Pen Glossary

The words in a pen listing, looked up in one place: parts, materials, condition and repair terms, filling systems, nibs, makes and models. Not here? Ask the Pen Market or contact us.

106 entries, 34 explained in Nathaniel’s words so far.

0–9

1900-1919 Era
6 in stock
1920-1929 Era
41 in stock
1930-1939 Era
32 in stock
1940-1949 Era
17 in stock
1950-1959 Era
17 in stock
1960-1979 Era
11 in stock
1980-Present Era
108 in stock

A

Accountant Nib
3 in stock
Acme Make
1 in stock
Aerometric Filler Filling system
5 in stock
American Nibs Term Nibs and how they write
When anyone refers to a nib as being an American nib, more than discussing where the nib was made, they are likely referring to it writing on the broader side of its point-size spectrum. For example: An American nib is…
Architect nib Term Nibs and how they write
An architect nib is a very specialized nib-point design going back to the days when architects actually sketched out their designs on paper. It is easiest to think of it as a reverse stub or italic nib. Whereas a stub… Also: Architect grind
Aurora Make
1 in stock

B

Baby’s Bottom Nib Term Nibs and how they write
Baby’s bottom nibs seem to us to be a term that has lost all sense of its original definition. Without meaning any offense to new pen collectors, they are the ones who tend to use this term quite liberally for any…
Ballpoint Filling system
31 in stock
BB Nib
1 in stock
Bexley Make
1 in stock
Bouncy Term Nibs and how they write
A bouncy nib is one that seems to have a little cushiony give that snaps back to normal quite readily. Do not confuse it with a semi-flexible nib. It usually doesn’t do any fancy writing tricks. It is just like having a…
Broad Nib
4 in stock
Bulb/Postal Filler Filling system
1 in stock
Buttery Smooth Term Nibs and how they write
A buttery smooth nib is pretty much as it sounds. Absolutely no feedback or scratchiness at all. It doesn’t sing as it writes. It glides perfectly without any interference or distraction.
Button Filler Filling system
20 in stock

C

Capillary Filling system
3 in stock
Caran D’Ache Make
4 in stock
Carter’s Make
1 in stock
Cartier Make
4 in stock
Cartridge/Converter Filling system
38 in stock
Christmas Tree Inkfeed Term Nibs and how they write
Back when you were a kid, did you ever draw a Christmas tree with jagged boughs? To pen collectors, the original Parker Duofold inkfeed looks like a kid’s drawing of a Christmas tree. The jagged edges of the feed were…
Conical Nib Term Nibs and how they write
Companies began making cone-shaped nibs in the 1940s. The most famous conical nib is likely the Sheaffer Triumph nib. Unlike an “open nib,” which leaves its inkfeed totally exposed, a conical nib wraps around the…
Conklin Make
5 in stock
Crescent Filler Filling system
1 in stock
Cross Make
5 in stock

D

Delta Make
1 in stock
Diamond Medal Make
1 in stock
Dip Filling system
1 in stock
Dry Nib Term Nibs and how they write
A dry nib or dry writing nib explains how the ink is spread sparingly as it writes. Let us say you are writing with black ink. A dry nib lays it down really thin. As such the ink might not appear black but a really pale…
Dunhill Make
4 in stock

E

Eagle Make
7 in stock
Elysee Make
3 in stock
Epenco Make
1 in stock
Esterbrook Make
11 in stock
European Nibs Term Nibs and how they write
Like American nibs, European nibs are writing on the thicker side of the point size spectrum. A fine-point European nib is likely a medium in a Japanese pen. The Montblanc and Pelikan pen companies are notoriously juicy…
Extra-Fine Nib
24 in stock
Eyedropper Filling system
6 in stock

F

Faber Castell Make
4 in stock
Feathering Term Collector shorthand
Feathering doesn’t pertain so much to the nib as it does the paper a pen writes on. Cheap, poorly made papers are more likely to allow ink to spread more widely than the point of the nib intended. This leads to thicker…
Feed Term Parts of a pen
This refers to an inkfeed, and we get into that in greater detail below.
Feedback Term Nibs and how they write
This is a many nuanced definition for nib aficionados. The most pure definition of feedback is the ability of the nib to relay the feeling of the paper and table/desk upon which you are writing as you write. A pen can…
Fine Nib
46 in stock
Firm Term Nibs and how they write
A firm nib has absolutely no cushion or flex. It is a very rigid nib. Sheaffer nibs are often discussed as being too firm. However, Sheaffer was also a leading supplier of pens to businesses that often needed things…
Flexible Nib
2 in stock

H

Hooded Nib Term Nibs and how they write
A hooded nib mostly refers to a nib covered by a plastic cowling or hood, such as the ones used by the Parker 21, 41, 51 and 61. Hooded nibs really helped to eliminate ink evaporation. We once left a full Parker 51 out…

I

Inkfeed Term Nibs and how they write
An inkfeed is a plastic or hard-rubber device under (or over) a pen’s nib that has channels for ink and air to flow freely to maintain equilibrium within a fountain pen’s ink reservoir. This is the key for proper ink…
Inlaid nib Term Nibs and how they write
Unlike an open nib or a conical nib, an inlaid nib is set directly into the plastic of a pen’s section. Vintage Waterman C/F pens and Sheaffer Compacts, PFMs, Targas, Intrigues and Imperial pens have some of the most…

