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| The pen at the top of the image is shown 'posted', meaning the cap is on the end of the barrel. The pen shown is a Sailor, for which the nib and feed can be removed from the section. |
Peter Strempel, 16 October 2025
Fountain pens seem to be rather out of fashion today, as other kinds of pen are cheaper and thought more convenient. All the same, I prefer fountain pens to all other kinds for the aesthetic pleasure of using them. But that pleasure depends on a number of qualities all coming together: ink flow, nib width, section design, barrel width, and secure posting.
I prefer a generous ink flow from a medium tipped nib producing a line of between 0.5mm to 0.7mm. Nib size should be no difficult matter to change according to need for most pens, though some of the more expensive ones make it difficult by not permitting disassembly of nib and feed from the section, meaning they are manufactured as a single piece rather than allowing the nib to be pulled out, and the feed to be similarly pulled or unscrewed from the section.
A critical factor in smooth ink flow is the precision with which the diameter of the feed post, any section sleeve that the post may slide into, and the open tip of the ink cartridge or converter have been manufactured. If the fit is too tight, the cartridge or converter cannot ‘breathe’, and tend to hold the ink inside their container. If the fit is too loose, the ink leaks, when the pen is not in use, and may bleed into the paper like a blotch rather than a deliberate line.
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| The feed of a fountain pen, typically below the nib, is important for good ink flow, especially in how well the post fits into the section sleeve, cartdrige, or converter. |
Unexpectedly, cheap pens today can be manufactured quite well in this regard, and much more expensive ones can perform very poorly. This poor manufacture shows up in some converters for quite expensive pens never filling more than to half or two-thirds capacity. That need not be a disqualification. Converters can be replenished using a syringe filler.
I should specify now that may hands are not delicate, that I am right handed, and that I broke my right wrist decades ago requiring pieces of titanium to be inserted to connect the broken pieces back together. This last idiosyncrasy means I probably don’t have the same dexterity in my right hand that I used to, and that others take for granted.
Whether because of that, or not, I find pens with a pronounced lip or groove in the join between section and barrel uncomfortable to hold, because the lip digs into my middle finger. Visualize the right hand use of a pen: thumb to the left side of the section grip, index finger on the top and slightly to the right, and the middle finger below, as support. Most section grips are designed too low for my own comfort, so my middle finger mostly rests under the section-to-barrel join. When writing for longer than a minute or two, a pronounced lip or groove there digs into my middle finger uncomfortably.
Another preference is a design that is generous in the body width of the pen. Slimmer styling seems to favour more delicate hands than my own. Holding a slimmer pen tends to cramp my hand over time.
Still in terms of design is how well a pen ‘posts’ (not to be confused with the ‘post’ or needle on the section end of the feed). ‘Posting’ a pen is putting the cap of the pen on the end of the barrel. What matters is how well the cap fits onto the barrel while the pen is in use. A cap that falls off too easily is annoying. A cap that fits too tightly will damage the finish of the barrel’s end. The cap’s post should extend the pen’s length enough so it rests comfortably against the side of the index finger’s knuckle, where it begins to join the skin to the thumb. A fatter pen is less likely to move about at that resting point than a slim one.
When all of the above considerations come together well in a single pen, no matter whether it’s cheap or expensive, I would consider it a good one.