NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Fountain pen

A fountain pen is a pen that contains a reservoir of water-based liquid ink. The ink is fed to the nib through a "feed" via a combination of gravity and capillary action. Filling the fountain pen reservoir with ink involves replacing a disposable ink cartridge, filling the pen with an eyedropper, filling a removable reservoir with a screw or piston mechanism (commonly called a converter in the case of a cartridge-based pen), or using one of a variety of internal mechanisms which suck ink into the reservoir from a bottle through the nib. Older pens had an internal rubber sac which was squeezed and released to create the suction needed. For other uses, see Pen (disambiguation). ... An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for coloring a surface to render an image or text. ... Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ... Capillary action, capillarity, or capillary motion is the ability of a substance (the standard reference is to a tube in plants but can be seen readily with porous paper) to draw a substance up against gravity. ... This article is about the laboratory instrument. ... Composite body, painted, and glazed bottle. ...

Parker Fountain Pens, from 1920s magazine advertisment This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Parker Fountain Pens, from 1920s magazine advertisment This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The Parker Pen Company, founded in 1891 by George Stafford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, is best known for making pens that are among the most prestigious and collectible in the world. ... Parker Duofolds The Parker Duofold is one of the most recognizable and enduring fountain pen designs ever. ...

History

The earliest historical record of a reservoir pen dates back to the 10th century. In 953, Ma'ād al-Mu'izz, the caliph of Egypt, demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes, and was provided with a pen which held ink in a reservoir and delivered it to the nib via gravity and capillary action. Maad al-Muizz Li-Deenillah (* 932, â€ 975) was the fourth Fatimid Caliph and reigned from 953 to 975 in Ifriqiya and, after its conquest by him, Egypt. ... For main article see: Caliphate First of all, this system is invalid and is unlawful Islamicly. ...

In his Delicia Physic-Mathematicae (1636), German inventor Daniel Schwenter described a pen made from two quills. One quill served as a reservoir for ink inside the other quill. The ink was sealed inside the quill with cork. Ink was squeezed through a small hole to the writing point. The earliest surviving reservoir pens date to the 1st century. Progress in developing a reliable pen was slow, however, into the mid-19th century. That slow pace of progress was due to a very imperfect understanding of the role that air pressure played in the operation of the pens and because most inks were highly corrosive and full of sedimentary inclusions. Starting in the 1850s there was a steadily accelerating stream of fountain pen patents and pens in production. It was only after three key inventions were in place, however, that the fountain pen became a widely popular writing instrument. Those inventions were the iridium-tipped gold nib, hard rubber, and free-flowing ink. William B. Purvis, an American, is credited with inventing the ink-feeding tube and patented it on January 7, 1890. A diagram showing the various angles of cut of a cone required to produce a parabola, hyperbola, and ellipse. ... A quill pen is made from a flight feather (preferably a primary) of a large bird, most often a goose. ... An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for coloring a surface to render an image or text. ... A cork stopper for a wine bottle Champagne corks Varnished cork tiles can be used for flooring, as a substitute for linoleum or tiles. ... For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ... This article is about the chemical element. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ...

The first fountain pens making use of all these key ingredients appeared in the 1850s. While a student in Paris, Romanian Petrache Poenaru invented the fountain pen; an invention which the French Government patented in May 1827. In the 1870s Duncan MacKinnon, a Canadian living in New York City, and Alonzo T. Cross of Providence, Rhode Island created stylographic pens with a hollow, tubular nib and a wire acting as a valve. Stylographic pens are now used mostly for drafting and technical drawing but were very popular in the decade beginning in 1875. It was in the 1880s that the era of the mass-produced fountain pen finally began. The dominant American producers in this pioneer era were Waterman and Wirt, based in New York City and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, respectively. Waterman soon outstripped Wirt, along with the many companies that sprang up to fill the new and growing fountain pen market, and remained the market leader up until the early 1920s. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ... Petrache Poenaru (1799-1875) was a famous Romanian inventor of the Enlightenment era. ... This article is about the political and administrative structures of the French government. ... Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardised products on production lines. ... The Waterman pen company is a major manufacturer of fountain pens. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Bloomsburg is a town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Wilkes Barre along the Susquehanna River. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area Ranked 33rd - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 kmÂ²) - Width 280 miles (455 km) - Length 160 miles (255 km) - % water 2. ...

