Exploring the Inky World of Dip Pens

I'm not the kind of person who follows trends, but there is a trend in the stationery community that I've become more and more intrigued by over the past few years:  dip pens.  Dip pens have been extremely popular in Japan since around 2020, and Japan's obsession with dip pens has slowly filtered into the global community of ink and paper lovers.  Each year I see more and more dip pens and dip pen related products in my fountain pen social media feeds and available on our shelves at Pen Boutique.  Some of the pens are beautiful hand-blown glass ones made in the tradition of 18th-century Venice, while others feature stainless steel fountain pen -style nibs held in a simple resin or wooden barrel.  Then there are the increasingly prevalent cylindrical, grooved dip nibs made from brass, aluminum, or other metal that are inserted into a holder and always seem to produce stunning effects with ink at the hands of the talented artists who wield them on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

[Pictured:  Pilot Iro-Utsushi, Sailor Hocoro, YSTUDIO Glamour Evolve, Colorverse Shuttle, J. Herbin, and Toys from the Attic (store only) dip pens and some of their accoutrements, including Col-o-ring ink testing cards, a Dominant Industry ink archiving book, Wearingeul ink color swatch notebook, Sailor Dipton ink, and Dominant Industry Alchemist calligraphy ink.]

I'm not an artist; I just like having fun with my inks, whether by drawing, writing, swatching, or, sometimes, just making a joyful and meaningless mishmash of lines and splotches in my "messy notebook."  I occasionally use my inks with watercolor paintbrushes, or splatter them onto paper with a syringe or dropper, but mostly my focus is on my primary love, fountain pens.  So where do dip pens fit in?

Well, even for a fountain pen fanatic like me, dip pens can be useful tools, handy in situations that can challenge my favorite fountain pens.  They can also be a beautiful way to relax, slow down, and take the time to enjoy inks in a different way.  Maybe I'll never be as good with a dip pen as some of the artists I see online, but when I want to explore a stunningly shimmery ink, a "monster sheener," or a pigmented waterproof sketching ink, that's a good time to reach for a dip pen.  They are also perfect for my fountain pen ink collection tests and swatches because they are so easy to clean, switching between inks is a breeze.

I can't write an exhaustive treatise on all the ways people use dip pens, or on how to produce the beautiful artwork that, with practice and talent, can be created with them, but I'll share my experience of trying the ever-growing collection of dip pens we carry at Pen Boutique, and point you toward some of the most fun and interesting accessories you might want to try with them.  After writing this article, I have a much better understanding of the differences between the various types of dip pens we carry in the store, and how to best use them.

 

Fountain Pen vs. Dip Pen

First of all, what is the difference between a dip pen and a fountain pen?  Unlike dip pens, fountain pens have an ink reservoir that holds somewhere between approximately 0.4 and 6.0 ml of ink (depending on model), and can be filled via various methods.  The reservoir can be removable (such as a cartridge or cartridge converter) or be built into the barrel of the pen. The ink flows through the fountain pen's feed to its nib and onto the paper by a combination of gravity and capillary action.

Dip pens work by capillary action, too, but they hold only a small amount of ink, so they write for a short while, then run dry.  These pens don't have feeds, but, when the nibs are dipped, a small amount of ink clings to them through surface tension.  The balance between this surface tension, the ink's viscosity, and the paper's absorbency controls how the nib will write.  If you wish to continue writing when the ink runs out, you simply dip the pen again into your open bottle of ink or inkwell.  If you are done using that ink, all you have to do is rinse the pen, wipe it dry, and move on to another color.  This flexibility makes dip pens perfect for situations such as swatching your ink collection for future reference, comparing colors before choosing a new ink for your fountain pen, exploring decorative lettering (especially if you want to use ink that isn't appropriate for fountain pens), practicing a deliberate and focused writing ritual, or creating art where you want to switch between multiple inks without filling and cleaning a bunch of different fountain pens.

[Pictured:  Pilot Iro-Utsushi dip pen with a shimmer ink from the Diamine Inkvent calendar held in its nib by surface tension.  As the pen writes, the ink will flow to the tip.]

