A fountain pen is a writing instrument that uses a metal nib to apply water-based ink, or special pigment ink—suitable for fountain pens—to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal reservoir to hold ink, eliminating the need to repeatedly dip the pen in an inkwell during use. The pen draws ink from the reservoir through a feed to the nib and deposits the ink on paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action. Filling the reservoir with ink may be achieved manually, via the use of an eyedropper or syringe, or via an internal filling mechanism that creates suction or a vacuum to transfer ink directly through the nib into the reservoir. Some pens employ removable reservoirs in the form of pre-filled ink cartridges.
Close-up of traditional fountain pen with an iridium-tipped stainless steel nib
Various contemporary and vintage fountain pens (left to right): Pilot Justus 95 Pelikan Souverän M1000 Montblanc Meisterstück 149 Pilot Heritage 912 Parker Duofold Centennial Sheaffer Snorkel Admiral Lamy Dialog 3 Welty Parker Sonnet Conway Stewart 55 Waterman Thorobred Mabie Todd Swan 3220
Waterman 42 Safety Pen, with variation in materials (both red and black hard vulcanized rubbers or ebonite) and retracting nibs
"Waterman's ideal fountain pen" 1908 ad
A writing implement or writing instrument is an object used to produce writing. Writing consists of different figures, lines, and or forms. Most of these items can be also used for other functions such as painting, drawing and technical drawing, but writing instruments generally have the ordinary requirement to create a smooth, controllable line.
The 3rd-4th-century writing implements from Mtskheta, Georgia.
A letter written with fountain pen.
A wooden pencil extender.