Flex Fountain Pen 101: How to Achieve Thinner Hairlines in Flex Writing
Have you wondered why some people can write such beautiful hairlines and crispy contrast in their penmanship with the same flex fountain pen you have? Those crispy thin hairlines make our penmanship look elegant and sophisticated. The answer to how to achieve thin hairlines is not just about skill and control; it involves various factors, including your setup and the way you write.
There are many articles discussing ways to achieve thin hairlines on the internet. However, many of them mainly focus on methods that involve traditional dip pens. Though a large part of the content will still be relevant to flex fountain pens, many factors may not work so well with fountain pens. For example, dip nibs are untipped. You can get thinner hairlines by positioning your writing at a steeper angle. That will not certainly work for fountain pens due to the different iridium shapes of fountain pen nibs. Instead, some flex fountain pens require a lower writing angle to achieve thinner hairlines. Therefore, I am writing this article specifically for flex fountain pens.
Flex Writing Samples Using Different Types of Paper
The Proper Setup - Paper and Ink
The first thing I want to talk about is your setup. This will include paper and ink. As the famous Chinese saying goes, to do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools. Your paper and ink setup plays the most important role in expressing thin hairlines. The goal of your setup is to have dryer paper and dryer ink.
There is no certain pattern among paper that performs well with fountain pen inks or does not spread ink lines. Nevertheless, from my extensive experience with over 30-40 types of fountain pen friendly paper, I highly recommend the following for flex writing and creating thin hairlines:
· Maruman Croquis Sketchbook (Cream)
· Maruman Mnemosyne Notebook
· Maruman Loose Leaf Paper
My top recommendation of paper for flex writing would be Maruman. These 3 collections are what I use regularly for practicing my penmanship with flex fountain pens. Maruman Croquis Sketchbook is probably the best for showing ink colors and adding a bit texture in writing. Mnemosyne is ultra-smooth and expresses the best line variation among most paper. Loose leaf paper is the affordable dupe of Mnemosyne, which also demonstrates a similar level of line variation. Depending on your budget and availability, I highly recommend trying one of these Maruman paper for flex writing.
· Midori MD paper
For the 2nd tier of paper expressing great line variation, Midori MD paper would be on my recommendation list. It is not the best for hairlines, but it’s great for showcasing ink colors. It is also widely available in different regions.
· Rhodia & Clairefontaine paper
As for the 3rd tier of my list, I would recommend Rhodia or Clairefontaine paper as the default paper for expressing line variation. They don’t really minimize the line width of the hairlines, but they are still good at showing the true line widths and not spreading the lines.
After we finish the discussion about what paper to use, I want to move on to what are some dry fountain ink options. Unfortunately, there are many physical factors that make certain inks ‘dry’, such as viscosity, adhesion, and cohesion. It is not easy to get things explained in a simple way. The rule of thumb is that, runny inks are usually drier than thicker inks. It is not always true as inks can react to paper and perform in an unpredictable way, but I can share some common inks I tend to find dry:
· Sailor’s non-sheening inks
· Ferris Wheel Press’s non-shimmering/non-sheening inks
· Robert Oster’s most non-shimmering/non-sheening inks
· Pennonia’s non-shimmering/non-sheening inks
· Troublemaker’s non-shimmering/non-sheening inks
The common pattern of inks you want to avoid is sheening inks. Due to the high concentration of dye, they tend to be fairly wet and lubricated. So, they will lay down a thicker line. They are great if you are looking for inks to help with ink flow, but not so much if you want to create thin hairlines. Shimmers usually don’t affect the wettability that much, but I haven’t tried enough numbers of shimmer inks to make a statement. My go-to dry inks for testing hairline performance are from Robert Oster and Ferris Wheel Press.
After you have your setup ready, you are halfway there. The rest will rely on the way you write. You don’t necessarily have to do all the following techniques. These are just extra tips if you want to acquire the best hairline performance out of your flex fountain pens.
Some Important Techniques
One of the main techniques used to create thin hairlines is to minimize the contact area between the nib and the paper. This involves both contact angle and pressure.
For contact angle, you can practice finding the writing angle that minimizes the contact area, either at a steeper or lower angle. It is not always true that a steeper angle yields thinner lines. It depends on the iridium shape of your flex nib.
You can also experiment with tilting the nib sideways like using a dip nib. However, exercise caution and limit this technique to lighter flexing scripts like Spencerian or American Cursive to avoid misaligning the nib.
After you find out what angle works the best, then practice applying minimal to no pressure in your upstrokes. Imagine guiding the nib to gently glide across the paper. There should be no scratching sound while you are doing the upstrokes correctly. If you hear a scratching sound while doing your upstrokes, you are probably laying down too much pressure.
2. Another useful technique to create thin hairlines is to separate your upstrokes from your downstrokes.
It is tempting to write your downstrokes and upstrokes together. However, depending on how much ink you lay down from flexing, how fast the ink dries on the paper, and how fast the nib can return to its unflexed state (so it stops putting down more ink), connecting upstrokes after downstrokes can cause pooling effect and making your hairlines to appear thicker. Separating your upstrokes will give enough time for everything to return to its optimal condition, which allows you to put down a thinner upstroke.
This is a closeup video of how I achieve thin hairlines with the gusher FPR 14k ultra flex nib. The video is with its original speed and sound. I have used both techniques in this demonstration.
Mastering the art of flex writing to achieve thinner hairlines in penmanship is a captivating journey that demands attention to detail and a passion for the craft. With the proper setup of paper and ink, you create the ideal canvas. And the techniques are the hidden shortcut. I hope this article can solve some mystery in how to achieve thinner hairlines with flex fountain pens. If you have any questions or need clarification, please leave your comments below. Happy writing! ;)
