An Introduction to Fountain Pens

Greetings Barbarians! Long days and pleasant nights!

Last August, Pancake gave me my first fountain pen for our 1st anniversary. It is a matte black Pilot Metropolitan which I use with black ink. I have always wanted to have my pen ever since I read about it on a blog. My previous profession requires me to be in front of a computer most of the time. For the seven years of typing all the time, I could say that my penmanship has deteriorated. I have poor ineligible writing that I could not understand what I wrote. 

But before we continue, please smash the “like” button like how Conan smashed the skulls of his enemies. If you still haven’t subscribed to the blog please click the follow button and be part of the Horde.

I have always enjoyed writing on paper. There is nothing more profound than reading your thoughts on paper. I wanted to have more pleasing handwriting, that is eligible with a hint of elegance.

Fountain pens are awesome! But what is a fountain pen? For those who didn’t know, fountain pens have a nib much like is predecessor, the quill pen. Instead of dipping the nib in ink, fountain pens have a reservoir in which it draws ink via capillary action. Imagine a ballpoint pen, but instead of a ballpoint, fountain pens have a nib at the end. Which why fountain pens are a lot more expensive than regular ballpoint pens. 

Why use a fountain pen then? Fountain pens improve your penmanship, especially if you have bad handwriting. Another thing I’ve noticed is how my hand tensed up when using a ballpoint. Fountain pens need less pressure compared to ballpoint pens. I can relax my arm when writing using a fountain pen. Fountain pens are also something that I could pass down to the next generation when taken great care of. 

A fountain pen has 3 unique parts: the nib, feed, and reservoir. 

The Nib is the tip of the fountain pen that comes in contact with the paper. Modern fountain pens usually have stainless steel or a gold alloy for a nib. Older fountain pens have a nib made of gold due to its malleability. The Nib adjusts itself depending on your writing. It is also the first part that needs replacement when used long enough. The more the Nib deposits ink on paper the more it wears out.

The Feed is a black plastic at the back of the Nib and considered to be the most important part of the pen. The Feed gives the ink a route from the reservoir to the Nib by which air displaces the ink into the reservoir.

The Reservoir is the component of fountain pens the holds the ink. Common types of reservoirs are cartridges, converters, and pistons. Mine is a converter type reservoir which is a pneumatic tube that sucks ink from a bottle and loaded to the pen. Cartridges are disposable plastic reservoirs. Cartridges are convenient but a particular brand of pen requires particular cartridges. Piston types have an internal screw mechanism sucks ink from the nib.

Fountain pens are a step up in the look of my handwriting despite my lousy penmanship. It also gives me a sense of prestige in using one, it’s nice to use the pen when someone asks me to sign something. It improves my writing experience as it puts less strain on my hand and arm, I was able to relax when writing. 

Using a fountain pen has been a great experience for me. If you are looking for things that you could pass on to your grandchildren then a fountain pen is a great buy. I always wanted things that I could pass on the next generation with great pride like a fountain pen. It gives me great joy to take care of something that my successor would be proud of. 

To COURAGE and FREEDOM, and the WRITTEN WORD.

Follow us on Social Media!

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/MrABlogger

Twitter @ https://twitter.com/mrablogger