One thing to keep in mind when using a dip pen is that they don't behave as consistently as a fountain pen, and it may take some time to learn your particular pen's quirks and rhythms.  This is part of the process of using a dip pen, and, for people who really love working with dip pens, the more direct connection between the user's hand motion and the flow of ink is a big part of the appeal. I find that dip pens often work best when I write in cursive, as the flowing strokes help the ink move in an unbroken line from nib to paper.

Dip pens have a tendency to lay down a heavier line immediately after dipping, may run out of ink mid-word, and can occasionally leave unexpected blobs of ink on the paper. This can be a little frustrating when you are first getting used to them, but it becomes easier with practice.  Before writing anything I plan to keep, I like to make a few looping lines on scrap paper to ensure the ink is flowing evenly.

Dip pens aren't a good substitute for a fountain pen in situations where convenience and reliability is the focus, such as taking notes, pouring out your thoughts in a journal entry, or writing a story or long letter.  (That's why fountain pens were invented, after all!) They aren't about speed and convenience.  They invite you to slow down, experiment with line variation, explore the properties of your ink, and settle into a more intentional rhythm.  Even the pauses to re-dip can become a meditative, relaxing part of the experience.

 

Pens and Inks

My first introduction to the world of pen and ink was actually through a quill dip pen, a gift from my niece that was inspired by my obsession with the movie Pandaemonium, starring Linus Roache as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a poet, philosopher, essayist, and one of the founders of the Romanticism movement in England in the late 1700s. If you've watched any of the podcasts I host on our YouTube channel, you've probably seen me gesturing with it!  I was heavily influenced by Romanticism when I first began to develop my writing style as a teenager, and watching this movie as an adult rekindled my love of the literary style, with its emphasis on emotion, individualism, and nature.

Using the dip pen made me fall in love with the expressive properties of flowing ink, and how creative and freeing it felt to use a nib instead of a rollerball or felt tip pen like I had in the past. I used my dip pen to write short notes on Christmas cards and for simple line drawings, but the thick calligraphy ink I used with that pen was very different from the fountain pen inks I later became obsessed with when I bought my first fountain pen, a Pilot Metropolitan.  As I learned later, ink designed for dip pens should never be used with fountain pens.  Calligraphy ink is very viscous and highly pigmented, and will clog a fountain pen's feed, dry inside the pen, and destroy it.

Almost all the inks we carry at Pen Boutique are intended to be used with fountain pens, with a few exceptions:  the Ferris Wheel Press waterproof acrylic calligraphy inks, Dominant Industry Alchemist calligraphy inks, and Sailor Dipton dip pen inks.  These inks are not safe for fountain pens, but their gorgeous reflective properties come alive when used with dip pens, so, if you want to try them, a dip pen is a must!

The Ferris Wheel Press calligraphy ink is lightfast, and is thicker than water-based fountain pen ink, so it flows slowly and becomes permanent when dry. If you apply the ink heavily, you can actually feel a raised texture on your paper.  To clean it from dip pens, use isopropyl alcohol to dissolve any dried ink left on the nib. (Alcohol should never be used to clean fountain pens.) The Sailor Dipton dip pen inks have high concentrations of either shimmer or sheen (depending on ink), and the Alchemist calligraphy inks from Dominant Industry are available in four different finishes: Hologram, Mirror, Pearl, and Standard.  All of these inks will choke up fountain pens, and Pen Boutique owner Leena's daughter Shriya actually told me she ruined one of her Sailors by filling it with a Dipton ink, not realizing it is only meant for dip pens.  However, they are very beautiful when used appropriately.  Because a dip pen is much more simple than a fountain pen, it's the perfect tool for these beautiful inks.

Inks designed for fountain pens can definitely be used with dip pens, too, although some dip pen manufacturers recommend that their pens will perform best with ink specifically formulated for dip pens.  YSTUDIO, for example, suggests that the best way to enjoy their new Glamour Evolve Elemental Dip Pen is with dip pen ink which, "provides superior adhesion, consistent flow, and minimizes feathering."  I have definitely found that an ink's viscosity has a large effect on how well it will behave with dip pens, and watery inks will produce skipping and thin, unsatisfying lines.  If the inks you first try with your dip pen don't flow well, don't give up.  Inks can be temperamental, and even different inks within the same brand will behave differently when dipped.

