craftgrrl | Ambigrams and Questions ~

I got all of my finished ambigrams arranged in a gallery, so feel free to check them out! (There are a few more under the 2007 link as well)

If you haven't heard of ambigrams before, they are kind of a mix of calligraphy and optical illusions. There are many variations, but I like to work with the rotational ambigrams ~
A word reads the same when flipped upside down
One word flips upside down to reveal a new word

And now for some related questions ~
Does anyone use the Speedball lettering nibs?

I use the A-5 size a lot, and sometimes the ink flows very smoothly, and I can draw for a long time with one dip. Other times they do not work well at all. Sometimes moving the gold part (you can see it better here) up or down will help it work again for a while. (Today it will only work for a few seconds after each dip, but I think that might be a problem with the ink)

Any suggestions on how to get these to work better?
Or is there another brand that is better?

Also, do you have any recommendations for a good india ink brand? I've tried two brands now, and was not too pleased. I have to go over everything twice to get a solid black, and even then the pen strokes leave a bit of a reflection. It really doesn't have to be waterproof, so if another black other than india works better, please let me know!