Winsor & Newton Collection Drawing Ink Set | Tachikawa T40 & T36 Comic Pen Holder with G Zebra Nib

Hello 👋🏻 friends! Here’s my first impressions on the Winsor & Newton Drawing Ink Set using a Tachikawa T40 & T36 holder. To make it brief, let’s say it’s a fail! Either it’s a user error, or the ink has a mind of its own and defies gravity- reminds me of the musical Wicked!!! Thank you for joining me in my first impressions and please do point me in the right direction if you have any tips on how to use this pen and ink properly. Thank you! 🙏🤗💕

[@leftyfourguns]

Don't burn your nibs, fire will warp the metal. Use isopropyl alcohol or Windex or a paint cleaner to wash off the thin coat of oil they put on the tips before shipping. Also, the Winsor and Newton India ink is stunning but probably better suited for painting with a brush. You can see it has less consistent results with a nib. For drawing with nibs you might want to try ink from Deleter or Speedball.

[@beautisk7315]

Thank you for that info!! I’ll use a brush on these inks. Haven’t been successful with these 😬

[@animula6908]

Dawn works too. I marvel at some of the extreme methods people have invented to cope with a little oil film on nibs, but all I can think is there must be these dedicated artists sketching in fields or something where water is precious and dawn hard to come by, so they use lighters to ready their nibs, like survivalists of the art world.

[@joshuajimenez6585]

Actually burning your nibs are actually good and professionals actually use this method a lot and manga art use it as well, it works for me and I had no problem, I also use alcohol as well

[@lisadunlop1786]

Good video. However, you may Not be aware but new nibs come with a protective oil on them. You can either stick the nib in a potato for 5-10 mins or get a match or lighter and run it through it for a few Secs. The nib may go black but that’s normal. You will find the nib will hold much more ink once you treat it. You can also check out some YT videos for more info. Hope this helps. All info you are asking are all on KZbin, just like you mentioned. Lol! Good video!

[@beautisk7315]

Thank you for the help! I really appreciate it.

[@animula6908]

If you just rub it with a little ink on a Kleenex that can work too. Presumably just rubbing it with a dry Kleenex will eventually wear the film off too. I’ve also been told toothpaste. I don’t think I had luck with that but I wasn’t very diligent in the effort I put out the time I tried. I feel bad watching her struggle because I was warned, and we all let her down lol.

[@terrygojan]

I bought the same pen set for drawing. Nice video :D

[@golden1789]

Really useful video and the comments - not the negative ones! I have just bought a dip pen and the W&N gold ink....

[@stephenpederson7471]

