FOUNTAIN PEN

FOUNTAIN PEN

A fountain pen is a nib pen that, unlike its predecessor, the dip pen, contains an internal reservoir of liquid ink. The pen draws ink from the reservoir through a feed to the nib and deposits it on paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action. Filling the reservoir with ink may be achieved manually, via the use of a Pasteur pipette or syringe, or via an internal filling mechanism which creates suction to transfer ink directly through the nib into the reservoir. Some pens employ removablee reservoirs in the form of pre-filled ink cartridges

BENIFITS

• They feel good to write with, generally. Most fountain pens are thick and have nice, comfortable grip sections, and some of them are made of metal so for some people heavier pens are more comfortable to use (one of them is me).
• They require little to no pressure to lay down a full, saturated line. Roller balls and ballpoints require pressure to write a fully saturated line. For most users, this means less hand fatigue, and it will be easier to write properly (using arm motion rather than wrist and fingers). For artists, this means consistency in solid lines.
• Its writing properties will always be the same. You will always have the same pen. I don’t ever need to throw it away. Anything short of destroying a precious nib, you can maintain, repair, and customise on your own. You don’t have to deal with discontinued pen models or out of stock pens.
• Varying line widths. One of the aesthetics of fountain pen writing is the varying line widths achieved by changing the writing pressure. Not all pens are supposed to do this, but within a certain tolerance for non-flex nibs, it can still be achieved. Some fountain pens called flex pens are designed to have greatly varying line widths.
• Writing stamina. Personally, my hands cramp up when using ballpoints, because I write really small, and I have to apply constant pressure on the pen. Since I’ve switched to fountain pens, I can write for longer with much less hand fatigue. Writing with ballpoints today now gives me even more pain.
• To address some of your concerns about fountain pens:
• “The lines are wide and wet, even with a fine nib” - first, concerning width - nib sizes are not standard. A European fine is wider than a Japanese fine, such that it is equivalent to or just minutely thinner than a Japanese medium. There are tables that indicate nib sizes in their equivalent numbers. Second, wet ink flow is a desired trait in fountain pens as they lay down more consistent ink, they don’t skip, and they prevent railroading. Third, the same effect can be said of liquid ink pens such as roller balls and pens like the Pilot Hi-Tecpoint (not sure if it’s a tech pen). Here’s an example of the Schneider Top ball 0.3 roller ball compared to the Pilot Metropolitan fine nib (around 0.3) fountain pen, a Platinum Preppy 0.2 fountain pen and a generic (0.5-sh) ballpoint. Note how even the Metropolitan is equal or thinner than the Top ball. (Please don’t mind the shit handwriting)
• “I am paranoid about them leaking” - a perfectly fine concern, especially coming from ballpoints. But if coming from other liquid ink pens, the chance of it leaking is pretty much the same. Anecdotal, my disposable Top ball shat on me big time within two days (and consistently for four more days, prompting me to ditch it as my note taking pen), and my Metropolitan fountain pen hasn’t for at least 3 months now.

FAMOUS PEN

• PARKKER PEN 
• Mont Blanc
• Waterman
• Faber-Castell
• Cross
• Aurora