Speedball Oblique Pen Set - 1 Penholder w/ 4 Nibs, 2 Pen Points

101 is a very easy nib to use but 103 is harder. Great set! Don't forget to buy quality calligraphy paper (e.g.Strathmore STR- 50)

I'm using the nibs with my own oblique holder and they work very well. The 101 is extremely nice but takes a very light touch. The 103 is a bit of a challenge, at least with all the paper I tried it with using my typical black ink. However the 103 did well with thinned watercolors which I brushed into the nib. It requires an "extremely" light touch, so much so that it may be difficult to know if it's even touching the paper. Just a slight variation of touch can cause the tip to split, skip, and spatter. However, with a perfect touch, the stroke is likely the finest that can be achieved with any nib.

Good set to begin with, I would suggest it to anyone starting out in Copperplate / Spencerian pensmanship as it's cheap so you can get an idea if this kind of calligraphy is for you. It's easy to see that this isn't meant for professionals as it's completely made of plastic with no room for personal modification to suit an individuals needs. Still good though.

First of all, I need to say that if you are a beginner, you WILL struggle with this set. You could use the oblique holder no problem, but the nibs are not meant for beginners. That being said, this is my absolute favorite set. the 101 nibs are my most used nib (also love the Leonardt EF), and I can't get enough of them. That being said, the first time I ever tried them I really struggled (as do most beginners). If the nib is scratching the page and ink is splattering everywhere, that is not the nibs fault, but you just don't have the technique down well enough to be using these. I know some people prefer for expensive holders, but this oblique pen works just fine for me, and I saw the expensive holders for the nibs that don't fit in standard holders.For the nibs, I definitely use the 101 the most. It creates think downstrokes and very thin hairlines. The other nib (I believe its a 103) I don't use as often, but it certainly allows you to create tiny writing (I just don't have as much of a need for). As any experienced user will know, make sure to clean the nibs off well for oils. If you have not used nibs before, you will NEED to cleans the nibs off well before. I typically will spend about 2 minutes straight rubbing the nib with acetone using a q-tip (lightly so fibers don't get caught).

The pen itself is lightweight (being plastic), comfortable to hold, easy to clean. I'm not the biggest fan of the nibs that come with it, personally, but im not complaining. I still rate the dip pen holder itself a 5.

Calligraphy pen for spencerian script. Highly specialized for this type of calligraphy and one of a kind as far as I know. It's all but impossible to write spencerian without this pen.

As a beginner calligrapher, I've been trying various writing instruments. This speedball set is the most disappointing so far. I didn't like the oblique holder and the nibs were awful - they scratched every kind of paper I tried with them. I could not get a sufficient amount of ink on the nibs to write more than a couple of letters. I constantly had to re-dip. I suppose it could be user error since I'm new to this, but the set just feels cheap and not well made.

buena calidad