At this time fountain pens were almost all filled by unscrewing a portion of the hollow barrel or holder and inserting the ink by means of an eyedropper. This was a slow and messy system. Additionally, fountain pens tended to leak inside their caps and at the joint where the barrel opened for filling. Now that the materials problems had been overcome and the flow of ink while writing had been regulated, the next problems to be solved were the creation of a simple, convenient self-filler and the problem of leakage. Self-fillers began to come into their own around the turn of the century; the most successful of these was probably the Conklin crescent-filler, followed by A. A. Waterman's twist-filler. The tipping point, however, was the runaway success of Walter A. Sheaffer's lever-filler, introduced in 1912, paralleled by Parker's roughly contemporary button-filler.

Meanwhile many inventors turned their attention to the problem of leakage. Some of the earliest solutions to this problem came in the form of a "safety" pen with a retractable point that allowed the ink reservoir to be stoppered like a bottle. The most successful of these came from F.C. Brown of the Caw's Pen and Ink Co. and from Morris W. Moore of Boston. In 1907 Waterman began marketing a safety pen of its own that soon became the most widely distributed such pen. For pens with nonretractable nibs, the adoption of screw-on caps with inner caps that sealed around the nib by bearing against the front of the section effectively solved the leakage problem (such pens were also marketed as "safety pens", as with the Parker Jack Knife Safety and the Swan Safety Screw-Cap). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x450, 325 KB) Summary Details of Waterman 42 Safety Pen showing variation in materials (red and black hard rubber) and retracting nib. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x450, 325 KB) Summary Details of Waterman 42 Safety Pen showing variation in materials (red and black hard rubber) and retracting nib. ...

In Europe, the German supplies company which came to be known as Pelikan and was started in 1838, first introduced their pen in 1929, based upon the acquisition of patents for solid-ink fountain pens from the factory of Slavoljub Penkala from Croatia (patented 1907, in mass production since 1911), and the patent of the Hungarian Theodor Kovacs for the modern piston filler by 1925. Pelikan Logo Pelikan is a German manufacturer of fine fountain pens and other writing, office and art equipment, accredited with the invention of the differential-piston filling method even though such piston fillers had existed well before Pelikans coming. ... Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (April 20, 1871 - February 5, 1922) was an engineer and inventor from Croatia. ...

The decades that followed saw many technological innovations in the manufacture of fountain pens. Celluloid gradually replaced hard rubber, which enabled production in a much wider range of colors and designs. At the same time, manufacturers experimented with new filling systems. The inter-war period saw the introduction of some of the most notable models, such as the Parker Duofold and Vacumatic, Sheaffer's Lifetime Balance series, and the Pelikan 100. Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents, generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The Parker Pen Company, founded in 1891 by George Stafford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, is best known for making pens that are among the most prestigious and collectible in the world. ... Parker Duofolds The Parker Duofold is one of the most recognizable and enduring fountain pen designs ever. ... The Parker Vacumatic fountain pen was launched in 1933, displacing the Duofold as Parkers top-of-the-line product. ...

During the 1940s and 1950s, fountain pens retained their dominance: early ballpoint pens were expensive, prone to leaks and had irregular inkflow, while the fountain pen continued to benefit from the combination of mass production and craftsmanship. This period saw the launch of innovative models such as the Parker 51, the Sheaffer Snorkel and the Eversharp Skyline, while the Esterbrook J series of lever-fill models with interchangeable steel nibs offered inexpensive reliability to the masses. Ballpoint pen, disassembled (top) and complete (bottom) A ballpoint pen (also eponymously known in British English as a biro and pronounced bye-row in Britain but sometimes bee-row elsewhere), is a modern writing instrument. ... The Parker 51, introduced in 1941, may well be the most famous fountain pen ever made. ...

By the 1960s, refinements in ballpoint pen production gradually ensured its dominance over the fountain pen for casual use. Although cartridge-filler fountain pens are still in common use in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, and are widely used by young students in most private schools in England and at least one private school in Scotland ^[1], a few modern manufacturers (especially Montblanc) now depict the fountain pen as a collectible item or a status symbol, rather than an everyday writing tool. Despite this, a majority of modern fountain pen users use fountain pens as their primary writing instruments^[2] over ballpoint and rollerball pens for reasons related to writing comfort, expressive penmanship, aesthetics, history and heritage. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Penmanship is the art of writing clearly and quickly. ... For the opening number of Fiddler on the Roof, see Tradition (song). ...

