Fountain Pen Basics

Introduction

Fountain pens are essentially, fancy writing pens. They are pens that can be refilled with ink when they run out and they can have interesting designs to them. They were originally popular in the early and mid 1900s, but they have decreased in popularity since. They serve the same function as regular, cheap ballpoint pens in that you can write and draw with them. They are not as readily available as these same ballpoint pens which can be easily acquired at your neighborhood Staples store. Yet, there are some people that still use these fountain pens. Some find that they are easier to write with, some try to be more eco-friendly in this way (fountain pens are not meant to be disposable), and some think their handwriting looks better this way.

Fountain Pens

Lamy Safari

TWSBI Eco

Visconti Rembrandt

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The Components that Make Up a Fountain Pen

The Nib

The nib is the part of the pen that touches the paper. It provides lines of various thickness depending on its material and how much pressure is applied on it by the user. If the nib is made of a more flexible material, the nib can provide a thicker line when more pressure is applied. Some nibs are even specifically called flex nibs when they can provide a large array of line thicknesses. If the nib is of a stiffer material, it will provide a uniform line thickness no matter how much pressure is applied. Nibs can be made of steel, gold, and various other metals.

The Feed

The feed is the part that goes underneath the nib and its purpose is exactly like it’s name, to feed ink to the nib. It is considered one of the most important parts of the pen because depending on how efficiently the ink travels through this part, the pen is more capable of supplying ink to the paper. Fountain pen users do not enjoy when their pens go dry and they have to tap on the pen to get the ink to start flowing. The feed is the part of the pen where ink can get clogged if the ink is not appropriate for the pen or if the passageway for the ink is too small. The feed can be made of black plastic, or ebonite.

The Reservoir or Filling System

The reservoir or filling system is the part of the pen that holds the ink. The ink can be held in various different ways such as, cartridge, converter, or piston. The cartridge is the least messy way of filling the pen with ink because it is a cartridge of ink that you attach to the fountain pen, just like a cartridge ink for a printer. This is the most expensive of all the options of the filling systems because the cartridges get thrown away after they are used. A converter is like a cartridge but it has a mechanism to refill it and you can detach it if you want. This is a cheaper option than cartridges but it is more of a hassle to refill the pen. A piston is a screw mechanism, similar to the converter, but it cannot be detached from the pen. The downside to a piston is that cartridges cannot be attached to this kind of fountain pen.

The Cap and the Barrel

The pen cap and barrel are the face of the fountain pen. Many users like for their fountain pens to feel good and look good. The pen cap can have a clip on it which can be used to attach the pen to a notebook or a shirt pocket. The pen cap and barrel are usually made of the same material and sometimes this material can be the most expensive part of the pen.

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Why Use Fountain Pens

Fountain pens are useful in many ways. Fountain pens can help a person improve their handwriting. They are better for the environment because they are not meant to be disposable. The initial cost of them is much more than a cheap ballpoint pen, so they are not something that users will want to lose. Fountain pens are more comfortable to write with over extended periods of time because less pressure needs to be applied on them then with a ballpoint pen. Various people enjoy using them, from writers, to artists, and everyone in between.

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