A calligraphy dip pen is usually the preferred choice of calligraphers, but might be a little difficult to handle for some beginners. Although I would recommend getting used to the operation and “feel” of a dip pen as soon as possible, calligraphy fountain pens are a “no fuss” tool to begin learning letter forms.
Selecting a Calligraphy Fountain Pen
Calligraphy fountain pens come in a wide variety of brands and nib sizes, and often have inks available in a range of colors conveniently contained in plastic cartridges. As with calligraphy dip pens and nibs, the choice of what type of pen to use depends on what would best fit your style and budget:
- Do you prefer a long barrel or a shorter barrel?
- Does the pen fit comfortably in your hand, or do you find it too thick or thin?
- Are ink cartridges easy to find?
- Is the ink available in a bottle?
- Does the pen come with or have the option to purchase an ink converter?
- Is a variety of color choices important or do you plan to use only black ink?
- Do you require a wide range of nib sizes or will a few be sufficient?
- Can the pens be purchased individually or are they only available in sets?
- Are replacement nibs easy to find? Would you have to purchase an entire pen or set to replace a damaged nib?
Note: Purchasing calligraphy fountain pens on-line is one way to get a pen not available locally – just be aware that the pens might also include a few ink cartridges, and these will sometimes leak or explode (regardless of how well it is packaged) during shipping, especially if shipped by air. This has happened to me more than a few times – ask anyone who has forgotten to empty their fountain pen before taking a plane flight.
It probably won’t damage the pen, but it does make quite a mess! If possible, try to find ink refills at a local art or stationary store. If the pen is by a manufacturer the store usually carries, they might be able to order the ink for you.
Loading a Calligraphy Fountain Pen
Loading an ink cartridge into a calligraphy fountain pen is fairly simple – you did read the instructions that came with the pen?
Generally, one simply takes the pen apart by unscrewing the barrel from the nib section:
Cartridges vary in design by manufacturer – in this example, the Rotring cartridge has a distinctly different top and bottom design that indicates which end is inserted into the nib section:
If you examine the top of the cartridge, there is a little seal inside that needs to be “popped” when pushing the cartridge into the nib section to allow the ink to flow:
Tip: Don’t pop the seal before inserting the cartridge into the pen section! Always push the cartridge into the nib section and make sure the correct end of the cartridge is attached to the nib, or follow the instructions from the manufacturer.
Push the cartridge gently but firmly into the pen section – with the Rotring pen you will be able to “feel” when the cartridge has attached to the reservoir. If you’re not sure if it’s firmly attached, try pulling it out – the Rotring cartridge takes a good tug to remove – if not, try again!
Reassemble the pen by screwing the pen and barrel back together, and you are ready to letter!
If you have an ink converter, you can use bottled ink instead of cartridges. Filling the converter varies with each manufacturer, but as an example, the Rotring converter uses a twist mechanism to fill. First, twist the converter until the plunger is at the bottom. Place just the tip (don’t dunk the entire converter!) into a bottle of ink, then twist the plunger in the opposite direction until the converter is full.
Care and Cleaning
Although calligraphy fountain pens are more convenient and easy to carry around than bottles of ink, they do require basic care and attention:
- clean the pen at least once a month
- if the pen is not going to be used for while, remove the ink cartridge and clean the nib assembly
- store the pen with the cap on with the nib pointing up if there is an ink cartridge in it
How to clean a pen
- disassemble the pen and remove the ink cartridge
- run the nib assembly under cold water until the water runs clear. To get rid of excess water that might still be in the nib, wrap the nib loosely with a few paper towels and blow gently into the top of the nib assembly. If you have an ink converter, attach it to the nib and use the mechanism to force out any remaining water.
- dry with a paper towel or soft cloth
Calligraphy fountain pens are mainly plastic with metal nibs – never use any solvents or pen cleaners unless specifically recommended by the manufacturer as some of the chemicals might damage the barrel and nib.
The best advice I can give regarding the care and ink selections for your calligraphy fountain pen is to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. Manufacturers have developed their own proprietary systems regarding the feeding and flow of ink from the reservoir and the inks they recommend are formulated to work with that particular system.
More information and a discussion of calligraphy fountain pen inks can be found at the Selecting Calligraphy Inks post.
If you are not sure about what the manufacturer recommends, general information on the care of fountain pens can be applied to your calligraphy fountain pen. A source of excellent information on cleaning and care of fountain pens can be found at the RichardsPens website.
Troubleshooting a calligraphy fountain pen
- Ink won’t flow after installing a new cartridge – unscrew the barrel, hold the pen in a vertical position with the nib pointing down, and gently squeeze the ink cartridge (you might want to put some paper towels underneath). Try a few pen strokes to get the ink moving.
- Ink flows too fast or blots – make sure you are using ink recommended by the manufacturer. Since inks vary greatly in formula, the ink you select might be too thin for your pen. If the ink is fine, check the nib – if the tines are split or damaged it might be time to replace the nib.
Hi, good day please send me three a sample calligraphy pen to my address:
Best regards
Sorry, I do not sell supplies or provide samples. Please refer to the Calligraphy Resources page for a short list of suppliers. Thank you.
you can buy everything for caligraphy at hobby lobby
thanks a ton!! the kit that i got didnt have directions so this really helped! my family was wowed at what i could do with the pens.
Thanks Again
Sincerely,
trueartist
wow… good calighraphy. where you buy pes for make this calighraphy..??
