Want to add extra panache to your writing on invitations, posters, school projects, or scrapbooks?
You might try the Artline Calligraphy Pen.
As you can see from the writing sample, there’s no guarantee that it will turn your handwriting into a work of art. But the polyester fiber tip, cut so that letters wax and wane as the pen moves, will help give your words flourish without requiring the use of a fountain pen.
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
The Artline Calligraphy pen uses a fast-drying water-based pigment ink – available in black, red, blue, and sepia – that is acid-free, fade-proof and water-resistant. It lays down lines that are bright and intense, packed with a sense of weight, as calligraphy should be.
The ink’s not supposed to bleed, but that apparently doesn’t apply to the cheap notepad paper used in this review, because the pens definitely bled through and dotted the paper underneath, as well. In fact, any pausing resulted in significant blotting, so your best bet with these pens is to write on thick quality paper in a flowing, continuous hand.
The tips come in four sizes from 1.0 mm to 4.0 mm. The small tip is easy to control and produces a classic writing style, even in unskilled hands, but you’ll have to take greater care as the sizes increase to keep from making a mess of your writing.
We also have a separate review of the Artline 2.0mm Calligraphy Pen and you may also want to check out our guide on Creating Diy Calligraphy.
Meanwhile, don’t count on the calligraphy pen to be comfortable to use. It suffers from the same utilitarian design as most Artline instruments and, as usual, the cap does not post well, either.
If anyone picks up a set of these Artline calligraphy pens and does some writing with them, please send it in. I’d like to see what they can do when used by someone with good handwriting.
IZELL says
I actually use this one..it is my very first calligraphy pen and it works well for roman letters and gothic..but for cursive, it may not be very good to use…
Patrice says
Not trying to be a smartass, but calligraphy pens won’t magically make one’s everyday handwriting look better…. they’re meant for calligraphy, and there is a specific way of holding and moving the pen to form the strokes of the various alphabets. The chisel shaped tip allows you to form both thick and thin lines as you go… I don’t own any of this particular brand, but I have a collection of fiber tip calligraphy pens of other brands. They are WAY easier to use than the fountain pen metal nib type or the dipped-in-ink type that I learned with way back when! It seems like cheating to use them!