The Greatest Fountain Pens For Calligraphy (2025)

What’s flowing, ornamental, and might be traced again to historic China? For those who guessed calligraphy, you positively learn the title of this publish. Whereas it has modified and advanced all through historical past, calligraphy stays an attractive artwork kind. What was as soon as reserved for royalty is now a type of inventive expression for everybody.

The chances of hand lettering are limitless, from wedding ceremony and occasion invites to graphic design and typography. Its intricate loops and line variations proceed to hyperlink the previous with the current. Whether or not that is the start of your calligraphy journey otherwise you’re a professional, this publish will information you to the fitting instruments and fountain pen assortment for calligraphy.

As anticipated, there’s a studying curve for calligraphy inexperienced persons, however we have included all the knowledge it’s essential to get began. First, we’ll share our fast calligraphy pen picks, after which we’ll go into extra element about every.

Our Fast Picks

1. Pilot Falcon
2. LAMY Pleasure
3. Pilot Customized 912
4. Kaweco Perkeo Calligraphy Set
5. Pilot Parallel 

The Greatest Calligraphy Fountain Pens

Brush pens, dip pens, and fountain pens are all used for calligraphy. Fountain pens are our first alternative for hand lettering pens as a result of they supply a easy writing expertise, constant ink move, and permit for better management. They’re extra handy than dip pens for inexperienced persons, which require dipping the steel nib into an ink bottle after each few phrases. The perfect calligraphy fountain pens have versatile nibs, permitting for thinner or thicker strains for inventive aptitude. Some have a detachable converter, making it straightforward to change between completely different ink colours.

Able to dive into our prime 5 calligraphy pen picks? Let’s go.

1) Pilot Falcon

Smooth in its distinctive model, this calligraphy pen is a formidable feat of engineering and magnificence. With a svelte physique and excessive gloss end, this fountain pen was designed with enter from an affiliation of pen store homeowners in Japan who really helpful a smooth, supple writing really feel. In consequence, the Pilot Falcon pen’s most extraordinary function is its hooded, versatile nib that lightly yields to your writing angle and strain. This intelligent mixing of performance and elegance offers you a very customized writing expertise. The identical group proudly endorses the Pilot Falcon calligraphy pen.

Colours: Black & Gold, Resin Blue, Resin Purple, Burgundy and extra

Materials: Resin (Falcon) or easy lacquered steel barrel with gloss end (Steel Falcon)

Filling System: Cartridge/Converter (Pilot proprietary)

Nib: 14K Gold Tender Nib in EF, F, M, or B.

Worth: Beginning at $179

2) Lamy Pleasure

Your invites won’t ever look higher with this modernist model calligraphy pen. The slender, stem-shaped pen physique of the Lamy Pleasure is light-weight within the hand and delivers a easy writing expertise. The u-shaped wire versatile clip makes it handy to connect to your pocket, journal, or purse for ornamental handwriting anyplace. For those who’re on the lookout for an awesome pen to your calligraphy follow or for on a regular basis use, look no additional than the Lamy Pleasure.

Though the Pleasure is obtainable in three completely different calligraphy nib types – 1.1mm, 1.5mm, or 1.9mm, the nib might be interchanged with different Safari fountain pens. So, you can swap a stub nib onto your favourite Safari pen and follow calligraphy together with your day by day carry fountain pen.

Colours: Black, Strawberry Crimson

Materials: ABS Plastic, some types have an aluminum cap

Filling System: Lamy Cartridge (LT10) or Converter (LZ28)

Nib: Stainless-steel nibs (LZ50SL)

Worth: Beginning at $28

3) Pilot Customized 912

In at present’s fountain pen market, most pens can be found in a restricted vary of nib sizes. The three choices of nice, medium, and broad being the most typical. The Pilot Customized 912 trumps all different pens with a whopping fifteen (15!) nib types, together with calligraphic choices.

For immediate line variation, try the music or stub nibs to write down italic or blackletter calligraphy. To jot down with some of the versatile nibs being made within the twenty first Century, go for the Falcon (FA) nib to write down Spencerian and Copperplate script.

Colours: Solely black resin with silver trim

Materials: Resin

Filling System: Pilot proprietary cartridge / Converter (CON-70)

Nib: 14kt gold

Worth: $280

4) Kaweco Perkeo Calligraphy Set

All of the calligraphy instruments you want in a compact package deal! Kaweco makes hand lettering pens enjoyable and reasonably priced with the Perkeo Assortment. Modeled after their flagship Sport assortment, the Perkeo has a faceted cap (no clip for simpler storage) with an extended barrel than the Sport. The hardy plastic barrel meets a stainless-steel nib, with the distinct Kaweco medal adorning the cap. The entrance grip part is molded with an ergonomic grip to your fingers, good for working towards calligraphy. The Kaweco Perkeo Calligraphy Set is obtainable in three nib sizes for various writing types.

Shade: Blue

Materials: Stable, injection-molded plastic

Filling System: Worldwide measurement Cartridge/Converter – cartridges included, converter bought individually

Nib: Stainless-steel nibs

Worth: $32

5) Pilot Parallel

Calling all calligraphy inexperienced persons: simply add a cartridge and you will be off to the lettering races with this pen! Its two parallel plates make for a novel design that achieves extra lovely and sharper handwriting than present calligraphy pens.

