Pen and Ink Supplies.

Kristen2026

Active member
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39
I'm new here. After looking at all the wonderful works it's really triggering my creativity. I'm especially interested in the tools used to create the ink drawings. My supplies are ancient. Still usable but I'm always open to new ideas. I have a Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph pen set. I don't think they make that style anymore. Difficult to use and clean. I also have a wide assortment of dip pens with nibs and brushes. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
It is difficult to make suggestions in general. Each one has personal preferences.

Personally, I tend to favor using a fountain pen with a "flexy" nib and water resistant ink. My preferred one is a Kaweco AL Sport or a Kaweco Liliput with a nib hand-tuned by "nibmeister" Pablo from fpnibs.com. But that s only because I like to always carry (at least) one with me in a pocket so I can pick it out for a quick sketch (for calligraphy I also use various italic nibs).

That is why I say it is personal: YMMV depending on use cases and preferences.

As for inks... I have a large assortment, depends on what I'm after. Koh-i-Noor Document, Rohrer & Klingner iron-gall (Salix and Scabiosa), Noodler's Black or X-Feather, Polar (when cross-country skiing in the Arctic), Eternal (Red Fox, Hunter's Green), funny (like ROme's Burning) and others, even Baystate Blue; Montblanc Permanent and Limited Editions; Parker (love the defunct Penman line), Cross, Sheaffer (vintage brilliant colors), Stipula Calamo (various greys and Saffron), Diamine (I specially like Skull&Roses, Golden Sands and Silver Moon, among others), OS Nitrogen, some of Troublemaker's inks I could get hold of when they were starting; and almost anything that suits my needs or preferences. If I were to settle for one, I wouldn't know, maybe Montblanc Permanent.

Dip pen nibs... I could get a full box of flex calligraphy nibs long ago, with something like a hundred, so it's going to be a long time before I need more. That said, I sometimes indulge in Zebra G nibs to put them on Jinhao fountain pens. For this, the titanium ones tend to last longer. I do also use some normal nibs EMF-modified (google it up) by myself to increase flexibility.

But as you see, I tend to favor mostly fountain pens that I can bring with me as EDC (Every Day Carry) so I can always have one at hand.

On a side line, the Kuretake brush pens are also great. I have a few, (industrially-) urushi lacquered, with sable hairs and metal body that can take fountain pen ink. Sturdy, versatile, great quality. The One Million Years edition were an outstanding buy, it is a pity it was a limited edition.
 
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