Dip pens vs. Fountain Pens

[woodwindmaster06]

I have been looking up dip pens and they are so much less expensive than fpns. Why is this I have always thought that the nib is what makes it cost so! much more. The nibs are available for like 2-3 bucks at the most, where as fp nibs cost a lot more.

 

Is this huge cost due to the fact of the feed/filling sys/pen body. It seems like they would be closer in price???

[KCat]

Is this huge cost due to the fact of the feed/filling sys/pen body.

yup. consider that a dip pen need only be a stick that grips a nib - literally, you could, yourself, cut a dowel and affix a nib to it and have a dip pen. while an FP must have a feed, a reservoir for ink, and a hollow tube to house all of this. Also, dip nibs are almost always cheap steel that rusts readily, no tipping and no protective coating to prevent rusting. or at least, nothing like a decent FP nib.

 

there are exceptions - Ernst glass dip pens are pricey but from what I've heard worth it for their beauty, quality, and durability (as well as warranty). There are some pretty dip pens that are about $30 that I've seen at B&N - i forget the maker but they also make cheap glass dip pens. the one I'm referring to is stainless steel with a gold plated "section". came really close to buying it but did not.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Dip pen nibs rust easily and can be eaten away by ink unlike fountain pen nibs. (I learned this from my left-handed sister who uses a dip pen with the Speedball 101)

 

Dillon

[Kees]

I learned writing with dip pens and continued using them at school for five years (until the ballpoint took over –a shame really!). The nibs deteriorated fast, not only because of rust, and you had to replace them every other week or so, no problem as long as they cost a few cents and weren’t a luxury item as they are today. After I got my first fountain pen I never longed for dip pens anymore. They may have certain advantages unknown to me; for these I’d have to refer you to the “Dip Pen Network”...

[woodwindmaster06]

Is the rust due to not removing the ink after use on the dip pens, is there something that can be put on the nib that will stop it from rusting???

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

The nibs are not made of a very rust-resistant steel. Whether you clean them in water or leave ink on them, they will rust within half an hour.

 

Dillon

[woodwindmaster06]

Is there anything you can do to the steel to make it more resistant?

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

You might be able to get them plated.

 

Dillon

[JeffTL]

I believe that at one point, mostly before fountain pens caught on, they made gold nibs for dip pens. I assume these would hold up as well as a gold fountain pen nib; perhaps antique stores are a good place to look for gold dip pens.

[Rique]

JeffTL, you´re right. There is an online dealer in Brazil that sometimes has pens like this for sale, and they´re far from cheap. Only last week he sold one with gold nib and mother-of-pearl holder, made in the 1900´s, for the not inconsiderable price of 150 USD... He usually has other dip pens with gold nibs that sell for prices between 100 and 300 USD. And they sell very quickly - they never stay for more one or two days in his site. There seems to be a some avid collectors for this kind of thing around here...

(BTW, the site is www.starfountainpen.com.br, in Portuguese)

[KCat]

Is the rust due to not removing the ink after use on the dip pens, is there something that can be put on the nib that will stop it from rusting???

they simply have no alloy coating to protect them from rusting. they are made with the intent (and priced so as well) to be used a few times then trashed. anything you might put on them to protect them from rusting, wouldin all likelihood also prevent ink from sticking to them and render them useless.

 

unless you find a well-plated gold nib (or some other metal that is rust resistent as used in most FPs) then there's no stopping dip nibs from rusting. Some folks buy these ultra cheap sticks from Paper & Ink arts, stick a nib in it, use it until the nib is rusted and then just toss the whole thing.

 

one exception might be the Nikko G nib. I can't find the listing but I think these may be lightly plated and might last a bit longer. sorry I can't swear to it.

[Michael Wright]

I believe that at one point, mostly before fountain pens caught on, they made gold nibs for dip pens. I assume these would hold up as well as a gold fountain pen nib; perhaps antique stores are a good place to look for gold dip pens.

 

David Nishimura has a number of splendid dip pens with gold nibs on his site

http://www.vintagepens.com/catill_dip_pens_etc.shtml

 

Sam Fiorella is a specialist in dip pen nibs, though I don't know if she has any gold ones at the moment: http://www.pendemonium.com

 

I guess one reason why common dip nibs are cheap is that they have no tipping at all, which is one complex operation that doesn't have to be performed. It's not a defect, in a dip nib, since the thing will write with greater variation in line width without a tip, whether it's a v. fine flex, or an edged nib. They wear out, but they were a great improvement in efficiency over quills.

 

Best

 

Michael