Getting Started with a New Dip Pen

[@hArtyTruffle]

Just so you know.. the potato is not used to clean off the coating on a new nib, but for rusty nibs. Can’t remember how long you have to leave the nib in there (I think it was about 15mins to half an hour, but you’ll have to experiment yourself). The potato starch makes short work of any rust. Once you pull it out, there might be some rust still visible, but will be easily removed when you wipe it with a soft cloth.

[@soupbonep]

OK folks, if you are out of WD 40 you can use a potato. Or if you don't want to deal with spray. Great info to know! Thanks Queen O!

[@kallypea]

I used to run my new nibs under a lighter but I have definitely ruined nibs before by overdoing it almost like you did in the vid. Now I just leave my new nibs in boiling water for a few minutes so the coating dissolves.

[@mrgeorgejetson]

Run the Spanish-language response above, from Raul P, through Google translate and you'll see why this is a terrible idea.

[@MichaelBrown101]

I don’t even have a pen with a nib. I just love your content. Haha, keep it up man.

[@nef36]

The writing tip of any pen is a nib. Therefore, I extend my condolences towards you and your lack of pens with which to write with

[@eggsandwich5278]

It comforts me to know the potato wasn't stolen 😌

[@caspar3152]

I put my new Brause-Nibs into boiling water for few minutes. That method doesn't overheat the metal and removes the factory's coating.

[@raul_p]

NEVER FIRE Hola. En español que me explico mejor. Nunca usar fuego en la plumillas. El calor se concentra en los puntos más agudos, lo podéis ver calentando un alfiler con el mechero: lo primero que se pone rojo es la punta. Esto sucede porque el calor viaja y en los sitios donde hay menos material el efecto del calor se manifiesta antes. En el caso de las plumillas el punto mas agudo es la punta. De modo que, aunque no lo notéis a simple vista, es casi seguro que la punta del plumín llegará a temperaturas donde el acero cambia sus propiedades. Esto es: pierde el templado y por lo tanto la flexibilidad. El acero se torna más oxidable, pero ese no es el mayor problema. Lo importante es que baja muchísimo el punto de plasticidad y reduce a cero la capacidad de recuperar la forma. Al mínimo exceso de fuerza, cambiará la posición de las puntas de manera permanente y será imposible escribir. En esta plumilla del video se nota menos porque es gruesa, pero si aplicas fuego a una Guillot 303 o a una Hunt 101, la destruyes. !!!NO FIRE!!!! Regardes

[@itsmebeter3538]

that’s great advice

[@raul_p]

@@itsmebeter3538 Better to use FAIRY. Wash well, dry and ready.

[@mar_dsign]

Que bueno saberlo!! Entonces que metodo recomendas para sacar el aceite y para limpiarla despues de su uso?

[@raul_p]

@@mar_dsign Quitar el aceite con Fairy, luego lavar bien con agua limpia y secar con papel de cocina. Para limpiar despues del uso, solo agua (si la tinta es al agua, que son la mayoria), o alcohol (si la tinta es al alcohol).

[@alina.kuptsova]

¡Muchas gracias!

[@amalathisdreaming]

When I was just starting out with pen nibs, the difference between coated and not coated was more noticeable to me. It feels like because I was not able to control the way I hold the pen or use pressure correctly, the lack of coating was re-compensating for my lack of technique.

[@charlinebosse1099]

I started using dip pens a few weeks ago for calligraphy and I love it. I discovered that using hand sanitizer cleans really well my nibs. It's 99.9 % alcool with gel. Before restarting to write, I dip the nib in ink once or twice wiping off the ink with a paper towel and the ink coats nicely on the nib.