 

How I Use Dip Pens

Although I tried a few dip pen inks for this article, I don't personally own any dip pen ink, and I do own lots of fountain pen ink, so my primary focus was on how the pens performed with the inks I am most interested in.  I started collecting and experimenting with inks almost as soon as I bought my first fountain pen, and I've always liked using a dip pen for swatching my inks, because it's so much easier than cleaning a fountain pen in between each color.

I currently have almost five hundred different inks, whether in sample vials or bottles, so I keep track of them in the Fountain Pen Companion database, and rely on my Col-o-ring ink testing cards to help me visually compare the colors.  My method involves using a watercolor paintbrush to create a gradient swatch, dropping concentrated ink splotches from above with a blunt syringe, and writing the brand and color name with a dip pen so I can see what the ink looks like in writing. 

[Pictured:  some of my swatch cards, with Iroshizuku Yama-budo fountain pen ink, blunt syringe, and Pilot Iro-Utsushi dip pens in acrylic and wood.]

I've swatched at least 3/4 of my inks, and the cards have been invaluable to me when it's time to select inks for filling my pens or using in artwork.  Having the inks on cards that I can rearrange in any order allows me to create harmonious palates, compare similar inks, match colors to pens, and keep track of favorites with notes on the back. I have also mixed my own custom ink blends, and record those on my swatch cards, too, with the formulas written on the back so I can recreate them.  I usually use my Sailor Hocoro dip pen with fude nib, and store my favorites in empty 15 ml Iroshizuku ink bottles, which I then create new labels for with a label maker.  I actually mixed some new batches a few days ago, and was reminded once again how useful dip pens are!

One of the colors I swatched was a blend I'd created the night before to match my new Diplomat Aero.  The color is a combination of three inks, and, after mixing the first two in equal proportions, I needed to add the third one in small increments to get the color just right.  Each time I added a little more, I tried the new blend with my dip pen, until I was satisfied.  I especially love the fude nib option for the Sailor Hocoro, because it makes it easy to try different line widths.  You can recreate the fine line of a fountain pen, simulate a broad nib, create wide lines, or even fill in large areas if you want to use it to "paint" with the ink.  The word "fude" (pronounced foo-deh) means brush in Japanese, and these bent nibs were developed to imitate the brushes used in traditional Japanese calligraphy.  The Hocoro system is great because it has a lot of different interchangeable nibs, so you can choose just one or buy more than one, but my favorite is definitely the fude because it's so versatile.

After I filled the pen and decided I loved the ink enough to mix a larger batch, I again needed to check my new batch to make sure it matched the first, using my dip pen.  Since my methods aren't scientific enough for precise measurements, I added small amounts of Murasaki-shikibu to a Yama-budo and Tsutsuji mix, testing with the dip pen until I was satisfied.  I love my new color!  My friend Bernice suggested I should name it Serendipity, and I think that's perfect.

Dip pens have also been indispensable to me when writing my blog articles, including topics such as Blue-Black inks, Pink inks, and Montblanc inks.  I used the Hocoro for the Blue-Black and Pink articles, and a medium nib Pilot Iro-Utsushi dip pen for the forty-seven Col-o-ring swatches in my Montblanc article, then switched to a brass dip pen for the color grid to get thicker lines and show off the ink more.

[Pictured:  Blue-Black ink comparison, written with a Sailor Hocoro fude nib.]

[Pictured:  Montblanc ink comparison, written with a brass dip nib.]

[Pictured:  Pink ink comparison, written with a Sailor Hocoro fude nib.  I used the flexible plastic pipette from a Colorverse Mini ink box to do the flower-like swatches.]

I also don't know what I'd do without dip pens when it comes time to sample all the inks in the Diamine Inkvent calendar or Colorverse Colorvent calendar!

And, in fact, I used dip pens last night to help me pick out an ink for my new Cumulus White Pilot Kakuno Madoromi.  Since the pen is a soft misty white, I decided to use a lighter color ink than I usually do.  I normally don't like to write with light colored ink, because I find them hard to see, so I tried a few inks I had previously only used for paintbrush art. To best simulate the fine nib of my Kakuno, I chose a fine Pilot Iro-Utsushi dip pen.  After trying four different inks, I ultimately decided to go with Anderillium Cuttlefish Brown because I didn't like how any of the lighter inks looked with such a fine nib.  The Cuttlefish Brown ink is perfect!  It would have been so annoying, frustrating, and time consuming if I had had to fill and clean the pen three times before choosing.

