# Little help and ideas please



## RSidetrack (Jul 2, 2011)

Okay - so I have been working a long time on designing a project.  I have got everything figured out - EXCEPT - where the heck can I get extra fountain pen attachments/nibs?

So here is the deal - you know those calligraphy "starter sets" that you can pick up for 40 bucks that are cheap fountain pens?  Well I am designing and working on a set that is going to be - well, anything but cheap - fully hand crafted .  I have the box layout done - which will be solid oak and hand molded to fit 12 ink refills, 2 ink jars, a beautiful hand crafted fountain pen and of course the spot I am stuck - the nibs/ends.

I would like to at least be able to include thin medium and thick ends - but I don't know where to get them that will fit in one of the kits.  That brings me to my next question - which kit would you guys think be best for a set like this?  I am all ears to ideas and suggestions.

Thanks everyone!


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## jskeen (Jul 4, 2011)

I have never seen a full set of calligraphy nibs that were a direct replacement for the kit nibs on any of our kits.  Come to think of it, I've never seen a full set of calligraphy nibs meant to interchange on a fountain pen at all.  Maybe I just haven't been looking, but I seem to see several issues with concept in general.  The sets I've seen are all dip pens, both the pre-made ones or the component sets that some people sell for us to put custom bodies on.  

To really make the idea work, I would think you would need each nib/feed/section to have it's own dedicated converter or ink cartridge, otherwise you would make a huge mess and waste a lot of ink everytime you change between nibs.  And even then the ink would tend to dry out pretty quickly in the sections that aren't being used, and still require cleaning after each session (which would be much more involved than what is needed for a simple dip pen).  

If I'm missing something here, please enlighten me.  But I believe that most calligraphers use a separate handle for each width of nib they plan to use in a given session, or at most swap nibs on one handle.  But, not being one myself, I don't know this for a fact.


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## terryf (Jul 4, 2011)

Yip, nibs are interchangeable or use their own handle (less common) as they are dip pens.

If the ink dries inside the feed and nib it clogs and cleaning is a huge issue usually requiring warm water which could cause the tines to come out of alignment if too warm.

This means you would need an ink pump and various bottles of ink into which you could return the unused ink and wash out the nib, section and ink pump prior to changing to the new nib and/or color.

My mother had 37 different individual pens for her calligraphy. Changing nibs was too much trouble.

Whilst the idea might sound great, no proper calligrapher would consider it as it is just too much trouble.

You can get sections and nibs seperately - look at Indy Pen Dance, if memory serves I saw some complete sections there as well as the rollerball FP cartridge sections.


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## RSidetrack (Jul 4, 2011)

To describe a set my grandmother gave me - it has one pen, and 3 different feeders with different sized nibs.  So it is interchanging the feeders.

Although an idea I just got is to make a matching set of 3 separate pens perhaps?


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## azamiryou (Jul 5, 2011)

jskeen has it: calligraphers generally use dip pens rather than fountain pens. You can get a fountain pen with a calligraphy nib, but I gather those are for more casual calligraphers and people who want the dramatic thick/thin contrast as an embellishment to their regular writing.

Inserts are available that hold calligraphy dip pen nibs, so you could make your set with a dip pen.


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## RSidetrack (Jul 5, 2011)

hrm - so sounding like the idea just won't be a good one :frown:


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## Sylvanite (Jul 5, 2011)

Most calligraphy is done with dip pens.  Check out 3 Dips for an example.  Dip pen nibs are not interchangable with fountain pen nibs.  They are designed for different types of ink.  While I've seen extra broad fountain pen nibs sold as "calligraphy" nibs, they aren't really the same thing.  Dip pen nibs come in a wide variety of shapes.

If you want to make dip pens, they are pretty straightforward, and metal nib holders are available.  If you're really after calligraphy nibs for fountain pen ink, I think you may be out of luck.

I hope that helps,
Eric


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