[@thedabblingwarlock]

So, what's happening to the metal is what's called tempering. This is how you take steel that has been hardened and give it some springiness and make it less likely to break catastrophically. Steel nibs need to be springy to retain their shape. There is a danger of overheating the metal and turning it back into mild steel which isn't as springy. The color of the steel tells you how hot it gets in this process. When you hear knife makers refer to a light straw or a deep blue temper, they are talking about tempering it to varying degrees. Because nibs have very little mass, it doesn't take that much heat to start the process of tempering. Anyway, all of that to say that yes, you probably did affect the longevity of the nib. Next time, try just passing it through the flame instead of holding it there. It won't get as hot and the layer of oil is thin enough that it should boil off without having to apply the heat constantly. It also has the advantage of not saturating the low thermal mass of the nib (because nibs weigh about as much as a sheet of paper) and scorching your fingers. I'd still recommend holding it with tweezers, though. Oh and have some water handy to cool off the nib once you've got the oil off. This will also prevent blisters on the tips of your fingers when you insert the nib.

[@ChromaMoma]

That is very interesting to know, thank you for sharing!

[@tazzgikong5087]

Ur explaining heat treatment bro...but Tempering is performed to strengthen the metal against indentation.

[@thedabblingwarlock]

​@@tazzgikong5087 Tempering is part of heat treatment. Heat treatment includes normalization, hardening, and tempering. If you want to make steel more resistant to dents, dings, and scratches, you harden it. If you want to make hardened steel less brittle, you temper it. Tempering takes away some of the hardness, but in return you make it less brittle, meaning that it's able to flex. So, no, you don't temper steel to make it less prone to denting. You harden steel to do that. (By the way, normalizing is the process of reducing internal stress created from when the part was formed/forged.)

[@giabea.]

Love the musical interlude

[@annalisaviola90]

I didn't know I should prepare them before the usage 😶 Perhaps I've find why I hate so much to use them 🙃 Thanks for this informations!

[@ChromaMoma]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@hermansmith6578]

Mate, not only did you help me with the new nib issue, you blew my mind with not only the Wii music but just how difficult it looked to play, thank you

[@henry4849]

Just finished watching your first dip pen video! There is no such thing as a coincidence

[@wakeful1710]

I’ve never used a dip pen before, but it looks soo cool and it makes me want to.

[@mikemottonen7230]

I'm a little late to the party here but I've found that if I clean the nib with alcohol then hit it with a lighter for like 3 seconds that gives me the best results. It feels little softer/more flexible after the heat. Haven't noticed a difference in longevity from when I used only alcohol and I've only tried this with Nikko nibs.

[@sonyaliubarska9258]

in my experience cleaning the nibs is much more crucial on big flat nibs, cos with flat nibs you notice bad flow immediately (they just wouldn’t work - _ -) i usually go with the lighter mostly for convenience, but you should be careful not to ruin your nibs, 1 sec from each side is more than enough, oil coating burns immediately. with flat fellas i usually repeat all the cleaning before each time using them, as handling them leaves oil from fingers, which affects the ink flow enough to stop those bad boys from doing their job. hand sanitizer or isopropyl alcohol also does the job!

[@ChromaMoma]

That's a really good point. Thank you for sharing!

[@johnjones928]

the nibs flexibility is set from the factory, heating it up will change it's temper away from what the manufacturer designed into the nib, long story short you could ruin it. If you simply want to remove the coating soak it in Greased Lighting degreaser, that's what i use to clean ALL of my inking tools. For new Speedball Hunt nibs i soak them in vinegar for 20-30 minuets to remove to chrome like coating, they will hold lots of ink afterwards and flow evenly. Just make sure to clean and dry after use to prevent rust.

[@annelloydholden2567]

Thank you for this video. I did not know nibs needed to be prepped. I plan to order the one you recommend. Probably will go with the dish soap prepping method myself. Thanks again.

[@philipsalman4158]

as a guitarist myself i injoyed thw potato part😂❤

[@elliafabia]

This video made me buy the Brause 361 Steno nips ^^ I only have some cheap nips that you get with the handle in an art supply shop and these just don't work for me. They rip the paper and the ink-flow lasts only for one short line. I always thought it is because I'm a lefty and push my pens instead of dragging them over the paper and therefor never tried it again, but I'll give it another chance with the new nips :D love your videos!

