Like any other specialized item, the fountain pen has amassed a lexicon of terms that are unique. And like other jargon languages, fountain pen jargon can be cryptic or confusing. This glossary presents brief definitions for many of the most common pen terms. It is not complete (an impossible goal); but it is a work in progress, and I welcome suggestions for terms to add.
(Revised April 25, 2008)
The glossary is organized alphabetically. For numbers, look under the spelled-out form; e.g., for 14K, look under fourteen.
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nacre
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See Pearl and Black (definition 2).
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nail
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Mildly derisive colloquial term for an extremely rigid nib, such as those found on most vintage Parker Duofolds and Sheaffer pens from the 1920s and 1930s. See also manifold, nib.
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neck
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See gripping section.
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nib
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 (also neb or nip [generally archaic]) The part that carries ink from the pen and deposits it on the paper. Nibs are generally made of 14K or 18K gold alloy or of stainless steel; nibs have also been made of palladium and titanium alloys, and of glass. Nibs are made in varying degrees of firmness ranging from extremely flexible (“wet noodle”), for producing attractive line variation, to extremely rigid (manifold), for writing on multipart forms. See also adjustable nib, glass nib, hooded nib, Inlaid Nib™, manifold, open nib, Triumph nib, wet noodle. [Historical note] Before the advent of the fountain pen, and for a time thereafter, the part that we now call the nib was called the pen, and it was inserted into a pen holder for use. The nibs were the tips of the tines, and particularly high-quality pens had small bits of ruby fitted to their nibs for smoothness and wear resistance. See also dip pen, gold pen, steel pen, tipping material.
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nib creep
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The spontaneous accumulation of ink on the top surface of a nib; the ink is said to “creep” up out of the slit. Some inks are more prone to creep than others, but the root cause of the phenomenon is a nib slit that is either damaged or manufactured with insufficient attention to finishing; nicks, scratches, etc., can create a capillary path across the edge between the slit wall and the top surface.
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nib grade
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Term for the size of a nib’s tip. Historically, the standard round grades are Needlepoint (XXXF), Account (XXF), extra fine (XF or EF), fine (F), medium (M), broad (B), double broad (BB), and triple broad (3B). Most pen manufacturers today limit their production to fine, medium, and broad nibs, with a few offering extra fine. There is no true standard among manufacturers, but most European nibs are similarly sized. Japanese nibs tend to run about a size finer for a given marking; a Japanese M is about the same size as a European F. See also italic, oblique, stub.
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nickel
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A hard silvery metal that is malleable, ductile, and resistant to corrosion; used in alloys and as a plating material (frequently as an underplating for gold). See also nickel silver, plated.
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nickel silver
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(also German silver) A tarnish-resistant alloy, one of the Monel metals; slightly brownish silver in color. Contains copper, nickel, and zinc, but no actual silver. Used for making furniture on some pens (e.g., the clips on Waterman’s CLIP-CAP models). Do not confuse nickel silver with Nikargenta. See also Monel metal, nickel, Nikargenta.
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niello
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1 A black compound of sulfur with silver, lead, or copper, used for filling in engraved designs in silver or other metals. 2 An object, such as a pen, that is decorated with niello. Shown below is an early Pelikan with a barrel Binde of sterling silver and niello. See also Binde, silver, Toledo.
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Night and Day
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(also Day and Night) See Moderne.
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Nikargenta
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A silvery-white alloy of nickel and silver, best known to pen collectors as the material used for the caps on some models of the Aurora 88 (shown below), 88K, and 88P. Do not confuse Nikargenta with nickel silver. See also nickel, nickel silver, silver.
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9K
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(also 9C) A designation indicating an alloy that contains 9 parts of gold, by weight, per 24 parts of the total metal content. The same as 375. 9K alloys were used for some excellent low-priced flexible vintage nibs, and some modern makers have used 9K for solid-gold furniture. See also karat.
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nipple
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(also peg) The tubular back portion of the section, onto which the sac is cemented in most sac-filling pens. See also gripping section.
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no-name
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Term applied to a pen that has no manufacturer’s imprint, almost always a third-tier (or even cheaper) pen. See also third tier.
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non-leakable
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Synonym for safety. Used before the word “leakproof” came into use. The pen shown here is a “Moore’s Non-Leakable Safety Pen.”
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No Nonsense
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(frequently written NoNonsense by collectors) A low-priced Sheaffer model introduced in 1969 as a blister-packed $1.98 pen and subsequently offered in several additional trim variations, including a stainless steel version. In 1999, Sheaffer redesigned the No Nonsense with a snap cap and a soft rubberized section, and the newer version is still in production as of this writing. Shown here is an example of the original version.
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NOS
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New Old Stock; usually indicates an item that was not sold at retail and has been out of production for some period. Does not specify condition, as such items can be shopworn or faded. See also mint.
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Nostalgia
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A series of limited-production Sheaffer models introduced in 1970; featured styling reminiscent of pens from Sheaffer’s early years such as a vermeil all-metal pen and overlay models in gold and silver such as the pen shown below. See also overlay.
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Nozac
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(“No sac”) Conklin’s name for two 1930s pen models styled like the Endura Symetrik, of which the better known is a piston-filling model that was initially marketed as the Nozac Endura. Shown here is a 1934 Word Gauge Nozac. The lesser known model is the relatively uncommon Nozac Q.F. (Quick Filling), whose plunger filler is functionally the same as early versions of Sheaffer’s Vacuum-Fil. See also Endura, Word Gauge.
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NPT
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Nickel Plated Trim. See also nickel, plated.
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nurse’s pen
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A pen designed for use by a nurse, typically by coloring it white. Esterbrook made a nurse’s set in white, using the Model SJ and coloring the end jewels red, green, or black to indicate the color of ink in the pen. See also doctor’s pen.
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The information in this glossary is as accurate as possible, but you should not take it as absolutely authoritative.
