Reed pen is pen made from one piece bamboo or reed. It has a split nib that leads ink to the point of a pen. It is the oldest type of pen that we used and they have been found in Ancient Egyptian sites dating from the 4th century BC. Quill is a pen made from a flight feather of a large bird.

The earliest datable pen of the form described by Bion is inscribed 1702, while other examples bear French hallmarks as late as the early 19th century. Progress in developing a reliable pen was slow until the mid-19th century because of an imperfect understanding of the role that air pressure plays in the operation of pens.