Does anyone know...

[Ari]

...what some photographers use to write directly on their negatives?

Sometimes it looks like an X-acto knife, sometimes it looks like a Sharpie fine point.

In this photo of Samuel Beckett by Richard Avedon, there's an "8" in the top left-hand corner.



And yes, it's a slow night.

Thanks

[Bill Burk]

I'm guessing a quill with india ink.

[akfreak]

Sometimes they made all sorts of instructions for the printer. Karsh used to soup his own negs, Then use all sorts of markers, and masks to convey to the printer to his vision. After that work could begin in the darkroom making a final print. Here is an interesting example of this in action. Portrait of Artur Rubinstein showing crop marks,

[akfreak]

Also Some cameras had a little stylus that would let you make a mark on the film between shots thru a window,/slot, this would show up on the negs when developed. Vintage Kodak No. 1 Folding Pocket Camera had this feature. Here is a link showing the stylus used for marking between frames. It is always missing, rare to see one with it still there

[Ari]

So a fine-pointed metal instrument is the answer, I guess.
Thanks!

[greenrhino]

That would be a rapidigraph pen.

[Ari]

The Rapidograph pen uses ink; much of the time I see what look like scratched numbers.
Thanks, greenrhino.

[Jim Noel]

I use a Rapidograph to write exposure and development information on the edge of every negative.
If I want the writing to appear as black on the print, which is extremely rare, I use a fine point stylus to scratch into the emulsion.

[Ari]

Thanks, Jim.
It seems to me that a marking of some kind is necessary on single-sheet negatives, especially if one shoots multiples of the same scene as back-up.

[Bill Burk]

A 000 or 0000 rapidograph would do well, Avedon's looked more like quill because of the scritchiness. Rapidographs require "maintenance" while a quick rinse will take care of a "crow's quill".