Prepping a New Nib for Calligraphy || Calligraphy Tips & Tricks 

Bruh I just bought a dip pen for the first time and was so confused why it was ink resistant lmao thank you so much this definitely helped a lot

10 years and wondering why only a few of my nibs worked better than the others, usually preferring highly used ones. You deserve too much love in your life

Heat will draw out the temper if you overdo it and make the nib more likely to deform than flex. I just toss them in a shotglass of 99% rubbing alcohol after removing them from the retail packaging. I also dip them in a small dish of alcohol after inserting a new nib in case I got some oils from my fingers on there.

About a year ago someone gave me a pen with a bunch of nibs as a gift. I was super excited to use it, but was disappointed, as it never worked well for me. A few months later I then used the pen for a prop in an outdoor photo shoot, where it accidentally fell into a campfire on site. Thankfully the pen was not damaged, and that nib began working incredibly well! Now I know why 😂

I bought a Leondardt nib and tried to use it without prepping. I thought it was faulty and threw it away, Boy is my face red :-)

Terrific tip, and especially nice to see another lefty write!

Hi Elisabeth....I'm a total beginner and found your video by accident. Like a lot of people here had never heard of the oil on the nib. Thank you so much for being willing to pass on your knowledge to people like me who are only just beginning to learn this beautiful art form

By using heat you're creating a seasoning with the oil by taking it past its smoke point. Similar to how cast iron and carbon steel pans are seasoned. This method could provide more protection for the pen vs the potato method which fully strips oil from the nib and will cause the ink to flow more easily since the seasoning fills in any imperfections in the nib.

If you use a torch it won't leave behind any residue, because they have clean gas which can come in a variety of times filtered.

Hi, fellow leftie here, I was wondering what the struggle was going to be for a leftie in this type of art, and after watching this video which I was watching for the purpose of the video, and realized immediately that you are also left handed and you seem to have no trouble at all and it gives me so much more hope and confidence that I will be able to do it too:) thank you for this!!!

I use nail polish remover for mine and it works great.

Beautiful!! ✨💕💫 Thank you for this tutorial-very helpful!! ✨

I don’t mean to single you out because there sure is a lot of sketchy 'advice' about preparing metal dip pen nibs floating around. The result of heating a nib to remove the coating is usually a little bit of discoloration of the metal. That straw-reddish color or worse - blue is the result of changing the temper. On these very thin small pieces of steel that's all it takes to change/destroy the temper. Sure the nib still 'works', but it's now 'outside factory specs' as they say for durability and performance. I learned this decades ago but I guess schools and manuals no longer include such information. Dipping or immersing nibs in detergent, alcohol, or nail polish remover (that’s acetone -the best) then rubbing them with a cloth does the least damage. And I think the careful rubbing alone sometimes is enough. No one mentions or uses reservoirs either. A reservoir allow you to write/draw 5-7X more before re-charging the nib. Yes, ink dries around it and needs to be cleaned off occasionally after 4-5+ 'loads’ depending on the ink and humidity, but it only takes a few swipes with an old paintbrush charged with slightly soapy water, a dip-rinse into plain water and a wipe off (that’s if you’re using India ink -the worst). Then re-charge the reservoir and continue to write/draw. Calligraphers used to be make reservoirs of watch springs (good luck finding that now) or some other narrow, thin springy metal. That’s the ideal material. I make them now using narrow strips of thin stiffish plastic. Strips cut from credit card stock can be sanded down at the ‘working end’ to get the preferred flex and ‘ink holding’ finish. Usually 2-3mm wide and 1-2mm thick. The length and overall shape depends on the construction of the pen handle/holder. Some holders are hollow with a spring that grips the nib. Some just have a curved slot the nib fits in, etc. The working end of the reservoir should touch the nib just below any gap, hole or filigree that interrupts the split in the nib (ie: the split that channels ink down the last few millimeters to the tip/paper). The working end must be bent into a curve (not too shallow, not to steep) so that just the tip of the curved end will touch the nib to hold a drop of ink - the “reservoir”. The other end which holds the reservoir to the pen must fit snugly into the gap between the bottom of the nib and the holder spring or slot. So this end needs to be long enough to insert 5mm or more into the holder. The overall length and shape of the handle end of the reservoir strip stuck into the holder requires some creative design by the user to best fit their holder(s) and produce a stable optimal drop of ink in the ‘reservoir’. If you get the 'ideal' fit you'll be able to change nibs without removing the reservoir strip from the holder. And just adjust the reservoir strip to touch the nib at the correct spot for that nib. Once you understand how it works, you can make a hand-full of reservoir strips and easily adapt them to different nibs and holders. Sorry I can’t include an illustration - I tried a bit of ASCI art but it didn’t work. If I can find the book I learned this from I’ll come back and add it to this post. [Don’t hold your breath. That was over 40 years ago. { ; - ) ]

Thanks. my Zebra G's never had issues but these steno nibs i ordered do need to be prepped.

