Fountain Pen Sketching

[Amory]

An interesting blog on using fountain pens and ink from an artists perspective

 

http://www.lizsteel.com/fountain-pen-sketching-part-4-choosing-a-fountain-pen/

[Maurizio]

Thank you for posting this.

Edited March 8, 2018 by Maurizio

[linearM]

Thanks for the link.

[larsenproject]

This is also a nice blog post for comparing flex pens for sketching...

https://www.parkablogs.com/content/affordable-fountain-pens-flex-drawing-review-of-fpr-dilli-and-noodlers-konrad

[larsenproject]

I have both those pens, so on a personal note, the Konrad is still a great pen 5 years later, while my dilli vomits ink and leaks despite a ton of cleaning and "greasing" the threads with silicon grease to help ink proof them. No dice. I've been trying to hunt down a step by step for turning the dilli into a frankenpen and putting a dip nib on it. So, if anyone can point me somewhere for that...

[Ted A]

Here’s another one http://www.larrydmarshall.com/

Start at the beginning and it’s a nice journey starting with using fountain pens and later adding paint to his toolkit

[Amory]

Interesting reviews of pens by teoh yi chie

 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLucoL_7WoAgCeSi00DexdBizmZ4DnxCd_

[sidthecat]

The best sketching pen I have is a Wahl Doric ringtop with a broken Adjustable nib. The slider disappeared in the mists of time, leaving me a nib with enormous flex that is sturdy enough to take into the wild. I don’t know if it handles quite like a brush, but I suspect it could compete with a quill.

[larsenproject]

Interesting reviews of pens by teoh yi chie

 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLucoL_7WoAgCeSi00DexdBizmZ4DnxCd_

 

This guy does a ton of great reviews on pens for sketching! Vey thorough examination of the pens, too, in terms of capability.

[Amory]

There are so many resources for fountain pens used by and reviewed by artists that I am in danger of spending more time being inspired than using the inspiration I already have.

 

With so many great links here already I have bookmarked this thread incase artists block strikes.

Edited March 9, 2018 by Amory

[requiescat]

The best sketching pen I have is a Wahl Doric ringtop with a broken Adjustable nib. The slider disappeared in the mists of time, leaving me a nib with enormous flex that is sturdy enough to take into the wild. I don’t know if it handles quite like a brush, but I suspect it could compete with a quill.

One of my best is a Wahl Eversharp Doric with a non-broken adjustable nib.

 

Tangent: BTW, you might be amused to know that this is the first time I realized your username was sid-the-cat--after a lifetime of reading fantasy novels, I'd previously read it as sidhe-cat!

[jobodine]

I used a 99 cents Selectum fountain pen ( also under another brandname : Le Grip) refitted with a 6mm Jinhao feed and a reshaped Zebra G flex nib ( costs about 1. $ US per nib) . I added a Jinhao convertor and that's it ! The pen is super light, weighing only 11. g rams.

 

Some people refit the Jinhao X750 with the Zebra flex nib but the modified pen is too heavy ( .e. a whooping 38. grams !! ) .

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by jobodine

[jobodine]

I have both those pens, so on a personal note, the Konrad is still a great pen 5 years later, while my dilli vomits ink and leaks despite a ton of cleaning and "greasing" the threads with silicon grease to help ink proof them. No dice. I've been trying to hunt down a step by step for turning the dilli into a frankenpen and putting a dip nib on it. So, if anyone can point me somewhere for that...

 

I just experimented changing a Hero 5020 ( Stainless Steel) fountain pen to a sketching pen . So far the result is excellent . Here is a summary of steps involved :

 

1) Buy Hero 5020 ( Stainless Steel ) on ebay.com for about 5 . $ US

 

( https://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-Silver-Hero-5020-Steel-Fountain-Pen-Fine-Nib-0-5mm-Writing-Tool-Gift-Fashion/112757530435?epid=3002736257&hash=item1a40df5f43:g:PCkAAOSwgv5ZOQFJ

 

 

 

2) Buy 6mm feed for Jinhao X450 on ebay.com ( less than 2. $ US for 10 feeds )

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-Jinhao-X450-Black-Fountain-Pen-Tongue-For-Many-Series-40-x-6mm-/162759363560

 

 

3) Buy Zebra G Flex nib (7 . $ US for 10 nibs)

 

https://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Comic-Model-Chrome-PG-6B-C-K/dp/B006CQW428

 

 

 

4) With a small hammer & anvil ( any any hard surface) reshape a Zebra nib so as it fits snuggly on top of the Jinhao feed . This is the most criitical

step of the whole modification process. At the start, when you fit the nib on top of the feed, you will see end of the nib slightly raised from the feed.

Now hold the nib by the tip on a hard surface and tap lightly on the nib with the hammer , starting from the end toward the middle of the nib.

 

 

After each tapping, check to see how the nib fits onto the feed . It took me about 5 minutes to get things right . The final result you are looking for is this : there should be no gap between the nib & the feed. Apart from a visual inspection, you can additionally check this condition by first fitting the nib on top of the feed. Then with your index finger and the thumb , squeeze

the nib & feed together starting from the end towards the tip if the nib . If you detect no movement at all, then the reshapping is acceptable .

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) Insert ( the feed + nib) into the grip section opening . The final position of the nib & feed should be as seen in the photos below :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note that this method works equally well for Jinhao X159, X450 and X750 . However, I prefer using the Hero 5020 because the internal diameter of its grip section is slightly larger than those of the Jinhao pens just mentioned . In addition , the modified Hero sketch pen is 30% lighter than , say, its Jinhao X750 counterpart ( i.e. 25 grams compared to 38. grams) .

Edited March 10, 2018 by jobodine

[Torrilin]

I’ll continue to sketch with my extremely boring stock pens.

[Amory]

They are just pictures of pens.

[larsenproject]

@ jobodine

 

YOOOOO. Thank you for this!

 

ETA: Also, that is the cutest anvil I have ever seen.

Edited March 11, 2018 by larsenproject

[jobodine]

@ jobodine

 

YOOOOO. Thank you for this!

 

ETA: Also, that is the cutest anvil I have ever seen.

 

 

Here is a brand new anvil for you ... :D

 

 

[larsenproject]

OMG, I want one just so it can hang out on my desk.

[larsenproject]

As an aside, fountain pens make for some great finished pieces too. I did this on watercolor paper with a Noodler's Konrad and a Platinum Carbon Desk Pen (xtra fine). Because all that shading is done in ink, it scanned and level adjusted really well.

[sidthecat]

My handle is in honor of a cat I brought back from a sojourn in Dublin, so he might have been a sidhe...he was evil enough. He also had a sister who I named Nancy, which probably tells you all you need to know about his character.