Nibs

The nib of the fountain pen was introduced by the German inventor Friedrich Soennecken. Today, the nib is usually made of stainless steel or gold, with the most popular gold content being 14 karat and 18 karat. Gold is considered the optimum metal for its flexibility and its resistance to corrosion, since fountain pen inks tend to be somewhat acidic or alkaline. Gold nibs are tipped with a hard, wear-resistant alloy that typically uses metals from the platinum group. The tipping material is often called "iridium", but there are only a few penmakers that still use this metal in their nibs. Steel nibs may also have harder tips; those with un-tipped steel points will wear more rapidly due to abrasion by the paper. The nib will adjust itself more readily to the user's style as it wears down. Download high resolution version (1858x836, 154 KB)Fountain pen nib File links The following pages link to this file: Fountain pen Categories: GFDL images ... Download high resolution version (1858x836, 154 KB)Fountain pen nib File links The following pages link to this file: Fountain pen Categories: GFDL images ... Friedrich Soennecken (born 1848 in Sauerland, Westphalia, died July 2nd 1919), was entrepreneur and inventor. ... The 630 foot high, stainless-clad (type 304L) Gateway Arch defines St. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... Carat is a measure of the purity of gold and platinum alloys. ... For other uses, see Acid (disambiguation). ... The common (Arrhenius) definition of a base is a chemical compound that either donates hydroxide ions or absorbs hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. ... The platinum group or platinum metals is the collective name sometimes used for six chemical elements within the periodic table. ... This article is about the chemical element. ...

The nib usually has one slit cut down its center, to convey the ink down the nib by capillary action, as well as a "breather hole" of varying shape to promote the exchange of air for ink in the pen's reservoir (or drilled as a part of the manufacturing process to prevent the nib splitting when the slit is cut with a saw). The whole nib narrows to a point where the ink is transferred to the paper. Broad calligraphy pens may have several slits in the nib to increase ink flow and help distribute it evenly across the broad point. Nibs divided into three 'tines' are commonly known as 'music' nibs, as their line which can be varied from broad to fine is suited for writing musical scores. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 772 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (965 Ã— 750 pixel, file size: 77 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 772 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (965 Ã— 750 pixel, file size: 77 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation... Western calligraphy is the calligraphy of the Latin writing system, and to a lesser degree the Greek and Cyrillic writing systems. ...

Although the most common nibs end in a round point of various sizes (fine, medium, broad), various other nib shapes are available. Examples of this are oblique, reverse oblique, stub, italic and 360 degree nibs.

Fountain pens dating from the first half of the 20th century are more likely to have flexible nibs, suited to the favored handwriting styles of the period (eg: Copperplate and Spencerian Script). By the 1940s, writing preferences had shifted towards stiffer nibs that could withstand the greater pressure required for writing through copy paper to create duplicate documents. Furthermore, competition between the major pen brands such as Parker and Waterman, and the introduction of lifetime guarantees meant that flexible nibs could no longer be supported profitably. In countries where this rivalry was not present to the same degree, for example the UK and Germany, flexible nibs are more common. Nowadays, stiff nibs are the norm as people exchange between fountain pens and other writing modes. These more closely emulate the ballpoint pens modern users are experienced with, but are often described as feeling like "writing with a nail" by those who prefer the feel of a more flexible nib. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 514 pixels Full resolution (906 Ã— 582 pixel, file size: 49 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Mabie Todd Swan 14k gold flexible nib Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 514 pixels Full resolution (906 Ã— 582 pixel, file size: 49 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Mabie Todd Swan 14k gold flexible nib Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free... Copperplate refers to the use of inscribed sheets of copper in printing. ... P. R. Spencers book, published 1866 Spencerian Script, perhaps the most elegant penmanship style ever developed, is a uniquely American style which flourished in the United States from 1850 to 1925. ...

An apparent common denominator of good quality nibs, that have been used appropriately, is that they are long lasting - often lasting longer than the lifetime of the original owner. Many vintage pens with nibs that are several decades old can still be used today.

Other Styles of Nibs - Other styles of fountain pen nibs include Hooded Nibs (Examples of hooded nibs are Parker 51, Parker 61, or the actual (2007)Parker 100, Hero 329), Inlaid Nibs (e.g., Sheaffer Targa or Valor) or Integral Nib (Parker T-1), which may also be ground to have different writing characteristics.

Filling mechanisms

The reservoirs of the earliest fountain pens were mostly filled by eyedropper. This was a relatively awkward and messy process: consequently very few eyedropper-filling pens are made today. However, the absence of complicated mechanisms meant that an eyedropper-filler could hold much more ink than could a self-filling pen of comparable size. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 311 pixelsFull resolution (840 Ã— 327 pixel, file size: 48 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 311 pixelsFull resolution (840 Ã— 327 pixel, file size: 48 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... This article is about the laboratory instrument. ...

After the eyedropper-filler era came the first generation of mass-produced self-fillers, almost all using a rubber sac to hold the ink. The sac was compressed and then released by various mechanisms to fill the pen.

