[Scriptoris] Scribe Materials

[g_r.cathan at att.net]

-------------- Original message from Diane Rudin <serena1570 at yahoo.com>: -------------- 


> --- Hillary Greenslade wrote: 
> 
> > Received a flyer from Michael's hobby's that includes sale items on: 
> > (Sale good March 5-11th, Saturday) 
> 
> > All Calligraphy Supplies and kits 25% off 
 
Serina wrote...
> Just in case some people don't know: 
> 
> *Don't* buy Schaffer cartridge pens or just about any ink sold in little 
> plastic cartridges. Schaffer cartridge pens have very thick, blunt nibs that 
> make it impossible to achieve a truly period look. The more critical issue, 
> however, is the cartridge ink. 

>Choice of materials can be a matter of personal taste as well as pocket book. I have seen heated discussions over the merits of one type of nib over another as well as pen manufacturer. Fifteen years ago many professional calligraphers had nothing good to say about fountain or cartridge pens but that has changed. Serina may be right about not achieving "a truly period look" to your calligraphy with a Schaffer. Of course nothing holds a candle to a well made quill wielded by a knowing hand. That said there is nothing wrong with using a Schaffer cartridge pen when you are just learning calligraphy or if you are doing field scribing. 
 
...Serina wrote 
> The stuff in the little plastic cartridges is highly fugitive dye-ink. In 
> Baron Edwin's possession is a huge work of calligraphy that has been kept out 
> of the light in an archival environment and after a mere decade *the inks had 
> very noticeably faded*!! The writing that was done in blue and red inks is 
> approaching unreadability. (And there are royal signatures fading from SCA 
> documents on people's walls all over the known world as I write this.) 
 
And she is absolutely right, the ink in most manufactured cartridges is not light fast and will fade. The cartridges can be emptied, cleaned and refilled with a permanent ink or replaced with a bladder. I personally like Calli, a non-clogging pigmented lightfast waterproof ink for fountain pens. 
> 
> If you *have* to use a cartridge ink, buy one that's labeled "acid-free 
> permanent non-fading archival pigmented ink", or some other combination of all 
> those terms. Then, test it by writing big on a page, cutting the page in half 
> to place one part in a drawer and the other part in a very sunny window, and 
> compare the two after a year. 
> 
> I prefer Platignum or Rotring cartridge pens, and I fill the reservoir with 
> quality ink. Yes, they're harder to clean. For my part, I'd rather spend a 
> few minutes cleaning a pen than many, many hours re-doing a piece that's faded. 
 
Yes, Platignum and Rotring are excellent pens and worth the investment if you decide to practice calligraphy on a regular basis. 
> 
> Speedball "dip"-pen nibs...are another issue altogether. I can't stand to work 
> with them, but some people can get good results with them. 
 
Speedball...sigh, the company that just will not die and the one pen and nib set almost every art supply and crafts store carries. On the other hand there are people who have used these pens for years and are happy with them.
 
Rose