[@dharmaofdog7676]

It could be a bit combination. After trying a zillion methods to remove any coating I use my own saliva which is easiest AND fastest! I also dip it a few times, making sure the Ink is over & IN the Reservoir (holes). Swirl the Nib around a few times & make sure you're dipping deep enough! Some Nibs takes a few strokes to get going. Don't give up! You will feel SO great when you finally master the "Ink Load" - it took me some time, too. p.s. I'm bummed that I tried Dip Pen YEARS ago, before Personal Computers and incredibly helpful Internet & KZbin. I couldn't get the Pen to work for the Life of me (never removed any coating). I wound up tossing Pen and giving up. Wish I had known all of this Info. I learn a new thing everyday and I've watched my own progression via Workbooks. LOL! everyone should see my 1st tries! Shakey lined little lopsided ovals! Shading came awhile later and only after auditioning quite a few different Nibs trying to find one that worked best for me. Its just different for everyone but worth the time to find it.

[@lillyhenry.mp3]

interesting experiment, i had never heard of the potato method before

[@ChromaMoma]

Would not recommend

[@Chillton]

Never heard of prepping the nibs before first use, and never had an issue with them

[@cleosan8150]

I've been drawing a few years without knowing about the nibs being oiled. In the early 2000s I got a how-to-draw-manga manga by Akira Toriyama where he recommended rubbing the oil off with a paper towel. I've been doing that since, in combination with a quick burn of flame, to a) get rid of the rest of the oil and b) burn away any paper particles that got stuck in the nib while wiping... worked for me so far =) I could also imagine using disinfectant... I usually have one at my desk to take care if I spill Copic ink, but I never thought of using it to prep the nibs... oh, well, will try that next time I use a new one =)

[@lindseydietz604]

Love listening to this while I draw 😂 scrubbing bubbles has always saved me w nib cleaning lol

[@m_hq6174]

Can we give him a round of applause because the guitar playing was good

[@dmitryivanoff2799]

Thank you for this informative video. This particular nib, Steno, is one of my favourites. I put a reservoir on top of i

[@chrisbieske8117]

This was very useful. I just got my my first dip pen and for a day or two I was struggling and using different nibs not knowing there is an oil casing on it. 💀

[@marketwarriorfx]

I take my nibs to the local church and have our priest bless them in holy water. After that I tie them all on a string and attach them to my hawks leg, his name is Zyphlux - anyways Z flys with them attached to his leg on the first hunt of spring and they are adorned by the spirit of the hunter and after that i write their first letter in the blood of the animal the hawk brings back and he eats the rest. Good to go after that. The real question here is - What were you boys doin with that lighter ?!?! lol

[@therock2767]

That makes me laugh😂

[@lego_minifig]

Nice wii music while waiting on the potato

[@jasonlovi8745]

I use fire, just a quick pass through, I don’t hold it for as long as you did.

[@falter_ego_]

when you played the wii theme 😭😭 and your timer sound 😭😭 i love it here

[@murraykriner9425]

Saliva and boiling water is two other methods used by calligrapher's to prep their nibs for working. I recall seeing in period films, of characters touching the top of the pen nibs to their tongues, and not understanding why they would do that. Must be a historical basis somehow.

[@0Enigmatic0]

Very nice guitar playing :)

[@matthewcoley3101]

Instead of putting the nib in the flame hold a few inches beside and above the flame. Wipe off nib several times during this process. Finally clean off nib with alcohol. Allow to air dry.

[@shinjiikari5174]

I like to use holy water. :v From several christian branches, if possible. Y'know, to clean the hell out of it...

[@ZypherTheCrow]

Brilliant intro my man. Staying till the end for that tom-foolery, lol

[@bharatc.sampat6406]

Wonderful explanation. Thanks

[@ivanav.3136]

I'm late to the party but i liked the vid. back then I'd just use a spray of rubbing alcohol and dry it with a tissue. and it worked well enough for me.

[@submarooo4319]

Love the content!

[@ChromaMoma]

Thank you!

