Oblique Problem - Dip Pen

[Cryptos]

Well I was mooching around the city today and wandered into the only art shop we have. While there I succumbed to the desire to try an oblique nib holder and so forked over $4 for a Speedball thing <shudder> as it is the only one available here and I cannot afford to get one imported. It'll have to do for the time being I suppose.

 

Anyway, I get home and look at my inks and the oblique holder will not fit comfortably into the mouth/neck of any of them.

 

What's the best option here?

[oldmatekev]

Decanting springs to mind.

 

Also I remember seeing a video of someone loading a dip pen with a syringe, over and over again, eliminated the need to make a starter stroke on scrap paper to remove excess ink from the point.

[NinthSphere]

Decanting springs to mind.

 

Yep. I bought the same Speedball holder when I was shopping around for dip nibs to see what I could mess around with on the Desiderata. Bottle access hadn't occurred to me, but I figured when I get around to using it, I could just stick some in a more open container.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Inkwell.

Add water when they dry out or get one that has a twist on cap. Art Nouveau 1910 + or -. Second one @ 1895http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/Inkwells/9ee6fbb8-2a6a-4cdf-977e-8d80ece3baac_zpsc4dcfc78.jpg

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/Inkwells/SAM_0599.jpg

 

Historismus.....1895-1914...the new look old style.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/Inkwells/0294.jpg

 

French Art Deco 1925-40 birds eye maple veneer.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/Inkwells/IMAG0079.jpg

German Bauhaus or Art Deco 1925-40

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/Inkwells/IMAG0245-1.jpg

 

Bauhaus

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/Inkwells/IMAG0093.jpg

 

No idea but think 20's-30's. From back when one used one ink....50ml with insert -70 with out. It does seal.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/Inkwells/IMAG0219-1.jpg

 

Regular inkwells

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/Inkwells/IMAG0232.jpg

[Paddler]

Decant some ink into a stemless, glass candleholder. At dipping depth, it will hold about 6 -7 ml. To avoid making a mess, decant with an eyedropper.

[Ergative]

Don't try using a syringe. I've done that with a dip nib, and it's very tricky to get exactly the right amount of ink on the nib. You do still need to make a starter stroke.

 

Also, fountain pen ink is really not so great for dip nibs. It's too thin, and flows so quickly that you get really bad feathering and bleed-through and not much crispness to your line width variation. People using dip nibs usually use either a specific ink (India ink, gouache, Higgins eternal) or else thicken the fountain pen ink with gum arabic. If you do the last, then you'll need to decant it anyway into a different recepticle, because I imagine you don't want to mix gum arabic in your entire bottle of kon-peki!

[rwilsonedn]

You can also charge the pen with a small paint brush. It's a bit fussy, but it's easier to control than a syringe, and maybe the best approach if you are using low-viscosity inks like unthickened fountain-pen ink.

+1 on the gum arabic for dip pen ink, by the way. I find it makes life much more pleasant. For that matter, -1 on the oblique pen holder. Isn't it a lot easier to just rotate the paper a little?

ron

[Cryptos]

I have a bottle of Rohrer & Klingner Salix that is my go-to dipping ink at the moment. The opening of the bottle is just a tad narrow to get the end of the Speedball in. Will have to look into decanting, which means I'll have to start looking for a suitable receptacle, sigh!

 

Incidentally, I am not keen on the idea of loading the nib using either a brush or a syringe. It's a dip pen. I want to dip it, damnit!

[ac12]

Yes, very few of my ink bottles will accomodate an oblique holder.

I got a set of small jars that I put the ink into for my oblique holders.

The small jars that are sometimes used at hotels or restarurants for jam and honey would be just right.

Use a squeeze pipet or eye dropper to put the ink into the jar, then when you are done cap the jar if you can. If not, use the pipet or eye dropper to put the remaining ink back into the source bottle.

 

I purchased a pack of 6 small screw top jars from the local art supply store. Now I want more, and of course they are out of them.

 

Just thought of another alternative...a glass candle holder. It is like an ink well without a cap. In fact I've found a couple of ink wells mixed in with candle holders at antique/thrift shops. Yes you will have to put the ink back into the bottle after you are done, unless you can figure out how to cap the candle holder so the ink won't evaporate.

 

tip: Wipe the dip nib with alcohol before you dip it into the ink. This seems to make the ink stick to the nib better than wiping with water.

 

N-Joy the new toy.

Edited December 17, 2014 by ac12

[Brian K]

I have not used a dip pen in quite a long time but I would suggest that you try to get your hands on an old Sheaffer Skrip ink bottle. When I used an oblique nib holder they were perfect because there is a small inkwell (for lack of a better term) on the side of the bottle at the top. Tip the bottle before you open it to fill the well and you're set to go. You can still find them available on the internets - some full and some empty - and the best thing about them is that once you have one full of the ink you want you can reseal it without having to decant (redecant? undecant?) it back into the original container as you would if you used the candle holder idea, for example.

 

As for the suggestion of just using a straight nib holder and rotating your paper, in my experience there is no substitute for an oblique nib holder. Your mileage may vary but an oblique holder does make a difference in pointed pen calligraphy.

[Algester]

ink well or eye dropper... I think thats what other calligraphers use when using an oblique holder

or for some ingenuity I use film canisters... not sure if there are still some hardcore film photographers in US but you can use the 35mm film canisters as they are pretty wide enough

Edited December 18, 2014 by Algester