#zanerian

Here is Openinkstand's very first interview, with Brian Smith of Unique Obliques. I have known Brian for some time now, and have followed his penmaking career from the beginning, back when he was still experimenting with flanges and woods. Now his nickname is 'Penmaker to the Stars' as his custom pens has graced the hands of illustrious calligraphers such as Dr. Joe Vitolo and Brian Walker. He remains a very humble guy (as you can read below) and here he shares his background, thoughts and behind the scenes of oblique pen making.

One of my first pens from Brian

To begin with, would you tell us a little bit about your background?   Well, I am very recently retired from a long career with the U.S. Postal Service in which I managed several medium-large operations. I was happy to leave the stress behind! I am happily married to my wife Rhonda, we have one daughter named Kimberly, and one newly arrived Burmese kitten named Misa. I live in the small town of Jennings, Louisiana where I now make Unique Oblique Custom Pens. Woohooo!

How did you come across calligraphy/penmanship?   Oh man, that goes back to my early childhood and my dear old grandfather. He used to be a sign painter back in the roaring 20's and 30's. My fondest memories are when I was a child at Christmas time... I (being the youngest) was whining and crying to 'open presents', but the adults wanted to visit with far-away relatives who had come for the holidays. Well, 'papa' would scoop me up in his arms and sit me at his old desk.. pull out some stinky old india ink, and would get out two Speedball Style C holders.. one of which he used, the other he gave to me. He also took out these wonderful old Speedball books of fancy lettering from the 1920's (I still have those, by the way) and he would show me the basics of the broad pen, and how to make thick and thin letters, etc. I would get so involved in this that I would forget all about the presents!

Anyway, to answer your question, that's where it started and it has always remained a fascination and an interest to me. I remember in high school, we studied Geoffrey Chaucer's 'Tale Of Melibee', and in the textbook was a print of a medieval illuminated page from that story (which I now know was the Ellesmere manuscript).  I was so fascinated that I spent my entire English class trying to draw those illuminated borders and vines.  I think I passed that course with a "D" plus... or was it a minus? Haha!

My latest pen from Brian, we named this one Bloodlust

Your English sounds fine anyway! What made you want to start making oblique pen holders? Well, I learned of the pointed pen later in life.. my poor old grandfather knew nothing about it, only broad pen work because that is the same principal that a flat lettering sign quill is used. The internet is a wonderful thing, it allowed me to simply 'google' any and all questions I ever had.. and I had plenty on this subject. When I learned that a pen's line width could be varied by placing pressure on the nib and splaying out the tines, I just HAD to try it. Well, one thing and then another.. and I got very obsessed with learning to write with a pointed pen. Soon I learned of the oblique pen holder, bought a Speedball plastic one, then bought a couple of stock Century holders which are quite good to be sure. But I wanted something different, something that wasn't the same as the tired old models that everybody had.

I saw some of the beautiful holders that Jake Weidmann was turning out, and that made me wish that I owned a lathe (you see, the same grandfather who taught me the basics of the broad pen also taught me many woodworking skills as a teenager, including the lathe). Also, I marveled at the old vintage Zanerian holders and Magnussons from the Golden Age of American Penmanship. Others as well, the old Tamblyn holder, and various others that are in private collections. Knowing that retirement was not far off for me, I purchased a lathe and started (trying to) make my very own oblique holders. Let me tell you, they were pathetic things back then. I didn't know that those things had to be doweled together. I didn't know how to make or install a flange, nor even what kind of material to use for a flange. I remember making my first flanges out of tin cans. Isn't that crazy?!?! Those first attempts yielded really putrid stuff; unwieldy designs, poor balance, tin can flanges, and other unspeakable disasters. But in answer to your question, that's what made me want to start making them; I wanted to build something unique in a pen holder; something that wasn't the same as everyone else's pen. Something that would inspire me to 'want to pick it up and write with it'. Jake Weidmann's amazing holders really inspired me to take the dive. Jake is so amazing at everything he does, you can't look at ANYTHING that Jake does without being inspired to the hilt! 

