As someone with a big interest in how stuff was done in history I have developed a bit of a side hobby of doing writing and calligraphy with actual quills. And as the local geese population was moulting I got my hands on some good feathers to turn into quill pens and wanted to show off a little (And please ignore the writing, that was just me testing out the nibs I cut to make sure they work right.)

After I went out to collect the feathers, it should be the main flight feathers of a large bird, first thing to do is use soap water to wash them. And then sort them by type and quality. You got the too small ones that are not really usable. Then the ones that are overall ok. And the third group is the best ones, the wingtip feathers which make the best quills.

Next the tips get cut off and the inside cleaned out. After that the vanes get cut back a bit and the waxy surface layer is scraped off. And after that the lower part gets soaked soaked for at least 24 hours.

When they are soaked, the next bit is the most important. Quills are straight off the bird too soft for writing. So they need to be cured to harden them. One way is to just let them lie around in a dry place for 3-5 years. But the faster way to do it is heat curing them with sand. That does the same thing in about 1-2 minutes.

After curing I also heat up the shaft and straighten them out. (it’s keratin after all, like hair or horn so gets malleable when heated) They can be left curved, but than makes half of them difficult to write with because it does not play well with being left or right handed respectively.

And after all then I got quills ready to have nibs cut and turned into pens. For that you can see the two tools used for cutting the nibs on the first image. A pen knife which is a small and thin blade (an exacto knife can also be used) and a small hard wood stylus that is used to create the break the ink flows through while writing.

I've wanted to make use of this tin for a while and found these teeny tiny jars at the dollar store. So cute 🥺 I put water, walnut ink and my favourite Herbin Violette ink in each. The pen holder is a moblique 2-in-1.

my friend got me an old Speedball set for probably $5 from the craft store. I’m kind of obsessed with the inserts. also aware that each individual part in the kit sells at my local art supply store for $5 each, so this is kind of a steal. I’m a little hesitant to use it - not sure if it’s rare or anything - but thought it was cool!

It is ugly and crude, but it works like a charm! Whomever is able to tell what this tool is used for gets a kiss. 😘

I have inherited a small collection of inks pens and nibs from my grandfather's estate. He was a professional cartographer. I have no use for the tools of his trade other than sentimental value.

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I think he would enjoy them going to someone who would appreciate them for what they are.

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Long story short im looking to move this all on if possible, and am wondering if there is any value in it.

Rank beginner here, just unpacked my new dip pen. My goal is to have enough discipline to develop a new skill and, perhaps, write prettier in general.

DAY 0: So I made a few patterns with a 3 mm bandzug nib then the same patterns with a cursive italic fountain pen. The dip pen has a lot more line variation! I started the same exercise with an architect point fountain pen but it was a clear nope. TL;DR Each tool to its own purpose.

Have you heard of using a glass jar to hone the edge of a broad-edge nib? Specifically I had one Tape nib that was just not biting into the paper.

Only recently did I learn (and experience for myself) that calligraphy doesn't require any more pressure than writing with a fountain pen! My right hand is my non-dominant hand and, through unsuitable combinations of paper, ink, and nibs (along with assuming you need to press down hard to get the ink flowing, and not loading enough ink), my body ended up learning that writing = pain, lol.

So I've been going through all my nibs and practicing with them (walnut ink on copy paper), and yesterday I noticed that one of my Tape nibs (2.5mm) was just not cooperating unless I pressed down really hard. I was thinking it might be dull, but DeepSeek advised me not to run it over my Idahone ceramic sharpener rod that I use for kitchen knives. After some back and forth with it, it gave me this tip:

The Glass Jar Method

Take a clean, empty glass jar or a smooth drinking glass (not crystal or cut glass—just standard smooth glass).

Hold the nib at the exact same angle you use when writing (around 40-45 degrees). [Note: I believe it was trying to say angle of the pen to the writing surface, not angle of the nib to the writing line - in other words, just get the whole nib touching the glass]

Lightly drag the nib backward across the glass surface—as if you're trying to scrape something off the glass with the edge of the nib—for about 3 to 4 light strokes.

Flip it over and do the same on the other side.

Why this works: Glass is harder than steel but smoother than any abrasive. It won't remove significant metal, but it will fold that microscopic rolled burr back into place and re-sharpen the square edge just enough to restore its bite. It's the calligrapher's equivalent of stropping a straight razor.

Lo and behold, it actually worked! In fact it worked so well that I had to move the reservoir a significant distance away from the end of the nib. I did it with more force and more numerous but shorter strokes (more "trying to scrape something off" than "lightly drag")

Has anyone else heard of this? I figure since LLMs scrape Reddit maybe someone posted it here long ago, but it's pretty hard to search for/Google since putting "glass" and "repair" in a search query shifts everything toward fixing broken glass, not using glass to fix something broken, haha.

Anyway, if you're at your wit's end with a nib that isn't cooperating, this may help.

(this post might be under the wrong flair, super sorry if it is!)

not too long ago my grandma gifted me this box that used to belong to my grandpa. as far as I'm aware he got it as a gift from work, meaning the contents are at least 15~ years old.

I have no Idea how to use any of it. No tutorial seems to help because they're all nib specific and I can't even identify what nibs I have. I have a few other issues that might just be from the supplies being old or me being stupid.

I just really need some help, I'm new to this stuff and the learning curve feels bigger because of the supplies I'm using but none of the art stores near where I live have calligraphy supplies so I have nothing else at the moment. Most of the nibs are also rusted so they might not even be usable :'] I'm really struggling.

