One-Dip-Nib – How To
A brief guide to get you started with your new nib.
Getting started
Firstly, thank you so much for your support and for purchasing a One-Dip-Nib. I hope it serves you well for many years to come.
To get you started with your shiny new tool, first insert your nib into your pen. A slight twist can help when inserting or removing it. Then, dip the nib in your ink of choice, aiming for the ink level to be just below the thumb screw. I like to count to 15 for maximum saturation of the internal reservoir. Tap lightly on the bottle to remove any excess ink, and you're ready to start!
To familiarise yourself with your nib, experiment with different angles, adjust the thumb screw, and enjoy a good ol' doodle. The only constraint is that the slit in the nib needs to be in contact with the paper for the ink to flow properly, similar to a fountain pen nib.
Insert the nib into your pen. A little twist can help when taking it in and out.
Dip the nib into your ink – aim for the level of the ink to be just below the thumb screw.
Tap lightly on the bottle to remove any excess ink and get started!
Cleaning the nib
Important bit! Once you've created your masterpiece, it's important to clean your nib properly to maintain its performance.
If no ink has dried onto the nib, a light rinse in warm, soapy water will suffice. Make sure to remove the nib from the pen and remove the screw. Most importantly, dry the nib, screw, and pen, and store the nib separately from the pen. This is because the pen ferrule (the part that holds the nib) is steel, and the nib is brass, which can cause something called galvanic action (I won't bore you with the intricacies), which speeds up the rusting process.
Spare ferrules can be found here if you need a replacement in the future.
If ink has dried onto the nib, you can remove it and soak it in my marvellous nib cleaning solution until any stubborn ink has been removed. Make sure to rinse and dry, as outlined above.
If no ink has dried onto the nib, simply rinse in warm, soapy water.
Make sure to remove the nib from the pen and remove the screw – dry and store separately.
To remove dried ink, soak the nib in nib cleaning solution.
Customising your nib
Every nib has been sanded by hand to a finish that we believe suits most users. However, you'll find a small square of super fine sandpaper included with your nib. This can be used to either further smooth the nib so that it glides effortlessly across the page or to tune the precision of the nib and sharpen the tip.
Simply wet the sandpaper with a drop of water and twist the nib while holding both with your thumb and forefinger for best results. Enjoy customising your nib!
You can also clean the split between the 'tines' of the nib using the included sandpaper. Simply remove the white reservoir wet the sandpaper with a small amount of water and run along one half. Remove and repeat on the other half. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
You'll find a small square of super fine sandpaper included with your nib.
Twist the nib while holding both with your thumb and forefinger for best results.
You can also clean the split between the 'tines' of the nib using the included sandpaper.
ONE-DIP-NIB FAQs
It’s not just the colour! The stainless steel nib is more precise, achieving a finer line, and it's more durable. It will hold its tip shape for a very long time, whereas brass is a softer material, smoother on the page, and has a larger variation between thin and thick line widths when using the thumb screw.
Dip the nib until just before the ink level reaches the thumb screw (not beyond it). We like to hold it in the ink for around 10-15 seconds to allow the ink to saturate the reservoir nicely.
Straight calligraphy pens only - simply slot into the top of the pen. It can't be used with oblique pens at the moment.
One of the biggest benefits of the nib is that you can use all inks with it! Fountain pen ink, shimmer ink, calligraphy ink, and so on.
To make sure the nib continues to perform like a dream, it’s recommended that you flush the nib with warm soapy water or nib cleaning solution after each use. If you forget to rinse the nib (easily done!) after using an acrylic-based or Indian ink, which is hard to remove, you may need to fully submerge the nib and soak it in acetone or calligraphy ink cleaner for 20-30 minutes.
This nib has been hand-finished by our lovely team with 2400 grit sandpaper to remove as much scratchiness as possible. We've found some people love the super fine 'bite' into the page, so we've sanded them to maintain this, but if you’d like to change how it feels on the page, you can use the included sandpaper to make it even smoother.
The ink capacity in the One-Dip-Nib is larger, the line width is adjustable, and it doesn't need to be twisted to get more ink flow.