An Introduction to the Fountain Pen

Fountain pens have also always been prized as works of art. Fountain pens sell today as a classic writing instrument and the original pens have become very hot collectibles. We believe that fountain pens are amongst the most beautiful objects ever made. With several hundred fountain pens and watches listed here, you're almost certain to find something to add to your collection.

Pen

While a student in Paris, Romanian Petrache Poenaru invented the fountain pen; an invention which the French Government patented in May 1827. The earliest historical record of a reservoir pen dates back to the 10th century. A fountain pen is a pen that contains a reservoir of water-based liquid ink. The earliest surviving reservoir pens date to the 1st century. Starting in the 1850s there was a steadily accelerating stream of fountain pen patents and pens in production.

Inks

Fountain Pen ink is composed of water, dye and surfactant, a detergent based agent used to help control flow in your pen. 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. Ink was squeezed through a small hole to the writing point.

Nib

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. Nibs nowadays are not made as flexible as they used to be. Nibs are typically steel, gold, rhodium, or some combination. The ink is fed to the nib through a "feed" via a combination of gravity and capillary action.

For pens with non-retractable 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). 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 pen-makers that still use this metal in their nibs. The nib will adjust itself more readily to the user's style as it wears down.

Cartridges

With very few exceptions, pens referred to as vintage do not have cartridges. The ink cartridge introduced around 1950 was a disposable, pre-filled plastic or glass cartridges designed for clean and easy insertion. 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. 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.

Ballpoint

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. By the 1960s, refinements in ballpoint pen production gradually ensured its dominance over the fountain pen for casual use.
Despite this, a majority of modern fountain pen users use fountain pens as their primary writing instruments[3] over ballpoint and rollerball pens for reasons related to writing comfort, expressive penmanship, aesthetics, history and heritage. After World War II, disposable ballpoint pens came to dominate the industry. A quality ballpoint pen can be a great collectors piece or a gift that lets the recipient know how much you care.

First off let me say that I love fountain pens and that their a great thing to collect. 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[5].

Buying a fountain pens is very much a personal process and a great pen store is important in the process. That's the fun of using a fountain pen. Nowadays, fine writing instruments are more of a want than a need, but if you are one of the few who truly enjoys using a fine fountain pen, then you should not apologize for your passion.