What Ink For Calligraphy?

[sangrisano]

Hi All, can someone recommend what black ink is better suited for calligraphy?

 

I have just finished a small bottle of black ink that I purchased a long time ago together with nibs, nib holders, etc. It was quite dense and a very intense black, unfortunately the bottle didn't have any indications of the producer on the label. I tried the Herbin Encre Authentique, but it seems to be more 'grey' than black, and it's also more fluid than the other one.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Stefano

[smk]

Stefano - fountain pen ink is usually much thinner than dip pen ink (like India Ink or other pigment based inks). Strangely I have found Noodler's Black to flow well in pointed nibs which is unusual for FP inks. It flows well in broad-edged nibs but comes out gray and shaded.

 

My favorite dip-pen only ink in black is Winsor & Newton Matt Black - it flows well, is easy to clean off the nibs and goes on a dense matte black. Higgins Eternal is another very well behaved black ink but it doesn't go down as opaque with broad edged nibs as one would want.

 

You can also try India ink too but I think they are better suited for drawing. The bottle you used up could have been India ink as it is quite thick. I'm not a fan of it for Calligraphy though as it tends to dry on the nibs requiring them to be cleaned often. This behavior is not universal and depends on a number of factors like general humidity and the age of the ink.

 

I hope this helps a little.

 

S.

[Randal6393]

Hi, Stefano,

 

Welcome to FPN!

 

In addition to the above inks, I would recommend Aurora Black for fountain pens -- used by Ken Fraser and other professional calligraphers.

 

For dip pens, either broad-edged or pointed, either a good iron-gall (IG) ink such as McCaffrey's Penman or Old World Gall ink -- or an acrylic gouache or ink. Liquitex is my favorite for acrylic gouaches but many other brands make good paints. Thin well and practice a lot, may need to add some gum arabic to the mix. The classic ink of the ages is the IG and has a character that no other ink has. Ziller makes many good acrylic inks and (I think) at least one IG ink for the dip pen.

 

Enjoy,

[Tasmith]

Hi, Stefano,

 

Welcome to FPN!

 

In addition to the above inks, I would recommend Aurora Black for fountain pens -- used by Ken Fraser and other professional calligraphers.

 

For dip pens, either broad-edged or pointed, either a good iron-gall (IG) ink such as McCaffrey's Penman or Old World Gall ink -- or an acrylic gouache or ink. Liquitex is my favorite for acrylic gouaches but many other brands make good paints. Thin well and practice a lot, may need to add some gum arabic to the mix. The classic ink of the ages is the IG and has a character that no other ink has. Ziller makes many good acrylic inks and (I think) at least one IG ink for the dip pen.

 

Enjoy,

Thank you Randal6393. I'm currently using Waterman Intense Black in a 1.5mm Rotring Artpen on Clairefontaine Seyes, and it's also more gray than black.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Tasmith

[ac12]

 

Thank you Randal6393. I'm currently using Waterman Intense Black in a 1.5mm Rotring Artpen on Clairefontaine Seyes, and it's also more gray than black.

 

I think the Waterman ink depends on the pen. Out of my cp1 it is BLACK. Maybe the Rotring is a dryer pen.

[BBU]

Noodler's X-Feather? It's an extremely black black with no shading. SBRE Brown did a video review on it and he mostly chose the ink for calligraphy purposes, so his video may say something of value to you.

 

 

I have the ink and I like the blackness, but if you plan on doing anything that will involve laying down a lot of ink (ie. anything except writing with fine nibs, really), then prepare to leave lots of time for it to dry, and maybe don't use it on papers that will be folded. I drew a treble clef with X-Feather and when I folded the paper approximately 16 hours later, some ink transferred to the part of the paper where the drawing made contact. It was only 2 cm high and I didn't draw it particularly thick, either. It may work for you if the appearance of the calligraphy is what matters most.

[sangrisano]

Thank you all for the kind replies. It looks like I have a few to choose from, I will see what's available here in Italy...

[RodgerM]

If you are doing broad pen calligraphy (italics, uncial, etc.) then if you can, try a Pilot Parallel pen. They work great with fountain pen ink and the Pilot Parallel pens are not expensive. The Pilot Parallel pens are also available in different sizes. If you are doing pointed pen work (Spencerian or English Roundhand aka Copperplate etc.) and you want to use fountain pen inks, simply add Gum Arabic as a binder. Try 1 1/2 oz of fountain pen ink (Pelikan 4001 works great) and 1 large teaspoon of powdered Gum Arabic (sorry, I don't know what those proportions are in metric measurements). This ink can also be used with a broad nib. The choices above are also great to use.

[Tasmith]

 

 

I think the Waterman ink depends on the pen. Out of my cp1 it is BLACK. Maybe the Rotring is a dryer pen.

Changed to Noodler's X-Feather since I have it on hand. Now the pen writes black.

 

I just purchased Aurora black and will try the next.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Tasmith