which ruling pen?

[chip]

hi there,
first time poster here so first off i'd like to say thanks to all the posters and admin for maintaining such an informative and lively resourse for framers based in the uk.
I've been working in a framing workshop for around 3 years, and am prepairing to take my GCF exam. I decided to go for the exam initially to raise my eligibility in a job market which seems quite limited for a jobbing framer in a workshop setting.
I also felt it would be good for my confidence to know that I can work to what seems a quite rigrous standard, and stand me in good stead if (or when!) i carve out my own little neish in this great industry.

In order to become more proficient with a ruling pen ( something we never use in our workshop ) i need to buy one and was wondering if the members here might be able to adivise me what might be a good choice.
Money is pretty tight right now so I need something thats fairly cheep without sacrificing to much on quality. i have looked at a second hand Kern ruling pen on ebay for around a fiver which looked quite good, nice quality but am concerned the blades seemed quite narrow and wouldn't hold enough ink for a longer line. and a jakar cross hinged pen for around 13 pounds.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Also any tips on using a pen (ie stopping right on a corner join would be helpfull , oh and a job would be great too
many thanks in advance
chip

[iantheframer]

Hi chip

welcome to the forum.
The best advice I can offer is to buy the best pen you can. I would never consider a seconhand one because they do wear with use , and rather like a good fountain pen, wear according to the user. So buy yourself a decent one and it will serve you well for many many years.

Lion do a good one

http://www.lionpic.co.uk/product/RULING ... ,7885.aspx

As far as stopping on the corners practice and experience are the only way

Good luck with the job hunt

[prospero]

Hi and Welcome Chip.

I would be wary of buying a secondhand pen. They wear to the users grip. Might be worth a punt for a fiver though. Kern are a good make, but The Ecobra ones have wider blades and you can swivel them for cleaning. Lion Pic Frames do them. £31.95 +vat, but you get what you pay for. You could ruin that value of mountbard fairly rapidly with a bad pen.

Also look to getting a good straightedge. Mines a Maped. Looking in the Lion cat i see that they no longer sell them, but the Profila ones look similar. Ally extrusion with steel inset on one side and rubber grip strips. Again not cheap..... If you do get one, keep it just for ruling and polish the steel inset before use with fine steel wool.

New pens can feel awkward at first. They need a certain amount of breaking in before they run smoothly. Don't be too fussy about cleaning. A dried film of paint (not big lumps) on the inner surface of the blades actually helps the hold the wet paint between the blades and so less likely to blob.

Tips?

Practice Practice Practice a lot on scraps. Make sample chrevrons. You have to be very relaxed when ruling. Don't have an argument with anyone or drink 15 cups of coffee before doing lining. Think of it as framer's Tai Chi.

[framejunkie]

Welcome Chip
The Ecobra pen Ian is recommending is the finest i have used, and i want one badly. They are the dogs wotsits. When i bought mine i was a bit cash-strapped so went for the Jakar cross-hinged pen(but i only paid about £8 for it so shop around!). I find it to be fine, although reservoir size is, as you say, a bit of an issue with longer or very wide lines. I do find, though, that its no problem to lift and refill halfway along as long as the consistency of the paint/ink is thick enough - too wet/thin and you can get nasty big blobs in the middle of the line - not pretty. Some mountboards seem to have a better sizing coat than others too(this will stop it bleeding out if it has been done well). It took me a bit of practice, but it always will to really get to know a new tool.

[Roboframer]

Welcome Chip!

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Also any tips on using a pen (ie stopping right on a corner join would be helpfull

I aim to stop JUST before the join, because the line I am joining on to is still wet and if you actually meet it - it can blob. So I keep a piece of tissue handy - rolled up in to a point, and if the lines meet and blob, just touch the corner with the point of the tissue. Same if I go over a join.

Another way is, instead of drawing each line all the way around (that way - if doing more than one line and working from inside to outside, you don't have to wait for anything to dry) draw all the lines on one side, allow to dry and then do the next side, etc. That way there is no risk of blobbing, however, if you do actually join ON to a dry line, it will have two 'coats' and will be darker, so I still aim to stop JUUUUUUUST short.

I hated my ecobra when I first bought it - it 'scratched' and I always favoured a cheapo one from an old technical drawing set. Then one day I had the bright idea of running it, held at the angle I'd normally use, along an oil stone. Love it to bits now!

Light lines on dark mounts? Acrylic from a tube mixed with water - as thick as gravity will allow.

Gold lines? With inks and paints (have yet to find a good one that does not blob due to the metallic particles suspended in it) - try a post-it note stuck so the edge is right where you want to start your line and start the line on the post-it note. OR - draw a line in wundasize or acrylic medium and stick gold foil (or real leaf if you want) to it when it's gone off.

