Pens & Nibs

about calligraphy pens & nibs

There are numerous brands of nib available including: Automatic Pens, Mitchell & Gillott, Speedball, and Brause. My own preferences are for Williams & Mitchell Roundhand nibs and the Automatic pens. (Pictured L to R: Williams & Mitchell Round Hand steel nibs sizes 1 and 3; brass reservoir; italic nib :: click to expand.)

For the Williams & Mitchell Round Hand nibs you will also need a small brass ink reservoir (top, 2nd from right) and a pen shaft - probably stored near each other in the shop. Not all nibs require a reservoir so it is best to check before you leave the shop.

The nibs are small and often stored in small plastic drawers and, as a consequence, can sometimes become damaged. I inspect the nibs I am about to buy very closely for any roughness, bends, or excess metal.

New calligraphy nibs are usually coated with lacquer to protect them. Pass them briefly through a flame or wash them with a mild detergent to remove this protective coating.

The pen holder has special grips to take the nib and you need to push the nib into the grips in the end of the holder before you slide the reservoir onto the back of the nib (see diags. left). It should end up approximately 2mm from the writing edge of the nib.

The reservoir holds the ink and controls the flow. For a faster flow, slide it toward the tip of the nib and to slow it down (as with thin inks) slide it back up the nib. Made of brass, a soft metal, you can carefully squeeze together the wings on the side of the reservoir with your fingers, if it is too tight or too loose, so that it holds on to the nib better.

Other nibs include (left to right) calligraphy cartridge pens, the steel nib, a spoon shaped nib for drawing, and the "Automatic Pen". There are various types of nibs. Don't be afraid to investigate them - they're inexpensive and you can always dispense with the ones you don't like.

The "Automatic Pen" (which isn't automatic at all) is another ideal pen for beginners and professionals alike. The writing action being smooth and no fussy reservoirs to worry about. It is my second favourite after a Williams & Mitchell nib.

The picture (left) shows a ruling pen, a mapping pen, and a glass nib. The ruling pen has a small wheel on the top which turns to open the points of the pen (right), which means you can change the thickness of the line drawn. It will adjust down to draw very fine lines. Use it against a rule with a strip of metal set into the edge (the strip is set above the paper so that it doesn't drag excess ink from the nib and make an awful mess) or use it on its own as a free-drawing tool. You can buy these from your art or stationery store.

The mapping pen can be used to draw extremely fine lines and is ideal for the finer points of decoration and pen drawing. The glass nib has a spiral groove running up the length of it and these hold the ink. It is largely for decorative purposes but works very well. Most of these types of nibs do not need to be loaded with a brush or dropper, you can dip them into the ink.