Fountain pen facts for kids
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A fountain pen is a special kind of pen. It has a metal tip called a nib and a place inside to hold ink, called a reservoir.
The pen moves ink from its reservoir to the nib. It uses a mix of gravity and something called capillary action. This is how liquids move in narrow spaces, like how water goes up a plant stem.
You can fill the ink reservoir in a few ways. Sometimes, you use a small dropper or a syringe. But usually, fountain pens have a built-in way to suck ink up. This can be a piston or a vacuum system. Some pens even use small, pre-filled ink cartridges that you can just pop in.
Contents
What is a Fountain Pen Nib?
The nib is the part of the fountain pen that touches the paper. It's where the ink comes out. Early nibs were made of gold with a tiny piece of ruby on the tip to make them last longer.
Since the 1830s, nibs have used tough metal alloys like iridium. Today, most nibs are made from stainless steel or gold. Gold nibs are often 14 carat (58.3% gold) or 18 carat (75% gold). The goal is for the nib to be a bit flexible but also very strong. The tip needs to be super hard so it doesn't wear out easily.
How Fountain Pens Hold Ink
For a long time, until the early 1900s, fountain pens stored ink right inside their main body, called the barrel. These barrels were usually made of hard rubber, often in black or red.
To fill these pens, you had to take off the nib section. Then you would use an eyedropper to put ink directly into the barrel. After filling, you'd put the nib section back on. This process could be a bit messy and needed a quiet place.
The Lever Filler Invention
In 1907, a man named Walter A. Sheaffer came up with a new idea: the lever filler. This design had a small lever built into the pen's barrel. When you pressed this lever, it squeezed a rubber sac inside the pen. This created a vacuum, which sucked ink directly into the pen through the nib. You didn't have to take the pen apart anymore!
This new way of filling pens became very popular after 1912. Other pen companies quickly copied the idea. Parker, another big pen maker, introduced the button filler. This worked similarly but used a hidden button. Many companies used a lever that lay flat along the barrel. The rubber sac inside was the key to these new, easier-to-fill pens. Some pens even used a screw mechanism at the top to squeeze the sac, which made them look very sleek.
Images for kids
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Modern, demonstrator, and traditional fountain pens
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An early fountain pen patent from 1827 by Romanian inventor Petrache Poenaru
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M. Klein and Henry W. Wynne's 1867 patent for an ink chamber
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Waterman 42 Safety Pen, with different materials and a nib that pulls back inside
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Parker Duofold pen from around 1924
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"Waterman's ideal fountain pen" 1908 advertisement from 1908
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The Lamy 2000 piston filler pen, first made in 1966 and still popular
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A close-up of a Visconti stainless steel nib
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The very tip of a fountain pen nib
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The Pilot Parallel, a special nib used for art and calligraphy
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A flexible 14k gold nib from a Mabie Todd Swan pen
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The hooded nib of a Hero pen
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The unique integral nib of a Parker 50 (Falcon) pen
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Different fountain pens and their ink converters or cartridges
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A squeeze filler mechanism by Hero
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A Schmidt K5 piston-style ink converter
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Different types of ink cartridges for fountain pens
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A bottle of green ink
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A metal and plastic fountain pen from the 1970s
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The Pilot Varsity, a simple, disposable fountain pen
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A modern pen with an older style nib
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A modern fountain pen writing in cursive handwriting
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See also
In Spanish: Pluma estilográfica para niños