What are your favorite and least favorite oblique pen that you’ve tried?   Oh man, I haven't tried everything out there, but from what I have tried, my least favorite is my $3 Speedball plastic holder. But let me qualify that statement, because for 3 bucks, you really get more than your money's worth. It's not an unusable holder by any means, but definitely a budget instrument. My favorite off-the-shelf holder is the stock Century holder. Those little holders are not visually spectacular, but they are mighty workhorses and they fit most everyone's hand like a glove. I normally default my pen's grips to approximate the size of a stock Century holder, unless directed by the customer to do otherwise.  Michael Sull's little holders are also very nice.. good rock solid little workhorses with no frills. I've tried a few others, some of which did not impress me at all, but I will keep the names of those to myself.

One of my workhorse pens. This one reminds me of a cigarette holder..

Did you learn pen making from books, or videos or articles?   You know, it's a funny thing.. Dr. Joe Vitolo and I were talking about this recently. The Golden Age of Penmanship was not that long ago, yet there are so many missing pieces of information from the era. As Dr. Joe said, much of this stuff we have to figure out by studying the works that are left behind by the old masters.  He was talking about penmanship techniques of course, but he commented that the same is true for making pens and flanges.  There are no remaining "instruction manuals" on how to fabricate or install an oblique flange.  Dr. Vitolo commented that in all of the vintage material he has seen, there is nothing that describes the process of fabricating a flange.

So I had to go to work on this myself.. trial and error in most cases. I had to devise special jigs and specialized devices to accomplish these seemingly simple writing instruments. As mentioned earlier, I learned how to use a lathe from my grandfather earlier in life, but the rest.. pretty much on my own. I would solicit help from experienced calligraphers (Schin Loong being the primary one (ed: awww), and would ask for no-holds-barred critiques. I just wanted to get better, I was not worried about getting my feelings hurt or any of that, it was strictly business advice as far as I was concerned. And later, I solicited the same critiques from Dr. Joe Vitolo and Nick D'AQuanno, two extremely prominent and gifted penmen. Although I feel confident that I am turning out a top-shelf product, I still feel that my art of building custom dip pens is a work in progress, and I am always looking for ways to improve. Little by little, I improve tiny things, but the synergistic result is always a markedly better and more refined pen. Whether it be appearance, exotic woods, 'bling', flange setting, balance, finishing, whatever. Always looking to improve! For some reason that I cannot explain, this pen making has taken over my very soul! Hahaha seriously, it is my passion and my joy to build beautiful and accurate dip pens.   

Another workhorse pen, you can tell from the paint dried on its tip...

What characteristics or flaws should a beginner look for in a modern stock penholder? I always check the flange of the holder with a nib in it, to be sure that the point of the nib is closely approximating the centerline of the handle. The flange should not move at all within the holder, it should be solidly mounted. Check to see what kind of nib fits the flange when you buy it.  Most flanges are easy to adjust by bending slightly, but some nibs require more radical bending. The tiny Brause 66EF comes to mind.. if your flange is set up for, say, a Nikko G nib, but you are planning on using the holder for a Brause 66ef, then you may want to ask the seller to set that up for you. I look at the balance of the pen staff too. Balance is a personal preference.. some penmen prefer a heavy pen with some heft to the backweight (being the back side of the pen after it crosses the webbing of the thumb). Others prefer a very lightweight pen, as close to weightless as I can get it.  Good balance can make a pen feel almost weightless when held in writing position. I personally love this, and most people who have experienced it love it as well; though I don't know if they realize why the pen feels so good in their hand. 

Other aggravations that I've found in holders I've purchased.. well, there can be ragged shavings and slag in the flange if it has not been cleaned or sanded properly, preventing the nib from seating properly or in some cases preventing the nib to be installed, as the flange can be 'blocked'. This needs to be cleaned out of course. Nibs should not be overly tight in the flange.. should just be snug. Having the nibs too tight can result in damaging the nib (or your fingers) when trying to remove it from the holder. It can also distort the curvature of the nib causing all kinds of aggravation. To make minor flange adjustments, basically the flatten the arc of the flange is, the tighter the nib will fit; conversely, the more rounded the arc is, the looser the nib will fit.  Those little adjustments can be easily done by anyone.. just be careful to support the foot of the pen with your right hand to avoid fracturing it while putting pressure on the flange to bend it.  Remember, there is a slot cut through the pen foot; it is not a solid piece of wood, so it is a bit 'weakened' in that area. 