[@joaovictorsilva3092]

I was thinking about remove the nib coat and make another with fire, like chefs with those big pans (idk how to spell the name). To do that it need to burn the nib coat it fire, after that apply another coat like mineral oil or ink (my bet ink is a organic oil product, like fat acid) and reapply heat to combine the metal and the organic compound.

[@joaovictorsilva3092]

The recoating by heat only works with fat acid cus chemistry, my bet that ink have some source of oil but not 100% oil, because all the ink didn't stickied to the nip (nonpolar compound only interact with nonpolar compound).

[@joaovictorsilva3092]

Another thing, coating with oil require a good amount of temperature, like meat in the pan, it sticks because of this interaction between oil and metal 👌

[@tinderbox218]

13:44 "He who draws the sword from the stone, he shall be King."

[@noeldiaz5467]

acetone dude. for abandoned nibs like mine, once in a while. then alcohol. I also just took old dryy ink with the cutter. CAREFULLY!

[@rosezif]

I am watching again because i love your content, thank you so much!!

[@ChromaMoma]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@benrowlinson]

Where it comes to removing oil and grease, I'm Team Washing Up Liquid every time. But you gots to rinse every last trace of surfactant off when you're done. I give them three minutes in a glass full of clear water in an ultrasonic cleaner. Used to give them just one minute, but there were evidently still traces of surfactant left breaking down the surface tension in my ink, and we can't have that. It's unruly.

[@TheRookeryFlat]

Brilliant

[@golden1789]

FAB!

[@juanreyesjunior]

Bro is adorable

[@benlin1526]

Playing that song got you my like. lol. ;)

[@humbertojotas3435]

Thanks you so much

[@psycho_officialx4130]

Multi talent

[@hiobi1172]

LOL@ the toothpaste comment.... too funny.

[@ilias9684]

13:20 You will love the brazilian style of music

[@IloveJillValentine1974]

Stealing a person’s lighter should be a 1st class felony punishable by death

[@josiah-q5c]

Cool video

[@soupbonep]

Did you clean the nib after putting it in the potato? Also, did you wipe the nib after using the lighter? I did because I wanted to get rid of the soot. I also clean my nips with nail polish remover. But most important, use needle nose pliers to hold the nib when using the lighter!

[@AggresivelyBenign]

6 seconds in and I like you already.

[@MithutheBakra]

Loved the Wii music with the guitar

[@Klokopf52]

I keep being amazed by how much people over complicate things... Some new nibs will have a wax coating to prevent rust. Its wax, so either heat it up (be careful tho since too much heat can effectively temper your nib and make it feel bad) and wipe it down or use something that cleans wax, but doesn't attack metal. For cleaning ink of of them it depends on the ink used, but generally speaking water with a bit of dish soap and a tiny bit of ammonia will do the trick. If it doesn't, ultra sonic cleaning has worked wonders for me in the past. Also a lot of manufacturers sell cleaning solutions suitable for there inks. Expensive but simple. I never had rust on a Nib that wouldn't just wipe of, so i can't say anything about that point.

[@greekveteran2715]

Wrong. Heating the nib, destroes the heat treatment of the metal. That makes them perform differently than how they should, also ruinging heat treatment, might lead to easier rust issues. Just use toothpaste or soap and clean water, to properly clean your nibs.

[@Klokopf52]

@@greekveteran2715 that's why i said be careful not to use too much heat... toothpaste doesn't do much against wax and its also an abrasive, so overdoing that will also damage your nibs

[@greekveteran2715]

@@Klokopf52 You can't know if you overheat a nib or not, when you put it direct on fire. The metal is so thin, that you are risking little to big damage on the heat treatment. I'm a metalurgist, so forgive me for being for insisting on avoiding fire. That being said, I never had a nib that came with wax. It was either oil or no coating at all. Which brand uses wax, do you remember please?

[@Klokopf52]

@@greekveteran2715 I didn't tell people to put it over fire :) Practical sense does help a lot tho when using fire in general. I don't know at what exact point you start changing the structures inside the nib steel but it is probably several hundred degrees, way more than wax needs to be wipe-able. I have some french nibs that came with a wax coating on them (they are not marked, so i don't know who made them), also my Brause 66EF had something waxy on it, but im not sure if that was supposed to be there since it was a massive pain to clean it of.

