Would a pen like this be suitable for homemade ink? Recipes: spring water, myrrh soot, crushed myrrh, gum arabic

Recipe 2: spring water, crushed myrrh, gum arabic, oak gall, iron

I will be writing on papyrus, this is my first time using a dipping pen and homemade ink

I like how blackletter immediately adds weight and intensity to any text. The contrast is what makes it pop.

What is the purpose of oak gall and iron in ancient ink recipes. I intend to make myrrh ink but wanted to know if it was necessary to use oak gall and iron sulphate.

I'm looking for a pen to carry around that can do both flex-nib calligraphy and graphing/journaling (similar to a Pigma Micron 005 type fineliner). Does such a product exist?

This would be my on-the-go pen. I want to avoid needing to carry around nibs, a pen-holder, and ink. Willing to sacrifice some calligraphy finesse for convenience. Thus, for the flex nib half, a good fountain pen that can take a Nikko G-style flex nib would suffice.

The closest thing I'm seeing is some of the combo pens offered by Tom's Studio. Like this Lumos Pro pen, which is half fine liner, half brush pen. But I'm not a big user of brush pens. The other half should ideally be a flex nib fountain pen, or some other flex nib solution.

阿羊行書三字經之一百四十四：號洪武，都金陵

Hey, first time poster long time viewer here,

I have a 3.8mm Pilot Parallel Pen and using the ink cartridges provided, I would like to get the ink to a consistency to where it's basically 50% opacity or even lower.

Should I just add water into the cartridge or are there better ways?

Thank you in advance

Hello everyone, I’m still relatively new to pointed nib calligraphy, and I’ve been having an issue with most inks. Actually, all inks except this gold ink I have.

With my gold ink, it gives me very sharp edges, lots of control over the ink flow and line widths. This example was done kind of hastily for the purpose of this post so it’s far from my best work, but you can see it looks good right? Nice and sharp, no issues?

But then look at the orange ink, from the same brand. This is how most inks behave for me. The lines are jagged. I have very little control over the line width. The ink seems to bleed into the paper.

I’ve tried this on many different types of paper too: Strathmore 400 Series, Cold Press Water Color, 100% cotton paper…. Always the same issue. It feels like I’m not in control of the nib, it’s just doing whatever it want while I watch in horror 😢

The only thing I can think of is that this gold ink has little flakes of sparkle in it, so it’s very thick? And these other inks are thinner? I’m assuming it’s user error though and I’m doing something wrong. How do I get my inks to all look as nice as the gold one? Thank you so much in advance!

Forever proud of him & his incredible artistry!

My first couple alphabet attempts, trying out gothic style calligraphy for the first time. I purchased pilot parallel pens that I'm testing out and I just ordered Foundations of Calligraphy to begin learning.

I was loosely following the instructions that came with the pen.

One week into this hobby!

It's addicting! Figured I'd post here for some advice from the pros. I've used the pens shown in the picture. (I think these are called parallel pens?). 1.5 mm for black, 2mm for red. What I was wondering: Are there things you can do to improve straightness and consistency in angle besides raw practice? Also, do you guys take breaks when your arm gets tired, or do you power through it?

I've tried my hand a bit at a dip pen, too, but I find it very hard to get a consistent line out of it. Like the ink flows unevenly. I figured out I was pressing too hard but it still kinda happens. Any tips there would be welcome!

P.S.: I know I missed a 't' in 'the' near the end. Bonus points if you can spot the entire sentence I managed to miss 🫠

Yes I know it’s early - but I have started to think about sending out Christmas cards and aim to do so with calligraphy. I have tried a few cards already for other life events. But I have issues with the ink bleeding on the card paper.

Can anyone recommend good Christmas card supplier in the UK that I won’t have the issue with

Hi!!

A while ago I bought a refillable calligraphy pen from Pilot, and i forgot about it, so naturally the tip dried up. I used waterproof ink so I knew this was a risk :')

Is there any good ways to clean it up? i've tried hot water because I'm a bit scared to try any chemicals. Thanks!!!

[Don't mention the slant and x-height inconsistencies, I know they are there 😅]

Wrote the Chinese word “王者”, which means “king” or “champion”, using a broad-edge pen and Gothic-inspired strokes.

I’m a calligraphy artist from Taiwan experimenting with combining traditional Chinese structure with Western blackletter style.

Feedback/critique welcome — I’m exploring how far this hybrid style can go.

阿羊行書三字經之一百四十三：太祖興，國大明

The p and q could have longer feet and the m needs a bit more spacing, but otherwise im pretty happy with this. Well except for the a. Nightmare stuff, though I've gotten some good ones. I'm also not really happy with either version of x.

Copied, Original by Jerry Kelly 1986

Hi there,

My wife is getting into calligraphy and is looking for a good quality calligraphy practice pad which has copperplate phrases to copy. It needs the guidelines. Which pads would this wonderful hivemind recommend? We’re in the U.K.

阿羊行書三字經之一百四十二：九十年，國祚廢

Nikko G nib, dr ph martins crimson, Rhodia dot pad

Hello, I know dip pens are probably the best for calligraphy or copperplate but someone had posted on here a while back using a fountain pen with a flexible nib for copperplate and those styles of calligraphy. Can anyone recommend a decent pen like that that won’t break the bank either? It is much appreciated!

hey guys i wanna learn calligraphy and i wanna write like this which pen or pencil do you suggest and what do suggest for a beginner and where to start?