Making products with wood burning is so much fun, but using a new instrument may be frightening. I have compiled some wood burning tips for wire-nib burners to help you get started if you’ve ever desired to try your hand at pyrography. If you have been intimidated by the thought of learning how to utilize a wood burning tip for wire-nib burners to do stunning projects, then these tips should be helpful.
8 Wire-nib burner tips you should own
The wood burning pen tips you select will depend on the artistic or crafty look you’re striving for. Whether you are working on a curved project or a flat project, it matters whether working on a flat surface, such as a table or desk, or an inclined surface, such as an adjustable art table or easel, has an impact as well.
When purchasing wood burning pen tips, there are a few more things to consider. These options depend on how quickly and how much you prefer to burn your design on the wood surface.
1. Solid Points or Tips
This tip also goes by the name of “universal point” since it essentially has the same capabilities as all the other woodburning points. Experts in pyrography do not advise utilizing it for all applications, though. Brass solid interchangeable tips are screwed into the burner’s front end and are made of solid construction.
Solid points are a perfect place for novices to start learning how the wood burning tool works, how hot it gets, how to control it, how to master skills, and how to feel at ease with the tools in general. Generally speaking, a solid point will require more time to heat up, burn your wood, and cool down than a wire tip. It will then be simpler to learn the more complex wire tips.
Uses
The universal tip, which may be used for fine line work, dots, letters, and shading, is the most popular solid brass tip. It takes practice to write in smaller block letters. The large sized universal point covers more ground, while the universal micro point may fit into tighter spaces.
2. Calligraphy Point
The calligraphy points of woodburning tips have a similar shape to universal or tiny universal tips. Still, their edge is uniformly tapered in from both sides as opposed to having a chisel tip that comes with a long point sticking out. Using this tip is equivalent to using permanent markers with flat edges.
Uses
With this tip, drawing straight lines is surprisingly simple. To produce a clean line[1] without the bottom edge of the tip digging in for a while, drawing a line and pushing the point towards you, you must hold the tool at a steeper angle than the wrist truly wants to. Straight lines are simple, though, if you know the angle.
Compared to the universal or micro universal tips, it works well for squeezing into smaller spaces. With the help of this tip, it is simple to fill in those enormous block letters and create neat borders.
3. Flow Point
The flow point is the smoothest woodburning tip you’ll find in your solid-point burner set. Simply said, it moves over the wood with ease. But it is limited in what it can do. This tip’s end is moderately blunt and rounded. It resembles writing with a standard bullet-tipped office marker.
Uses
With this tip, you’ll like how fluid burning feels. Regarding methods, it excels at handling the majority of them. With this tip, the lines are thicker. However, they are rather even and simple to manage. While drawing circles requires more control than drawing straight, curved lines, the flow point makes it seem simple.
One of the finer pointillism and stippling wood burning tips is this one. It’s simple to make them all the same size, and you may get a wide range of sizes. The bigger dots usually leave behind a “glow.” If it annoys you, simply lower the heat and burn your huge dots more slowly. Curved letters are handled well. Even if the line is not as thin or sharp as the small flow point or shade point, the curved letters are nevertheless smooth.
4. Mini Flow Point
Using one of those fine-tipped permanent markers is more akin to this. Using one of those fine-tipped permanent markers is more akin to this. Similar to the flow point, but with a finer tip, is the micro flow point. It has the impression of physically “flowing” across the wood.
Use this tip with caution, though. Its tiny end makes it susceptible to bending, especially when used in high heat or for a lengthy burning operation. Really, you shouldn’t push any tips, but this one is an exception to the norm. Your tip will last for a longer time if you let the heat do the work.
Uses
When performing line work, this tip is the most fulfilling one. Although it doesn’t produce as fine of a line as the shading point or the universal tip, it is much simpler to control. It creates wonderful little dots, although they are not as tiny as shading points or as big as flow points. And it does an excellent job of making circles quickly. It is simple to use for both regular and cursive writing.
5. Cone Point
The cone point makes for a good small tip. When you acquire a new solid-point wood burner, your package usually includes a few woodburning tips, and this particular one is one of them. This tip features a little cone at the end. It resembles a squatty tapering point in appearance. And it’s arguably the tip that most closely resembles the appearance and feel of a ball-point pen.
Uses
It makes great stippling dots since it can create little and huge dots. However, the larger dots can become rather sharp and deep. This is a fantastic choice if you want that dense texture.
Use the flow point instead if you like a smooth, bowl-like dot for your pointillism. The cone point creates a lovely thin line. Although it frequently catches on the wood, a fine, smooth line may be obtained by holding it at the proper angle.
You can select the shading point for very fine lines or the small flow point for a smoother line. You can get some good cursive out of it if you hold it over the wood correctly and are patient. Also, block lettering is acceptable.
6. Shading Tips
A variety of straight and curved shading tips of different diameters can be used to create shade. Use a broad shader tip for areas that are huge. Shading will become quicker and simpler as a result. Using a broad pen tip in open areas will also produce an equal tint.
Consider employing thinner shader tips in areas of your work when space is limited. Compared to a wide shader tip, they can access regions that are difficult to reach considerably more easily. Shading may be achieved with any flat nib. Although there are many resources for shading tips, shading may be achieved without a special “shader” nib.
7. Bent and Straight Wood Burning Tips
Flat or twisted wood burning pen tips and nibs are both available. Each choice is practical for various applications and surfaces.
Use of bent tips
A curved tip will be simpler to use when working on a flat surface. You may hold the pen straight instead of angling your wrist because of it. This improves the ergonomics of wood burning and safeguards your hands and wrists while using it for extended durations.
Use of straight (or flat) tips
Working on convex or concave surfaces like bowl rims or plate edges is best done with straight or flat tips. They enable you to maneuver around the object’s form without awkwardly angling your hand.
8. Heavy Duty vs Standard Pen Tips
Wood burning pen tips come in different sizes, shapes, angles, and thicknesses. Compared to regular nibs, heavy duty nibs are produced from the thicker wire. They warm up more slowly, but they are a lot more robust.
Heavy duty pen tips can sustain higher temperatures than standard pen tips while being lighter and warming up more rapidly.
Uses of standard tips
Beginners should typically burn with low heat, gentle pressure, and moderate motions. This implies that regular pen tips could be a decent choice. They work well at lower pressures and temperatures and are inexpensive and simple to find.
Use of heavy-duty tips
However, investing in heavy duty pen tips up front is certainly the wiser choice if you intend to keep wood burning for years to come and want to improve your craft. In general, heavy duty pen tips outperform their ordinary counterparts in all temperatures and pressures and last longer.
I hope this article helped you understand what are wire nibs and how to use them. I have more guides lined up like this below, do check them out.
Summary
The secret to generating successful products with a high level of craftsmanship is understanding what wood burning nibs are available, what they can accomplish, and how they operate. Utilizing the numerous recommendations and your expertise will provide you the majority of your understanding. All I can say is to have fun and to be proud of your wood burning art. So, when you have the right wood burning tips for wire nibs with you, creating any beautiful art on wood will become easy eventually.
References
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Pyrocrafters, LLC. (2022, September 19). How to get clean lines in wood burning | Pyrography Tutorials | Wood burning Ideas [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggLz4yyZMXU