Buy Calligraphy Pens and Khatati Qalam Online in Pakistan
Almost every calligraphy listing in Pakistan sells the same four words — premium, smooth ink flow, ergonomic, artist quality — and none of them tells you the one thing that decides your purchase: which script the tool is built for. A bamboo qalam and a steel dip nib make a thick stroke by opposite means. The qalam has a flat cut edge and the stroke changes because your hand turns; the steel nib has a point and the stroke changes because you press. Urdu Nastaliq and Arabic Naskh are built on the first. Copperplate and the modern scripts people learn online are built on the second. Buy the wrong one and no amount of practice will make the letters look right.
That is why this page is split by script rather than by brand. 29 tools from Rs. 60 to Rs. 5,500: hand-cut bamboo qalams in numbered width bands for khatati, oblique and straight holders with steel nibs for pointed-pen work, broad-edge pens for italic and Gothic, feather dip pens that exist mostly to be given, Calli ink in six colours and an Urdu practice book from GoldStar. Every specification on every page here was read off the product or its box in our own photographs — piece counts from the printed carton, nib codes off the card, the cut of a qalam nib from a magnified crop.
One thing worth knowing before you spend: almost nothing on this page includes ink. Two sets do — the golden gift box arrives with a bottle, and the Keep Smiling 8-piece set with three cartridges. Everything else is a dip pen or a qalam, and a bottle of ink is a separate purchase. Each listing says so in its own words rather than leaving you to find out when the parcel is open.
Which calligraphy tool do you actually need?
Start from the script you want to write, never from the price. The three families on this page are not grades of the same thing — they are different mechanisms, and the cheapest tool for your script will beat the most expensive tool for someone else’s.
| What you want to write | The tool that does it | What to check first | Safencia examples |
|---|
| Urdu Nastaliq or Arabic Naskh (khatati) | A hand-cut bamboo qalam — a flat edge, no pressure | The width band: 1–5 for ordinary writing, 11–15 for headings | Khatati Qalam No. 1 to 5, Khatati Qalam No. 6 to 10, Bamboo Qalam Set, 5 Pcs Box |
| Copperplate, Spencerian or modern script | A pointed steel nib in an oblique holder | Whether you are left-handed — oblique holders are shaped for a right hand | Keep Smiling Oblique Pen, 5 Nibs, SINOART Calligraphy Kit, Oblique Calligraphy Nib Holder |
| Italic, Gothic or uncial lettering | A broad-edge nib — the same principle as a qalam, in steel | Whether it runs on cartridges or has to be dipped | Keep Smiling Calligraphy Set 8pcs, Cretacolor Calligraphy Set 7pcs |
| Comic and manga inking | Five complete pens so nibs are never swapped mid-page | That each nib is fixed to its own handle rather than loose | Comic Pen Set, 5 Dip Pens, Mont Marte Dip Pen Set 10pc |
| A gift that works the day it is opened | A boxed set that already contains ink | Whether ink is in the box — on this page only two sets have it | Golden Calligraphy Set, 8 Pcs, Keep Smiling Calligraphy Set 8pcs |
| Learning khatati at home from scratch | A qalam, a bottle of ink and a practice book | Nothing else — that is the whole setup | Calligraphy Qalam (1 Piece), Daler-Rowney Calli Ink 29.5ml, Urdu Khatati Practice Book |
If you are writing Urdu
Buy a bamboo qalam, not a steel nib. Khatati qalams are sold on one width scale from 1 to 15: the 1–5 set is for ordinary writing and aerab, 6–10 is the band most people actually work in, and 11–15 is for headings and title lines. A single qalam is Rs. 60 if you only want to find out whether the hobby suits you.
If you are left-handed
Avoid the oblique holders. That angled flange exists so a right hand can reach the steep slant of Copperplate without rolling the wrist, and it does a left hand no favours at all. A straight holder — the Penpoint set, or the Daler-Rowney — works the same in either hand.
If it is a gift
Check for ink before you check the price. A dip pen with no ink cannot be used on the day it is opened, which is exactly when a gift matters. The golden gift box includes a bottle and a stand; the Keep Smiling 8-piece includes three cartridges. Every feather pen here needs a bottle bought alongside it.
If you already have a holder
Buy nibs and ink, not another kit. Steel nibs are consumables — what ends them is ink left to dry in the slit, not writing — and a bottle of Calli ink outlasts a stack of them. The Rs. 60 single qalam is the cheapest way to add a broad edge to a desk that already has pointed nibs on it.
If you are still unsure which of the three families you need, send us a photograph of what you are trying to write — a page of Urdu practice, a Copperplate exemplar, an italic heading — on WhatsApp. Naming the script settles the tool in one message, and it is a cheaper way to find out than buying the wrong pen twice.
Calligraphy Pen & Khatati Qalam FAQs
What is the difference between a khatati qalam and a calligraphy pen?
A qalam is cut from cane and has a flat chisel edge: the stroke goes thick or thin because your hand turns the edge, not because you press. A steel calligraphy nib is usually pointed and flexible, and the stroke swells because you push harder. Urdu Nastaliq and Arabic Naskh need the first; Copperplate and modern script hands need the second.
Which khatati qalam number should I buy?
The number is the width of the cut edge on a scale that runs 1 to 15. The No. 1 to 5 set is for writing at ordinary exercise-book size and for aerab, No. 6 to 10 is the middle band most people use every day, and No. 11 to 15 is the broad end for headings and bismillah lines. If you are buying one set, buy the middle.
Do any of these calligraphy sets include ink?
Two of them. The golden 8-piece gift box arrives with a bottle of ink and a stand, and the Keep Smiling 8-piece set includes three ink cartridges. Everything else on this page — every qalam, every dip pen, every feather pen — needs a bottle of ink bought separately, and each listing says so.
What ink should I use with a bamboo qalam?
Bottled calligraphy ink. Dip the qalam so the scooped well behind the nib fills, draw the surplus off against the neck of the bottle, and write until it runs dry. Our Calli ink is pigmented and waterproof once dry, which matters if you pencil guide lines first and want to erase them without lifting the letters.
I am left-handed. Which calligraphy pen suits me?
A straight holder rather than an oblique one. The oblique flange is built around a right hand reaching a right-slanted script, and it fights a left hand. The Keep Smiling Penpoint set and the Daler-Rowney Simply set are both straight, and a bamboo qalam works either handed once you settle on an angle.
How long does a steel calligraphy nib last?
Far longer than most people manage. What finishes a nib is ink left to dry in the slit, which corrodes the steel from the inside, and a point dropped on a hard floor. Wipe every nib dry the moment you stop writing and one nib covers a great deal of practice, which is why the sets here come with spares.
What is the cheapest way to start calligraphy in Pakistan?
A single bamboo qalam at Rs. 60, a bottle of ink and a smooth notebook. That is enough to learn the two things that decide whether your letters look right — holding one angle and pulling an even stroke — before spending anything on a graded set or a branded holder.
Is Cash on Delivery available for calligraphy pens across Pakistan?
Yes. Safencia offers Cash on Delivery nationwide. WhatsApp is used to confirm stock, which colour or cover is in where a product is made in several, your delivery city and the delivery charges before anything is dispatched.
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