious way, but had no guidance and was subsequently clueless. In March, a stray comment changed my life and put a name to my penmanship journey. Copperplate. Copperplate and I evolved from strangers to lovers to sharing a very twisted BDSM relationship, all in a matter of weeks. I practiced, a lot. Drills and drills and drills. I drilled for weeks before attempting minuscules, even. Unfortunately my progress slowed down a LOT once I endeavored along with majuscules. I found myself contemplating a universe in which no capital B exists, but then how could there be no Beyonce. So with slowed progress I've practiced less. I haven't stopped. And I've practiced some other styles, more modern, since I do have an okay command of my dip pen at this point. (This may have been a huge mistake.) Completely against my will, fountain pens keep accumulating in my house. I feel bad for them getting tinkered with and not getting enough paper time. It's surprising how difficult it seemed to find anything to write about, but I slowly started to practice. Oh. The horror. I cannot write. It shakes, it trembles, it's confused. Whose hand is this? It's ten times worse than it's ever been in my life. What is going on here? My theories are that my muscle memory has been obliterated for small cursive. Well, actually that's my only theory. What can I do about it? I have some books on Spencerian but will likely need some videos to understand this rhythmic thing. Is this what I need, or do I need to just slow down and let my own unique hand return to me (most likely in a very different way than it used to be)? I know there's no right answer but any advice would be appreciated because I'm pretty stumped at this point. This photo shows my hand as steady as I can get and trying to experiment a bit. I'll respond with a better one shortly.

Hey folks the Miami Pen Show is just around the corner and it's bigger and better then ever. I have a new hotel with plenty of room to grow and a social media marketing campaign that will bring in new dealers and customers. For more information please check out my blog posting. http://bertramsinkwell.com/blog/ Thanks

Hello! This is my first post in the calligraphy section, and I have a question ...but first, a brief intro: I've been tackling with flexible handwriting ever since I got my first Noodler's flex pen, and what a bumpy road it has been... My first flexy nib was incredibly stiff, so I reoriented towards vintage flex, but that turned out to be misleading as well (couldn't find a pen to fit my style). Long story short, it's long since I've sold almost all of my flex pens, keeping only a modified Noodler's nib (ease-my-flex mod) for messing around. And the level of 'messing around' I'm at right now...looks like this: http://i.imgur.com/LHM9H64.jpg (W. B. Yeats' 'Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven' in Apache Sunset with Noodler's Ahab Ease-My-Flex nib) Feeling that I've started making a bit of progress, I decided to get an oblique pen holder and some decent nibs...problem is, the art stores in my country have a very limited range of flexy nibs (like 1 or 2 variants...) and no oblique holders! After a bit of browsing, I found a nice English webstore with everything I needed; ordered a Speedball oblique holder and 4 nibs (to see which would fit me best): Gillott 404, Leonardt EF Principal, Leonardt Shorthand DP40 and Brause Steno 361. I've read good reviews about the first 3, and I just liked the way the 361 looked Now...after all this useless blabbering comes my question: which other nibs should I consider in my endeavors of learning proper Copperplate (and maybe Spencerian later)? Thank you! (I apologize for the horrendous quality of the photo)

This is a composition I did recently. The style is based on a modern script developed by a Calligrapher in Iran. The script is called 'Kereshmeh'. I could not find proper instructions for the script but I think I got the mood of it right with this attempt. The Arabic reads: Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim. This translates to 'In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful'. Here is a picture: It is hard to get a picture in the frame because of the reflections: This is one of the practice sheets where I am working out the shapes and ligature. There are several more of these :-) I have not been practising Arabic Calligraphy much lately so this was a good warm-up as well as a humbling reminder of how much work needs to go into it. One can't just wing it. - Salman __________________ Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those doing it.

