List of Useful Items for Calligraphy

We all know the 4 essential items for pointed pen calligraphy: nib, pen holder, ink, paper.

In this email, I’m sharing a list of other tools and items that I have / heard of for calligraphy.

However, this is not encouragement or my recommendation that you run out and get all these items.

In fact, you probably shouldn’t. Cos that’s a waste of money and resources.

But you may find an item that solves a problem you’re struggling with.

Or learn something that you didn’t know was possible! 😊

And I probably forgot / left out some items.

Let me know if you thought of anything else that’s been useful for you!

For calligraphy practice

• Brush rest. I prefer one with multiple slots to hold pen, pencil, brush, etc.

• Little jar / cup to hold water.

• Dinky dip holder & dinky dips to decant bottles of ink for easier dipping.

• Palette or small ceramic dish to dilute gouache / paints.

• Brushes to apply paints / gouache onto the nib. Cheap brushes will do.

• Stationery syringe to dilute paint pans / gouache with water, or refill dinky dips.

• Gum arabic. Thickens fountain pen ink to make it better for pointed pen calligraphy.

• Other types of inks: fountain pen inks, acrylic inks, gouache, poster paints, watercolour paints. See pages 31-32 of my Beginner’s Guide to Pointed Pen Tools.

For maintenance and cleaning

• Fine sand paper or lapping film to sharpen pointed nibs (to extend lifespan) and broadedge nibs.

• Rubbing alcohol to clean ink off nibs and pen holders.

• Pen cleaner to remove dried / stubborn ink.

• Mini screwdriver for adjustable oblique holder.

• Round nose pliers to adjust flange of oblique holder.

• Plastic fishing tackle box / accessory box to store nibs.

• Silica gel packets kept with nibs to prevent rusting.

For drawing guidelines

• Mechanical pencil (with lighter lead) to draw guidelines.

• White pencil for drawing on dark paper.

• Transparent ruler with gridlines.

• Rolling ruler, preferably with an aluminium roller over a plastic roller.

• T-square ruler, useful for larger layouts to make sure lines are perpendicular.

• Lining triangles specifically for drawing Copperplate guidelines. This is a popular one, and this is the one I have.

• Laser liner so you don’t have to draw guidelines. Great when writing a larger number of pieces such as place cards.

• Washi tape to hold paper down.

For drafting layouts

• Wooden pencil to draft calligraphy text. Blunt nibs with controlled pressure can mimic the hairlines and shaded downstrokes.

• Lightpad to trace drafts.

• Layout bond paper for drafts. It’s thinner so drafts still show up well through a lightpad.

• Micron pens (or any dark pen) so final draft shows up better through a lightpad.

For erasing

• Kneadable eraser. Good for gently lifting guidelines, or on handmade paper.

• Tombow Mono Sand eraser for lifting ink to correct mistakes (to a certain degree).

• Tombow Mono Zero eraser. Finer point for precise erasing.

• Eraser guard / shield for even more precise erasing.

For cards / gifts

• Guillotine paper cutter. I prefer this over a rotary paper cutter as it can cut small narrow strips of paper.

• Scoring board for neat folds. Mine comes with a template for making envelopes.

• Bone (or plastic) folder for crisp folds.

• Corner cutter. Great for finishing cards and envelopes.

• Envelope notch punch for making / folding envelopes.

This was first published in my email newsletter, 💌 Curious Letters, where I share tips and stories about calligraphy.

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