I used Noodler's ink in a cheap ruling pen/inking compass I got off of ebay a few months ago. The tip of the ruling pen was ground really poorly when I got it, so I ground it and polished it till it was good enough. It's still nowhere close to the quality my Paragon Wytetip R, also from ebay. The Wytetip has hinged stainless steel tines with HSS points, and an ebony handle. I paid peanuts for it, but it's priceless to me. One of the prettiest tools I have.
Wytetip is in the middle. The compass is branded 'Martin' and made in Germany. Nothing to write home about, but I like its all-metal construction. I've got the 2mm graphite holder for it as well, but I have another compass dedicated for that.
Below is the re-ground compass inking tip. I didn't think of taking a 'before' picture, but I can assure you that it was pretty bad.
I hope I can make an inked drawing one day worthy of the Wytetip R. I think I'm capable of it now, but I'm waiting for a good reason to make a nice blueprint. Working with ruling pens is not too hard; however, making a complex inked drawing without bleeding or mistakes is a challenge. I think they had it easier back in the day, with access to less absorbent paper and more applicable tooling in general. Inking a technical drawing is such a weird thing to do in 2014... I'm not going to spew any spack about how it's an important skill or useful one. That doesn't mean the result is worthless though. It's pretty, timeless, it has a lot more soul than something off the printer. The Wytetip ruling pen is bound to a life of mistakes and perhaps a misguided hobby, but lying next to a fine-tip Sharpie its value is very apparent.
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