Hey world! I'm a new member to the forums, and I thought I'd forgo the introduction forum and come straight here. I'm a bit of a handwriting experimenter, so I thought I'd just leave this here to show off a bit :] The railroading would probably get on a lot of nerves here, but I'm personally a fan of it. (Though i've been looking for solutions recently. It's been getting worse lol)

Hi guys, it has been a long time that I am struggling for legible and good handwriting, I went through different types of handwriting, first I wrote in cursive but never became fluent with it then I tried separate words but were looking kind of childish writing, then I wrote on middle of the line then again I jumped back on the line with different techniques of writing, so I came to this form so that you good people can help me improve my handwriting. My one more problem is that I can write in more than 20 styles (2 of which are attached in the photo) this has became problem for me because which one style should I finalize and choose. My handwriting attached in this photo are 2 writings, open photo it will be named "1" and "2" in other photo attached (written in red colour on the photo) so you people can distinguish between two different handwritings of mine, my both handwritings in both pics are legible means I can write it fast and fluent but tell me by looking at the photo that is such writing acceptable or not and which one should I choose, thanks.

I went to NYC for the 1st time last January. Loved every single minute in that fantastic city, even the outstading experience of the greatest blizzard since 1869! I visited the MET Museum three times in five days, since I wanted so badly to see Rembrandt's paintings. In the first day (January 23th) the museum closed earlier because of the blizzard. The next day many of the museum employees were not able to work because of the snow, but on Monday, my last day in the city, I could see what I wanted. I also saw and took these pictures to post here that I was able to do today. Books on writing and calligraphy from the 17th and 16th centuries: http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/mmmcosta/Pens/20160124_130921_zpsr9sr2f8n.jpg http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/mmmcosta/Pens/20160124_131124_zpsyfjychnu.jpg http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/mmmcosta/Pens/20160124_130752_zpslezgwoz7.jpg http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/mmmcosta/Pens/20160124_130729_zpsdov1h6ql.jpg http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/mmmcosta/Pens/20160124_131108_zpskf11ttlq.jpg I hope you like it. Marcelo

Hi all, I am excited to announce my upcoming class on Copperplate Calligraphy. This 6-hour class will be held at Wonder Pens in Toronto. This is a Level-1 class where we will start our study with the structure of the minuscule letters. Both beginners and practitioners of Copperplate are welcome. The class is limited to 10 students. This ensures that I will be able to spend plenty of time with each participant. Further details are available at: Copperplate Class with Salman Khattak I hope to see some FPN'ers there. - Salman

Hi I need help identifying some Targa nibs that I have . The ones on the left and right came from an incomplete Targa set that I purcahsed through Ebay. I'm pretty sure the smallest one is the file but I'm not sure if the other one (the one on the left) is the medium or the borad. The nib in the centre was purchased NOS from a local pen dealer. He wasn't sure which it was. I also included a writing sample of each and one from a Targa medium and a Targa fine for reference. I greatly appreciate anyone's help!