 

Pilot Iro-Utsushi

Of the five different dip pens I tried for this article, the Pilot Iro-Utsushi, Sailor Hocoro, and YSTUDIO Glamour Evolve pens all use a fountain pen style nib as their writing tip.  The Pilot Iro-Utsushi is the most simple and the most inexpensive option, so it's great if you want a practical dip pen that just focuses on its job, with no extra frills.  "Iro" means "color," and "utsushi" means "transfer" or "reflection," so the name describes a tool to transfer color (in the form of ink) to the page.

The nib is stainless steel, and is not removable. It's the exact same stainless steel nib used in Pilot's Kaküno, Explorer, MR (Metropolitan), and Prera fountain pens--just with different engraving--so it writes very similarly to those pens, although it doesn't have a feed to guide the ink.

[Pictured:  Pilot Iro-Utsushi nibs in black wooden and blue resin barrels.  The nib in the resin barrel is holding ink.]

The nib comes mounted in either a lightweight transparent resin or heavier and longer wooden barrel.  The resin barrel is available in clear, blue, or black, and the more premium wooden one is available in natural wood or black. The black resin version is available in Fine, blue resin is available in Medium, and all the other choices come in both Fine and Medium.

This pen writes drier than the others, and feels nice and precise.  I was surprised by how natural and comfortable it feels to write with, especially the wooden handle version, which I prefer, although the resin one is perfectly good, especially if you are only using the pen for quick jobs.  Unlike some of the other pens, the Iro-utsushi writes with a consistent line width until running low on ink.

[Pictured:  black wooden Iro-Utsushi pen in my medium-sized woman's hand.]

Of all the dip pens I tried, this one writes the most like a fountain pen (in particular a stainless steel nib Pilot pen), and it works well with fountain pen inks.  (I used Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo for all my tests.) It doesn't work as well with dip pen inks. 

The nib doesn't hold very much ink, so I was only able to write a sentence or so with it, and, like other dip pens, the amount it is able to write before running out of ink is not predictable.  I ran out of ink three times in the writing sample below, which shows both the fine and medium nib options.

This pen is great for sampling fountain pen ink quickly and easily.  I also tried using it to draw with, and was surprised by how intuitive it felt, and how much I liked it for the fine precise lines in my artwork. I paired it with Sailor Seiboku nano-pigmented ink so I could create waterproof lines that wouldn't run when painted on top of with other fountain pen inks.

 

Sailor Hocoro

Like the Pilot dip pen, the Sailor Compass Hocoro features a stainless steel fountain pen -style nib, but the nib is removable and is easily interchangeable. Nib units are available paired with a barrel and are also sold separately. The nib unit can also be flipped backward and snapped into the front of the barrel of the pen, which is great for protecting the nib when not in use.

Nib units are available in Fine, Medium, 1.0 mm Calligraphy (stub), 2.0 mm Calligraphy (stub), and Fude.  The 2.0 mm Calligraphy and Fude nibs come equipped with a reservoir that helps hold a little bit of extra ink behind the nib.  This reservoir is also sold separately, and can be installed on the Fine, Medium, and 1.0 mm Calligraphy nibs if you'd like them to write longer before running out of ink.

[Pictured:  Medium nib with no reservoir (top), and Fude nib with reservoir (below).]

The barrels are also sold separately, and come in clear, white, or grey resin.  (My clear barrel with sparkles came with a Dipton pen and ink set, and isn't available for sale separately.)  The clear barrel shows when ink gets inside it, but it doesn't bother me that much, as it's easy to remove the nib unit and rinse it clean.  Seeing drops of ink inside a transparent pen would bug me if it was a fountain pen, but I don't take dip pens as seriously!  The Hocoro is lightweight, simple, and ergonomic.

The Fude nib's writing can be controlled by the pen's angle to the page, and it will also write very thin lines if used on the reverse side.  You can get paintbrush-like effects if the nib is used very low to the page, and you can also change angles as you write.  For a very inexpensive fude nib, it's great!  It was fun and easy for me to learn how to use, and I reach for it a lot because of its versatility.

I write more expressively (and more messily!) with the fude nib than with the Pilot dip pen or Sailor's Fine and Medium nibs.  (I haven't tried the Hocoro's stub nibs, as I am not very good at using stubs and don't want to frustrate myself!)

