I love dip pen nibs. I spend time on various websites looking at nibs. I know that many artists don’t use these anymore. I was listening to an interview with Trevor Alixopulos and the the interviewers- Thien and Rina- said that Trevor is the only comics artist they know who actually uses dip pen nibs. Cartoonists used to ink with them all the time, but they’re difficult to use at first and so many artists nowadays get discouraged. The reason I use them is that my dad told me, when I was twelve or so, that dip pens were the hardest things to draw with. As soon as I heard that, I knew that I had to draw with them. I guess that tells you something about my personality.
These two are my favorites. The Hunt 100 is extremely supple. The downside is that it is so flexible that it doesn’t last long and probably 2 out of every 5 nibs I buy are unusable. I get frustrated with this nib every few months and draw with something else for awhile. But I always come back. I’ve learned a few things over the years that help keep the frustration at bay. One, I throw away nibs that are giving me a hard time. Forcing a bad nib to work is an act of self-hatred (or so I now tell myself). Two, I torch the nib. You can see the discoloration in the photo above. According to Jos. A. Smith in The Pen & Ink Book, many nibs come with a film around them that prevents rust, but that also makes the ink not flow properly. You can soak the nib in vinegar, but I’ve found that this encourages rust. A few seconds over a match seems to work better. The 512 is my lettering and bordering nib. It has a bowl tip, so you can draw complete circles with it. I used these nibs for “My Grandmother’s Funeral.”
I discovered this nib on-line a few years ago. The Brause nibs are very well made, much stronger and longer lasting than the Hunt nibs. Unfortunately, they are harder to come by. I got mine through Scribblers, a UK store. The Brause 66ef is a great nib. It has a slight bowl tip so it doesn’t catch on the paper like most nibs. It also holds ink well and lasts a long time. It also looks cool. It’s not nearly as supple as the Hunt 100, but no nib is. I think the Brause 66ef would probably be the easiest nib to learn with for a beginner. I’m using this nib for Carnivale.
And on the other side of the same penholder, a Brause 361. I use this for bordering (there’s no lettering in Carnivale). This nib has lasted forever. And look at how gunky it is! I really do clean my nibs…
I found this nib the other day when I was going through my art supplies. I don’t know where I got it or when. I think I got it from my dad when he gave me all his old art supplies. Anyway, it’s an Esterbrook Falcon 048. Esterbrook isn’t around anymore, so I guess this is a vintage nib. Though it may be hard to tell from the photo, this nib is huge. Yet it actually produces a fairly fine line. It’s not a very supple nib, but it’s extremely solid and easy to use. You can tell it was made in a time when people used nibs on a regular basis. You can still find Esterbrook nibs on-line. I’m going to try to get some of the smaller ones, the 356, on E-Bay. I want to see how it stacks up against the Hunt 100.
I had no idea you employed such old-school tools in your craft! May I suggest you take up falconry on weekends and bank holidays?
I’m also a firm adherent to the practice of leeching. So if you ever get your humours out of balance, come on over. My little friends will set you to rights.
Your post on dip pens has restored balance to my humours. Thanks!
If you want to start a “Readers Nibbs” page, I’m up for it.
Have you used Japanese Nibs? They still make incredible nibs because a lot of Manga artists use them. I have a Tachikawa “G” pen that I adore. It’s difficult but really fun to draw with.
I get mine at Wet Paint.
http://www.wetpaintart.com/Product_Archive/Drawing_&_Writing/Japanese_Nibs/Japanese_Nibs_at_Wet_Paint.html
I’m glad people liked the post.
Scott,
I’ve heard about the “G” pen and I’ll get around to trying it out. I avoided it at first because the people who were recommending it were all manga junkies who didn’t really know how to draw. But in the interview with Alixopulos mentioned above, he says he uses the “G” pen and now you. So maybe it’s time to get past my initial prejudice.
The Brause nibs are superb, and I’m glad you are mentioning them because it’s getting very hard to find (useful) nibs in North America … hopefully, other artists will be intrigued enough to buy ‘em and thus increase demand & stocking.
I would also recommend the various Gillot nibs, the 1950 is my workhorse, a tight & stiff nib perfect for genuinely fussy crosshatching.
I do remember, 20 years ago, when you could buy Brause & Gillot nibs in any professional art supply store, along with genuinely black ink. Felt pens have their place but they make your line work look like everyone else’s, or out of an old Volk Art clip book. Yikes!
I red an interview with Bill Sienkiewicz a long time ago where he said the same thing about the film on the nibs. He said he spits on the nib and rubs the oil off, so that’s what I do. Fire might be cooler though…
Also, I’m no pro but what do artists use if they’re not using dip pens anymore? I always assumed they were the only way to go and I love using them.