A Somewhat Informal Press Release 23 March 2016 for more information, please contact either Carolyn Haines — or — Catherine Russell Carolyn’s Email: carolyn@chirography.org Catherine’s Email: catherine@chirography.org http://chirography.org Time to let you know about a new project out there in the world, and to ask for your support in spreading the word with editorial and/or social media coverage. Time is of the essence, too, because we’re currently in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign. There’s a new organization starting up, one that focuses on some very old skills and some very contemporary problems: The Chirography Alliance If that one word there is unfamiliar, for today’s exercise in endangered basic skills, look it up in the dictionary. “Chirography.” Not chiropractic. Or chiromancy. And really not chiropody. Though the word does share a Latin root with all those other words: chiro, meaning “of/by the hand.” And it isn’t calligraphy or cursive, either, those these would be included. Chirography: writing by hand. There’s more at our website and our Kickstarter page, but here is the basic info: The Chirography Alliance is a community that connects and supports those who believe in the art and science of the handwritten word. Yeah, yeah, sounds all warm and fuzzy, cute, and maybe unnecessary, but it’s really none of those. You see, we have noticed that lots of people and organizations are currently thinking about and trying to address our imperiled ability to write with our hands. And imperiled it is, so don’t go kidding yourself. Check out your own handwriting, or try to read someone else’s. Better yet, just think about Leonardo da Vinci’s notes, the letters of John and Abigail Adams, war letters in museums around the world, Hemingway’s jottings, or that one deeply treasured love note you’ve kept stashed away for years. What if those things never existed in the first place? Handwritten lasts for centuries; digital is designed to evaporate. There is a place in this world for both. So, maybe you’ve noticed a few cultural and economic trends related to this, as we have. There are groups that write letters to strangers, teach penmanship, employ handwriting as art, advocate for cursive in the classroom, and create and sell fine and fantastic writing supplies — each of which is a great idea in its own right. — Page 1 of 2 — Well, The Chirography Alliance is a way to bring all those people and groups together: bloggers, moms, dads, journalists, grade-schoolers, business people, college students, authors, nonprofits, YouTubers, creatives, and individuals. It’s a gathering place, and a canopy under which all these worthy organizations can reside alongside individuals who care about the future of chirography. Let’s get everyone together, pool our energies and our knowledge, creating a multi-faceted partnership. We believe that — together — we can preserve the handwritten word. And yes, we are fully aware of the irony: We are using digital to help preserve that which is not digital at all. Gotta love it. For a more complete version of all this, a cool video, and for a chance to join, support, and participate, visit: chirography.org — OR — Kickstarter Read, watch the video, enjoy — and please share this information with others, in your pages, tweets, and posts. We’d love to talk with you, too, so feel free to contact either of us at the numbers above. Oh, and we do have art, lots of it, if you want it. Chirography. Is it all just one big throwback, designed to fade into dubious history in the company of Pet Rocks and 8-track tapes? We think not, in fact, quite the opposite. Chirography is something that we all need, especially as we move forward in this terribly complex, blazingly fast, sometimes exhausting, very digital world. We hope you’ll talk it up, and we hope you’ll join us, too. Thanks, The Chirography Alliance #### end ####

I have always loved fountain pens and generally use a Pilot or Lami for writing. I was an exchange student my junior year of college in Germany and was amazed that the young students learned cursive from the beginning (and not printing first) and used "junior" models of fountain pens. As a matter of fact, you will still see " beginner" fountain pens among office supplies in a grocery store! I am into calligraphy in a major way and use a Pilot Parallel pen for my practice and have all four sizes. I do not like some of the ink in the Pilot cartridges, especially the black. It feathers and soaks through many types of paper, and I wonder why they don't improve it. There are a lot of complaints out there! I load my Pilot handle with ink or refill cartridges with a syringe. I just tried Noodler's bulletproof black in my Pilot pen and it is wonderful. I also have two Osmiroid pens that I have cleaned up and am using again. Hope to hear from other calligraphy fans.

We have the Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy Set Fountain Pens discounted at 50% in the black color. The set comes complete with the Visconti Rembrandt Fountain Pen, booklet, ink, and 2 nibs. https://www.penchalet.com/fine_pens/fountain_pens/visconti_rembrant_calligraphy_fountain_pen.html

Hi everyone! I've compiled a list of online resources for Canadian calligraphers that you can view here! This time I've posted a link to the document on my website, so that I can update the list without creating new threads here and on Reddit. Highlights: 29 March 2016 Articulations in Toronto will soon be offering the Finetec pastels palette, various nib pens, walnut ink, and sumi ink online!

I have a bunch of fountain pens around the house, and I've started using them again so I thought I'd plug myself into the community. One thing I've notice is how highly prized a flex nib is. I think a distinction needs to be made between writing and calligraphy. We write with pens (fountain or otherwise). Calligraphy is something else. Sure one can ape calligraphy with a fountain pen but if you are "old school" you do it with a goose down quill. A good example is the St. Johns Bible. http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/promotions/process/dream.htm#