I only ran out of ink near the end of the Fude nib writing test above (where I marked "finally ran out!"), but when I used the Medium nib with no add-on reservoir, my first dip wrote very well and felt great, but my subsequent dips didn't behave as well, and I struggled to write without running out of ink constantly.  I think the reservoir is great, and highly recommend adding it! It helps a lot with ink flow, and enables you to write much longer than without it.

 

YSTUDIO Glamour Evolve

The YSTUDIO Glamour Evolve Elemental Dip Pen is new, and has a very different look and feel from the Pilot and Sailor pens, although it also comes with a fountain pen -style nib.  I love the barrel shape and its more substantial weight. 

The design is composed of a faceted transparent outer sleeve encasing a brass inner tube, and features a removable grip section that screws out and has a knob for tightening the nib. The adjustable internal collar accepts most standard calligraphy nibs, so you can enjoy the feel of the pen with a wide variety of dip pen nibs. 

The nib that comes with the pen is a two-tone gold-plated steel nib stamped "Genuine Iridium."  It's a prettier nib than the ones featured in the Pilot and Sailor pens, and can be removed from the grip section by pulling it straight out.  

There is only one line width option for this nib, and it seems to be equivalent to a medium Pilot or Sailor nib.  It's very smooth, but, like the other nibs with no reservoir, it runs out of ink fairly quickly when used with fountain pen ink.  (YSTUDIO recommends pairing the pen with dip pen ink, not fountain pen ink, which is typically thinner and may cause spattering or uneven lines when used with a dip pen.) The nib feels softer than the Pilot and Sailor nibs, and produces more shading.  

YSTUDIO also recommends using smooth paper, a 30-40 degree angle to the paper, and not pressing too hard.  However, they note that you can achieve some line variation with pressure variations.

 

Colorverse Shuttle

The Coloverse Shuttle is the most customizable of all the dip pens we carry.  It has an innovative design that was inspired by the Space Shuttle, and is full of thoughtful details.  Like the Sailor Hocoro, Shuttle is a mix and match system of nibs and nib holder barrels, and, like the YSTUDIO pen, the nib holders can accept a wide variety of different dip nibs.  You can even get a matching "ink barrel" to go with it.  The high quality stainless steel "barrel" doubles as a pen rest and portable inkwell!  The screw top inkwell can hold approximately 3.5 ml of ink, and also fits many other nib holders.

[Pictured:  Colorverse Shuttle rose gold aluminum nib holder, with aluminum nib and ink barrel inkwell/stand.]

The nib holders have two lengths and four choices of material:  brass, aluminum, black, and rose gold.  The black and rose gold options are new, and are also made from aluminum.  The long holders are 165 mm (a size comparable to standard nib holders, ideal for detail work or for people with larger hands), while the shorter ones are 120 mm (a more portable size closer to typical pens). 

[Pictured:  Colorverse Shuttle nibs in aluminum and brass, with rose gold, aluminum, black, and brass nib holders.  All nib holder materials come in both the short and long length options.]

The brass holders are significantly heavier, so it's great to be able to choose a short or long length based on your needs.  The long brass holder is 49.1 grams, short brass is 41.0 grams, long aluminum is 22.0 grams, and short aluminum is 19.5 grams.  The heavier brass versions provide more stability, providing a gentle natural pressure on the paper, and can reduce hand strain for people with larger hands or hand tremors. The much lighter aluminum versions have a brass insert that ensures a low center of gravity, which helps minimize hand fatigue during long sessions of use.

The grip section, brass insert, and handle can be completely disassembled for cleaning!  I love the ridged grip sections, which keep the metal from being slippery. 

[Pictured:  disassembled Colorverse Shuttle in brass.  The aluminum versions also have a brass nib holder insert section.]

The Shuttle nibs are available in either brass or aluminum, and they can fit in standard nib holders if you prefer a different one.  Their shape is inspired by the Space Shuttle, and incorporates both vertical grooves and a Space Shuttle window shaped well to enhance ink retention.