Although your ink could be part of the problem you won't know without properly preparing your nibs in the first place. This was apparent in several places in your video. ink not staying evenly coated (beading) is the key sign that the nib wasn't prepared. All nibs require cleaning before use. A BRIEF and somewhat distant flame (around 4-6 inches) absolutely CAN WORK. The key is not going too fast or too hot, too long. A bic lighter turned down to a low setting can also help. I originally cleaned my speedball nibs (almost all are narrow C-6) which I found best for drawing and cross hatching....at least the kind of work that I do. The heat definitely didn't harm the thin metal and I am still using nibs I purchased and heated almost 40 years ago. A few did wear out but not any too quickly. I use exclusively india inks to make display art. Brands vary however. CLEAN nibs are critical to holding the maximum amount of ink (varies by ink manufacturing, brand, thickness/thinness, additives etc). As I said HEAT is workable if you don't rush in with a high intensity flame close to the metal and for too long. If you start seeing smoke it's time to STOP. ALSO, if the nib is becoming too hot to hold, STOP. let it cool NATURALLY in the air and then test it, dipping it into the ink. The nib may or may not take that level of prolonged high heat in terms of long-term use. They will however still work for while- as in a year or perhaps more. I have seen videos where they did EVERYTHING wrong in frying off the oils...literally frying...kept the flame on long after smoke started and absolutely changed the patina. He couldn't even hold the nib and then dipped it immediately into room temperature ink.... you could hear the sizzle. THAT will change the temper and give you a nib that will not work as it was designed.... it'll still work for some things but not as designed. 2. I prefer to soak them now in isopropyl alcohol. I like putting several nibs in a small colander and resting it in an appropriately sized container. It only takes a couple minutes usually but NEVER more than ten minutes. The same method can be used with HOT water. 3. Dish soap can just be rubbed all over with your finger. Give it maybe 30 seconds, wet your fingers and massage the soap around the nib to rub and move the oil maybe another 30 seconds and rinse it well in warm water. 4. Other variations to clean nibs include nail polish remover (acetone), by briefly boiling the nibs, by brushing them with a toothbrush, even adding toothpaste, or soap, or by sticking them in potatoes. I have done the potato method, and it DOES work IF you do so long enough AND you rinse off the starch afterwards. (Again, many youtubers have shown their experiments without even researching how it's supposed to be done--the kid I saw only put the nib in the potato for a couple minutes and proceeded immediately to dipping it in the ink and declaring it a failure. I should sit in the potato about ten minutes, not much longer and then well rinsed to remove those starches. Ive heard it said that the starches will "effect" the metal if done for long periods but I know of no evidence to support it. That would make an interesting video--testing No time (control), vs 2-minute, vs 10 minutes, vs an hour or two. Does the long exposure to starch solidify the starch for example? Of course, rinse and dry each before use. lastly YOU ABSOLUTELY must thoroughly DRY each nib and EVERY part of the now cleaned nib. This removes residual oils and compensates the nibs for the now missing ant-rust coating you just removed. I've only had one nib ever rust. I left it in the carrier and probably didn't dry the part in the carrier, only the top. The rust started in the base and worked its way up, pulling moisture from the air to it. It's also worth rinsing the ink off the nib occasionally and trying the nib while you're using it. Particularly with quicker drying inks or india inks (shellac). Hopes this helps, I know you made the video some time ago. But maybe it'll help future viewers avoid the bland overly broad, unsupported statements and bad videos that are out there.

[@tristentrivett2781]

i think it wasn’t working after you bent the two sides away from each other, it’s really fragile so just don’t do that to other ones!! you can clean it by putting it in water!! and you can get a ink well that you drop and keep a little bit of ink in it and not dry out ur whole bottle! also you have to clean the new nib with rubbing alcohol or degreaser

[@beautisk7315]

Thanks for the tips, Tristen!

[@katanakhip]

two years later and people still have the same problem with the gold one, though the silver is an absolute beauty, i can get lines thinner than with a .005 micron, im pretty sure you feel like a master now after years of practice, take care

[@leifdux7277]

There's actually a technique to this, and that you are only meant to pull down with the pen. Sometimes you can pull sideways, but may cause chicken scratches. Pulling up is definitely no no as it will get caught in the paper.

[@beautisk7315]

Thanks for the tip !!!! Very helpful. 🤗

[@terryslaughter1409]

That W&N ink is a pain. I just use it with a brush in my art. I can't believe the negative comments.

[@kaylalyons4461]

The reservoir is that oval hole in the mid section of the nib. I hope after cleaning and tweaking the nibs they work and write better 🤷🏽‍♀️ That gold ink was weird though

[@rvprezende]

Brownian movement of golden particles. The issue is the superficial tension of the golden ink. The solution must allow the golden particles to be in suspension without sedimentation.

[@beautisk7315]

Good to know!

[@dementegg]

Lol I can relate to how all over the place your mind is.

[@beautisk7315]

Thank you for being so kind and understanding. It’s quite embarrassing but it is an unboxing first impressions video so I decided to share despite the possible hate I may receive. Learned lots later from kind and patient viewers who shared some good info! 😬

[@seaofpotions9877]

I have the same problem with my calligraphy set, it came with its own black ink, and it was so difficult to use, I would have to be dipping my pen constantly. It behave very similar to what happed with the gold ink ( I could see the ink on the nib but nothing happened) I tried the dip pen with fountain pen ink it worked better, not perfect but I was able to write a sentence when before the ink would dry up before I could write a word.