[@LizeyMay]

I cant believe im watching a video about a pen nib being put into a potato lol xD (but a useful video so thankyou!)

[@dmitryivanoff2799]

I put a reservoir on top of it and it works fine. I have an impression that a soap solution is the best way. What do you think? Thank you

[@Mote.]

Damn Mii channel music. Impressive

[@ordinary7sasha]

Nice guitar play 😂❤

[@randomname5285]

does anyone know what the tune he played on the guitar is called ? I've definitely heard it before.

[@mymunaakther44]

Great tips 👍🏽 thank you

[@shirley.illustrates]

I love how u weird all upset about wasting the potato. I love potatoes too 😊 Thank you for the video. I think Im going with fire.

[@meirosama]

always wanted to try pen nibs but i was to intimidated to try

[@MaruArts10021]

Isopropyl alcohol works well from my experience!

[@HappyTurtleGod]

Im excited to use it. Maybe I’ll use toothpaste cause im lazy as hell 😂

[@sublis939]

Nothing wrong about liking the smell of acetone.

[@IMThEGoD100]

Love you dad

[@Nate_L_Holmes]

I just have a little question, I just bought my new nip pen and I didn't clean it, I kept drawing with it for like 4 days, with counting putting it in water after it run out of ink while drawing then dry it with a towel and then put it again in ink and draw, and the same process everytime I want to fill my pen with ink, did that for the last 4 days Maybe cleaned the oil on the nip, thank u for ur beautiful content 💜💜, please if u can answer, it's my first try with nip pen 🖋️

[@demonicedragon7918]

wait is this video about using diffrent items to remove the dry paint from my paint nibs?

[@KeyClavis]

Alcohol based hand sanitizer can be used too.

[@rrawrlolzzz4726]

hi ur my new favorite youtuber

[@altorokbrothers1691]

SAMMME

[@Sauron19173]

When using the fire 🔥. How many times can I do it when cleaning it. Like once in every 2 months or something like that

[@McBernes]

Probably not a good idea to use fire. If there is an oil coating on the new nib just use alcohol or soap to remove it. Clean it with rubbing alcohol after using it and make sure it dries completely before putting it away.

[@definitivamenteno-malo7919]

Chroma, have you used G Pen Nibs? Can you tell the difference between it and this blue one?

[@infamousdeath5727]

i havent washed my nib in a while, works fine

[@dacksonflux]

Potato? I would've guessed something like a pineapple or lemon.

[@ChromaMoma]

Me too!

[@metamorphoseis_]

how often do you change your nibs?

[@ducly3078]

I tried the potato 🥔. Didn't work. I tried tooth paste. I will see if it's okay. Nice 🎸 tune. I don't wanna ❤️‍🔥. I also tried spit after the 🥔. Did not work with spit.

[@demonicedragon7918]

wait if i put wax on my nib the ink last longer on it?

[@deana2953]

can we get a tutorial on how to clean

[@honeycream1396]

potatip

[@woke2woke153]

Spit? Seems to work for me.

[@peepopalaber]

i never cleaned my nibs. after the first few ink dips, it doesnt matter anymore.

[@sistergoldenhair0727]

Only steel nibs have o be prepped. Not stainless or other nibs.

[@domllamadramaking4813]

If I could ask why do you have that tape on your pen nib???

[@wenomachosia]

Potato Potato Tomato Tomato

[@endless_art]

I use an alcohol for removing this oil coat.

[@spiritwane]

What kind of ink is that?

[@arcticmonke9178]

Potato?

[@MrJohnd123123]

What's the advantage of a dip pen over a fountain pen?

[@madkhilla22]

You don't have to dip the fountain pen in ink. It's got built-in ink inside

[@MithutheBakra]

Cheaper than fountain pens

[@GPhoenix08]

Line variety, unless the fountain pen is an pen directed to artists, like having a G nib. You can't get much line variety out of a regular writing only fountain pen.