It's such a cool looking design, and really does help with ink retention.  This nib was able to write for much longer than the other ones I tried.  You can control the thickness of your lines based on your angle to the page, but, because the shape of the nib is very steep, it's not as easy to get very thick lines as it is with the Sailor Hocoro fude nib.  I have seen criticism about the nib being too scratchy, but I didn't find it that scratchy. The aluminum version is slightly sharper feeling than the brass one.  I enjoyed writing with both, but they do write significantly thicker than the other dip pens I tried (except the glass one), and I also found it difficult to get very thin lines.  (I might just need more practice!) I was able to get thinner lines with the aluminum nib. Of course, the ink you choose to use with it will significantly affect the writing.  As with the other dip pens I tried, I used Iroshizuku Yama-budo.

Since the nib holders and nibs are sold separately, you don't have to get the Colorverse Shuttle nib if you prefer a different one. You can even use them with vintage nibs. 

[Pictured:  aluminum Shuttle nib holder with vintage flex nib.]

When trying the Shuttle for art, I was able to use the side of the nib to spread ink across the page and fill in large areas of my drawing.

Here's the finished piece in my Messy Notebook, below.  I used the Shuttle for the bluish green parts (Sailor Ink Studio 162), the Sailor Hocoro with fude nib for the purplish parts (my own "Serendipity" Iroshizuku ink mix), and the Pilot Iro-Utsushi for the thin lines (Sailor Seiboku), then added Sailor Dipton Mellow Forest and Sailor Dipton Coral Humming shimmer inks and Ferris Wheel Press Tailored Taffeta gold ink calligraphy with various dip pens.  It was a good way to try the pens in a different way, and a good stress break from working on this article!

I could have written a whole article just on the Colorverse Shuttle (and probably should have!), but I felt like I needed to try all the other dip pens to understand the Shuttle in context.  I'm glad I did, but it was a lot to absorb, and writing this article has been pretty intense!

 

Glass Dip Pens

This section is going to be short, because glass pens are pretty simple.  We carry two brands, J. Herbin and Toys From the Attic, but we don't ship the Toys from the Attic pens because they don't have outer packaging and we don't want them to break, so those are available in the store only.  They are both very similar, but the J. Herbin ones are handmade in France, and the other ones are Asian.  As I mentioned way back at the beginning of this article, dip pens are a craze in Japan, and glass ones are especially popular.  Their meticulous craftsmanship and delicate beauty invites the user to really slow down, appreciate the moment, and enjoy the loveliness of watching fountain pen ink glistening on a gorgeous transparent glass nib.

The dip pens we carry come in two different styles.  On one, the writing tip has a narrow, elongated, twisted spiral shape, and, on the other, the writing tip has a teardrop shape with straight grooves.  Both brands have each style, and many different beautiful colors and designs to choose from.

Glass dip pens are still made in the traditional mouth-blown twisted glass style that was invented in Murano, Italy (an island off of Venice) in the early 1700s, and each one is unique and beautiful!

The experience of using glass dip pens to write with is a little different than the other dip pens.  Similar to the Colorverse Shuttle, the ink is held in the grooves of the nib, but it flows in a more capricious way.  Sometimes I felt like the pens were running out of ink, but then they started writing again when I rotated the pen and a little more ink flowed down to the writing tip.

I found the twisted style nib a little easier to use than the teardrop shaped kind.  I really enjoyed how beautiful the pens looked in my hand while I was using them, and the sound the glass nib produced on the page, but I didn't find the shape and the glass material as comfortable to hold as the other dip pens. I was able to get the pens to produce different line widths, but it didn't seem to be controlled by angle to the page like the Colorverse Shuttle nib or Sailor Hocoro fude nib.  They are fun to experiment with, and maybe I just need more practice!

The glass pens are the easiest kind to clean, but they are also the most fragile and can chip with use.  Be sure not to hit the bottom of your ink bottle when filling them, and store them carefully.  The J. Herbin pens come with a small piece of light abrasive paper that you can use to polish the tip if it chips or feels too sharp.

Each pen in this article has its own merits, with a very different feel in the hand, different appearance, and different writing experience.  Which one will appeal to you most is a very personal thing, but I hope this overview helped you understand the options and how dip pens can be used to supplement and enhance your love of fountain pens and inks!  I personally enjoyed using a mix of pens for different purposes, and I think I will be expanding my dip pen use after learning more about them. How do you use dip pens? And do you have a favorite?

-Laura P.

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