I love Pilot Parallel Pens. They come in several sizes and give wonderful, crisp lines. I like the larger sizes especially. Brenda Broadbent, owner of Paper and Ink Arts, gave a nuts and bolts demonstration of the versatility of these pens at the IAMPETH convention.
She first had us dismantle our pens. Assuring us that it was virtually impossible to ruin them. Her main goal was to convince us that these pens are more than cartridge pens. They are easy to disassemble and clean with ammonia water or Windex. Soak the pieces in the ammonia solution, rinse and dry.
The greatest thing is that you can load your fluid directly into the barrel of the pen. You can load them with nearly any fluid....sumi, watercolor, gouache, walnut ink, etc. She was hesitant about using acrylics though. Several people in the class said they've even used bleach successfully.
I used walnut ink. I have given step-by-step directions over on my Flickr account. You can view the tutorial
here.
This is Brenda's book
Parallel Pen Wizardry. I think it's a must have if you own one of these great pens. You can order it, along with the Parallel Pens, from Paper & Ink Arts
here.
I love Pilot Parallel Pens. They come in several sizes and give wonderful, crisp lines. I like the larger sizes especially. Brenda Broadbent, owner of Paper and Ink Arts, gave a nuts and bolts demonstration of the versatility of these pens at the IAMPETH convention. 
She first had us dismantle our pens. Assuring us that it was virtually impossible to ruin them. Her main goal was to convince us that these pens are more than cartridge pens. They are easy to disassemble and clean with ammonia water or Windex. Soak the pieces in the ammonia solution, rinse and dry.
The greatest thing is that you can load your fluid directly into the barrel of the pen. You can load them with nearly any fluid....sumi, watercolor, gouache, walnut ink, etc. She was hesitant about using acrylics though. Several people in the class said they've even used bleach successfully. 
I used walnut ink. I have given step-by-step directions over on my Flickr account. You can view the tutorial here.
This is Brenda's book Parallel Pen Wizardry. I think it's a must have if you own one of these great pens. You can order it, along with the Parallel Pens, from Paper & Ink Arts here.
Good pen... Great caligrafic...
ReplyDeleteBest wishes from Buenos Aires...
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Great post! I have several of these pens that I bought about a year ago, but I haven't used them much. The ink in the cartridges bleeds on nearly all of the papers I have tried. Do you have any recommendations?
ReplyDeleteYour post has given me the confidence to try them again. Thanks!
I love these pens but have tended to use them for play because the ink does bleed. I'm going to watch your tutorial and learn how to load the barrel with a more tolerant medium. Thanks Jane!
ReplyDeletemartha and i were just talking about these pens the other day! i need to order the large one...i have the medium and small, but it's really small so i don't use it as much as i should. thanks for mentioning how to clean them.....i need to do that to mine, too! :)
ReplyDeleteAs Katy and Lisa mention, the ink that comes with the pens isn't the best. It bleeds and isn't light fast. I completely understand the frustration. The only papers I have found that work fairly well with the manufacturer's ink are 100% cotton. I buy 100% cotton resume style paper at Office Max/Depot for my broad edge calligraphy practice. Do try your PPPs again, but consider trying them without the cartridge with whatever fluid (other than acrylic) that you like best. See my Flickr account for step-by-step instructions! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this post, Jane! I've been wondering if I could use other fluids with my pens. I'll check out your flickr page to see the step-by-step.
ReplyDeleteThe step-by-step is wonderful. Very descriptive and helpful. Thanks so much, Jane! I love these pens for their crisp lines but hate the ink because it bleeds, so now I'm excited to try new fluids!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your instructions! I was about to order a couple of these pens and now am more familiar with how they work.
ReplyDeleteKaren
Cindy YountSeptember 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Very inspiring, Jane. :) And I finally got the blades/nib out! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI use the ink for practice with a Big Bee Sketch Book or anything similarly cheap. I can practice at a cafe while drinking coffee or while plopped on the couch in front of the television or I can sit outside.
ReplyDeleteOn different papers, e.g., ATW or 140lb cold press, I use acrylic inks without any problems, gouache, or watercolors. You can pretty much use anything in these pens. You can dip, feed with a brush, fill the barrel, refill an empty cartridge with what ever medium you like. These pens are pretty much industructible.
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeletethanks so much for the post. I had heard about this but could not verify. I also like the discussion on the page too... very helpful.
Thanks
Steve
http://steveczajka.posterous.com
I just started calligraphy, my first pen was a pilot 3.8 mm, I don't know which size was best for beginner? Do you have any suggestion? By the way, nice art.
ReplyDeleteDuy
dvu@nycap.rr.com
Thanks!!! Just ordered mine :-) Can't wait to try these pens out!
ReplyDeleteooooh dear Jane.. I specially like this one pen.. and I wish one for me... !!! but Sadly on my country people don't have interest about sell this kind tools on stores and only could request via international import.
ReplyDeleteI just bought on of these pens on the weekend. I've been using a fountain pen (regular pointed nib) for years and had wondered if there was a refillable cartridge, so I was pretty excited when I found your pictures and instructions on Flickr. Thank you so much for sharing. I can't wait to try this!
ReplyDeleteipenstore.com offers a set of all four for about $30.00.
ReplyDeleteWow! No cartridges - this is a GREAT tip. Thank you!
ReplyDelete