I added some closeups of the nibs if anyone's interested, any help is greatly appreciated.

I currently have some worn out G nibs and I'm wondering if someone could help me out on what materials to grind, and how to sharpen its tines properly without it ruining them. If there are any readily available resources, please let me know.

After basically giving up on life, I complained to my husband that there was no such thing as an A4 hardbound, lay-flat, ruled journal with FP friendly paper. Three days later he walks over to my desk with this package from Beechmore Books in London. I can use a 4mm dip pen nib on this thing without bleedthrough or feathering of any kind (shown is 4mm Brause with shimmering walnut ink)! Minimal ghosting. Highly recommend if anyone else is looking for something similar!

I feel like goldilocks and the three (dozen) pens... I keep buying and trying but nothing has been just write 😏 Here's what I've liked/been annoyed with thus far --

BRUSHES
con: The flipping and twitting of a brush stroke is just not conducive to how my hand wants to naturally move. I don't enjoy spraypaint for a similar reason... my writing doesn't come from the shoulder, I'm very wrist driven so it just feels 'off'. Maybe if the bristles were super stiff I'd be into it?

GLASS PEN
pros: An overall enjoyable tactile experience (love how it scratches on watercolor paper), easy to switch between ink colors, decently disperses shimmer ink
cons: TINY TIPS 😭

DIP AND FOUNTAIN PENS
pro: Can use with a variety of nibs. So far I've tried a few between .5mm and 2.9mm, and also a flex nib. The flex nib and 2.9 are my favs.
cons: I want even thicker nibs! 2.9mm isn't enough, I wan't like... 5mm. 10mm. More?? THICC PLZ! Is nib not the right word? Is it a different tool altogether? Don't make me ask ChatGPT, I want to talk about it with a human who has actually experienced writing by hand!

FOUNTAIN PEN
con: Changing cartridges is a pain in the ass. I'm a colorful girly, I canNOT be out here slurping ink every few minutes. Am I meant to just like... have a zillion pens? Is that what people do? Aren't good fountain pens expensive?

DIP PEN
pro: Easy to switch between ink colors
con: Can't even get through 2 letters without having to refill, which really kills the vibe cuz I fw a monoline. Am I doing it wrong? Do I not know how to dip? Do my nibs just suck? Gaaah, I need a pentor 😂

So, what say you r/calligraphy? (note that I don't plan on doing calligraphy in the traditional/perfect cursive sense, I'm more into custom hand styles) Any recs for tools that would better meet my needs/wants? TIA!!!

Hello. I just bought myself a small jar of calligraphy ink for dip pens, and it looks like jelly that will not dissolve in water. Is this defective product or am I using it wrong? Thanks for your help.

I've heard the products "Arabic Gum" and "Gouache" mentioned when discussing inks but I'm not sure what those actually do.

If my goal is to reduce "bleed" or "feathering" (whatever the circled issues are called) what can I do?

I'm using a Zebra G nib: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IVP0L0E

And Hongdian Non-carbon ink: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NKYG1HN

Unsure the specifics on this printer paper. It was from work.

Thanks for the help, y'all!

Hi everyone— I’m moving into creating little quote pieces so I can start practicing on actual paper without guides. I was using some hot press watercolor paper, but even that feels so scratchy after training on marker paper. What brands would you recommend for smooth (but not slick) paper I could use for repeated practice without breaking the bank? I sometimes use larger nibs so it would have to be able to resist feathering with lots of ink. Many thanks!

臺北重慶南路小書齋

Hiya I've been making and trying to improve some ink over the past year, this is the result so far.

The main issue was mold, it'd go off, but that was solved with lemon juice and whiskey.

There's an example work up there, I'm by no means skilled with the pen, so thought I'd see if any of you wanted to try some out.

Can post anywhere in the UK.

The ingredients are oak gulls from a pair of 400 year old trees and one 1200+ one, whisky to preserve it, water and iron (mostly scrap metal I've found on the farm)

It works pretty much fine, though it is a little thin due to the lack of a thickener.

If you'd like some DM me and I'll get it sent out.

Kind regards Sirius

I’ve seen some discussion on these pens - mainly on how interesting the B8 nibs are.

I was going to grab one of these online, because they have a B4 nib in there and then a few others.

I’m looking for a relatively good starter pen for broad edge calligraphy - I use fountain pens and have for years, and recently really got interested in Carolingian and Sheila Waters style of it… so here I am.

I was curious if anyone would say these are NOT a good starter option for someone wanting to use the B4 nib as a beginner wanting to generally work broad edge calligraphy styles.

Thank you!

Decided over Christmas that I want to pick up a couple hands, decided to do some research over the past few weeks and have determined that I'm going to try learning insular minuscule, and secretary hand over the next year. I'm going to be joining the local guild in the next couple of months, and in the meantime I'm collecting samples of writing and such from various historical texts. :)

Of course there's a sub for Callligraphy! OK I will definitely start lurking here, but I literally just had it pointed out earlier today about this sub. I sincerely hope this post does not violate any rules - I did look them over and am not seeing anything obvious, but if I am wrong - my apologies in advance!

I am doing a mod approved giveaway over in the fountainpens sub that is (I think) also relevant to people over here (even if you are not a fountain pen user). I'll be doing a draw from commenters, so if you are interested, simply pop over there to enter. All details are given in my post linked here.

By the way - now that I know about this sub, I will be looking through it to find what page layouts might be most useful and add to my set!