[@benrowlinson]

You can change and mix colours on the fly, swap your way through a huge variety of nibs - perhaps most importantly, you can mix all sorts of interesting stuff like borax, gum arabic and shellac into your inks without worrying about it. Shellac especially => death to a fountain pen. And yes, dip pens (though I'm inclining to think "dip pen" is sort of misleading, seeing as you're much better off loading them with a brush) are a little cheaper to run - though nothing close to how much cheaper it is to use a fountain pen rather than a rollerball or a ballpoint. And it's not like there's any law against having a Lamy medium italic loaded with black ink to hand for whenever some such of a staple need should arise.

[@it_mb]

So, toothpaste….?

[@saleelsol691]

como que suenas a ser de cristal

[@roypeak3603]

Using fire...don’t change it’s color. Quick pass. Hold with your bare fingers. If you can’t hold it, you got it too hot. Works fine for me. Use fire responsible, or someone will use a fire extinguisher on you.

[@Christopher_Giustolisi]

hitting the nib with a flame is one of the most idiotic things you can do to it. Nibs are made from spring steel, which contains between 0,5-1% carbon, so it can be hardened. That´s importtant because a nib made from mild steel would just bend and not spring back into it´s original form. To achieve that, nibs have to be heat treated. The first step is to heat the steel to around 800°C and then cooling it off quickly, for example by dropping it in oil. The steel is now very hard but very brittle. The nib would just break. That´s why there is a second step to the heat treating process, the tempering. The metal is heated up again, usually to 200-300°C, depending on the properties the final product is supposed to have. The tempering takes away a bit of the hardness but gives the steel it´s flexibility back. In order to burn off the oil from the surface you have to get the nib way hotter than 300°C. They grey color of the steel after he treated it with the lighter indicates that he heated it up well above 400°C That means the nib is now much softer than the manufacturer intended. It´s not as springy as before and it will wear out much faster. That means by heating it with the lighter, he just ruined a perfectly good nib. Don´t do that shit. It´s stupid.

[@nullifye7816]

probably true but you underestimate how infuriating this coating shit is to clean. i wish they just shipped them in little vacuum packets or something instead. i would pay double for that, honestly.

[@Christopher_Giustolisi]

@@nullifye7816 The coating is usually just oil. That can harden a bit over the years but putting the nibs into a jar with paint thinner over night ususally takes care of it.

[@semi_enigma]

Don't waste the Tater lol

[@gentrificationgamingxi]

Are we not going to talk about the fact that he "stole "stuff from people

[@RarebitFiends]

What is there to be said?

[@soiconminicutetran1511]

You look so cute and handsome :33333

[@jamesaritchie1]

Here's the problem. 1. Not all companies put oil on the nibs. Why would you oil a nib that can't rust? You know, stainless steel nibs, chrome nibs, blued nibs, titanium nibs, bronze and brass nibs. Yet some companies do oil them because they get complaints when they don't. Obviously, something that's made to remove grease and oil works best. This means dish soap, though alcohol also works. But most nibs really need no preparation. This is a myth that just refuses to die. Like burning a nib. Burning a nib is as stupid as it gets, but hundreds do so because someone, or some idiotic video, says they should. No, you shouldn't. It's stupid and it damages the nib. Using a potato is also dumber than a screen door on a submarine. This comes from putting a fake patina on a knife. It only works on bare, high carbon steel, and doesn't protect the steel, anyway. It does, however, make a mess.

[@greekveteran2715]

all steel,s and all metals, oxidize with time and exposure to the air. Stainless steel, oxidises slower. Blue anodization,means that the steel isn't stainless,but blueing, doesn't provide the resistance level, that a stainless steel has,it just adds a bit rust resistance. The ,makers who put oil on their nibs, are just those who care for their product, to reach the customer in proper condition. I'd use oil, on any metal nib, before putting it in a shelf, for an uknown amount of time, and an uknown amount of humidity, the storing place of each shop has.