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 See more

The feed of a fountain pen is the component that connects the nib of the pen with its ink reservoir. It not only allows the ink to flow to the nib (in what is often described as a … See more

Eyedropper filler
The reservoirs of the earliest fountain pens were mostly filled by eyedropper ("dropper" was the term used at the time). This could be messy, spurring development of so-called "self-filling" pens equipped with … See more

Inks intended for use with fountain pens are water-based. These inks are commonly available in bottles. Plastic cartridges came into use in the 1950s, but bottled inks are still the mainstay for many fountain pen enthusiasts. Bottled inks usually cost less … See more

Early prototypes of reservoir pens
According to Qadi al-Nu'man al-Tamimi (d. 974) in his Kitab al-Majalis wa 'l-musayarat, the Fatimid caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah See more

The modern fountain pen nib is a direct descendant of the iridium-tipped gold dip pen nibs of the 19th century. The earliest attempts at adding a hard and long-wearing tipping material to a gold nib utilized materials such as ruby. A more successful … See more

The first commercially successful ink cartridge system for fountain pens was patented in 1890 by the Eagle Pencil Company, using glass cartridges. In the 1920s the John … See more