Pens, Pencils

A fountain pen is a pen that contains a reservoir of water-based liquid ink. The ink is fed to the nib through a feed via a combination of gravity and capillary action. more...

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Filling the fountain pen reservoir with ink may involve replacing a disposable ink cartridge, filling the pen with an eyedropper, or an internal mechanism which sucks ink into the reservoir from a bottle through the nib. These mechanisms are typically pistons or rubber sacs. Pens that accept cartridges are often made to suck ink through the nib by replacing the cartridge with a syringe-like device called a converter.

History

The earliest historical record of a reservoir pen dates back to the 10th century. In 953, Ma'ād al-Mu'izz, the caliph of Egypt, demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes, and was provided with a pen which held ink in a reservoir and delivered it to the nib via gravity and capillary action. Al-Mu’izz commissioned the construction of the pen instructing:

“‘We wish to construct a pen which can be used for writing without having recourse to an ink-holder and whose ink will be contained inside it. A person can fill it with ink and write whatever he likes. The writer can put it in his sleeve or anywhere he wishes and it will not stain nor will any drop of ink leak out of it. The ink will flow only when there is an intention to write. We are unaware of anyone previously ever constructing (a pen such as this) and an indication of ‘penetrating wisdom’ to whoever contemplates it and realises its exact significance and purpose’. I exclaimed, ‘Is this possible?’ He replied, ‘It is possible if God so wills’.

In his Deliciae Physico-Mathematicae (1636), German inventor Daniel Schwenter described a pen made from two quills. One quill served as a reservoir for ink inside the other quill. The ink was sealed inside the quill with cork. Ink was squeezed through a small hole to the writing point. The earliest surviving reservoir pens date to the 1st century. Progress in developing a reliable pen was slow, however, into the mid-19th century. That slow pace of progress was due to a very imperfect understanding of the role that air pressure played in the operation of the pens and because most inks were highly corrosive and full of sedimentary inclusions. Starting in the 1850s there was a steadily accelerating stream of fountain pen patents and pens in production. It was only after three key inventions were in place, however, that the fountain pen became a widely popular writing instrument. Those inventions were the iridium-tipped gold nib, hard rubber, and free-flowing ink. William B. Purvis, an American, is credited with inventing the ink-feeding tube and patented it on January 7, 1890.

Read more at Wikipedia.org