Though every draughtsman will recommend a pen that he has discovered to be
especially suitable for his own use, few will be found to agree. Perhaps it
is safe to say, however, that the best all-round pen for lettering is the
Gillot No. 303. It is not too sharp, and when broken in is flexible and
easy. The crowquill pen will be found of little use. It is an advantage to
have at hand a large coarse pen of little flexibility and smooth point for
drawing heavy lines of even width. In using water-color in place of ink
such a pen will be found more satisfactory than the Gillot 303, as the
thinness of the fluid causes the line to spread whenever pressure is
applied to a limber and finely pointed pen, with the result that the line
is not only broadened, but when dry shows darker than was intended, as more
color is deposited than in a narrow line. When a [200] narrow line of even
width and sharpness is desired it is best to use a new pen; an older pen
will, on the other hand, allow of more ease in swelling and broadening the
line under pressure. A thin dry line may be obtained by turning the pen
over and drawing with the back of the nib, although if the pen so used be
worn it is apt to have a "burr" over the point that may prevent its working
satisfactorily in this way. A new hard pen is likely to be the cause of a
"niggling" line; a too limber one of a careless or undesirably broad line.
On rare occasions, and for obtaining certain effects, a stub pen may be
found of value, but it cannot be recommended to the beginner, as it is very
difficult to find one that has sufficient flexibility of nib. Quill pens
are undoubtedly useful in drawing a few types of letters (see some of the
designs by Mr. Walter Crane shown in previous pages, for examples) but, not
to allude to the difficulty of properly pointing a quill, which seems to be
a well-nigh lost art nowadays, the instrument possesses so many annoying
peculiarities that it is as well to avoid its use until a satisfactory
command over the more dependable steel pens has been obtained.

A pencil is, of course, a necessity in laying out the first scheme for
lettering. The softer the pencil the more felicitous will the composition
seem; but the beginner should guard against being too easily pleased with
the effect thus obtained, as it is often due to the deceptive
indefiniteness of line and pleasant gray tone. When inked-in, in
uncompromising black against the white paper, the draughtsman