Ordering and delivery
How long before it ships? One to two business days, same day if the order is in before 14:00 Mountain Time. Cut-to-order grinds and engraved seals add seven to ten days and say so on their product pages.
Will I get tracking? Yes, emailed when the carrier collects the parcel rather than when the label is printed.
Is the packaging branded? No. Outer cartons are plain, with nothing on the outside indicating the contents.
Do you ship outside the United States? Not through the website. Write to us and we will quote.
Nibs and grinds
What does the test card in the box mean? It is the line your nib actually made, written here on the stated paper with the stated ink, before it was boxed. The width on the card is measured from that line.
Which grind should I buy? If you write small, extra fine or fine. If you want the handwriting to look more deliberate without changing how you write, the 1.1 mm stub. If you print in upright capitals, the architect. If you do not know, buy the dip pen set for seventy dollars and find out before spending more.
Can you regrind a nib I already own? Yes, for any No. 5 or No. 6 unit. Write to us first with a photograph of the nib end-on.
Is the flex nib a real flex nib? No, and we say so on its page. It gives roughly sixty per cent of the variation of a true dip flex, and pushing it past about 1.0 mm outruns the feed.
If you do not know which grind you want, buy the dip pen set and find out before spending more.Nibs and grinds
Inks
Is the iron gall safe in my pen? In a steel nib with a flushable feed, yes, flushed fortnightly. Not in a vintage gold nib, and not left standing in a pen for a month.
Why is the carbon black not sold in cartridges? Because pigment that dries in a feed over an unattended month is a repair rather than a rinse. The cartridges contain a dye black instead, and the product page says so.
Which ink is waterproof? The pigmented carbon black immediately, and the iron gall once it has cured for about forty-eight hours. Nothing else here is.
Will the violet stain a clear pen? Over several months, slightly. The sepia will do it faster. A blue-black will not.
Paper
What is the difference between laid and wove? Laid paper is made on a dandy roll that presses chain and laid lines into the sheet; wove is uniform. Both are sized here, so both take a wet nib.
Which paper for a flexible nib? The 120 gsm cotton rag, and nothing else in the catalogue. A flex down-stroke puts down more ink than wood-pulp stock at this weight can take without feathering.
Will a broad nib show through? On the 100 gsm laid, a faint ghost readable only against a window. It will not bleed.
Payment and returns
How am I charged? Once, at the time of the order, for that order. There are no subscriptions on this site.
Do you keep my card? No. Card data goes to the payment processor's hosted fields and never reaches us. We can see the brand and the last four digits.
What if I change my mind? Thirty days, any reason, anything unused. See the returns page for inked pens, which are handled differently and better.