Fountain Pens As Dip Pens

[Mike_in_VT]

Through some playing around, I found it very enjoyable to dip my Platinum 3776 (w/ music nib) into the ink bottle without doing the proper piston filling. I usually get a page worth of writing before it runs out.

 

My question...

Is it heresy to use a fountain pen in that fashion as it's main form of use?

 

I have a few dip pens, but don't find any of the nibs to write as smoothly or for that length of time on a single dip.

 

Thoughts? Also, the larger the feed, the more ink it should hold? Should I be looking for fountain pens that have a particular design to the feed?

[Mr. Pink]

It's your pen, use it any way you want. I do it once in a while, too. Just keep it clean.

[almoore]

It's your pen, use it any way you want. I do it once in a while, too. Just keep it clean.

+1

 

I bought a batch of Jinhao's to test inks with and I dip rather than fill, I do the same when I'm testing new pens.

 

'your pen, your rules'

 

Al

Edited February 4, 2019 by almoore

[AAAndrew]

Several companies made something like there where they took a fountain pen nib and feed, and put it on a dip pen holder. The most common of these include the Esterbrook Dip-less series of desk pens, the Morriset Pen-Ink Units, Eclipse, Sengbush, and many others. They were quite well and hold a lot more ink than a standard dip pen.

 

I'm particularly fond of the Esterbrook Dip-less pens, especially the 444's with the glass base. They're easy to restore with only a common plumbing flange for a seal, and can hold a lot of ink.

 

As others have said, it's your pen, do what you want. Just be careful of ink drying in the feed. Rinse it off when finished, or get yourself one of these desk ink wells.

 

Here's an Esterbrook double version of the 444 with a leather-look base rather than the standard glass.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some traditional 444's.

 

[Mike_in_VT]

Thanks for posting those photos. Those certainly are handsome looking desk sets..

[PAKMAN]

Larger nibs with larger feeds would seem to be the best bet for longer writing. I've never been adept at using a dip pen. I bought an Indian ebonite dip pen at a pen show. Instead of a slot for holding a dip pen nib it had a regular nib and feed fitted in the dip pen body. It works really great. I haven't seen another like it.