The Conklin crescent filler, introduced c. 1901, was one of the first mass-produced self-filling pen designs. The crescent filling system employs an arch-shaped crescent attached to a rigid metal pressure bar, with the crescent portion protruding from the pen through a slot and the pressure bar inside the barrel. A second component, a C-shaped hard rubber ring, is located between the crescent and the barrel. Ordinarily, the ring blocks the crescent from pushing down. To fill the pen, one simply turns the ring around the barrel until the crescent matches up to the hole in the ring, allowing one to push down the crescent and squeeze the internal sac.

Following the crescent filler came a series of systems of increasing complexity, reaching their apogee in the Sheaffer Touchdown and Snorkel and Parker's Vacumatic and Aerometric systems. With the introduction of cartridge pens by Waterman-Jif, though, many of these systems were phased out in favour of convenience (but reduced capacity). Today, most pens use either a piston filler or a cartridge; many pens can use a converter, a device which has the same fitting as the pen's cartridge, but has a filling mechanism and a reservoir attached to it. This enables a pen to either fill from cartridges, or from a bottle of ink.

The piston filler was first introduced in the original Pelikan of 1929 (although the concept was from Croatia). The idea was simple: turn a knob at the end of the pen, and a screw mechanism will draw a piston up the barrel, sucking in ink. While the capacity of these pens was less than that of the better sac systems and eyedropper pens, they were easier to fill. Their limited capacity is due to size of the piston unit: some of the earlier models had to dedicate as much as half of the pen length to the mechanism. The advent of telescoping pistons has improved this.

The Touchdown Filler was introduced by Sheaffer in 1949. It was advertised as an “Exclusive Pneumatic Down-stroke Filler.” To fill it, the cap is unscrewed at the top of the barrel and the plunger is drawn out to its full length. The nib is immersed in bottled ink, the plunger is pushed in briskly, and the cap is screwed on. The nib is kept in the ink for approximately 10 seconds to allow the reservoir to fill. Some of Sheaffer's pens are exclusively Touchdown Fill, but some, such as the Legacy 2, can alternatively use a cartridge. Sheaffer is a brand of pens owned by the David John William Sheaffer. ...

Cartridges

Most European fountain pen brands (for example Caran d'Ache, Faber-Castell, Michel Perchin, DuPont, Montegrappa, Stipula, Yard-O-Led, Pelikan, Waterman, Montblanc, Monteverde, Sigma, Delta (brand) and Rotring) and some pen brands of other continents (for example Bexley, Retro51, Tombow and Acura) use so called "international cartridges" (AKA "European cartridges" or "standard cartridges" or "universal cartridges"), in short (38 mm in length, about 0.75 ml of capacity) or long (72 mm, 1.45 ml) sizes, or both. It is to some extent a standard, so the international cartridges of any manufacturer can be used in most fountain pens that accept international cartridges. Also, converters that are meant to replace international cartridges can be used in most fountain pens that accept international cartridges. Some very compact fountain pens (for example Waterman Ici et La and Monteverde Diva) accept only short international cartridges. Converters can not be used in them (except for so-called mini-converters by Monteverde). Caran dAches most famous cartoon. ... Faber-Castell logo Faber-Castell erasers Faber-Castell is a German manufacturer of writing instruments, art supplies and slide rules, founded in 1761 in Nuremberg by Kaspar Faber. ... Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, or du Pont may refer to: // E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, the worlds third largest chemical company Du Pont Motors Gilbert Dupont, a French stock brokerage part of retail banking network CrÃ©dit du Nord ST Dupont, a French manufacturer of fine... Italian manufacturer of fine writing instruments, founded in 1912. ... Stipula was founded by Renzo Salvadori in the spring of 1973. ... Pelikan Logo Pelikan is a German manufacturer of fine fountain pens and other writing, office and art equipment, accredited with the invention of the differential-piston filling method even though such piston fillers had existed well before Pelikans coming. ... // Waterman may refer to: Waterman Accounting, Income Tax Specialists WatermanAccounting. ... Montblanc may refer to Montblanc, a German manufacturer of writing instruments, watches and accessories Montblanc, a commune of the HÃ©rault dÃ©partement, in France Montblanc, a moogle in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. ... For other uses, see Monteverde (disambiguation). ... Look up Î£, Ïƒ, Ï‚ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Rotring is a German company based in Hamburg. ... // Bexley is a place in south east London in the London Borough of Bexley. ... Tombow are a Japanese manufacturer of pens and pencils and other stationery. ... Acura (ã‚¢ã‚ãƒ¥ãƒ© Akyura) is a luxury brand of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of volume. ...

