#about calligraphy

Anyway, one of the vendor booths was selling leather-bound journals, glass dip pens, and calligraphy sets (nibs, holder, inks). So I go in and poke about. The journals were so-so. The leather was amazing, but the paper was a right dog's breakfast.

There was a vendor letting patrons try out the calligraphy nibs. They had standard steel pointed nibs, semi-flexible, and a broad nib (it felt like a 1mm, maybe a 1.1mm?). Their glass dip pens were well-crafted, good ink volume and retention. All demonstrations were done with a J Herbin black ink, so no qualms there. The vendors also had turkey-feather quills. Actual bird-feather quills!

Now I've not used a feather quill before, so I had to try. The customer next to me was trying out the glass dip pens when I asked to try the feather quill. She helpfully informs me that the feather quill is difficult to use. Undaunted, I attempt it anyway.

The vendor hands me the scratch pad (surprisingly good paper, actually), and I doodle a bit. The feather quill is cut to a broad nib, a bit big for italic, not big enough for convincing textura, so I decide to try for uncial.

I flip the page, and write out "happy christmas" in uncial. This takes a moment. The feather quill was perfectly pleasant to use, no scratching or feedback, but it doesn't hold nearly as much ink as a modern nib.

When I finish, the vendor looks at it, looks at me, then says, "If you want to sign it, we'll put it up on the wall!"

And my brain went "OOOHHH DO IT!"

so I pull out my notebook and stare at the blank page and go "this will take me months to pull off. If I can do it at all."

I know it sparkles, DONT DO IT. It looks better than it tastes. Once again, do not drink the ink!

At the request of @exnihilo-comic I generally use fountain pen inks with my dip pen. Here are some of the most common inks I use:

Lamy Azurite: Probably my current favorite go-to ink. It's an indigo-purple ink with a high gold sheen.

Example here: RagingTurmoil

Diamine Oxblood: If you ever want blood-red ink, this is it. This is such a well-behaved ink, it's got such a saturated colour that looks great in both fountain pens and dip pens!

Example here: Fuck

Noodler's Black: It's a basic black ink. Not the most saturated, and can appear grey if your nib is running low. But it's solvent proof and is phenomenal on cheap paper. [One side note- I've been fooled by "waterproof" inks before, and so I tested this one. I gave a 30sec dry time, then painted on water, or alcohol, or acetone, or ammonia. This ink remained perfectly legible in water, alcohol, and acetone. It had some smearing in ammonia. So yeah, I believe them when they say it's bulletproof.]

Example here: InscrutableExhortations

Noodler's Purple Mountain Majesties: This is a purple, but it's more of a magenta-purple, with decidedly pink notes. This ink is not bulletproof, but it is fun.

Example here: RawLinesFromTumblr

Van Dieman's Blue Ringed Octopus: It's a high saturation blue ink with a HIGH pink sheen. It's delightful, another favorite of mine.

Example here: YourGoblinIsValid

Van Dieman's Kingfisher: This is a shimmer ink, which means it contains particulates that make it glitter. Technically it markets itself as a fountain pen ink, but I wouldn't put it in a fountain pen, you're just asking for a clogged nib. Perfectly good for dip pens though!

Example here: SufficientlyAdvancedWitchcraft

The green ink I use most frequently (my Magnus Archives green) is actually a custom mix of dip pen inks of yellow-green and a forest green! I don't even know if it's a brand name, just some random ink off amazon. I know, not super helpful. I have a few other colours from this set that I have mixed-and-matched with less than stellar results. This is definitely my favorite of my no-brand calligraphy ink.

Example here: I'veBeenWatchingYou

Dr. Ph. Martin's Copper Plate Gold: This is my illumination ink! Shimmery, iridescent, shiny gold. I wasn't brave enough for gold leaf, so I'm using gold ink instead.

Example here: DIE In this example, the other colour is Diamine Oxblood!

And one more thoughts on inks: you can absolutely use fountain pen inks with dip pens, though the ink may be a little thin. You should not use calligraphy inks in fountain pens, they're too thick and will clog your nibs.