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 March 23, 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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V
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VAC-FIL
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1 A shortened version of Vacuum-Fil. See Vacuum-Fil. 2 A series of pens manufactured by Parker for Sears, Roebuck & Company and sold under the Diamond Medal brand. See also Diamond Medal.
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Vacumatic
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A series of pens made by Parker from 1933 to 1948. The name is frequently shortened colloquially to “Vac” The salient feature of the Vacumatic is its compact pump filler, designed by Professor Arthur C. Dahlberg, an instructor at the University of Wisconsin, and perfected by Parker engineers. View a description and filling instructions here. Read a profile of the Vacumatic here and a discsussion of the anatomy of a Vacumatic pen here. See also Imperial (definition 2).
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Vacuum-Fil
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1 Sheaffer’s name for its plunger-driven pneumatic filling system. The name is frequently shortened colloquially to “Vac-Fil” (potentially causing confusion with Diamond Medal VAC-FIL pens). Wahl-Eversharp produced a functionally identical filler, slightly different in design, and called its version the “One-Shot” vacuum filler. View a description and filling instructions here. See a cross-section of the anatomy of a Vacuum-Fil pen here. See also Diamond Medal. 2 Sheaffer’s name for one of the company’s lesser pen lines; sometimes used as a test platform for new technology. The VACUUM-FIL brand included pens with both lever and Vacuum-Fil filling systems. Shown below is an early VACUUM-FIL branded set.
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Vacuum-Filler
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The name applied to Parker’s pump-filling pen upon its introduction in early 1933, changed within months to Vacumatic. Sometimes confused with Vacuum-Fil.
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vegetal resin
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A class of plastic materials of which pens are made. In contrast to polystyrene plastics, which are petroleum based, vegetal resins are made from plant material (generally in combination with celluloid). Vegetal resins are attractive and durable, but they are relatively costly and are used by few manufacturers. See also resin.
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vent hole
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See breather hole, definition 1.
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Ventura
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(also Burp Pen) Eversharp’s name for a pen introduced in 1953 to supersede the Symphony series; the last significant Eversharp line before Parker purchased Eversharp in 1957. Ventura advertisements pictured a baby and said that the pen “burped” itself while being filled to expel excess air, thereby ensuring that it would not do so (expelling ink) while in use. This advertising gave rise to the nickname “Burp Pen” and may have been detrimental to the pen’s sales.
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vermeil
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A thin layer of gold (usually 23K or 24K) over sterling silver. The chemical similarity of gold and silver causes a molecular bonding such that vermeil is more durable than gold plating over a dissimilar metal. The Parker 51 SE cap shown here illustrates the application of vermeil over part of an object. See also gold filled, plated.
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Vest-Parker
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A tiny vest-pocket Parker Duofold model (3½" capped; see illustration below) produced from about 1930 to about 1933. See also vest pocket.
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vest pocket
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(also Vest Pocket) A very short pen intended to be carried in a vest pocket. Produced primarily between 1910 and 1940, vest-pocket pens survived into the 1940s, as illustrated by the Sheaffer Tuckaway shown here. Although the term has dropped out of common use, there are still a few pens in production that are small enough to be called vest-pocket models; among them is the retractable Montblanc Bohème.
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VF
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Vacuum-Fil (Sheaffer’s) or Vacumatic (Parker) filler. View descriptions and filling instructions here.
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Visometer
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Term created by Parker to describe the Vacumatic’s transparent (or partially transparent) barrel, which allows the the user to observe the amount of ink the pen contains. See also Visulated.
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Visulated
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 1 Term created by Sheaffer to describe a sac-filling pen having a transparent area in its section so that the user can observe the amount of ink it contains. As indicated in the 1936 Sheaffer catalog, the name is an elision of visible and insulated; and its purpose was to provide a way for Sheaffer to advertise its lever fillers against competitors’ transparent barrel-filling pens (e.g., the Parker Vacumatic and Waterman’s Ink-Vue), which were uninsulated. Illustrated here is a Sheaffer Balance service pen with a Visulated section. Other companies adopted the feature for their sac-filling pens and used their own names, such as Parker’s “Television Ink Supply” for pens such as the Challenger and Parkette. See also Visometer. 2 Collectors’ generic term for any pen with a transparent area for ink-supply visibility; usually not capitalized in this usage.
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vitreous enamel
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See enamel.
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VP
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A pen model made by Parker from 1962 to 1965; the immediate predecessor of the 75. The VP (illustrated below) features an ergonomic section with a screw-interchangeable nib unit that can be rotated to adjust it to the user’s preference; hence the name, which is the initial letters of the phrase Very Personal. Filling is by a removable squeeze-type unit that resembles the Aero-metric filler in the “51” but does not include a breather tube; the filler is constructed of metal and an unfortunately frangible clear plastic. See also 75.
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VS
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A button-filling pen model made by Parker from 1946 to 1949, probably the intended successor of the Vacumatic. (The letters VS are variously understood to mean Vacumatic Special or Vacumatic Successor, probably the latter.) The VS (pictured below) shares its styling and some components with the “51”.
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Vulcafor Orange
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An aniline dye used by Parker to color the rubber in later hard rubber Duofold pens (1924-1925); brighter and lighter in color than the coloring agents Parker had used earlier.
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Vulcanite
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See hard rubber.
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VV clip
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(also V.V. clip) A spring-loaded rocker clip, invented by Levi D. Van Valkenburg (U.S. Patent Nº 844,061). Produced in both slip-on and permanently attached versions, it was used by several early pen manufacturers (most notably Conklin, as shown below). Among modern makers, Visconti is probably the most prominent user of the design. See also clip, accommodation clip.
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The information in this glossary is as accurate as possible, but you should not take it as absolutely authoritative.