Be careful if marking your corners with pins - paint/ink can get in to the holes and make dark dots, I prefer a 4H pencil, tiny dots that you have to squint to see.

Also just keep in mind what 'normal viewing distance' is for pictures - if your lines look good from that then that's fine, but if they are so bad that they warrant scrutiny, they're not!

It's only other framers that want to get that close to line joins, mitres, tiny overcuts etc etc.

[framejunkie]

Gold lines? With inks and paints (have yet to find a good one that does not blob due to the metallic particles suspended in it)

Have you tried using the Roberson Liquid gold paints?(see the Lion catalogue if your local suppliers don't stock them)
I've been using them, slightly diluted, and if you get the consistency right and work quite quickly - no blebbing. I wouldn't want to try to put down a line fatter than about 1.2mm like this though, but that's what those pretty rolls of tape are for isn't it?

[Roboframer]

I'm pretty sure I have - thing is any paint/ink that I have found that works 'OK' with some practice re dilution or even thickening - I've not liked the look of - and to be honest I hate the post-it note method - it's fine until the last line then you have to wait for the first one to dry completely.

I mostly use a size and real (transfer) gold leaf - can't beat that look and if you use acrylic gel medium you can lightly burnish your line with an agate 'dogtooth' burnisher- and nothing glistens like gold! - Foil is OK but it creates flumbs - if it came in transfer form it would be better - but there's no point - transfer leaf is for economic use - no need to be economic with foil - it's cheap as chips!

[Merlin]

I agree with your Robo about the use of 'post-it' notes. You have a lot of confidence and knowledge

However, for newbies, they can be a good aid to gaining experience for pen speed and types of inks.

Once that confidence is gained then they can be discarded.

I too use a 4h pencil as opposed to the pin prick.

[Not your average framer]

I wouldn't want to try to put down a line fatter than about 1.2mm like this though, but that's what those pretty rolls of tape are for isn't it?

I was taught by an old timer who had been framing for most of his life and he showed me how to bulid up the thickness of a line with repeated passes while the ink was still wet.

It takes practice and a well broken in pen, but it really does look like one line.

Also for those who like the tramline effect, well thinned transparent pigmented ink applied in a couple of passes so that the wet line stands raised above the surface of the mount is the trick.

As the line will dry first at the outer edges, more ink and hence more pigment will be drawn by capilary action to replace the ink as it dries and therefore deposit more pigment at the edges than in the middle of the line.

After practising this technique you will soon learn that by varying the strength of the thinned down ink and the volume of ink applied, you can also vary the level of contrast of the tramline effect.

The Ecobra pen sold by Lion is great because it will hold a lot of ink, (that is providing you don't try and open up the points too far). I like to work with a very full pen and build up the line thickness with more than one pass. I find this gives me more control over the finished result. Smoothness and speed of motion are the secret to mastering the ruling pen.

I make a short test mark of a piece of scrap each time I fill the pen, to avoid any blobs and I mark my corners with a pencil and the corner marking template from Lion. I find it better to stand than to be seated when using the ruling pen.

[framejunkie]

how to bulid up the thickness of a line with repeated passes while the ink was still wet.

So is there a secret method to it? Does it work with tramlines as well as gold?
I may experiment later if i have the time

[Roboframer]

This is my favourite type of marking gauge - 4" strip of mountboard, mitred on the morso, bevelled on the mountcutter and marked in 1/8" increments. I only number every other increment.

DSCN1840.JPG

[Not your average framer]

So is there a secret method to it?

Well it does help to have the right equipment and to have a nicely worn-in Ecobra ruling pen.

I use a 6mm thick i metre long bevelled steel straight edge made by Maun. I had mine for years and it originally came from a bookbinding supplier, but I think you may be able to get them from Axminster Power tools.

There are two notable advantages with this sort of straight edge. One being the weight which helps because it is easy to keep it in place while using it and the other advantage being the distance between the surface of the mount and the working edge of the bevel.

The technique required is to leave the straight edge in exactly the same position with each pass, but to extend the width of the line be slightly changing the angle of the pen with each pass.

Does it work with tramlines as well as gold?

The tramline technique is a different matter. What you are looking for is a nice rounded hump of thinned down ink in a continuous line and I have my doubts if this can be done while trying to increase the line width with multiple pen strokes. I've never tried to get the tramline effect and widen the line at the same time, but my instincts tell me it won't work.

With regard to John's suggestion of rubbing the pen on an oil stone. I've never done it, but it sounds like an interesting idea.