Many fountain pen manufacturers have at various times developed their own proprietary cartridges, for example Parker, Lamy, Sheaffer, Cross, and Namiki. Fountain pens from Aurora, Hero, Duke and Uranus accept the same cartridges and converters that Parker uses and vice versa (Lamy cartridges, though not officially, are known to interchange with Parker cartridges also). Cartridges of Aurora are slightly different from cartridges by Parker. Hero, Duke and Uranus have made few fountain pens that take international cartridges. Corresponding converters to be used instead of such proprietary cartridges are usually made by the same company that made the fountain pen itself. Some very compact fountain pens accept only proprietary cartridges made by the same company that made that pen, for example Sheaffer Agio Compact and Sheaffer Prelude Compact. It is not possible to use a converter in them at all. In such pens the only practical way to use another brand of ink is to fill empty cartridges with bottled ink using a syringe. The Parker Pen Company, founded in 1891 by George Stafford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, is best known for making pens that are among the most prestigious and collectible in the world. ... Lamy (IPA: lÉ‘mÉª ) is the leading producer of fountain pens in Europe. ... Sheaffer is a brand of pens owned by the David John William Sheaffer. ... A. T. Cross is an American manufacturer of fountain pens and other writing instruments. ... Namiki is a Japanese manufacturer of fine fountain pens and other writing equipment. ... Lamy (IPA: lÉ‘mÉª ) is the leading producer of fountain pens in Europe. ... A syringe nowadays nearly always means a medical syringe, but it can mean any of these: A simple hand-powered piston pump consisting of a plunger that can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube (the barrel), which has a small hole on one end, so it can...

Fountain pen cartridges are closed by a small ball of plastic, held inside the ink exit hole by glue or by a very thin layer of plastic. When the cartridge is forced inside the pen, a small pin pushes in the ball, which falls inside the cartridge.

While cartridges are mess free and convenient to refill on the go than bottle filling, many users of fountain pens today appear to prefer filling from a bottle. Using a converter, a piston, or a filling system used by vintage pens, usually has the advantage of being more economic in the long run (bottled ink costs less than cartridge ink in general, less waste of plastic for the environment), wider selection of inks, easier cleaning out of pens (sucking the ink in through the nib dissolves old ink), the ability to check and refill inks at the user's will, and the clear distinction from other modern pens that bottled ink filling provides. Over the years, many polls of fountain pen users have found an apparent preference for bottle filling over cartridges.^[3]

Fountain pens today

Despite the perceived heightened prices in the modern niche, good quality steel and gold pens are available inexpensively today, particularly in Europe and China, and there are even some "disposable" fountain pens available. There are many fountain pen users around the world, even today. The main reasons people seek fountain pens in recent times are for: effortless writing and comfort (some sufferers of arthritis are unable to use ballpoint pens, but can use fountain pens), expressive penmanship and calligraphy, longevity (fountain pens are known to last several lifetimes, whereas ballpoints are disposable), professional art/design, wide range of ink colours available, recreational collecting (history and heritage), and academic benefits^[4]. Many users also mention that fountain pens retain a sense of timeless elegance, personalization and sentimentality^[5] that computers and ballpoint pens seem to lack ^[6], and often state that once they start using fountain pens, ballpoints become awkward to use due to the extra motor effort needed and lack of expressiveness. Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions where there is damage caused to the joints of the body. ... Penmanship is the art of writing clearly and quickly. ... Contemporary Calligraphy Calligraphy (from Greek kallos beauty + grapháº½ writing) is the art of beautiful writing (Mediavilla 1996: 17). ... For the opening number of Fiddler on the Roof, see Tradition (song). ...

Fountain pens have also always been prized as works of art. Ornated pens are sometimes made of precious metals and jewels with cloisonné designs; others are inlaid with lacquer designs in a process known as maki-e. An avid community of pen enthusiasts collect and use antique and modern pens and also collect and exchange information about old and modern inks, ink bottles, and inkwells. Collectors often tend to prize being able to actually use the antiques, instead of merely placing them under glass for show. A gold nugget A precious metal is a rare metallic chemical element of high economic value. ... A selection of gemstone pebbles made by tumbling rough rock with abrasive grit, in a rotating drum. ... CloisonnÃ© is a multi-step enamel process used to produce jewelry, vases, and other decorative items. ... Maki-e (è’”çµµ, lit. ... For the province in the Philippines, see Antique (province) and for the band, see Antique (duo). ... An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for coloring a surface to render an image or text. ... Composite body, painted, and glazed bottle. ... For the handwriting recognition software that is part of Mac OS X, see Inkwell (software). ...

Contents

History

Nibs

Filling mechanisms

Cartridges

Fountain pens today

See also

References

External links