Boro dipping pens

[Beansprout]

I had a boro dipping pen bought back to me from europe by my sister, but I never used it because the ink was rubbish! It has long gone now, but I'd love to try making one. Initial experiments don't hold the ink so it doesn't write constantly. does anyone know about any tutorials for a boro pen?

Thanks!

[Steampunkglass]

Are you using fountain pen ink? If so that might be why, it's too thin (made to go though the fine capillary tube) so doesn't 'coat' the nib as well as calligraphy or drawing ink - or at least that's what an illustrator told me. I make them myself, but make a hole to take a nib holder, I've not seen any tutorials though, I think you can uses 'normal' glass as well to make them. 

[Nicknack]

I saw Ray Skene make one in soft glass when he was demoing at Creative Stitches.  It was fascinating!  He made it as a present for a nearby demonstrator who he knew (can't remember what the other man did, though, think it was something with wood), and it was beautiful.  He may have a tutorial.  I tried to make one after I got home, but lost the plot before I got to the nib.  If I remember rightly, you have to make a groove down the middle of the nib, to hold the ink.  I'd be interested, too, if there is a tutorial.

Best of luck!

Nick

[garishglobes]

I use tube to hold the nib and add an end. I have made the nibs by scoring lots of lines down a rod and then pulling to a point. The result worked but not spectacularly well... I used a diamond pad to sand off the very tip of the point which helped but I believe that it would have been better to sand a flat diagonal rather than all round the point, actually forming a nib if that makes sense. I haven't tried that one but it might be worth a go. There is a bit about dip pens in Contemporary Lampworking somewhere.

[Hamilton Taylor]

I've done these to write in fountain pen ink - Quink. If you twist the grooved nib quite tightly, and make the grooves very fine, they work well - I got them to the stage where they would write about 1/2 page of A4 on one dip. I always broke the end off the nib instead of melting off, to make sure the grooves ran to the very end, and then sanded very lightly with very fine wet and dry. I stopped doing them because they were a lot of work, and didn't sell well - at least not for me. But, very good fun to make, and a real satisfaction when you get them to work well. Good luck! 

Sean

[ARBeads]

I've been wondering about these as well. A customer at our last fair was after one, didn't want the nib holder type had to be totally glass. We were trying to work out if a 'boro twistie icicle' could be adapted to hold the ink.


I seem to have a bit of a theme going atmo - twistie icicles, twistie cocktail stirrers, twistie candy cane, twistie pens...........

[Lilley]

There is a bit in Bandhu Scott Dunham's book 'Contemporary Lampworking' Volume 1 on page 108 about how to make a glass pen, either using ribbed rod or making indents with a knife for making the nib.  I gave it a bit of a go a while back with rather limited success, mostly down to my inexperience as a lampworker I think - but it was fun and I can see how it could/should work.