My other pens

[Empty_of_Clouds]

I don't know exactly how it happened but I seem to have acquired a small collection of oblique dip pens. And when I say small I mean I have as many of these as I do fountain pens - and it's likely to end up more.

Anyway, so far I have a couple that were gifted to me, that got damaged in an accident (I managed to repair them okay), a pair of Chris Yoke pens, a vintage Strahm and a similar pen that may be a replica Strahm, an ergonomic holder in yew wood from the UK, my lovely whale tail by AZWoodUA, and the ubiquitous hourglass holder that lots of beginners buy.

I am actually interested in building a small representative collection of well-known makes, as time and funds permit. On my list is Huy Huang Dao, Edward Curran of Chic Oblique, Lindsey and a few others. The really difficult one though is Unique Obliques, who have the most difficult sales model - a timed frenzy sale that is compounded by me not being in the US. As with a lot of stuff like this, if I was at a show I could just walk in and buy one at a table. If anyone knows of anyone selling one of these I would be interested in seeing it. (they rarely come up on eBay, if ever).

Holders from any of these makers are not cheap, so I am going slowly. There may be some that I will have to resign myself to not getting, just like a lot of fountain pen models.


Does anyone else here collect pen holders?

[although]

I've got a half dozen or so flotsam holders that have washed up on my desk over the years... But, lately, I've really been enjoying the whole scratchy steel flex nib, india ink thing.

I was thinking about going shopping for a quality holder or two. Maybe one straight and one offset.

[Anne]

I am still intimidated by the oblique holders, but I have recently taken a dive into the straight holders. I finally found a dip pen that would fit the Spencerian No. 1 nib
in a Zaner Bloser plastic holder ( "Zaner Bloser Col's 0" ) from Pendemonium. It turns out that a "Miller Bros. University" nib is similar to the Spencerian No. 1.
It also turns out that a universal insert can hold it too. Now, I have a small collection as well
I am still trying to learn about using them and which nibs fit certain holders ( universal insert or not ).

[welch]

While people search for dip pens, it might be fun to read about them. Here is The Steel Pen Blog, by a fellow who researches the history of steel pens: https://thesteelpen.com/

It's full of interesting bits, including the creation of a steel pen industry in the US from pen-makers in Great Britain, and patent-squabbles among pen-makers in New York City. I'm fond of his history of the Washington Medallion Pen Company (WMP), which sued Eberhard Faber and then Esterbrook, around 1865, for trade mark, and maybe patent, infringement, since I helped him by reading and photographing the court documents in the WMP/Eberhard Faber case. It was fascinating to feel the old documents and to see the handwriting, and surprising to learn that professional copyists, then, often used a script that looks like the Palmer Method, a style of writing that we all learned in the late-'50s.

[Anne]

If anyone is new to using dip pens like I am, I found a fun and helpful site in https://thepostmansknock.com/
I found it to be encouraging and informative.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

I know the advice in general is for people to get an oblique holder (for right handers), but I found that using a straight holder was a faster way of getting used to the characteristics of a dip nib. Besides which, obliques are a comparatively recent invention as far as I know.

[AAAndrew]

Thanks for the shout out, Welch.

As for Oblique holders and pens, I did cover their origins. https://thesteelpen.com/2017/10/27/o...blique-holder/

[Empty_of_Clouds]

It's interesting, and a great link to your work AAAndrew, but if the idea behind the oblique was actually a good one (it certainly sounds like it should be) it makes me wonder why straight holders continued to be made up to and including our current time. Looking through antique dip pens as a search term on eBay (not always the best source but the only one I have access to) throws up absolutely zero oblique versions. Curious that, I think.

[AAAndrew]

most dip pens were used for everyday writing. Look in any American stationer catalog and you are lucky to find one oblique holder, even during the golden age of dip pens. Staight holders were good enough and easier to use. Oblique holders are easier for decorative writing that requires a specific slant and careful position.

In the early years of steel pens, people were used to writing wih straight quills. He habit stuck and obliques were always a specialty or novelty thing.

Personally, i find the obliqueness a bit difficult to write with at anything faster than “careful.” I also think people were wanting larger nibs to hold more ink between dipping, and the larger nibs dont work in an oblique holder.