Before spending two hundred dollars on a ground nib it is worth finding out which grind you actually like, and the cheapest way to do that is to dip. This set has a straight walnut holder with a brass ferrule that takes any standard drawing nib, six nibs across four profiles — two extra fine, two fine, one broad, one flexible — and a small cut-glass rest to keep a wet nib off the desk.
Dipping has one real advantage over a fountain pen: the nib is fed from a bead of ink on the surface rather than through a feed, so it will take any ink at all, including ones that would wreck a filled pen. Pigmented blacks, shimmering inks, iron gall at full strength — all fine.
New nibs arrive with a protective lacquer. Pass each one briefly through a flame or wipe it with alcohol before first use or the ink will bead and run off. Store nibs dry; they rust in a day if left wet.
