Dip Pens

[jbb]

JBB I got some dip nibs and a bolder from you months ago... But I can't get the ink to STICK on the nib and so writing more than half a character doesn't happen.

Where can I get some pretty ink that will work with a dip pen and what do you suggest for a PRETTY ink for such a newb?

+1 about taking off the coating with a flame or washing. The lemon juice idea sounds good too -- I'd never heard that one. I use fountain pen ink most of the time. I like Waterman, Pelikan and Diamine quite a bit. Anyway, taking off the coating should resolve your problem.

[caribbean_skye]

You have to prime the nib. Dip nibs come with a coating to protect them from rust. I use a flame, others use lemon juice.. It's a wax type coating

Ooooh I'll have to try that. Thanks for the info Woosang!

[woosang]

Ooooh I'll have to try that. Thanks for the info Woosang!

It's ok no one knows that unless its pointed out. I also use fountain pen ink 90% of the time. I do have Japanese drawing ink and some iron gall which are great to use, drawing ink comes in gold and silver or ever pearlescent if you like. Sticky gunky ink that is only good for dip pens.

[jbb]

I like the top one, where is that from?
When I get home, I'll show you mine.. I only have modern ones with me ATM., yes I travel with 4 dip pens but no antiques.. They stay at home

I got it on Ebay. It's an eyedropper fill fountain pen (possilby Paul Wirt) that was popular in the very early 20th century. I love the way it looks and you'll often find them without their cap so they make good dip pens. Sometimes I leave the feed in with my dip nib but right now it's out. I'm dipping it, not filling it with ink.

I lost an expensive Namiki fountain pen once now I only carry cheap pens in my purse.

[woosang]

I got it on Ebay. It's an eyedropper fill fountain pen (possilby Paul Wirt) that was popular in the very early 20th century. I love the way it looks and you'll often find them without their cap so they make good dip pens. Sometimes I leave the feed in with my dip nib but right now it's out. I'm dipping it, not filling it with ink.

I lost an expensive Namiki fountain pen once now I only carry cheap pens in my purse.

It's lovely, I'll keep an eye out

[caribbean_skye]

It's ok no one knows that unless its pointed out. I also use fountain pen ink 90% of the time. I do have Japanese drawing ink and some iron gall which are great to use, drawing ink comes in gold and silver or ever pearlescent if you like. Sticky gunky ink that is only good for dip pens.

My first dip pen was picked up in Venice (because the barrel is made out of Murano glass) as a "souvenir" from my trip. I have tried using it but much like Tandaina I couldn't get more than 2 characters out, talk about an exercise in patience. Will have to prime it sometime and try again. My second dip pen was given to me this past winter season and there hasn't been opportunity for me to use it yet.

[woosang]

My first dip pen was picked up in Venice (because the barrel is made out of Murano glass) as a "souvenir" from my trip. I have tried using it but much like Tandaina I couldn't get more than 2 characters out, talk about an exercise in patience. Will have to prime it sometime and try again. My second dip pen was given to me this past winter season and there hasn't been opportunity for me to use it yet.

Cool! Give it a prime and have fun. :-) if you don't like the nib there are plenty out there and cheap to buy :-)

[jbb]

I like the top one, where is that from?
When I get home, I'll show you mine.. I only have modern ones with me ATM., yes I travel with 4 dip pens but no antiques.. They stay at home

I'm rarely am out and about with a dip pen (now that I have an I-phone to amuse me) but when I am I take a traveling inkwell too.

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[woosang]

I'm rarely am out and about with a dip pen (now that I have an I-phone to amuse me) but when I am I take a traveling inkwell too.

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That's cute. I'm more low brow.. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1365897350.324495.jpg I carry a bottle of whatever and go. :-) your little ink well is so cute!

[tandaina]

Thanks! Never occurred to me. I'll give that a try.

[Cornet]

Hmmmm, I wonder if that's because at 11 they send kids off to Hogwarts.

well you know what a wand really is.

[writingrav]

I'm rarely am out and about with a dip pen (now that I have an I-phone to amuse me) but when I am I take a traveling inkwell too.

