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Things that slipped through the cracks...
Jun. 2nd, 2016 09:38 amMy long-dormant interest in calligraphy was awakened a while back, but as with most things in life, there isn't really any one thing you can point to and call it "calligraphy." Some people have an affinity for Copperplate styles; others like to work with pens that are good for italics; still others opt for brush pens.
Back when I bought it, I outfitted my Lamy Safari fountain pen with a 1.1 mm italic nib, and I really enjoy writing with it (and people keep making comments about my penmanship—yesterday, at the bank, I was asked, "Say, are you an architect?"), although frankly, what my hand produces is "just what comes naturally."
What particularly interests me today is Copperplate—or what, in my ignorance, I call by that name—because I really like the way it looks, and the opportunities for adding flourishes that it offers. What I have been able to determine thus far is that it is the flexibility of the nib that accounts for the ability to make narrow and wide lines in this style of penmanship.
If no downward pressure is exerted on the nib while writing, the result is a fairly narrow line; pressing down on the nib, on the other hand, causes the tines of the point to spread apart, which creates a wide line. Beautiful writing is created by varying the pressure as one writes.
The only problem is, I just can't make peace with the off-the-shelf nibs I've bought, because they feel so stiff to me. So, over the course of some kind of online interaction—probably on Instagram, where I'm following a few calligraphers—I hear about "Hunt" nibs, and of a "#56" specifically. So I popped over to eBay, where I ended up nailing a "Buy It Now" deal to receive three such nibs for a very reasonable price, though the seller was based in The Netherlands.
In any event, the envelope arrived yesterday, and I don't know whether it was simply the luck of the draw or the fact that it was a very light bubble-wrap envelope that appeared to contain almost nothing that had been sent from The Netherlands (and, therefore, suspicious on its face, because <inhale, hold, and speak with minimum exhalation of breath> we all know what kind of people those Nederlanders are <exhale!>), but the package arrived with some green tape holding it together, announcing that it had been examined by the Customs folks.
BTW, I'm not complaining, simply observing.
The nibs, by the way, are way more flexible than the ones I bought locally. Even I could tell that was the case.
* * *
Speaking of flexible nibs, some time I ago I bought a flex-nib pen offered by Noodler's. And while the nib has some flexibility, it wasn't flexible enough for my beginner's hand.
The pen was also designed to be taken apart, affording its owner an opportunity to learn about the different parts and play around with, for example, nib replacement.
Which I did, by replacing the nib the pen came with with one from a Conklin crescent-fill pen that's been lying around in need of refurbishment for years.
The new nib writes like a dream, even without trying to do any kind of manipulation with it.
* * *
A bunch of stuff has come in. I should probably "turn to" and translate it. I've got follow-ups tomorrow and next week, which will keep me from the computer.
Cheers...
Back when I bought it, I outfitted my Lamy Safari fountain pen with a 1.1 mm italic nib, and I really enjoy writing with it (and people keep making comments about my penmanship—yesterday, at the bank, I was asked, "Say, are you an architect?"), although frankly, what my hand produces is "just what comes naturally."
What particularly interests me today is Copperplate—or what, in my ignorance, I call by that name—because I really like the way it looks, and the opportunities for adding flourishes that it offers. What I have been able to determine thus far is that it is the flexibility of the nib that accounts for the ability to make narrow and wide lines in this style of penmanship.
If no downward pressure is exerted on the nib while writing, the result is a fairly narrow line; pressing down on the nib, on the other hand, causes the tines of the point to spread apart, which creates a wide line. Beautiful writing is created by varying the pressure as one writes.
The only problem is, I just can't make peace with the off-the-shelf nibs I've bought, because they feel so stiff to me. So, over the course of some kind of online interaction—probably on Instagram, where I'm following a few calligraphers—I hear about "Hunt" nibs, and of a "#56" specifically. So I popped over to eBay, where I ended up nailing a "Buy It Now" deal to receive three such nibs for a very reasonable price, though the seller was based in The Netherlands.
In any event, the envelope arrived yesterday, and I don't know whether it was simply the luck of the draw or the fact that it was a very light bubble-wrap envelope that appeared to contain almost nothing that had been sent from The Netherlands (and, therefore, suspicious on its face, because <inhale, hold, and speak with minimum exhalation of breath> we all know what kind of people those Nederlanders are <exhale!>), but the package arrived with some green tape holding it together, announcing that it had been examined by the Customs folks.
BTW, I'm not complaining, simply observing.
The nibs, by the way, are way more flexible than the ones I bought locally. Even I could tell that was the case.
Speaking of flexible nibs, some time I ago I bought a flex-nib pen offered by Noodler's. And while the nib has some flexibility, it wasn't flexible enough for my beginner's hand.
The pen was also designed to be taken apart, affording its owner an opportunity to learn about the different parts and play around with, for example, nib replacement.
Which I did, by replacing the nib the pen came with with one from a Conklin crescent-fill pen that's been lying around in need of refurbishment for years.
The new nib writes like a dream, even without trying to do any kind of manipulation with it.
A bunch of stuff has come in. I should probably "turn to" and translate it. I've got follow-ups tomorrow and next week, which will keep me from the computer.
Cheers...
