Graphos – Nibs – Rapidograph

Rapidographs also called pens or improperly graphos were an important ink drawing tool before the advent of CAD and then plotters. In some sectors they still are but in the field of technical drawing they were the main tool for representing the project on paper and on tracing paper. Each rapidograph had its own thickness from 0.1 to 1.2 they covered all the graphic needs of the project. The use of color was very important to quickly distinguish between the various thicknesses. 
Yellow (0.2) nibs for projection lines and beige (0.5) for masonry or all section lines were most commonly used for 1.100 scale drawings.
The yellow nib being among the thinnest was particularly delicate, in case of a fall the steel tip would bend and the nib was practically compromised. 50% of the time the tip could be straightened and it continued to work, otherwise 12 thousand lire were lost.



In the picture the Rotring nib holder. The nib was inserted into the special housing inside which there was a damp sponge that prevented the ink from drying out. It was necessary to remember to periodically moisten the sponge otherwise the nib would dry out and stop working. The rapidographs needed periodic cleaning, especially the thinner tips. To clean the nib (see instructions) the tip was unscrewed with a special red key and washed in hot water and liquid soap. In the case of particularly dry ink, the nib was left to soak for a few hours, rinsed and dried and it returned to perfect working order.




The complete set, in addition to the ink, also included the stand for using the rapidograph with the compass.




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