Hello all,

I have been struggling to do some rod lettering and numbering with a pen. I dont want to use stickers, decals, or transfers. I want to use ink, then coat it with spar varnish. Glass and graphite rods.

Can anyone provide some good info on what nibs they have been happy with? Inks? Maybe a link? You tube has a fair amount of info, but nothing really on writing on a blank.

Thanks

Jesse

I use Speedball Acrylic Ink. It comes in a variety of colors plus silver and gold. Best part, it cleans up with water, so if you make a mistake you can wipe it off with a damp rag and start over. I use a variety of nibs by Speedball depending on the size line I want.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2014 03:47PM by Bob Riggins.

Jesse,
I have used both Testors model paint as well as Speedball Acrylic ink.

The ink is easier to use than the paint, but the paint works well for a bit of a richer look. The thing that you have to watch is the ability to keep the nib clean so that the paint does not clog the nib.

Be safe

Typically a fine or an extra fine nib seems to work the best for me. Also make sure to rough up the area prior to writing. Seems to make the ink flow better.

I can't stress enough about keeping the nib clean. Get a bottle of pen cleaner and keep it there after you wipe it off.

Speedball inks are pretty good and can be thinned with water or alcohol. I have the best luck with silver ink, then white. Black is good on light blanks. The gold ink doesn't seem to flow as well as the silver.

You can find most of this stuff at craft stores like Michaels, or any calligraphy site online.

Good luck!

Terry

Dave Mayer has been doing a seminar at the ICRBE each year on the very subject you ask about. We've run an item on parts of that presentation in a recent issue of RodMaker.

Dave will be back again at the 2014 Expo with the same seminar. He's done a great deal of research and testing on various pens, nibs and inks, and if you can make it you'd probably find it invaluable.

Failing that, we plan to run more articles related to his presentation in a future issue of RodMaker.

.............

I learned Calligraphy just to write on Rods and Bible versus and I use a fine nib. I believe the one at Janns Netcraft is a fine tip.

Lone Wolf Rods
"Keep your powder dry and your lines wet"
God Bless

All I managed to do was scratch my blank with a nib pen and the ink didnt seem to flow even on paper....sorry to hijack but ANY help would be appreciated here/

Before you start lettering on a blank, practice on lettering on a piece of paper.

With a nib and pen, you do not need a heavy touch. Normally, just touch the paper and the ink will flow nicely if the nib is in good shape and the groove is not clogged. You need to learn the angle and touch to have the ink flowing nicely.

As has been mentioned before, the nib must be kept clean to allow the ink to flow nicely. Also, the ink or paint needs to be the right thickness to have nice flowing lines.

Be safe

Nathan, it sounds like you are working on a smooth unscuffed surface. Try scuffing the area to the point the high sheen is removed, then gently apply the ink/paint to the scuffed surface. It should flow out the nib and fill the tiny scratches you created by scuffing. You should not be pressing hard enough to scratch the surface with the nib. If it takes that much pressure to get it to flow on a scuffed surface, there could be problems with the nib, or the consistency of the medium you are trying to apply.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2014 12:11PM by John E Powell.

Nathan what you need to do is rub the nib on a piece of wood until it smooths the tip.

Lone Wolf Rods
"Keep your powder dry and your lines wet"
God Bless

Forrest,
I like that idea.
Be safe

If I remember right I think Mud Hole and Flex Coat have vidios on wrighting on blanks

Bill - willierods.com

They do but any need should be prepped to get them to write correct and learning Calligraphy helps to give that little extra.

Lone Wolf Rods
"Keep your powder dry and your lines wet"
God Bless

Thanks for the notes, I will update you with my results after some practice.

I have used a heat pen and metallic transfer sheets for years and have had good results. I got it from Dale Clemens. I don't know if they are available anymore. Many different colors of the metallic mylar I guess it is. I haven't run out of it yet.

Nathan, your problem is one I've encountered too, especially when trying to write on epoxy, which is much softer than the blank itself. What I did was to burnish the nib on very fine sandpaper until it moved freely across an epoxied surface. You can practice on cheap ball point pens, and if you immediately wipe it off you can do it as many times as you need to to get it right. Practice on paper helps work out the spacing and you can hold the practice paper under the blank when writing on the blank. If you have a long piece of wood with a groove in it that almost "submerges" the rod in the wood, try that and you'll find it much easier to write well than if the blank is just lying on your bench.

I use india ink on blanks where the colors I have will work, and I like it. It flows well and gives the fine line I want, but it won't always wet the blank surface if the surface is really smooth and shiny - then I have to rough it up a little as has already been suggested.

Then you get to the issue of covering your work with epoxy. Some inks/paints will smudge with epoxy, some with CP, some not at all. You will have to experiment on one of your practice ball point pens before actually doing anything on the blank. My india ink will take epoxy directly but will smudge with CP. I've had other "inks" that would smudge with epoxy and I had to use CP on them before the epoxy.

Jesse,
I'm trying the figure out a good way that works for me also, experimenting with several recommendations I've found while searching. What's working best so far is using a Speedball 107 nib with testors enamel gold and silver paint. Speedball 102 nib was recommended but that's soft and flexible and grabs the blanks. The 107 is stiffer and floats on the blank with just a light touch and gives thinner lines - FOR ME (you may find the opposite). The speedball acrylic ink didn't flow well for me but the testors works real smooth. I cleanup the nib and paint with lacquer thinner, which removes even dried paint. So I keep practicing, wiping the blank clean, practice again, ...

My challenge now is how to write neatly on small diameter (light to medium panfish and bass) rods. I lay the rod in the V of my butt wrap jig which helps but my writing is just not neat. So I keep practicing. Next I'll try writing on some decal paper to see if I can write better flat and make a decal.

Oh, Another experiment I'm doing is to write a bunch of words on a junk rod. Then I'll cover 1/3 the words with CP, 1/3 with Krylon Fixative, and nothing on the other 1/3. Then I'll apply FlexCoat over the whole thing. That will tell me what works best to avoid smearing.

Half the fun is experimenting, right??

John Shear
Chippewa Falls, WI