Mahendra,
Yes, the Brause nibs are excellent. The stereotype about German attention to detail really applies in this case. (Here’s a new Brause link)
Gillott nibs are good. I used to use the 303 for sketching. All the Gillott nibs are stiff, or so it seems to me. I like a bit more of a smooth feel. That’s what I like about the Hunt 100, even though the Hunt nibs are probably the least well made.
And yes, I remember when I was in college (early 90s) I could pick up pen nibs for 10 cents a pop and there were tons of different kinds. Now, my local store only has about 6 different nibs, all Hunts, and they cost around a dollar (U.S.) a piece.
I checked out your site and I really love your work.
Joe,
I guess Sienkiewicz has more acidic saliva than I do. Judging by his art, I don’t doubt that that’s true.
Comics artists use anything that’ll make a mark. I know some who draw with Sharpies, others who use felt tip pens. There are a lot of high quality disposable pens these days (some even with waterproof India ink, such as the Faber-Castell pitt pens) and I know a lot of artists use those. There’s also a long tradition of inking with a brush in comics. More and more artists are drawing straight on the computer now that drawing tablets are much more responsive. But I’m addicted to the smell of ink and the feel of a metal nib gliding across the paper.
I’m really interested in those Brause nibs! They look stunning. I actually came across this post looking for the Fantastic Zebra G nib which I guess is discontinued. I bought a bunch of nibs in Japan years ago and just started using them to ink and am now trying to hunt some of the zebra g’s down. I’ve used them along with some big speedball lettering nibs on a TMNT book im doing , you can see some ink test here: http://dogmeatsausage.blogspot.com have to scroll down a bit but I use brush after drawing with the nib.
The link Scott R has above leads to a site that sells G pen nibs. It says that they have 5 packs from Zebra. I still haven’t tried those nibs out.
The Brause nibs are great. Definitely worth a try. I personally really like the 66EF. I got my Brause nibs from Scribblers UK:
http://www.scribblers.co.uk/acatalog/Copperplate_Nibs.html
And thanks for the link to your site. Nice work.
“Thien and Rina- said that Trevor is the only comics artist they know who actually uses dip pen nibs”
Actually, a lot of cartoonists use them. Off the top of my head: Dave Sim, Eddie Campbell, Karl Stevens, myself … I’m blanking right now, but there’s a lot more, especially among the indies.
I wonder if there is a way to fix nibs that come a little bent. I got a brand new Brause and it’s point only works if I write with the top, otherwise the prongs are too far apart. It doesn’t look bent but it’s enough to make the nib unuseable. Should I chalk that up to 1 in 5 bad ones or is there a fix?
Thanks for the G-Pen nib recommendation. I got a set and they’re my new favorite nib. I really love them.
One thing to try is to press the nib upside down against your drawing board. Sometimes this can get the tines to align. You could also bend each tine with your fingers. Push it in the direction you want it to go, but a bit farther. You could also use needle-nose pliers for this.
If these things work at all, it’s only temporary. Usually once tines are bent, the metal is so weakened that the nib never works quite right.
The Nikko G nib is more common and popular in the USA, but usually when Japanese and Manga artists are praising the G nib, they’re referring to the one manufactured by Zebra. You can find them at Jetpens.com or in 3 packs at Akadot.com (sold under their distributor I.C. comics). I went from using the Hunt 102 and 108 in combination to using the Zebra G nib almost exclusively – it gets finer lines than either. At the other end of the spectrum, it can also get lines as thick as the Brause Rose or Hunt Imperial – it is firmer than both, but not nearly as stiff as the Nikko G nib. You might also want to try using the Tachikawa or Zebra mapping nibs – you don’t have to burn them, and they’re much more durable than anything by Hunt/Speedball.
I’m a nib afficiado myself: just started using the Brause 316 for sketching – I like it quite a bit, and you echo the sentiment that its virtually immortal. My next purchase is going to be the 511 and 513 from Pencity – and then try to find a place that sells the EF27…
Yeah, I was only able to get the Nikko G pen:
http://www.nijomu.com/?p=425
The Zebra nib sounds nice. I’ll have to check it out.
The Brause 511 is my new favorite. Paper and Ink Arts have a few different Brause nibs:
http://www.paperinkarts.com/shop.html
ha sorry i know i’m writing to this months after the fact, but thank google for that!
I’ll have to try out the zebra variety of nikko nibs! This is an educational post. I’m rough on nibs and it’s always a challenge finding a nib with the supreme flexibility and rugged strength for the task at hand.