L

Laban Make
1 in stock
Lamy Make
6 in stock
LeBoeuf Make
3 in stock
Levenger Make
2 in stock
Lever Filler Filling system
40 in stock

M

Manifold Nibs Term Nibs and how they write
Vintage pen companies often referred to their most rigid, firm nibs as “manifold nibs.”
Marlen Make
4 in stock
Medium Nib
41 in stock
Melted Feed Term Nibs and how they write
Sometimes the inkfeed pulls away from vintage pen nibs, and the pen can no longer write properly. To fix this problem, a restorer must very carefully heat the malleable inkfeed to effectively melt it just enough to get…
Michel Perchin Make
1 in stock
Missing Tipping Term Nibs and how they write
The majority of second- and first-tier vintage and modern fountain pens have a little ball of iridium grafted to the tip of a gold nib. Given how soft gold is and how malleable it is, the iridium tipping helps to…
Mont Blanc Make
8 in stock
Montegrappa Make
1 in stock

N

Nail Term Nibs and how they write
When someone calls a nib a nail, they generally mean it is some combination of very firm, dry writing and scratchy. Also: writes like a nail
Namiki Pilot Make
3 in stock
Nib Term Nibs and how they write
A nib is the writing element of the fountain pen. The base of the nib is called the shank, which slides up into the section of the pen. The widest part of the nib is called the shoulders. The little hole between the…

O

Oblique Nib
1 in stock
Omas Make
6 in stock
Open Nib Term Nibs and how they write
An open nib is what most people think of when they envision a fountain pen nib. This is the classic nib design that has no wrap around, leaving the inkfeed beneath the pen exposed.
Other Make
17 in stock
Overfeed Term Nibs and how they write
An overfeed or over feed is an inkfeed that rests on top of a nib instead of under it. It is just as effective as the more common underfeed. The reason there are very few overfeeds today is that pen sellers and…

P

Paint Brush Term Nibs and how they write
To call a nib a paint brush is just slang for saying that it is a very wet, broad writer.
Parker Make
54 in stock
Pelikan Make
4 in stock
Pencil Filling system
32 in stock
Piston Filling system
13 in stock
Pre-1900 Era
1 in stock

R

Ranga Make
4 in stock
Rollerball Filling system
21 in stock

S

S.T. Dupont Make
10 in stock
Safety Filling system
3 in stock
Scratch Term Nibs and how they write
Another one of those self-explanatory terms. A nib that scratches as it writes is a scratchy nib. Sometimes the scratch is caused by misaligned tines or flaws in the tipping.
Semi-Flexible Nib
19 in stock
Sheaffer Make
29 in stock
Singing Nib Term Nibs and how they write
This is another hard to define description. Sometimes a nib sings. No. Not like Frank Sinatra or Billie Holiday. (Nobody sings like them.) Yet, a nib might have an odd vibration that doesn’t make a scratchy sound. It is…
Snorkel Filling system
1 in stock
Soft Nib Term Nibs and how they write
Soft nibs are often gentle, smooth writers that give a little as you write with them. They tend toward being wet nibs, too. They aren’t always bouncy but some soft nibs have bounce.
Spear Feed Term Nibs and how they write
This is another name for the original vintage Parker Duofold Christmas tree inkfeed, as it looks like a primitive barbed spear point.
Sprung nib Term Condition and wear
A sprung nib is one that has been bent by someone writing with it using too much pressure. If the nib was originally a semi-flex or flexible nib, it will likely never write again once it has been sprung. If it is a… Also: sprung
Stub Nib
4 in stock
Sweet Spot Term Nibs and how they write
Vintage nibs, in particular, were used for years by their original owners. The more the original owner wrote with the pen, the more the soft gold nib would conform to where that writer preferred to hold the pen at…

T

Tipping Term Parts of a pen
A small ball of iridium is often attached to the point of a gold nib to better help protect the nib. Most people refer to this as tipping. Also: tipping material
TouchDown Filling system
2 in stock
TWSBI Make
1 in stock

U

Underfeed Term Nibs and how they write
This is an inkfeed that goes under the nib. It is needed for permitting ink to flow down toward the tip of the nib while allowing air to flow up into the ink reservoir to maintain proper ink flow and writing. Also: Under Feed

V

Vacumatic Filling system
8 in stock
Vacuum-Fil Filling system
4 in stock
Visconti Make
2 in stock

W

Wahl-Eversharp Make
16 in stock
Waterman Make
10 in stock
Wet Nib Term Nibs and how they write
A wet nib simply refers to a nib having greater ink flow usually producing darker lines of ink that don’t dry as quickly as a standard ink flow or dry ink flow/dry nib.
Wet noodle Term Nibs and how they write
Wet Noodles are extremely flexible nibs whose tines offer almost no resistance as you write. Very delicate nibs with incredible range and performance. Meant more for true Spencerian artists and not really for daily…