[Roboframer]

With regard to John's suggestion of rubbing the pen on an oil stone. I've never done it, but it sounds like an interesting idea.

It may have been just my pen or just my preferred/natural holding position - most people probably find the thing really smooth from the start, I didn't and that was what sorted it. I've done the same with mitchell nibs (calligraphy) - any that 'dragged' - I just made a few ticks on an oilstone and it sorted it.

[prospero]

I've tried the paralell tramline technique and it does work up to a point. You have to be quick though.

A handy thing I found by sheer accident. The lights in the room I do lining in just happen to be arranged in such a way a as to cast a faint shadow on the board from the straightedge, about 1/8" away. This makes getting perfect spacing on close lines a doddle.

[Bron]

Some counterpoints. I use ruling pens and fountain pens a lot. My preferred writing tool is a fountain pen, of which I have four at present. One is over 70 years old, one is over 60 years old, and neither is worn weirdly other handed. They both have relatively soft, gold nibs. Ruling pens are steel, are by necessity, used delicately, and in a regular position, just off perpendicular. Sorry, pens really don't wear to the owners hand, unless of course you acquired that pen from some Russian novelist, who hand wrote all five drafts of War and Peace with that pen, on sand paper.

I blather about decorated mats and ruling pens more here: http://frame-notes.blogspot.com/2009/04 ... -mats.html

[Not your average framer]

When adding a title to a mount, I use a Pelican Graphos pen with the Graphos caligraphy nibs. They haven't been made for ages, but they are fantastic. They are what draftsmen used to use before the Rotring pens came along. If you look around they can still be found as secondhand.

The nibs clip onto one side of the nib carrier and on the reverse side of the nib carrier there is a hole for loading the ink from a dropper bottler. The nibs have a hinged section like on a ruling pen to make them easier to clean and the combined nib and nib carrier will hold an astonishing amount of ink.

The nibs were made in various widths and are fabulous to work with.

[chip]

Hi there, i've been so busy trying to get my test pieces together i haven't really had time to post. But i would like to say thanks for taking the time to reply and sharing your broad experience and knowledge. I ended up going for the broader bladed lion pen in the end and it seems fine. I'm finding using it one of the most exacting displines i've ever undertaken. I suppose it's because in a straight line there's no way to bluff it.

One difficulty i am finding is (i say one difficulty ) keeping the tone of my lines consistent. Sometimes i'll pen two lines of the same length using watercolour and although i use the same batch of mixed wash stirred before loading the pen they will come out either weaker or stronger. It seems to be a variable i find very difficult to control. Anybody else have this kind of experience. Although Ii have found that a stronger concentration of pigment in the wash has a more consistent result.

I'm also finding that when i lift my pen there seems to be a concentration of wash which seeps back along the line a little leaving a darker portion of maybe 1 or 2 cm's long i was wondering if there is any way round that.

Could these problems be down to my water/ paint ratio? any help greatly appreciated. and thanks once again

[markw]

always buy the best quality watercolour paints. use boiled or distilled water. A little ox gall can improve the flow quality.

[Roboframer]

One difficulty i am finding is (i say one difficulty ) keeping the tone of my lines consistent. Sometimes i'll pen two lines of the same length using watercolour and although i use the same batch of mixed wash stirred before loading the pen they will come out either weaker or stronger. It seems to be a variable i find very difficult to control. Anybody else have this kind of experience. Although Ii have found that a stronger concentration of pigment in the wash has a more consistent result.

Do you reload the nib for each line or just keep going until the nib needs reloading? Gravity can take the pigment to the end of the nib - a second line from the same 'load' can be weaker - I always draw about 6" on an offcut before drawing a ruled line.

I'm also finding that when i lift my pen there seems to be a concentration of wash which seeps back along the line a little leaving a darker portion of maybe 1 or 2 cm's long i was wondering if there is any way round that.

Is that at the end of the first line or when joining on to the previous line? If you connect with the last line, which is still wet - that can happen. Place your nib on a piece of dry paper and not much will happen until you move it; place it on piece of wet paper and the nib will empty out on to it without you doing anything.

There is a way around it though - make your wash weaker and draw a second line, immediately, over the first one, without reloading the nib - I do this as standard unless the line is to edge a panel, or 'band' of (dry) colour.

I use the same technique with a flat brush when doing a panel as well, to tease the paint where I want it to go and end up with a 'bead' at the end - ready to be taken around the next corner - almost careless with the first stroke - tongue poking out (this really helps) with the second.

[markw]

Roboframer - thanks for reminding me - Tongue poking out is essential.