Reference Pages

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Use the information in these pages to learn more about fountain pens. To assist you in remaining current, the five most recently added or edited articles are listed right here at the top of the page. For revised pages, I include a brief description of the changes.

New and Recently Edited Pages (most recent first)

• Pens and History: The Pens of the Rheims Surrender  [NEW October 1, 2023]
• Pens and History: The MacArthur Pens  (“errant signatories’ names” ➤ “errant signatories’ titles”; added photo of Instrument of Surrender)  [September 21, 2023]
• Pens and History: World War II and the Fountain Pen  (Added patent information for silver-palladium nibs)  [September 16, 2023]
• Adventures in Pen Restoration: A Trip to Dip-Lessland  [September 1, 2023]
• The Pen Doctor XLI: Reviving Stale Ink Cartridges; Dating a Parker Duofold; Letting a Non-User Try Out My Fountain Pen?  [August 1, 2023]

Section Index

• Glossopedia of Pen Terms  SHORTCUT:  on any page, click the red “taillight” in the site banner at the top of the page
• Glossary of Paper Terms for Fountain Pen Users, by B. H. Bentzman
• Research Tools: Lexicons, indexes of publications, and other information useful to researchers

• Anatomy of a Fountain Pen: illustrated explanations of how different kinds of fountain pens work
• Design Features of Certain Pens: descriptions of various interesting design features
• Nibs and Feeds: discussions of the ink delivery path
• Filling Systems: discussions of where the ink hides and how it gets there
• The Pen Detective’s Guide: guidance in the art of pen identification
• From the Crypt: short articles from an old internet forum
• Pen Model Profiles: zeroing in on specific pens and their histories
• Pens and History: Learn a little about the past
• Caring for Your Pens: how to treat your pens, and why it’s a good thing
• Pen Shows: where the pens meet the people — and the people meet each other
• The Pen Doctor: a series of diagnostic sessions, with prescriptions
• Adventures in Pen Restoration: the fun of restoring the pens we find
• Miscellaneous Articles: just what it sounds like
• Repairer’s Corner: reference tables and explanations of how to perform certain repairs

Research Tools

• American Stationer & Office Outfitter: a Chronological Index of Digitized Volumes, by Mike Kennedy
• Bookseller and Stationer: a Chronological Index of Digitized Volumes, by Mike Kennedy
• Geyer’s Stationer: a Chronological Index of Digitized Volumes, by Mike Kennedy
• Jewelers’ Circular and Horological Review: a Chronological Index of Digitized Volumes
• New England/Walden’s Stationer: a Chronological Index of Digitized Volumes, by Mike Kennedy
• The Manhattan Pen Makers Project, created by Ron Dutcher
• Japanese Date Coding Systems
• Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) Nib Manufacturer Numbers
• Japanese–Western Calendar Conversion
• Parker’s Date Coding Systems
• English/French/Japanese Pen Lexicon
• U.S. Federal Trade Commission Annual Reports (direct link to the FTC website)
• Waterman’s Standard Numbering System

Anatomy of a Fountain Pen

• I: A Typical Lever Filler
• II: The Parker Vacumatic
• III: Sheaffer’s Snorkel
• IV: The Parker “51” (Aero-metric Version)
• V: Sheaffer’s Vacuum-Fil
• VI: The Conklin Nozac
• VII: Retractable Safety Pens

Design Features of Certain Pens

• Chased Hard Rubber
• Colored Hard Rubber
• Combos
• Demonstrator Pens
• Double Vision
• The Flighter
• Flight-Safe Pens
• Holy Water Sprinklers — Fountain Pen Style
• Hooded Nibs
• Ink Shut-Off Systems
• Integral Nibs
• Long/Short Pens
• Magical Pens That Made Their Own Ink?
• Military Clips
• One Size Fits All?
• Plastic and Resin: Two Names, One Thing
• Safety Pens
• Stylographic Pens
• Tribute Pens and Reboots
• Visible Ink Supplies
• What Were They Thinking? (a look at two design failures)

Nibs and Feeds

• Nibs I: The Basics
• Nibs II: Beyond the Basics with Specialty Nibs
• Nibs III: Flex vs. Italic
  

• Feeds: Revolution, Evolution, and Devolution
• Feeds: Whatever Happened to the Lucky Curve?
• Interchangeable Nibs: Get the Point … Personally!
• Nib Tuning for Beginners
• Nibs: Does an Oblique Nib Give Line Variation?
• Nibs: Pelikan Interchangeability Chart
• Nibs: Pelikan Nib Grade Markings
• Nibs: The Renew-Point, by Esterbrook
• Nibs: The “TRIUMPH” Point, by W. A. Sheaffer
• Waterman’s Nib Color Code

The following To the Point articles first appeared in Stylus Magazine. They appear here in the order of their original publication.

