Sheaffer Calligraphy Set from The Pen Company

Calligraphy pens that work like a regular fountain pen are great for those who may be daunted by the thought of a dip pen and ink.

I use them in my workshops when teaching broad-edge pen calligraphy styles to beginners.

After all, my first calligraphy pen was a cartridge pen from Manuscript Pen Company Ltd and it’s still going strong after more than 20 years!

Over the years I’ve tried a few different brands, with the Pilot Parallel Pen and Lamy Joy becoming staple parts of my calligraphy kit.

Sheaffer Classic Calligraphy Set

One brand I hadn’t come across was Sheaffer, so I’m thankful to The Pen Company for sending me one of their classic calligraphy sets to try out.

It features three nibs, three comfort grip pens and 20 assorted ink cartridges.

I really liked that there was a colour-coded barrel for each nib, so you don’t have to get messy switching cartridges when you need to change nibs.

The barrel also has a cut-out panel so you can see the ink cartridge inside.

The three nib sizes are fine (1mm), medium (1.5mm) and broad (2mm).

The set also includes an instruction booklet and tracing pad, which makes it a great package for beginners and excellent value at £15.95.

The Viewpoint pens themselves are comfortable to hold and write with and the nibs glide across the page.

The Sheaffer Skrip ink dries quickly and there are several colours included in the kit.

The instruction booklet could do with a bit of updating, but it has five calligraphy alphabets to try and plenty of useful tips, from getting the right posture to margins and spacing, as well as a brief history of calligraphy and writing instruments.

It’s worth noting, also, that The Pen Company also stocks the Lamy Joy and Pilot Parellel Pen, as well as Tombow ABT brush pens for brush lettering, as well as a range of Diamine inks, which I wrote about in my last blog.