CalligraphyCrafts

How to Fill a Calligraphy Pen Nib

Have you ever felt the desire to take up a new hobby or education but found yourself deterred by it as soon as things appeared to get a little strenuous or complicated?

This tends to be one of the main reasons we don’t try ourselves at anything new – the fear of failure and confrontation with patience can quickly cause our excitement to fizzle.

If you’ve ever considered taking up calligraphy, chances are you may have found yourself put off by the different tools and knowledge needed to succeed in the craft.

Don’t let minor details scare you out of trying something new – calligraphy is a highly creative art form that is sure to benefit you in life and the main things you’ll need to succeed are patience and practice.

Everything else are minor technicalities you’ll pick up in little to no time.

The most important thing you’ll need to know to get you started is how to fill a calligraphy pen nib. Don’t worry – we’re here to help. Here are a few simple instructions on how to get your calligraphy pen ready for some creative exercises.

Contents

Handle Your Nib Carefully

As you’re getting ready to assemble your calligraphy pen, always be sure to handle the nib correctly to avoid damaging it or even hurting yourself – it is surprisingly sharp. Hold your nib at the base while you’re getting ready to fill it and finally assemble the pen.

Assemble Your Calligraphy Pen

Holding the nib at its base, position it at the top of your calligraphy pen by placing it between the prongs and metal ring that will hold it in place. Slide it in and ensure that it is firmly placed.

Use a Paintbrush to Fill Your Nib

One way to fill your nib in a manner that guarantees minimal mess is with the use of a paintbrush. Dip your paintbrush in the ink or paint you are planning on using for your calligraphy project and make sure it is loaded. Hold the blob of paint against the tip of your nib and watch the paint flow into it whilst keeping the edges clean.

Direct Dibbing Method

Another alternative is to fill your nib with the direct dipping method. Prepare your workspace – this method can get messy, so you’ll want to ensure that you have protective paper or plastic under your materials to avoid staining your table – or possibly even the project you’re working on! – with blobs of ink that may escape your nip during your learning period.

Fill a small recipient with your ink or paint of choice and place it at a comfortable distance from the paper or material you are working on. Dip the tip of the nib into the ink – there’s no need to submerge the nib all the way up to its base. This will only cause for unnecessary mess and smudged, sloppy work thanks to the nib leaking from the sides. If you can no longer see through the nib – your ink reservoir – you know you’ve loaded your pen right.

Use a Pipette

For a no-nonsense approach to filling your nib – one that is guaranteed not to end in massive ink spills or paint blobs all over the table – opt for a pipette. Dip it into your ink recipient – the smaller the better for ultimate filling control – allow it to fill and then carefully transfer the ink into your nib with a gentle squeeze of the pipette. This option works even better than the use of the paintbrush as it will leave you with less tools to clean afterwards.

Find yourself a nice calligraphy pen here.

Richard Hammond

I am the founder of 9Mousai and am deeply interested in creativity and what inspires it. My main passions are writing, film and music but I have huge respect for all the arts. I'm also an animal lover and have a little cat called Winston and enjoy the occasional whiskey or two...

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