• Specialty Nibs, Your Key to Exciting Writing
• Steal the Steel
• Ick! What Is That Stuff?
• Flex, a Disaster in the Making
• Singing a New “Tune”
• Making Music with a Pen
• Go with the Flow
• What’s the Point?
• Hitting the Sweet Spot
• Super-Size Me!
• Special Nibs for Lefties?
  
• Nib Materials
• The Flexible User
• Semi-Random Thoughts: Are Modern Pens As Good As Old Ones?
• A Case of the Creeps
• What You See Is What You Get — Or Is It?
• Better in the Days of Old
• Nibz ’n the Hood
• IPG Nibs
• Lighten Up!
• Alice in Smoothnessland

Filling Systems

• Filling Systems: Overview of How They Work and How to Fill Them
• The Bulb
• Capillary Pens — the Perfect Filler?
• Cartridge Pens
• Here’s Mud in Your Eye(dropper)
• Getting Over the Hump
• Magical Pens That Made Their Own Ink?
• Lever Look Back
• Got a Match?
• Take the Plunge
• Piston Pens
• Pneumatic Pens
• Syringes, Pulls, and the Reverend Post
• Traveling on Your Thumb
• Wring It Out!

The Pen Detective’s Guide

• 1: Who Made This Pen?
• 2: What’s This Pen Made Of?
• 3: When Was This Pen Made?
• 4: Who’s on First? (Part 1 of 3 about the “tier system”)
• 5: Who’s on Third? I Don’t Know. (Part 2 of 3 about the “tier system”)
• 6: What’s on Second? (Part 3 of 3 about the “tier system”)

From the Crypt

• I: Moore & Evans — Who Were They?
• II: Camel and…
• III: How Smart Was Jay Rider, Really?
• IV: How Smart Was Francis Cashel Brown, Really?
• V: The Parker Pen Company Didn’t Really Invent the “51”.
• VI: Thar She Blows! The Blow Filler and What Followed
• VII: How Smart Was Walter Sheaffer, Really?

Pen Model Profiles

• A. A. Waterman and His Pens
• “Big Box” Brands
• The Camel Pen
• The Chilton Chiltonian
• The Chilton Golden Quill
• The Chilton Wing-flow
• The Conklin Glider
• The Conklin Nozac
• The Dunn-Pen
• The Esterbrook Dollar Pen
• The Esterbrook Model J Family
• The Eversharp Bantam
• The Eversharp Coronet
• The Eversharp Doric
• The Eversharp Envoy
• The Eversharp Fifth Avenue and Sixty Four
• Kimberly, the Pen That Saved Eversharp
• The Eversharp Pacemaker
• The Eversharp Skyline Family
• The Eversharp Symphony Family
• The Eversharp Ventura Family
• Graphomatic : The Inkmaker & the Colonel
• Gregg Shorthand Pens
• William Houston, the Snapfil Pen, and What Happened in the Meantime
• The Ingersoll Dollar Pen
• Japanese Pocket Pens
• The John Hancock Cartridge Pen
• The Moore Finger tip
• Moore’s Non-Leakable Safety Pen
• Morrison’s Patriot
• The Parker “21”
• The Parker 45
• The Parker “51”
• The Parker 61
• The Parker 75
• The Parker 180
• The Parker Duofold
• The Parker Duofold Geometric (“Toothbrush”)
• The Parker Striped Duofold
• Parker: Ivorine, Pastel, and Moire, Oh My!
• The Parker Parkette and Writefine
• The Parker Vacumatic
• The Parker VP
• The Parker VS
• The Postal Reservoir Pen
• The J. G. Rider Fountain Pen
• The Security Pen
• Sheaffer’s Balance
• Sheaffer’s Connaisseur
• Sheaffer’s Craftsman
• Sheaffer’s Flat-Top Pens
• Sheaffer’s PFM
• Sheaffer’s Snorkel
• Targa by Sheaffer
• Sheaffer’s Touchdown TM
• Sheaffer’s Wartime “TRIUMPH” Pens
• Sheaffer’s Tuckaway
• Souvenir Pens
• The Wahl Pen
• The WASP Addipoint
• The WASP Clipper
• Waterman’s C/F
• Waterman’s Commando
• Waterman’s Hundred Year Pen
• Waterman’s Ideal N^o 7
• Waterman’s Ideal N^o 52
• Waterman’s Ink-Vue
• Waterman’s Patrician
• Waterman’s Taperite
• Waterman’s X-Pen
• The Wearever Zenith