Even for those who’re simply beginning to study calligraphy, your creativity should not be stifled by your funds. This sequence comes at a really reasonably priced value level and even provides mixable ink colours. By utilizing two Pilot Parallel Pens, every with completely different coloration cartridges, you possibly can produce gradated lettering by touching the nibs collectively.

Every set comes with one pen, one black ink and one crimson ink, a blue pipette to scrub the pen, and a nib cleaner. The Pilot Parallel is hands-down probably the greatest calligraphy pens for inexperienced persons. Select from 4 completely different nib sizes and colours.

Shade: Silver deal with, translucent part, and cap coloured to match the nib measurement

Materials: Injection-molded plastic

Filling System: Pilot ink cartridge or converter (appropriate with the CON-40 converter)

Nib: Stainless-steel nibs

Worth: $14.13

Greatest Inks For Fountain Pen Calligraphy

One of many shortcuts to creating your handwriting extra thrilling is utilizing nice fountain pen ink. Certain, you can use any fountain pen ink. However, an attractive shading, sheening, or shimmering ink offers your lettering depth and a satisfying look, irrespective of how horrible your handwriting is.

Pigmented black ink is a well-liked ink alternative for calligraphy as a result of it’s waterproof and lightfast, which means it is not going to fade or erase from the paper with mere water. Many writers and artists take pleasure in utilizing Platinum Carbon Black for its wealthy, darkish black that secures to the paper.

While you’re on the lookout for ink for calligraphy, observe that the majority calligraphy and india inks should not designed for fountain pens. Calligraphy ink meant for dip pens is thick and viscous, resting on prime of the paper earlier than drying to a water-proof end. This formulation might be corrosive and can clog up a fountain pen, destroying its ink mechanism.

What To Look For When Shopping for Fountain Pens For Calligraphy

With regards to honing your calligraphy expertise, it is all concerning the nib. That is the a part of the pen that distributes ink onto the web page. To the newbie’s eye, most nibs look the identical, however you may see how completely different they’re at second look. Pen nibs differ in form, measurement, and materials relying in your writing model.

In contrast to fountain pen nibs that present constant line width, the nibs used with calligraphy pens present line variation. Typically talking, when individuals speak about calligraphy nibs, they’re referring to the interchangeable nibs of calligraphy dip pens. A dip pen is just a pen that you simply dip into bottled ink. Whereas a standard dip pen or brush pen is nice for the seasoned calligrapher, we advocate that inexperienced persons begin with calligraphy fountain pens.

Completely different Sorts of Nibs for Calligraphy

Your calligraphy model will rely upon the writing angle, the quantity of strain utilized, and the nib you employ. Let’s take a look at the completely different calligraphy nib sorts in additional element.

Italic Nib

Often known as the cursive nib, this nib has a broad and flat tip with a straight lower. This design permits for max line width variation and ends in a really sharp edge. Italic nibs might be stiff and scratchy to write down with as a result of they’re the sharpest nib kind accessible. This makes them significantly delicate to your writing angle, providing crisp, skinny strains. For those who’re a fan of this distinctive type of hand lettering and you do not thoughts utilizing quite a lot of ink, then italic calligraphy could also be for you.

Stub Nib

A stub nib has a broad, flat tip with rounded edges for barely thicker strains. You may get some stroke variation right here, as it’s much like the italic nib with out the sharp edges. Since this can be a frequent kind of fountain pen nib, you need not study any particular strategies like with calligraphy nibs. You probably have bigger handwriting and revel in a daring, ornamental look, the stub nib is ideal for you.

Flex Nib

That is the nib you need for creating various line widths. Due to its non-rigid construction, the flex nib permits you to management your line width primarily based on the quantity of strain you apply as you write. Elevated strain will end in thicker strains, whereas lighter strain provides you with thinner strains. Classic flex nibs are likely to have the next diploma of flex, however they are often onerous to seek out. General, flex nibs are nice for on a regular basis use along with calligraphy and flourished writing.

Fashionable calligraphy is a time-honored custom, including magnificence to on a regular basis writing or for particular events. We hope this publish was useful in your seek for the perfect calligraphy pens. For those who’re nonetheless undecided, you possibly can’t go incorrect with the options and affordability of the Pilot Parallel or Lamy Pleasure, particularly for inexperienced persons.

As standard, you probably have questions, go away them within the feedback under. Comfortable writing, pen buddies!

Concerning the Creator

Madeleine is a copywriter and video script whiz for artistic and creative manufacturers. As an empathy-based marketer, each web site, touchdown web page, weblog, e mail, and video she writes showcases her purchasers at their greatest. Some say she’s a mind-reader, however she’s actually simply an professional listener with one aim in thoughts: to encourage readers (and viewers) to take motion. A real logophile, she’s the one who (unabashedly) retains a tough copy thesaurus on her desk. When she’s not on set or crafting copy, you will discover her nostril in a ebook sipping a matcha latte.