Is there a fountain pen/dip pen hybrid?

[Buffwannabe]

OK this is the first time i am posting. I have a question regarding fountain pens/dip pens

 

I have purchased a waterman fountain pen and i use mont blanc black ink,..

while it is decent, i cant stand the nib of fountain pens and i cant stand the watercolor like appearence

of fountain ink pens

 

i also have a fountain dip pen from dick blyck (an art store) and this is something that i would prefer to

write with because the nib is not flat like fountain pens, the ink is not watery, but not too viscous and extremely opaque and dark which i like a lot. However i cant stand dipping all the time it gets very tiring..

 

So my question is this:

 

can i get a fountain pen with the nib AND the ink of a dip pen?

 

Also one more thing...

 

Have you guys seen the movie HANNIBAL? Remember the part where clarice was downstairs in the basement and

she recieved a letter from hannibal and while she was reading the letter they showed hannibal writing the letter? I really liked that pen and ink, do u know where i can get that?

 

Also id like to show you pictures of my penmenship later on

Edited October 21, 2007 by Buffwannabe

[daveg]

Mont Blanc's black ink is known for being a weak black. Try Aurora or Noodlers permanent black. Diamine Jet Black and Pelikan Black are pretty good too. Platinum makes a carbon black that they claim is OK for fountain pens, but I wouldn't recommend it. If the above don't satisfy you and you're willing to clean your pen a lot, you might risk it.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by a flat nib - did you get a stub or italic? Those do take more practice than a round nib.

Edited October 21, 2007 by daveg

[Buffwannabe]

i think its stub. its very round at the tip does not make scratch noises

 

the dip pen i have is very pointed, looks needle like ..makes scratch noices when u write on paper

[daveg]

You prefer scratchy? Maybe you just need a finer nib?

[daveg]

Could you check the nib or the box and tell us what nib you have? Round fountain pen nibs run from XXXXF (needle-like) to BBB (paint brush-like) and then there are stubs, italics, etc. in various sizes as well.

[trencherman]

Nibs also carries Pelikan Fount India, “the drawing ink for fountain pen,” if you want to keep using a fountain pen. If you prefer to use a dip nib but do not want to keep dipping, a very good option is the Ackerman pump pen. Try the one specifically adopted for Japanese cartoon G nibs.

 

 

[nimrod]

If you can't find a suitable fountain pen you might want to check out the Ackerman Pump Pen. It's basically a fountain pen that takes dip pen nibs.

http://www.ackermanpens.com/gen3_dipnib.htm

It's also supposed to take inks that aren't safe in other pens.

 

Note that I don't have one and have never used one, I just heard about it a while back.

 

Noodlers Polar Black is a very black fountain pen safe ink (blackest of the 4 I have).

[Buffwannabe]

i will take a picture of the nibs, and picture of the way i write soon, that way you will know.

thanks for replying (sorry i dont know the technical terms for fountain pens)

[*david*]

I think maybe I only understand part of what you are saying.

- You want black ink that looks strong and clear, not "washed-out"

- You want a nib with a fine narrow point, not a flat stubby point.

 

Is that correct?

 

You can do those two things with a regular fountain pen. (Better ink, and a different fountain pen, or perhaps simply a finer nib on the same pen.)

 

Do you really want scratchy writing, or do you really just want a nice fine line instead of a fat one?

 

 

About dip pens - there are some dip pen nibs that have a folded piece of metal attached to the nib, so that it will hold more ink. You still have to dip, but not as often.

[wednesday_mac]

It sounds like you may be using a copperplate nib in your holder. Do they look like any of these:

 

http://www.scribblers.co.uk/acatalog/Copperplate_Nibs.html

[Buffwannabe]

david that is exactly right.

 

wednesday, that is very close to what i use for the DIP pen

[Buffwannabe]

Ok the top pen is the fountain pen

 

The middle pen is a Foray 0.5mm needle point pen

 

The last pen is the dip pen, i ran out of black ink so i wrote in burgandy (looks like blood lol)

[Limner]

It's a bit difficult to see, but the dip nib looks like a Hunt Ex-Fine Bowl Point #512. Unfortunately, they (and other bowl point nibs) won't fit in an Ackerman Pump Pen...you may want to try the Pump Pen that comes with a Manga G-nib. They're less scratchy than some dip nibs, and the chrome plating makes them more corrosion-resistant than the Hunt 101s.

[Buffwannabe]

OK a better picture of the fountain pen and the rest of the pens

[graceaj]

I'm a newbie myself, so I can't help with the identification of your pen. But if you're looking for a regular nib and not a stub, you just need to see if there is a little 'ball' on the tip.

 

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z117/gracearul/Picture1-3.png

 

I haven't used Noodler's black myself, but I have a Singapore Exclusive Noodler's blue, and its a pretty thick ink, quite unlike other more watery fountain pen inks. I'd say its about the consistency of milk. I don't have any problems with flow though.

[Buffwannabe]

Can you recommend any places to get these type of pens? i got my fountain pen and foray pen at office depot.

 

I live in the chicago land area. I know 2 specialty pen shops in woodfield mall in schaumburg. Ill go their again, but when i go their what should i ask for?

[Buffwannabe]

a better demonstration of my penmanship. i also posted on the penmanship section, would love to hear your responses!

 

anyone can think of any specialty pen shops in the chicago land area?

[daveg]

I live in the chicago land area. I know 2 specialty pen shops in woodfield mall in schaumburg. Ill go their again, but when i go their what should i ask for?

 

From your writing samples, I believe the answer is: a finer nib than you have. If you can't find the nib size on the nib itself or the box, just take the pen with you. Unfortunately some pen stores don't stock much finer than an F (fine) nib. (I can't tell what you have now so an F may be a lot finer or not.) If that's not fine enough, other options are to send it to Waterman for a nib swap or get a nibmeister to regrind it to whatever size you want. Check out Richard's custom nibs page for some ideas.

Edited October 21, 2007 by daveg

[*david*]

OK. There is more than one way to do this.

 

The ultimate, if you have the money, is to get one of the excellent nib repairers to customize something for you. You would show them your writing, tell them about your dip pen, (just as you have done with us), and ask them how much it will cost to fix up a fountain pen so that it writes like you want it to. Some of them have long waiting lists to get work done, but in return you get exactly what you wanted.

 

The very-good-but-not-ultimate is to go to pen shops (in person or on line) looking for an extra-fine nib that writes very narrow.

 

I notice that the dip pen flexes a little bit as you write. The custom nib folks (the good ones anyway) can make a fountain pen do that too.

 

Right now, the big names are John Mottishaw and Richard Binder. They are only two among quite a few, but certainly they are two of the best.

 

Fountain pens you can buy new, that write this way without tinkering, are not common anymore. One possibility is a Namiki Falcon with an extra-fine nib. (It flexes a tiny bit, but not like a dip pen.)

[WillAdams]

nimrod, the Ackerman pump pen looks _very_ interesting --- thanks for posting it!

 

For those who're curious there're better pictures at:

 

http://www.ackermanpens.com/gen3_crowquill.htm

 

and at the ``home'' page:

 

http://www.ackermanpens.com/index.htm

 

William