Which brings me to another issue that I will bring up. I used to be convinced that a flange installed with epoxy-and-pin was the best way to go.  That is no longer my opinion (and you know what they say about opinions), but follow me here: the value of a pen handle is the handle itself.  One gets accustomed to their pen handle, and it becomes comfortable and seems to fit their hand like a well worn glove. Not much can go wrong with a wooden handle unless it meets with some kind of accident.. but lets suppose that the metal of the flange cracks due to excessive bending.. or maybe it gets crimped badly and will not hold a nib properly; or maybe it's just not angling the nib at the angle that you like or for whatever reason it just needs to be changed. If the flange is epoxy'd and pinned (a brass pin or nail driven through the handle and the flange), then it is almost impossible to remove without damage to (or destruction of) the beloved wooden handle.  For that reason, I have begun installing all of my flanges via the Zanerian mounting method, in which the flange can simply be slid out of the holder and another one slipped in place. It is a time honored method (it is usually referred to as the Zanerian Method, probably because those wonderful old Zanerian Fine Art obliques were built this way). It gives great peace of mind to know that your flange can be changed out in less than 5 minutes, and your beloved pen made "as new". It is a bit more work to do it that way, but well worth it in the long run. I want my pen holders to become family heirlooms one day so I build them to be serviceable.

A sign of a passionate artist and craftsman unwilling to compromise his art. What is the most difficult process in researching/making a penholder?   It's pretty much what I referred to earlier.. the lack of written information or instructions on how the early turning masters and penmen made theirs. If you look at the incredible vintage collection of Mr. Don Tate, you will see that many of these holders appear to be home-made or self made, likely by the penmen themselves. I would imagine that some of these skills were taught to the young students at those Buisiness/Penmanship colleges, although I don't know that for a fact.  Most of the research that I did, came down to studying old photographs or old specimens of oblique holders. Or studying newer ones for that matter! Getting good honest feedback from knowledgeable, experienced writers is the best! The worst thing of all is when there is something obviously substandard, but the "tester" doesn't want to hurt your feelings so they just tell you that it's cool and they pat you on the back. The second worst is when someone doesn't really have a clue what they are talking about, but they have all sorts of 'advice about how to change things on your pens. LOL! Two opposite ends of the scale there.

What is the process of ordering a penholder from you?   Oh, do you want one? Let me get my pen and paper... hahaha!!!  Seriously, I have an Etsy store at Unique Obliques. I usually have a few nice ones in there to pick from. But I also fill custom orders, which has been the bulk of my work lately. My wonderful repeat customers who keep coming back and ordering beautiful unique holders. It is really a joy to fill those orders. Oh.. the question about how to order, yes.. to order anything custom, you can either send me a "convo" or "message" at my Etsy website (ed: You need an Etsy account to send convos, but it's free to register), or email me at [email protected]. If there are many details that we need to work out, we can continue that by phone if need be. I usually have a turnaround time within 7 days, usually less.. rarely longer than that. I ship anywhere, and I ship fast! I know the excitement of wanting to get a new writing instruments, so I try to ship them as soon as they are completed. I also maintain good communication with the customer, whether through email or the Etsy convo.

Which was your favorite pen to make?   Hmmm.. well usually the shorter the pen, the easier it is to make, but I like the long ones that hearken back to the Golden Age.  I like the look of them and the feel of them. But honestly I can't really say that I have a favorite. It's all such a joy and a passion with me that I enjoy them all. I love exotic woods and seeing those woods come to life as the finish is applied. I like the way my entire shop smells when I am working a piece of Tamboti wood or Sandalwood. It's all a joy really. I've always wondered what it felt like to have a job that you actually enjoyed, and now I know. Truly I am blessed in that regard. I enjoy the creative process.. I like it when the finished product surprises me. No matter how hard I try to envision what a pen will look like, the finished product usually surprises me (and in a good way). Woodgrains are so beautiful.. Mother Nature is a hell of an artist, you know! Translucent aniline dyes are also fun for me.. they really make beautiful jewel tones without covering up the natural beauty of the woodgrains. I guess asking "which is my favorite pen to make" is like asking which of your children is your favorite. LOL!  

