As we did in biology class in high school, we will explore the anatomy of the fountain pen. Let’s go!
1. Feeder
This is the ink-to-pen feeding system. It’s not very beautiful (almost ugly) but without this part, the pen wouldn’t work. The feeder makes the delicate balance of forces exerted on the nib for the flow between the ink of the reservoir to the tip of the nib.
2. Nib
This is, you can imagine, the part which we write with. The nib is either steel or gold because they are stainless metals. There are different sizes. The size of the pen has a big impact on our writing. Generic feather sizes are Extra Fine (EF), Fine (F), Medium (M) and Broad or large (B) but there are many others for different uses.
a. The tip of the nib or tipping
If you look closely, on the tip of the nib, inside of it, there is a small ball. It used to be made of iridium because it is a hard metal which limits erosion with paper.
b. Eye or Breather hole
This is the hole in the front of your nib. It aims to limit the brittleness of the nib and promote the air / ink exchange with the feeder and the reservoir.
3. Section
The role of the section is important. It’s like the muscles in our body. This is the section that will maintain contact between the pen and the tank’s feeding system (and that ensures that the pen does not collapse)
4 & 8. Barrel
Here is a part that is aptly named. The barrel is the place where, at the time, ink was used to be placed. Today, we put the tank, also called ink cartridge.
5. Ink or Cartridge ink
Nowadays, we have plenty of colors available. What is your favorite color to write with ? For me, I love writing in black (yes, it’s not a color, I know 😺)
6. Cap
You can imagine the role of the cap. We all think it’s to keep the ink from drying out. But not only ! The cap is carefully studied so that the style does not suffer from the atmospheric pressure defect that could spill the ink.
7. Clip
The clip allows you to attach the pen to a pocket, notebook or other supports. It also allows manufacturers to affix their brand.