Pens and History

• Blotting Out the Truth, by George Rimakis and Daniel Kirchheimer
• Fountain Pens and Pigtails, by Floyd Stuart
• The Great War and the Trench Pen
• Hommel’s Meteor Fountain Pen and Its Descendants
• The MacArthur Pens
• The Pens of the Rheims Surrender
• Personalized Pens: History in Your Hand
• Personalized Pens: The Malarkey Pen, by Mike Kennedy
• War and the Fountain Pen, by Floyd Stuart
• Who Really Invented the Fountain Pen?
• World War II and the Fountain Pen

Caring for Your Pens

• Care and Feeding: How to Pamper Your Pens
• Preserving Your Pens: Dos and Don’ts
• Inks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
• Inks: Report on the pH of More than 60 Inks
• Parker “51” Ink: Hero and Villain 
• Transportation: How to Ship Pens

Pen Shows

• Essay: Pen Shows: Why Bother?
• 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

• Survival Tips for a Successful Pen Show, by Ken Crooker
• Pen Show Rules: Keep an Open Mind, by Susan Wirth

The Pen Doctor

• I: Lockdown Vacumatic Dumps Ink When Filled; Nib Scratchy After Adjustment
• II: Dealing with Skyline Plastics; Father’s Day Suggestions
• III: Sac Size and Ink Blots; Brand-New Nibs That Aren’t Smooth
• IV: New Pens That Stop Writing; Reducing Ink Flow
• V: How to use Blotting Paper; Restoring Banana-Shaped Pens

• VI: Repairing Metal Caps; Cleaning a Retractable Montblanc Bohème
• VII: Fixing a Parker 45 That Does Not Flow; Old Pens: Fill Them, or…?
• VIII: Finding cartridges for a Waterman C/F; Getting Dried Ink Out of Caps
• IX: Basic Pen Care; INK NIX Revisited; Waterman C/F Cartridge Update
• X: Changing Pelikan Nibs; Flow Problems in Recent Pelikans

• XI: Vintage Aurora Flow Trouble; Fixing a Pelikan Piston?; Nib Tines That Won’t Stay Aligned
• XII: Adjusting Flow in a Parker “51”; Leaking Targa Nibs; Finding Replacement Pen Sacs
• XIII: More on Leaking Targa Nibs; Finding Replacement Pen Sacs; Using Ultrasonic Cleaners; Still More on Waterman C/F Converters!
• XIV: Fixing Parker “51” Cap Clutches (Not!); More on Leaking Targa Nibs; Finding Replacement Nibs for Inexpensive Pens
• XV: Rattling Lever in Sheaffer Pen; Converter Interchangeability?; Pelikan Nib Skips — Easy to Fix?

• XVI: My Dip Nibs Won’t Hold Ink; Tightening a “51” Clip
• XVII: Help for a Sheaffer Touchdown; Why Does My “51” Leak?; I Want a Flex Nib, and I Want It Now!
• XVIII: Parker “51”: Who’s On First?; Front-End Disassembly and Reassembly of the “51”; Using Windex to Flush a Pen
• XIX: Lubricating a Pelikan Piston; Trim Corrosion in Cigar-Box Pen Cases; Drippy Bulb Filler
• XX: Reassembling a Balky Eversharp Skyline; Ink Gets All Over the Top of my Nib; Removing a Broken-Off Converter

• XXI: Resacking with Silicone; Capless and VP: What’s the Difference?; Capless/Vanishing Point Capacity; Pens Gradually Lose Flow
• XXII: C/C Pen Leaks Between Section & Converter; Loose Nib & Feed in a Pelikan 400NN; Adjusting flow in a Parker “51”
• XXIII: Vanishing Point Dries Out; Using Other Inks in Montblanc Pens; Restoring Color in Celluloid That Was Exposed to Hot Water
• XXIV: Pelikan Nib Interchangeability; Other Nib Interchangeability; Pencils in a Pen Pouch
• XXV: Dealing with a Loose Parker “51” Collector; Removing a Waterman’s Lever; Pelikan 120 nibs?; Parker “51” Shell Adjustment

• XXVI: Special “51” Issue: Removing a Stuck Cap Jewel; Aligning the Nib, Feed, and Collector; Cleaning a Collector; Repairing a Softened Sac Nipple
• XXVII: Fixing Cap Threads That No Longer Engage Properly; Are Parker Lucky Curve Pens Easy to Repair?; Sacs for Esterbrook Pens
• XXVIII: Crystallized Pen — What to Do?; Aurora 88 flow Issue; Pelikan Piston Unit Adjustment
• XXIX: Vacumatic Filler Pellet Pops Out; Tines Touching, Poor Flow
• XXX: Vacumatic Filler Collars Came Apart; Removing a Stuck Parker “51” Cap; Identifying Pen Materials by Smell

