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alpharay
11
Feb 17, 2016
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Very stupid question. Is there a fountain pen that can do calligraphy ? I am looking for a gift for my daughter; she complained about her fountain pen is leaking sometimes.
Entrelac
2
Feb 18, 2016
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alpharayThere are several. It really depends on the kind of calligraphy she's doing what sort of nib she'd want on a fountain pen. For simple things like Italic, any 1.1 or 1.5 mm stub nib will work, though maybe not as nicely as a proper Italic nib. Pilot Plumix is a brand that comes to mind, as well as Lamy Safari or AL-Star. Both of these pens I've seen offered here are various times either by themselves or as part of a pile of pens. For bolder (read: bigger) calligraphy, look for the Pilot Parallel group of pens. They go from normalish to a whopping 6mm wide flat edge on the nib. I've also seen these offered here before. For a pen that does thin then thick lines based on the pressure applied while writing (like Spencerian script), there are pens like the Pilot Falcon with the 'soft' fine nib, but then you're getting into pricey territory. All of the previous ones I mentioned were under US$50.
Another consideration is to see if she's using normal fountain pen ink with her dip calligraphy pens. Some fountain pen inks can 'behave' too thin, running off of the nib all at once instead of in a controlled manner. You could look for actual calligraphy inks, they tend to be a little thicker so they flow off of the nibs a little less abruptly. And, if she has a fountain pen ink that she loves dearly and wants to use (like, say, those Diamine Shimmertastic Inks being offered here right now), I've heard there are useful instructions that can be found with a Google search that'll explain how to safely thicken your fountain pen inks to the exact consistency desired. To be fair, I have never done this myself, so I can't vouch for how well it'd work, but it'd definitely be a trial and error thing either way, and one little sample inkwell's worth of ink at a time can be tinkered with so the main bottle of ink is left unchanged.
Hope this helps!
Another consideration is to see if she's using normal fountain pen ink with her dip calligraphy pens. Some fountain pen inks can 'behave' too thin, running off of the nib all at once instead of in a controlled manner. You could look for actual calligraphy inks, they tend to be a little thicker so they flow off of the nibs a little less abruptly. And, if she has a fountain pen ink that she loves dearly and wants to use (like, say, those Diamine Shimmertastic Inks being offered here right now), I've heard there are useful instructions that can be found with a Google search that'll explain how to safely thicken your fountain pen inks to the exact consistency desired. To be fair, I have never done this myself, so I can't vouch for how well it'd work, but it'd definitely be a trial and error thing either way, and one little sample inkwell's worth of ink at a time can be tinkered with so the main bottle of ink is left unchanged.
Hope this helps!
alpharay
11
Feb 18, 2016
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Entrelacthanks so much. This is very helpful. My daughter got a set of cheap calligraphy pens and a leaking fountain pen. I am sure anything you suggest will work for her. thank again.
TheDarkTrumpet
128
Aug 27, 2016
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alpharayI may be a bit late to answer this, but have you figured out the leaking issue? Do you know the brand of the fountain pen? If it's a Noodlers brand fountain pen, then I'm not surprised by the leaking and the process to fix it is pretty simple. It's called heat setting the feed. You essentially do this by boiling some water, then dip the front portion (the area from the very tip of the nib up to the base of the grip) of an EMPTY pen (yes drain the ink out first) into the boiling water. Let it sit for a good 30 seconds or so, then pull out of the water and press against the metal and feed. I grip my thumb along the bottom part of the feed, and the index finger over the nib itself.
There are likely youtube videos out there showing the process, if the above explanation is confusing. If she has a non-noodlers (and most likely non-ebonite feed) then make sure she's using the proper ink in the pen. If she's using calligraphy ink inside a fountain pen, then that's bad. Calligraphy ink, especially those in the iron gall-like inks is horribly corrosive and can ruin a good pen.
There are likely youtube videos out there showing the process, if the above explanation is confusing. If she has a non-noodlers (and most likely non-ebonite feed) then make sure she's using the proper ink in the pen. If she's using calligraphy ink inside a fountain pen, then that's bad. Calligraphy ink, especially those in the iron gall-like inks is horribly corrosive and can ruin a good pen.
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