[@beautisk7315]

Thank you for sharing your experience ! That must mean this type of occurrence isn’t rare... I’m going to deduce it’s the ink that’s causing the pen from writing/functioning. 😩 Sad!! I bought the whole set mainly for the gold ink. 😑😑😑 Thank you for joining me and sharing your experiences with similar calligraphy nibs!

[@seaofpotions9877]

@@beautisk7315 I hope you find a way to make it work!

[@beautisk7315]

@A. Meowzki oooo~ thank you for the tip! I’m going to look into it 🙏

[@lukeshepherd9529]

You cant just use new nibs! Doh! You. Have to burn it first. It's never going to hold ink or work with the factory oil on it...

[@user-wp2wk8re3f]

Hello. I have exactly the same problem with gold ink. I want to say that I am not a beginner and my feathers are not new. the ink remains on the pen and does not allow you to write a single word. apparently both you and I got defective ink. Don't believe people who say it's your fault.

[@jonmahashintina]

zebras nibs are particularly hard to get the coating off of. any other brand you generally just dip in ink, wipe it, and its ready to go

[@beautisk7315]

Thanks for the tip!

[@anthonybeers]

it is a dip pen, you have to keep dipping it. do people do any research before they do anything?

[@beautisk7315]

Lol!!! So I dipped, and it only writes a little bit to find that’s normal! 😆 and I thought I did plenty research 🧐 but apparently not enough. Thanks Anthony~ you sound just like my grandpa bear. Will do better next time.

[@jessmesscreations2730]

The holes are your reservoirs. You don't want to pushing your nibo down like that you rewen them quickly by doing that.

[@beautisk7315]

Thanks for the tip & info!

[@spidigongiz4338]

Haven't u heard of the capillary effect??? That's the reason the ink keeps goin up in dip pens

[@beautisk7315]

Nope. Never heard of it, but good to know lol!!

[@aksa9993]

did u prepare the nib before using it? ...like putting it in a potato?

[@beautisk7315]

No, I did not put the nib into a potato. Lol!!! Is this real? Because I’ll give it a try if it works. I was told to light the nib up with a match to prep it. 🤔

[@MaryAnge1]

@@beautisk7315 haha yeah it is! You can put it in a potato, use toothpaste and wipe the nib or you can burn the nib a little with a candle (I don't rlly recommend the last one cause you could accidentally burn yourself and bend the nib). Some people even use their saliva lmaoo. But you should do it the flow will be wayy better

[@beautisk7315]

@@MaryAnge1 lol!!! Thank you. I have a few potatoes that past its eating period so I’ll try sticking the nib into a potato. 😆 it sounds so funny!!!! But worth a try for sure.

[@sharonling-LetsArtToday]

@@beautisk7315did the potato work? I’m currently patiently waiting the 10 mins with my nibs stuck in a potato 😅

[@dacksonflux]

I had a similar experience with the gold. It's positively useless. I had better luck with literally all of their other colors.

[@stevemaslin1003]

this is why I just stick to my microns

[@jsunvoorhese217]

🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️ noob lol it’s ok you’ll get the hang of it

[@nuggetdealer2432]

Shut up

[@jsunvoorhese217]

@@nuggetdealer2432 🤫🤐

[@beautisk7315]

Thanks! Definitely a first experience and it does take some skill to get used to the nibs, ink, etc. hope to get better at using these

[@nuggetdealer2432]

@@beautisk7315 my suggestion is you should buy the blue pumpkin sterno nibs because they are fun to use and look cool and also have good lines

[@larryglatt2548]

Maybe you should have watched videos about how to use nib pens & inks first.

[@beautisk7315]

I watched several reviews but none of them lit the nib nor stuck it in a potato. Perhaps it wasn’t enough 😬 but glad there’s community and nice folks that tell you how to get it working 🤗

[@larryglatt2548]

@@beautisk7315 Query in KZbin: how to use nib pens? Theris one woman; Mangaka I think she calls herself.