• XXXI: Was My Pen Made by a Typewriter Company?; How do I Remove a Parker Vacumatic Nib?; Can I Use India Ink If I Just Dip?
• XXXII: What Type of Nib Is This, Really?; Hard Starting with a BB Nib; Removing the Clutch from a Parker “51” Cap
• XXXIII: Repairing a Crack in a Parker 61; Reattaching the Feed and Collector in a Parker Falcon 50; Identifying Eversharp Skylines
• XXXIV: Blobs from a Freshly Filled Pen; Moldy Pens and What to Do About Them; Identifying Mold in a Bottle or Cartridge
• XXXV: Nib Shifted on Feed; Identifying Parker “51” Nib Grades; Pencil Lead Won’t Load

• XXXVI: Black Rod Fell Out of Snorkel Tube; Ink Bleeds When Applied Over Watercolor; Cleaning a Moldy Pen; Questions About Ink Composition
• XXXVII: Inky Fingers from Touching a Feed; Disassembling a Filcao Columbia; Replacing the Retainer Strip in a Vacumatic Filler
• XXXVIII: Ink to use with “Rite in the Rain” Paper; Good Material for Polishing Pens; Removing an Ossified Diaphragm from a Vacumatic
• XXXIX: The Perennial Noodler’s ink Question; Should I buy an Ultrasonic Cleaner?; Sorely Troubled by a Snorkel Tube
• XL: Scrap Value of Cheap Steel Nibs; What Is This “51”, Really?; Broken Pelikan Pen

• XLI: Reviving Stale Ink Cartridges; Dating a Parker Duofold; Letting a Non-User Try Out My Fountain Pen?

Adventures in Pen Restoration

• More Than You Bargained For
• Rejuvenating a Tired Clip
• Saving an Ugly Duckling
• A Trip to Dip-Lessland

Miscellaneous Articles

• Birthday Pens: A Timeline
• Caveat Emptor: In an Auction, You Get What You Pay For
• Merlin Fountain Pen Colors
• Mint Vintage Pens: Preserve ’Em or Ink ’Em Up? by David Isaacson
• Pens in the Wild: A Hunter’s Guide
• Science Experiment for Ink Lovers: Chromatography
• Significant Pens of the Twentieth Century

Repairer’s Corner Why are there no videos here?

• Essential Tools and Supplies for Pen Repair
• Fountain Pen Sac Size Guide
• Drill Size Reference
• MicroMesh Swab Reference

• Basic Pen Repair: Don’ts and Dos
• How to Replace a Pen Sac
• How to Restore the Touchdown Filling System
• How to Restore the Snorkel/PFM Filling System
• How to Replace a Vacumatic Diaphragm
• How to Resac a Wringer-Type Twist Filler
• How to Replace an Ink-Vue Sac (Types 0 and 1)
• How to Replace an Ink-Vue Sac (Type 2)
• How to Replace the Sac in a Camel Fountain Pen
• How to Restore the Eversharp Skyline
• How to Restore the Filler in a Morrison Patriot
• How to Restore an Onoto Plunger Filler
• How to Repair a Sheaffer Vacuum-Fil Plunger-Filler
• How to Restore the Wahl-Oxford Twist Filler
• How to Remove a Parker 75 Nib from its Feed
• How to Remove and Install Levers in Lever-Filling Pens
• How to Repair a Broken Sac Nipple or Parker “51” Aero-Metric Coupler
• How to Repair a Cracked Safety-Pen Operating Shaft
• How to Sleeve Cracked Barrel Threads
• How to Repair and Replace a Waterman Lever Box Assembly
• How to Repair a Broken Z-Clip
• How to Repair the Seal in a Waterman Glass-Cartridge Pen
• How to Repair the Seal in a Moore’s Non-Leakable Safety Pen
• How to Disassemble and Reassemble Pelikan Nib Units
• How to Disassemble and Reassemble Japanese Pocket Pens
• How to Repair Shaft Seals in Japanese Eyedropper Pens
• How to Adapt a Platinum Converter for Pocket Pens
• How to Convert a Fifth Avenue or Skyline Eversharp CA to Use Modern Refills
• How to Convert a Cap-Actuated Retractable Eversharp CA to Use Modern Refills
• How to Repair the Piston in a Tibaldi Modello 60
• How to Remove the Clip from a Pilot Vanishing Point
• How to Build a Nib Grinding Station