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Midland Spinner

Inky fingers

My old faithful calligraphy pen now leaks.

I use it for all our labels. I've tried italic felt-tips, but don't like them as much.

I bought a fancy new "deluxe" calligraphy set from W H Smith recently, it didn't work very well - keeps blocking (sent it back & am waiting for a replacement).

Can anyone recommend a decent wide-nibbed italic fountain pen, not too expensive.
sean

Osmiroid were the people for that sort of stuff weren't they? There seems to be quite a bit of kit on e-bay if you do a quick google.
Midland Spinner

Osmiroid were the people for that sort of stuff weren't they? There seems to be quite a bit of kit on e-bay if you do a quick google.


Have you used any of it? - Ideally I'd like a recommendation from someone who's used it, not just the manufacturer's empty promises.

(Osmiroid always used to do school type pens, not high quality writing implements)
Cathryn

Can you get your old pen repaired?
toggle

i've had the rotring caligraphy pens recomended to me. i haven't used these, but their now discontinued standard fountain pen is something tht would have been worth the 30 quid rrp, and was certainly well worth the 2 quid i paid for it. they have a very good reputation for quality that in what i've seen, i happen to aggree they deserve.

IDK, i've just got son into dip pens. his christmas pressie was a couple of dozen nibs off ebay, a nib holder, paper and 25 quid's worth of diamine inks. nibs he has are anything from a very very fine to something about 8mm wide.

i've been playing with ebay hero pens recently. these are made in the old parker factory in china. they are knock offs of major brands, a lot of parker 51 type pens. there are also fake heros out there. but they are fun to play with and don't break the bank. don't know how many wide nibbed pens they do though. i looked for fine nibs for myself. the ones i have are cheapish pens, but better quality pens than i would have got paying under a fiver for a european brand.
toggle

Can you get your old pen repaired?


repairing pens is do-able but it can be costly unless you can do it yourself. freind offered to refurb my parker 51 for me at cost, which would have been about a fiver plus recorded postage both ways. but you can be talking 50 quid or so. unless it's something special, then that money would go a long way towards buying a very good pen


the smiths pen might have been fixable by adding the tiniest drop of washing up liquid to the ink. most have surfactants added to them in some amount. diluting the inks can stop them flowing too fast, adding a little washing up liquid can make them flow faster. soapy water can be good for a good cleanout as well
Midland Spinner

Can you get your old pen repaired?

Not worth it, it's a cheap cartridge type. I can do repairs on proper fountain pens, but there's nothing on this to repair (it just leaks air where the cartridge goes into the section)

@ Toggle, are the wide-nibbed ones proper calligrapy pens, or do they have the iridium ball at the tip for cursive writing (I want a proper chisel nib to give really sharp edges to the letters).

I don't want dip pens because I also do leather work and I try to avoid having ink everywhere as leather picks up stains like one-oh and is then ruined.
toggle

http://www.tigerpens.co.uk/acatalog/rotring_Art_Pens.html?utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=organic&gclid=CIjSvpm5s7MCFQzKtAod1wEADQ

as an example.

i think those should be what you want. i've not used these, but my expereince of the brand is good.

i've also promiced my son one of their technical drawing pens for every gcse A he gets, as long as he gets at least 2 in sciences, a b in maths and a C in english. if he does very well, I could be well out of pocket, they are 25 quid each.
catbaffler

I used to use an Osmiroid Calligraphy fountain pen (still have it though it doesn't get as much use as it used to) but I've had it for years and never had cause to complain. Woodburner

Can you get your old pen repaired?

Not worth it, it's a cheap cartridge type. I can do repairs on proper fountain pens, but there's nothing on this to repair (it just leaks air where the cartridge goes into the section)


I wonder if a bit of vaseline might do the trick?
Midland Spinner

http://www.tigerpens.co.uk/acatalog/rotring_Art_Pens.html?utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=organic&gclid=CIjSvpm5s7MCFQzKtAod1wEADQ

as an example.

i think those should be what you want. i've not used these, but my expereince of the brand is good.

i've also promiced my son one of their technical drawing pens for every gcse A he gets, as long as he gets at least 2 in sciences, a b in maths and a C in english. if he does very well, I could be well out of pocket, they are 25 quid each.

They do look interesting, thanks Toggle!

@ catbaffler - I've just googled Osmiroid and apologise to them - the only ones I've ever seen were the horrible tacky plastic school pens that turn up on car boots, but I see that their better quality ones were rather fine.
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