Thank you for this tip. It is wonderful to find a left-handed artist!

So THATS why I couldn’t get mine to hold anything. Thanks so much!

I now understand what was happening with my nibs ! Thanks you so much

Ugh …. I really wish I had seen that 6 months ago …. Well, I’m still very glad I saw this. Thank you!

I was about to return what I bought from frustration 🤣 thanks A LOT!!

Everyone in the calligraphy community keeps calling this coating an oil. On this steno 361 it's a blueing finish and same with all the others, they are all finishes that adhere to the steel not oils. This got me confused when people were telling me to remove the "oil" when I just went and cleaned them.

I thought that I wasted my money buying the set. Many thanks!!

That's adorable "you don't like lighter"

Thank you! That explains why I’ve had so much trouble in the past. I never knew about this step!

Another beginner here, but why not use isopropyl alcohol to remove the oil? The open flame can cause permanent discoloration and weaken the metal overall. I don't see how the alcohol wash would do more damage than that.

This is fantastic video .. I was unable to use my many nibs it was not working properly so i was tensed but I warm it up and it is working properly after thate I am so happy 🤩🥰 thankyou

heat _does_ dammage the metal structure. if it changes color, its changed its temper.

Hi, I'm new to nibs and pens but I like calligraphy I'm giving it a try. I recently got a speedball 512 with the holder.. my question is. is the Brause nib you use in the video will fit in the nib holder I have? thanks for the help.

I clicked, because you had my favourite nib in the thumbnail.

So this is why I've been failing at calligraphy😂😂 thank you for this tip

OHH MY GOD, Just Found this video and i just know about it 😭, i thought i bought the wrong nib uhhh, thankyouu so muchhhhhh ❤️❤️❤️, help me alot 🥰🥰😍

Should of cleaned the yip after burning but other then that good!!

I have heard that the flame *will* damage the nib--that it will soften it and it won't last as long.

Lmao! I'm not gonna lie to you. Matches are way more dangerous. A lighter does burn down to your fingers. Lol. But if you held it on for a while and it goes off. You need to give it a minute so the metal cools down.

Lemon juice also lifts it as well

I have no idea how to use them. I just ordered a cheap one and waiting for it to arrive. Not sure if it'll have that coating.

I don't know whats wrong with my nibs but they turned orange when I put the flame to them

Would isopropyl alcohol work too?

You have a lovely hand! Thank you. Semper Fi

Thankyou so much for the tip!!

Thank you so much for this! i use nibs to ink my drawings all the time and i never knew this 😦

Thank you so much for this! I am pretty new to calligraphy, and I was sooo frustrated for not being able to do it properly no matter how much I was trying... #dummy

Omg it worked immediately!!

Thank you so much for this. I was convinced I needed a reservoir or something. I'm a lefty too!

Thanka for the tios...just starting to use these on my channel. As a side note, I have this wierd uncanny gift for recognizing people's voices...u are almost a dead ringer for a young Winona Ryder. Lol.

Thenk you! it does work!! 😊

I also read that you can initially soak your nibs in alcohol or acetone to remove the oil. Do you agree with this method? I found it to work well trying it for the first time today but I am worried about any damage it could've done.

If you are left handed, why not put your wedding ring on the right?

I am a beginner can anyone tell me if I should do this everytime whenever I want to use it or just for the first time after unpacking it ?

Don’t use fire to prep nibs! It damages them!

This actually helped me so much! I feel like a dunce for not knowing to prep it first and using it so long!

I saw another artist submerge her nibs in boiling water, then dry them. Any issues come up with doing that?

big question: why do manufacturers coat them with oil if it's useless, if the coat will be removed anyways?

But i cant do that because im a kid is their anykid friendly way

Thank you for this new subscriber 🫶🏻

Hello😊 do i need to use a match all the time because you not cleaning the nib after burning the layar on the nib.

