It’s a good idea to start off your calligraphy career with an inexpensive calligraphy pen.. After some hard practice at the newly acquired calligraphy skills and the basic pen techniques are mastered the next stage is to think about moving up to the next level. The pen might cost you a little bit more and there will be one or two new skills to learn but it will eventually become time to buy a new calligraphy pen.

There will be some choices to make over whether you buy a calligraphy pen with removable nibs or a pen with a fixed nib. Naturally, it will come down to your own personal preference. Some calligraphers like the convenience of simply picking up a different pen depending on what nib width they need to use. Others prefer the familiarity and feel of the same pen holder and replace the nibs to suit their work. Adding and removing pen nibs will become second nature as you become get used to your pen. It is important to ensure that the nib is aligned properly when putting it in the pen holder. Failing to do so will affect your work.

Next, there may be another choice to make. Do you buy a removable ink reservoir or one that is permanently attached? The permanently attached reservoir has the advantage of holding more ink, reducing the interruption of constant refilling. Filling the ink reservoir, whether with an eye-dropper or by dipping the pen lets the calligrapher exert more control over their work. As you get accustomed to your pen you will appreciate this control too.

It will take a littlepreactice to add ink to your calligraphy pen to perfect. Making a mistake could affect your work causing inconsistent lines, particularly if the nib is overloaded. It's also necessary to be very scrupulous when repositioning removable ink reservoirs, that the flange is correctly located every time. It only has to overhang the nib by a tiny amount to cause thin or ragged edges on one side of your lines.

There will still be a lot of maintenance required to keep your pen in good working order. A particular pieceo fequipment that will need to be constantly attended to are your pen nibs. Pen nibs are susceptible to getting clogged with dried ink, some more quickly than others depending on the type and quality of ink you write with. By keeping a clean absorbent cloth and a glass of water close by at your workstation, your pen will remain as dependable to create sharp, clean lines as it was on the day you took it out of the package.

Your calligraphy pen will have a big influence on the quality of work you produce. The better the choice and maintenance of your pen will mean that you have the best chance to create work that you will be proud of and that the work you produce will last a long time.