Do you create anything else in your wood shop besides penholders? I have in the past, but for the last year or so I have been focused on my oblique pen designs. I'm very lucky to have had an abundance of customers, so that keeps me quite busy. But since you are asking, I have been toying around with the idea of expanding into a few other pen-related items. Display cases, presentation cases, display pen racks for the desk, etc. I believe that there will be a market and a demand for quality handcrafted items in addition to pens. I've even thought of building a "Calligraphy Box" with a place to store pens, nibs, and a few bottles of ink; sort of a desktop item to hold our most frequently used items. It would be visually attractive, and would serve as a quick way to tidy up the writing desk, yet still have those essential items close at hand. I know all too well how quickly things can get scattered all over the desk causing a disorganized frustration!

You heard it here first, a future Unique Obliques complete desk set! What other future plans do you have for UniqueObliques?  Why to become rich, famous, and take over the world of course!   Hahaha no, seriously I haven't really given much thought to grandiose plans. Mainly I want to keep doing what I do.. building unique high-quality penholders, and providing the best custom calligraphy dip pens to my customers. There is no feeling like it when a great calligrapher comments favorably on something I've built. I'm a one-man shop, and at this point I don't really have plans of expanding beyond that.  I won't say never, but as of now I have no such agenda. I sort of enjoy wearing all of the hats.. customer service, quality control, design, hands-on building of the instruments, customer interactions, etc. That way I can take ownership of everything. What I do matters to me, and what I send out of my shop is important. I can be confident that things were done right because I do them myself. I build my pens one at a time, so that I can devote all of my focus to that one pen holder. I hate "mass production".. I don't like to work that way, it is not enjoyable to me even though I'm sure that I could increase my production.  The handcrafted quality and attention to detail is of paramount importance, that is what makes all the difference you know? Building handcrafted custom pen staves is not an activity for multi-tasking. Hah!    

A craftsman indeed. Besides calligraphy and penmanship, what are your other hobbies?  Obviously woodworking.. refurbishing and refinishing old furniture is always fun.  My wife and I sometimes peruse antique shops and flea markets looking for some old magnificent piece of furniture that is in ruins.. I like to take them home and restore them to their former glory. I love music, and have been an avid guitar player since I was about 12 years old. I do quite a bit of home recording too; I have a small home recording studio (actually a spare bedroom converted to a music studio). That's about it for me.. the rest of my time is spent with my family.. a simple but rewarding life. And simple makes me happy.  

Any final advice for beginner oblique pen users?   Let me qualify this question by stating right off that I am NOT an accomplished penman, not by any means, so this is only my opinion.  To me, a beginner could start by looking for inspiration in the magnificent works of Schin Loong! (ed: Awwww!!!) Hahaha... I'm giggling, but it's true! Check out all of the great calligraphers who are out there today... John DeCollibus, Jake Weidmann, Dr. Joe Vitolo, Nick D'Aquanno, Rick Muffler, Michael Sull, Victoria Held, Kathy Milici, Bill Kemp, Brian Walker, and on and on.. too many to name! The whole Iampeth gang of incredibly talented penmen and artists; better than any of us mortals could ever hope to become. Camp out at the Iampeth Website and take the time to look at everything on there. The old masters' work as well as the new. And always remember... this art form takes time to master, Lord I am surely finding that out! Time and perseverance!

It is of paramount importance that you use good materials... I can't stress this enough because I've wasted sooooo much time using inferior papers and inappropriate nibs. Take the plunge and invest in some really great paper, some really good quality ink, and the best nibs you can afford (provided they are appropriate for what you are trying to accomplish of course). For a total beginner, I would start with a "G" style nib; It's much more forgiving than some of the others and is great to get a good feel for pointed pen writing. Inexpensive and a sound little nib.. used by many professionals. I know that Kathy Milici told me that she uses the G nib almost exclusively, and if you've ever seen that girl's work you will know that it is not "just for beginners".   Most of all.. have fun with it. It is supposed to be fun, ya know? It is our refuge, a place of solitude where we can go and leave the cares and stresses of the world behind. Keep it fun and marvel at your work as your skill level increases. Save all of your old practice sheets and date them.. that way you can look back on them in a few months and smile when you see how far you've come. It's a quickly dying art, so let us feel honored to pick up the torch!