Didn't fix mine, ink doesn't flow down at all . I wonder if I gave a bad one

Thank you for the info! Where did you get the nib holder?!?

Uso para dibujar mismo proceso

I need calligraphy nibs.

is it bad if i get it red hot😳?

I tried this but I think I burned it a little 😅 .. I'm afraid that the ink comes so fast and in a large amount from the nib is because this little burn 😅😅

saliva is the best to clean the oil off. dont burn the nibs.

Excellent advice for a beginner like me! Will use washing-up detergent instead, though. It should dissolve the layer of oil. =)

Love it❣

Where is your pen from ? I’m looking for nice pens to fit my new nibs ! New to calligraphy !!

thank you so much!!!

Is reservoir needed for nibs with dimple on top?

Should I use the flame before I write with the nib ma'am??

My nib won’t fit what do ever :(

How far does the nib needs to go ?

Omg!!! your voice sounds like sadie on steven universe ❤

Hey I actually first time ordered nib but later I got to find that it's actually used in comics, mandalas, it says it's also come to use in calligraphy but it's nib isn't much flexible. I wanna assure that is there any difference from comic nibs and calligraphy nibs?

Grazie!

A raw potato works well, also.

Love all your videos! I love the wood pen you are using. Where did you get it from?

Hi, I purchased a nib and pen set, pretty generic, and the tip does not produce the wider or broader strokes, so I assume its a fine tip nib. Is it normal for new nibs to be “tight” (if i press hard, more ink flows, but its a bit too much). Or do Ineed a specific nib to do strokes like yours? Mine only has one little hole, whereas yours has 3. This is my first, totally new at this. Thank you for the info, and being a leftie too! ❤️

thanks

What is the font called?

You shouldn't burn the nib. It's not even necessary. And it's not oil on it. It's resin. You can use soapy water and a cloth to remove it just like ink.

The first time i did that i put the nib in the flame... 😂for a very long time (i didn't know...) thanks for your advices !

I am very new to calligraphy, I just bought a Hiro Leonardt crown nib n. 41. I tried both the potato and the fire but still, my nib releases all the ink on the first stroke and I can write maybe 2 or 3 letters before having to dip it again... What am I doing wrong? :(

Can I use soap and water

Hey, I used a potatoe on my nibs, but now all of the ink disperses really thickly on the 1st use and then disappears quickly. The ink isn't used up quickly, it's all still on the nib, but just above the tip of the nib. Is my calligraphy set crappy, or am I doing something wrong?

Potato nibs? Who thought of that?! Who made that connection?!

hello, how do you remove the rust from the nib? and i've tried the potato method but it couldn't last long and the ink would start blotting up again :( what should i do? Thanks in advance!

Thank you

Where was this video my entire life

What is a good type of paper to use for a dip pen?

We could barely hear the “lawn machines” ;o)

I put a slice of potato in my mouth and insert new nibs through my numerous facial piercings. Not only does this remove the protective coating but I get a lot of props for the metal. The chicks love Hunt 101s.

Me: clicks video, sees matches ._.

hitting the nib with a flame is one of the most idiotic things you can do to it. Nibs are made from spring steel, which contains between 0,5-1% carbon, so it can be hardened. That´s important because a nib made from mild steel would just bend and not spring back into it´s original form. To achieve that, nibs have to be heat treated. The first step is to heat the steel to around 800°C and then cooling it off quickly, for example by dropping it in oil. The steel is now very hard but very brittle. The nib would just break. That´s why there is a second step to the heat treating process, the tempering. The metal is heated up again, usually to 200-300°C, depending on the properties the final product is supposed to have. The tempering takes away a bit of the hardness but gives the steel it´s flexibility back. In order to burn off the oil from the surface you have to get the nib way hotter than 300°C. That means the nib is now much softer than the manufacturer intended. It´s not as springy as before and it will wear out much faster. That means by heating it with the flame, she just ruined a perfectly good nib. Don´t do that shit. It´s stupid.

I just use alcohol good ol Vodka

I will see if micheals have those

Are you still teaching ?

That's a bit too long with the match

It is a bbq a nib :0

Hi Elisa, I have a question, I've been practicing for a few weeks and for some reason, my writing is completely silent! I'm a lefty, do you know what could be causing this?

Use a candle 😇😇😇😇

Where did you purchase your nib holder ?