Copperplate Handwriting & English Roundhand

[WestLothian]

Just squish them together and you will have the perfect nib.

I suspect that the ideal nib was a goose feather,

not too soft and not too stiff with several well aligned vents and

with a highly polished ceramic nano-finished coating.

Edited December 1, 2012 by WestLothian

[smk]

Ken, your reasoning seems perfectly logical to me.

 

Does the scroll nib have any flex to it? If not, how about figuring out a way to fill up the gap between the tines rather than bending them. The bending seems to be tricky as the inside tines look quite delicate while the outside ones are fairly solid.

 

Salman

[caliken]

Does the scroll nib have any flex to it? If not, how about figuring out a way to fill up the gap between the tines rather than bending them. The bending seems to be tricky as the inside tines look quite delicate while the outside ones are fairly solid.

I was just thinking that myself! It's not intended as a flexible nib (I'm sure that the separate tines are just to assist the ink flow) and is fairly stiff. I'm thinking of filling the gap with a tiny amount of car body filler. It's easy to apply as a very fine paste and grinds very well when dry. I'll have to give it some thought.

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

Ken

Edited December 1, 2012 by caliken

[smk]

If you push a piece of paper (or thin plastic sheet that grocery bags are made of) in the two slits it should keep the slits free of debris and you can use an epoxy resin that hardens to something non absorbent without fear of gluing the slits shut.

 

The next question would be whether the two slits on each end would provide sufficient flow for the whole width of the nib.

 

S.

[caliken]

If you push a piece of paper (or thin plastic sheet that grocery bags are made of) in the two slits it should keep the slits free of debris and you can use an epoxy resin that hardens to something non absorbent without fear of gluing the slits shut.

 

The next question would be whether the two slits on each end would provide sufficient flow for the whole width of the nib.

 

S.

Good advice...I'll probably do as you suggest. As to the ink flow, I won't know until I try it!

 

Thanks

 

Ken

[WestLothian]

After some further experiments I have decided that feeding the fountain pen left corner for this technique is more important than reducing the width of the right tine as Alais advises.

 

Here is a close up of today's project based on an extra fine factory nib. It shows no sign of drying out on the upstrokes.

 

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8249963889_08b77ffda2_o.jpg

[smk]

I am in the process of 'developing' a brass nib using the principle of an automatic pen. The design allows for unlimited hairlines - or at least until the ink runs out - and are fairly smooth to allow for the tricky transition at the top of the compound curve.

 

Here are my efforts so far:

 

 

 

The hairlines are fairly thick right now but the principle is sound. I will develop this further as and when I find time over the next few days and report here.

 

Salman

[caliken]

I am in the process of 'developing' a brass nib using the principle of an automatic pen. The design allows for unlimited hairlines - or at least until the ink runs out - and are fairly smooth to allow for the tricky transition at the top of the compound curve.

The hairlines are fairly thick right now but the principle is sound. I will develop this further as and when I find time over the next few days and report here.

That's looking good, Salman. I think that you may have solved the problem. I thought of trying something similar with some old, double-bladed "Automatic" pens I have, but I haven't figured out how to do it, as yet.

 

I'm rather cautious on how to proceed, as I ruined two Mitchell's scroll nibs in my experimenting (as described earlier in this thread). I think that it may have worked, but they were far too small to adapt without damaging the tiny tines.

 

Please keep us posted!

 

Ken