Use the information in these pages to learn more about fountain pens. To assist you in remaining current if you like to be sure you have read the most recent pages, those articles are marked with their dates of publication.

Here’s what’s here:

• Pen Glossary: Fountain Pen Bits, Pieces, and Other Stuff
• Paper Glossary: Paper Terms for Fountain Pen Users, by B. H. Bentzman
   
• Anatomy of a Fountain Pen: illustrated discussions explaining how different kinds of fountain pens work
• Design Features of Certain Pens: descriptions of various interesting design features
• Nibs, Feeds, and Filling Systems: explanations of the ink delivery path
• Pen Model Profiles: zeroing in on specific pens and their histories
• Pen and History, by Floyd Stuart: Floyd’s personal interest in history at the fore
• Taking Care of Your Pens: how treat your pens, and why it’s a good thing
• Pen Shows: where the pens meet the people — and the people meet each other
• Pen Doctor Articles: a series of diagnostic sessions, with prescriptions
• Miscellaneous Articles: just what it sounds like
• Specialty Repair Articles: technical explanations of how to perform certain obscure repairs

Anatomy of a Fountain Pen  

• Anatomy of a Fountain Pen I: A Typical Lever Filler
• Anatomy of a Fountain Pen II: The Parker Vacumatic
• Anatomy of a Fountain Pen III: Sheaffer’s Snorkel
• Anatomy of a Fountain Pen IV: The Parker “51” (Aero-metric Version)
• Anatomy of a Fountain Pen V: Sheaffer’s Vacuum-Fil

Design Features of Certain Pens  

• Design Features: Chased Hard Rubber
• Design Features: Combos [March 1, 2008]
• Design Features: The Crescent-Filler, Then … and Now
• Design Features: Double Vision
• Design Features: The Flighter
• Design Features: Hooded Nibs
• Design Features: Integral Nibs
• Design Features: Military Clips
• Design Features: Pneumatic Pens
• Design Features: The Parker Vacumatic
• Design Features: The Clips of the Parker “51”
• Design Features: Safety Pens
• Design Features: The Clips of Sheaffer’s Balance
• Design Features: Sheaffer’s Flat-Top Pens
• Design Features: Stylographic Pens
• Design Features: Waterman’s Standard Numbering System
• Design Features: Waterman’s Nib Color Code
• Design Features: World War II and Its Effects on Pen Design [February 1, 2008]

Nibs, Feeds, and Filling Systems  

• Nibs I: The Basics
• Nibs II: Beyond the Basics with Specialty Nibs
• Nibs III: Flex vs. Italic
   
• To the Point: Specialty Nibs, Your Key to Exciting Writing
• To the Point: Steal the Steel
• To the Point: Ick! What Is That Stuff?
• To the Point: Flex, a Disaster in the Making
• To the Point: Hitting the Sweet Spot
• To the Point: Nib Materials [April 1, 2008]
• To the Point: Special Nibs for Lefties?
   
• Feeds: Revolution, Evolution, and Devolution
• Feeds: Whatever Happened to the Lucky Curve?
• Fountain Pen Filling Systems
• Nibs: The CONDOR, a Nib for Brushwork
• Nibs: The ItaliFine, inspired by the Fine Nibs of Yesterday
• Nibs: The Parker 75
• Nibs: The Renew-Point, by Esterbrook
• Nibs: Stub and Italic, by George Kovalenko
• Nibs: The Triumph, by Sheaffer

Pen Model Profiles  

• Profile: The Esterbrook Model J Family
• Profile: The Eversharp Doric [May 1, 2008]
• Profile: The Eversharp Fifth Avenue
• Profile: The Eversharp Skyline
• Profile: The Eversharp Symphony
• Profile: The Parker “21”
• Profile: The Parker 45
• Profile: The Parker “51”
• Profile: The Parker 61
• Profile: The Parker 180
• Profile: The Parker Duofold
• Profile: The Parker Duofold Geometric (“Toothbrush”)
• Profile: The Parker Striped Duofold
• Profile: The Parker Vacumatic
• Profile: The Parker VS
• Profile: Sheaffer’s Balance
• Profile: Sheaffer”s Craftsman
• Profile: Sheaffer’s PFM
• Profile: Sheaffer’s Snorkel
• Profile: Sheaffer’s “TRIUMPH”
• Profile: Sheaffer’s Tuckaway
• Profile: The Wahl Bantam
• Profile: Waterman’s C/F
• Profile: Waterman’s Hundred Year Pen
• Profile: Waterman’s Ideal Nº 52
• Profile: Waterman’s Taperite
• Profile: Waterman’s X-Pen

Pens and History, by Floyd Stuart  

• Fountain Pens and Pigtails
• War and the Fountain Pen

Taking Care of Your Pens  

• Care and Feeding: How to Pamper Your Pens
• Care and Feeding: How to Replace a Pen Sac
• Care and Feeding: How to Replace a Vacumatic Diaphragm
• Inks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Pen Shows  

• Pen Shows I: Your First Pen Show
• Pen Shows II: Preparing for a Show
• Pen Shows III: How to Buy a Vintage Pen
• Pen Shows IV: The Auction
   
• Pen Show Rules: Keep an Open Mind, by Susan Wirth

Pen Doctor Articles  

• The Pen Doctor I: Lockdown Vacumatic Dumps Ink When Filled; Weepy Parker “21”
• The Pen Doctor II: Dealing with Skyline Plastics; Father’s Day Suggestions
• The Pen Doctor III: Sacs Size and Ink Blots; Brand-New Nibs That Aren’t Smooth
• The Pen Doctor IV: New Pens That Stop Writing; Reducing Ink Flow
   
• The Pen Doctor V: How to use Blotting Paper; Restoring Banana-Shaped Pens
• The Pen Doctor VI: Repairing Metal Caps; Cleaning a Retractable Montblanc Bohème
• The Pen Doctor VII: Fixing a Parker 45 That Does Not Flow; Old Pens: Fill Them, or…?
• The Pen Doctor VIII: Finding cartridges for a Waterman C/F; Getting Dried Ink Out of Caps
   
• The Pen Doctor IX: Basic Pen Care; INK NIX Revisited; Waterman C/F Cartridge Update
• The Pen Doctor X: Changing Pelikan Nibs; Flow Problems in Recent Pelikans
• The Pen Doctor XI: Vintage Aurora Flow Trouble; Fixing a Pelikan Piston?; Nib Tines That Won’t Stay Aligned
• The Pen Doctor XII: Adjusting Flow in a Parker “51’; Leaking Targa Nibs; Finding Replacement Pen Sacs

Miscellaneous Articles  

• Birthday Pens: A Timeline
• Mint Vintage Pens: Preserve ’Em or Ink ’Em Up? by David Isaacson
• Pens in the Wild: A Hunter’s Guide
• Restoration: Saving a Dead Pen
• Restoration: What and Why?
• Significant Pens of the Twentieth Century
• Under the Hood: the Parker “51” and “21”

Specialty Repair Articles  

• Restoring the Filler in a Morrison Patriot

© 2008 Richard F. Binder

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