Besides the 369 Esterbrook Maritime nib that I’ve used a lot (which i think i said in that interview was a close match to the brand Schulz used, except Schulz bought all the remaining nibs of that brand and you can’t get them) I’ve also used some nice old nibs called “Bank of England Commercial 205″ nibs. My art supply store special ordered them. World of nibs!
The thing about Rina & Thien (Thien especially) is they say some things on the claptrap that are not true and they don’t actually have any reason to believe that they are true in the first place. No one knows why they do it! Lots of people use nibs and it’s kinda weird that they said that no one does.
Sometimes I get eliminate the film on new nibs by pouring coffee or vodka on them, depending on what I have on hand at that moment. I figure coffee’s acidic and alcohol is a solvent. A lit match works good too.
hi!
I’ve read that putting your nib over a burning match causes damage to them.
A better way to get down the film shall be to put them into a bowl of boiling water.
I’ve just read that and it sounds plausible to me.
Sorry for my english. Iam from Heidelberg, Germany.
I wish you a nice day.
Thanks for your interesting blog.
Hi,
I’ve just started out using dip pen nibs, I started out by trying the G-pen, Saji & Maru (or Mapping/Round/Crow-quill) nibs by Nikko, I really liked the Maru because the nib itself was narrow and didn’t hide the lines you’re ‘tracing’ like the wide G-pen & Saji did.
The Nikko Maru nib was way too stiff & scratchy though so I thought I’d try different Maru/Mapping/Round/Crow-quill nibs to find one that’s smoother & more flexible.
I ordered some Joseph Gillott mapping nibs from here:
http://dippennibs.co.uk/products.php?cat=Mapping+Nibs
First I tried some 2788’s but destroyed all three of them in one afternoon. They felt fantastically elastic, a bit like using a brush BUT you needed a seriously light touch or they’d just bend (I guess I just wasn’t delicate enough!) so on with the hunt!
After that I thought I’d try the stiffest Joseph Gillott mapping nib, the 659. The fact that it’s the stiffest Gillott nib is misleading, it’s so much more flexible than any of the Nikko nibs & very smooth too (drawing on smooth bristol board), this is my clear favorite nib by miles,
A word of warning, the Gillott mapping nibs are very dark blue because they’re heat treated to give them more strength, my first Gillott nib I destroyed by holding it over a flame. The tip of the nib went from dark blue to silver (so the benefit of the heat treatment disappeared) and very soon after starting to use it the tines just bent apart so DON’T BURN THEM, instead I just gently scrub them with a toothbrush and a little washing-up liquid & they seem to hold the ink well.
Another word of warning, if you do try the 2788’s especially get either a reversible pen holder like this:
http://www.millers-graphics.co.uk/reversible-mapping-pen-p-1444.html
or a holder with a cap like this:
http://www.jetpens.com/product_info.php/cPath/845_843/products_id/4573
These nibs are incredibly delicate (guess how I destroyed the rest of mine!) & they need some protection!
I can whole-heartedly recommend the Gillott nib though, just take care of them!
Yes, you have to be careful with a match and not hold the nib directly in the flame, but above it. I’ve also found that a brief soak in vinegar works also. It really depends on the manufacturer of the nib. Some don’t need much, if any, treatment before you use them.
I haven’t tried the Gillot 659. I’ll have to see what it’s like (another link here: http://www.scribblers.co.uk/acatalog/Drawing_Nibs.html). I tend to avoid the tubular nibs, because often the fine lines don’t turn out as well when the art work is reduced and printed. Sometimes the detail gets lost.
But what you say about the Gillott 659 being deceptively stiff is how I feel about the Brause 511. It feels stiff at first, but when you give it a little pressure, it actually can produce some thick lines, but also smoothly go back to a thin line. One thing that I was starting to notice about the Hunt 100 is that it was very flexible, but that when the nib was transitioning from a wide line to a thin line, the transition wasn’t smooth and gradual. Maybe it was the way I was handling the nib, but the Brause 511 doesn’t have this problem. So it’s a stronger nib and easier to control.
[...] My first post about nibs keeps attracting comments, so I thought I’d post about my four favorite nibs at the present time: the Hunt 100, the Gillott 303, the Brause 66ef, and the Brause 511. What I am always curious to see when I do internet searches about nibs is how they draw, what kind of lines they make. So I thought I’d focus on that. I’ve shown a bit of this in a previous post, but I haven’t done it for the Brause 511 even though I’ve mentioned it before. [...]
[...] ago, but found it to be a little too stiff and broad for my tastes. People commented there and on my previous nibs post that the best G pen nib was the Zebra G pen. Thanks to Joshua Dodge mentioning that Zebra G nibs [...]