Any art or craft supply store will usually have a few calligraphy pens. If not, you might want to order on-line. A few places can be found on the “Calligraphy Resources” page.
how do you store ink cartridges? I probably won’t use my pen for awhile…
It depends on the cartridge. If they are still sealed up (e.g. not used) then they might last a while if kept stored out of direct sunlight. Best to check with the manufacturer’s website and see if they recommend anything for their particular product.
First let me say i love your website. Ok now, since I am a beginner i do have a slight problem. I am trying different strokes using a pen that came with an ink cartridge. I am on my second cartridge and it seems like sometimes the strokes go smooth and sometimes there is just a blank, hmmm, i am wondering if the slower you write the better results you get? I can’t understand the delay of the ink. Is it that you just need practice>?
thank you for any advice you can give.
btw i bought the Manuscript Caligrapy Pen and cartridges. I was think of using it for letter writing but it may take a long time. Maybe just for Christmas cards.
Great article thank you! As a beginner I often stumbled across these problems. Also i found a great selection of calligraphy nibs and accessories online at calligraphy.co.uk. A company called Manuscript provide everything you need as a beginner. I am having great fun at the moment writing my Christmas cards with their Italic Fountain Pen.
If I have not used my calligraphy pens in years, should I start with new ones?
Do you prefer using pen with barrels or using pens that you dip in bottles of ink?
What do the professionals use?
Personally, I prefer dip pens but that’s just my personal preference. Whatever type of pen you are comfortable with is the “right” pen.
Professionals will also use a variety of pens depending on the purpose, style and artwork. There is no “right” answer.
Hi, how can you store an opened ink cartridge?
Hi, sorry I realise this is a very old post, but just in case you take the trouble to reply to the odd visitor 🙂
I was wondering if you had any recommendations – I’ve bought three sets of Manuscript calligraphy pens thinking maybe the first two were faulty, but I do not understand why the ink stops flowing after a few strokes…. I’ve tried pretty much every bit of advice I found on your site, and elsewhere, but to date I still have no joy…. Is it something I do or are the Manuscript pens sub-standard? I’ve had them for about two years now, and it’s put me off doing any serious study of calligraphy, and I’m disappointed, do you have any recommendations for really good calligraphy fountain pens? Or should i resign myself to having to use a dip pen?
Anyhow, as I said, I’m not sure you’ll be answering this, but if you do, thanks a lot and your blog is great by the way, very inspirational!
I don’t think the pens are sub-standard – fountain pens (generally) have more “complicated” ink feeds, reservoirs, etc. – generally more “stuff” that can cause problems than a simple dip pen.
Ink limitations can also be a factor. The “best” ink to use with a fountain pen is the one recommended by the pen manufacturer – usually their own brand. Other fountain pen inks can be used, but because we really don’t know exactly what’s in them, it’s possible something in Ink Brand X won’t work well with your particular pen.
Fountain pens can also be more difficult to keep clean so ink build up somewhere you can’t see or access could cause ink flow problems.
Fountain pens are fine if you need to do calligraphy “on the go.” I’ve used a few different brands and they all work well for fountain pens. My personal preference are the Rotring Calligraphy Pens simply because I find the pen balance better for my particular use, but I rarely use calligraphy fountain pens.
If you are interested in serious Calligraphy study I would highly recommend trying dip pens.
It will take a little work until you get used to it, but the tremendous range of nibs and ink choices you would have available to fit your own style makes it well worth the effort.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my query! I think I will try dip pens in the near future, but have order a Rotring in the meantime.
As for the ink, well, I ordered the Manuscript ink with the pens, and the sets were brand new so definitely something odd…
Anyhow, keep up the brilliant blog, I’ve only just discovered it and I am loving it!
Thanks again
so my pen didn’t come with very good instructions…I cant even figure out how to put the thing together..so that it works right. please help.
It’s difficult without knowing what brand of pen. If you know the brand or manufacturer try searching their website for instruction, or sometimes a general search will find information for your specific pen.
I find using a fountain pen for calligraphy excellent for practice, seeing how things lie on the page. In short sketching… With a Lamy possible to swap nibs on the go and see how the different thickness of lines look. Paper is less fussy too. But for finished and completed work using the dip pen is best. Both skills are useful. Less of a hassle changing colours with a dip pen. However can’t use Gouache with fountain pen – so colours are restricted
Jol
I’ve recently bought a manuscript set with 4 nibs and 12 rotring ink cartridges. This website has been helpful in guiding the method of setting up the pen.
Can someone let me know if there is a way to remove and store the ink cartridge currently being used (eg: black rotring ink cartridge) from the nib and replacing it with another ink (eg: red rotring cartridge)
good explanations I have appreciated
good explanations….
Noticed a comment from Suleviae asking about Manuscript pens with ink flow issues. My experience with Manuscript pens has been good, but I have never been able to use their cartridge inks. For some reason, they always clog the nibs on my fountain pens. I have had much better luck with Private Reserve, Mont Blanc, and Waterman. I have heard many positive things about Diamine inks, but have not used them myself.
The best way to use a fountain pen is not written anywhere. Do not use anything. Just dip slighty the tip of the pen into the ink bottle and write.
[…] This link has good tips on taking care of the fountain pen: https://calligraphypen.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/care-and-feeding-of-the-calligraphy-fountain-pen/ […]