This evening I wrote my first dip pen letter and want to know something? I think I'm hooked. I'm using a Nikko G nib which is flexible and what a lot of practice it takes. It also takes a considerable amount of time to pen a letter. Have you ever seen one of those documentaries on the American Civil War in which letters are read? The soldiers who penned those letters always advertise their generation to me as a literate, well-spoken one that took care to express themselves well. Part of the impression may be due difference in language and expression. Phrases common to their day are not common to ours and may sound higher to us than to them. But there is also the time element. Writing with a dip pen is not hasty business and I doubt their goal was speed in all things as it tends to be for us. I know that my own words organize themselves more neatly when I slow down. Why is slowing down so hard? Perhaps writing with a dip pen will work as a cure for haste and her inseparable companion, carelessness. I hope so. I did a Google search on Civil War Letters and this is a sampling of what I found. Look at the penmanship in this letter to mother. Neatness and legibility are worth slowing down for. In time, with enough practice at slowing down when writing, I may be able to conquer haste. I hope my new friend Nikko G will help with that.
9 Comments
6/23/2014 01:16:24 pm
My highest compliments to you in this new endeavor! Just received the most lovely addressed envelope... Thank you so much! Right now I am in the market for a good flex nib fountain pen... I've tried the dipping pen...my life would really have to slow down quite a bit to experiment with those...you have a quiet house for now...take advantage of it!
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So-Jin
6/24/2014 09:05:05 pm
Dear Mrs. Duffy,
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Marie
6/25/2014 11:09:43 am
In an age where novelists and short-story writers pound out all their drafts in a computer, I am the odd writer out. Would you believe that I write all my books and stories with a dip pen? I wouldn't want it any other way. It is as true as you said -- with a dip pen, you are forced to slow down and take your time with your words and thoughts. Everything you write is more deliberate. You learn to listen to yourself much better when you're not plowing through every sentence in order to make an artificial word count in your computer software program. And to see yourself in your own handwriting is like the most lovely portrait. The action of dipping your pen into the ink and putting it to paper is like painting. I suppose I could just as well say you are painting your own portrait when you write with a dip pen. My passion for writing in this manner has led me to build a little lap desk to rest over the arms of my comfy writing chair, a desk with a built in place to put my ink jar and pens. You certainly can't buy this type of desk at a store. I love it all the more because I made it. Thanks so much for this post. It really made me smile.
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6/25/2014 12:29:49 pm
The idea of writing book with dip pen is intriguing.Tell me more if you will.
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Marie
6/25/2014 01:49:34 pm
C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia (but I bet you knew that), preferred to write his books and correspondences with a dip pen, because it afforded him a certain rhythm in his writing. Every five of so words, he would have to stop and dip his pen again. This motion allowed him to whisper the next set of words out loud before writing them. But I'm afraid I cheat a bit with my choice of nib. I use the Leonardt round hand Manuscript nib, which has a reservoir. I have at times written half a page (typical 8 x 11 typing or printing paper) on one dip. So my rhythm would be rather different from Lewis'. So far, the best ink I have ever used is Noodler's brand (I really like their Golden Brown as it gives a splendid antique look--but they have a variety of colors). It doesn't feather on my pages (even though I use rather cheap paper) and it doesn't clog in my nib like some ink brands I have used. It makes for pretty smooth writing..
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6/26/2014 03:55:22 am
The desk sounds like a straightforward affair. I think that for extended writing I will need a nib more like yours...not so much for the reservoir but for the ease of writing with a stiff nib. The flex nib is very time consuming! I've seen reviews of Golden Brown and it really does have a nice look to it.
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Marie
6/26/2014 07:55:45 am
Thank you so much, Mrs. Duffy! Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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