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Very cool inkwell. For those looking for another solution try a contact lens case. You can carry two colors at once, in your pocket!

[jor412]

Here are the dip pens cluttering my desk this afternoon. You can see that the top one is really an early 20th century fountain pen but I'm using it as a dip pen holder. On the wooden Niagra Falls (slowly I turn, step by step, inch by inch) dip pen I've wrapped thread over the metal ferrule to make it more comfortable to write with and I've done the same using leather on the bottom one.

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Those are beautiful pens and your writing is fabulous.

[BikerBabe]

JBB I got some dip nibs and a bolder from you months ago... But I can't get the ink to STICK on the nib and so writing more than half a character doesn't happen.

Where can I get some pretty ink that will work with a dip pen and what do you suggest for a PRETTY ink for such a newb?

I had that problem too, until I read a nice piece of advice online. My problem was a new nib that wouldn't hold much ink.
Get a box of matches. Light a match and carefully hold the nib in the flame.
The soot will make a nice ink-holding surface on the nib. Ta-daaa! Problem solved.
Be careful that you don't hold the flame too close to the pen, though.

[Bohemond76]

Hey everyone !

95% of all my letters are written with dip pens and the remaining 5% is when i'm in the office. Dip pens are great when for example you want to use different inks in one letter and don't have a bunch of cheap fountain pens lying about. As I must slow down when writing with them I really get to improve my writing with them.

We should try a "dip pen letter month" someday

Cheers

Yves Debroyer

[Tracy Lee]

I have lots of dip pens, including a fabulous green quill with sterling silver accents and stand. I took them to work on National Handwriting Day, the engineers were seriously intrigued. I don't use them too often, I honestly don't think about them which is probably sad. My cats are far too interested in my stuff these days so likely I will avoid them a bit longer. But I completely understand the enjoyment of using them!

[jbb]

I have lots of dip pens, including a fabulous green quill with sterling silver accents and stand.

If you get a chance it would be nice to see a picture of your green quill.

[BikerBabe]

Here's my little collection - the school and office pens:

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And finally the two silver gems in my dip pen collection:

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Here's how I store them on my desk: An old office pen rack:

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And to my own great surprise I found a pen wipe at a local thrift shop:

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[jbb]

Those are great BikerBabe, particularly the silver ones. Do you know anything about their history? I've never found a pen wipe in the wild. I wonder if anyone but you knew what it was.

[BikerBabe]

Hi jbb.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to track down much about any of the dip pens.
Sadly enough, because I think it could be so cool to know more about them, and especially the silver pens.
The small wooden dip pens are school pens, according to my parents who remember using such pens while they were at school.
The larger wooden dip pens are office/work pens.

The silver pens were a tad expensive, but since I was a regular customer at the particular antiques shop in Copenhagen.
The funny thing is: It was only just barely that I managed to get my hands on those two pens.
I spotted them in the shop window close to work in Copenhagen, and I went in and asked the owner of the shop what the price of those two silver dip pens were.
We haggled a bit and I ended up getting both silver dip pens for 500 DKK - that's approx. 89.39 USD.

I paid for the pens and the owner of the shop began wrapping both pens in sturdy wavy cardboard for good and safe transport, when a lady entered the shop looking a bit frantic.
She enquired about the silver filigree pen, and the shop owner had to tell her that it had been sold.
He didn't say anything about it being me who had bought the pen.
I had a hard time keeping a straight face, I *knew* I had gotten a good bargain and that I was darned lucky.
The lady left the shop and the owner and I smiled to each other, and he mentioned that I had been lucky to get the pen.
Yup. And I'm happy about it.

About the pen wipe:
I spotted it sitting on the "price tagging" table in the shop and asked about the price.
Got a cheap price since the lady tagging the various items didn't know what it was, and she put the price on it for me.
As far as I remember it was 10 DKK = a little under 2 USD.
Bought it, brought it home, polished it, and now I have a nice pen wipe sitting on my desk next to my dip pen rack.