{"title":"How to Use a Calligraphy Pen","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/calligraphy/how-to-use-a-calligraphy-pen","category":{"slug":"calligraphy","name":"Calligraphy"},"creator":{"name":"Cult Pens","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4bpxYiZZYdS99j1LFvhlQ","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2qVGM2myvE"},"tldr":"Load, prime and clean a calligraphy pen, then learn the six warm-up strokes. Angle not pressure, nib sizes, paper that won't bleed.","totalDurationSeconds":342,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["Pilot Parallel pen (3.8 mm nib)","cleaning plate","bulb cleaner","pencil and ruler for guidelines"],"materials":["Pilot Parallel ink cartridges","smooth marker paper or practice pad","paper towel"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Unbox the Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen and Check the Parts","text":"Open the case and lay everything out. You get the white pen barrel, the nib section with its two flat steel plates, a cap, two ink cartridges (usually black and red), a thin cleaning plate, a squeeze bulb for flushing, and a guide card with alphabets to practise. The only thing missing is paper. Keep the case. It is a handy place to store the cleaning plate and bulb so they don't go astray."},{"number":2,"title":"Push an Ink Cartridge Into the Calligraphy Pen Nib Section","text":"Unscrew the barrel from the nib section. Take a cartridge and push its wider end firmly into the back of the nib section until you feel it seat. That wide end is the one that goes in. Screw the barrel back on. Hold the pen nib down for 10 to 30 seconds so the ink can soak through the feed and reach the plates."},{"number":3,"title":"Prime the Parallel Pen and Test the Ink Flow With a Few Strokes","text":"Make a few short strokes on scrap paper. The first ones may come out streaky with pale gaps, like the second stroke here. That is the feed still filling. If the ink won't flow at all, check the cartridge is clicked fully home, then give it a gentle squeeze to push ink into the feed. Stop as soon as the strokes come out solid black."},{"number":4,"title":"Flush the Calligraphy Pen Nib With the Bulb Cleaner","text":"When you change colours or the ink dries in the nib, flush it. Fill the blue bulb with water, fit it into the nib section where the cartridge would go, and squeeze. Water pushes through the feed and out between the plates, carrying old ink with it. Repeat until it runs clear. For stubborn bits, slide the black cleaning plate between the two nib plates to scrape out dried ink and paper fibres."},{"number":5,"title":"Make a Diamond Mark to Set Your Calligraphy Pen Angle","text":"This is the simplest mark the pen makes, and it is a good angle check. Set the full width of the nib on the paper at about 30 to 45 degrees, then drag it down a short way. You get a neat diamond. Make a row of them. If they all look the same shape, your angle is steady. These diamonds also work as small serifs on letters later on."},{"number":6,"title":"Pull Thick Horizontal and Vertical Strokes With a Steady Pen Angle","text":"Keep the same angle and pull the pen to the right for a horizontal stroke, then pull it straight down for a vertical. Notice the two strokes come out different widths even though you didn't change anything. That is the chisel nib at work. Do rows of both. Wobbly edges mean the pen rotated, so slow down and lock your wrist."},{"number":7,"title":"Turn the Calligraphy Nib on Its Edge for a Fine Hairline","text":"Tip the pen so only the corner edge of the nib touches the paper. Now pull it along. You get a hairline, the thinnest line the pen can make. Mixing hairlines with full strokes is what gives calligraphy its contrast. Try a thick stroke that ends with a little twist onto the edge. That flick is a simple flourish you will use on letter entries and exits."},{"number":8,"title":"Practise the Snake Stroke With Your Calligraphy Pen","text":"The snake is a stretched-out S. Start on the nib edge for a fine entry, roll onto the full width for the thick middle, and finish back on the edge for a fine tail. Do whole rows. Watch how the line swells and thins as the direction changes while your angle stays put. Use it later in place of a straight stroke when a letter needs a bit of drama."},{"number":9,"title":"Build O Ovals From Two Crescent Strokes With the Calligraphy Pen","text":"An oval is two crescent moons joined together. Pull one curve down the left side, lift the pen, then pull a second curve down the right to meet it. Keep the nib angle the same for both halves. The thick parts land on the sides and the thin parts at the top and bottom on their own. These ovals are the base of a, d, g, o and q in most broad-nib alphabets."},{"number":10,"title":"Draw Spike Strokes From Fine Edge to Full Calligraphy Nib","text":"Start on the nib edge with a fine line, then bring the full width down to finish with a broad stroke. The result looks like a hook or a spike with a thin tail. It is the last of the six warm-ups. Diamonds, straights, hairlines, snakes, ovals and spikes together make up the backbone of italic, gothic and blackletter scripts. Practise them for a few minutes each day before you write letters."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-06T19:05:38.871Z","published":"2026-10-06T19:04:14.442Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}