It uses a thick, oil-based ink that is dispersed by a small ball in a socket at the head of the pen. The cartridge uses gravity to force ink down the reservoir. A fountain pen uses a nib in the ...

When fountain pens first came along ... One problem was that while the ball worked better than a nib, it had to be an absolutely perfect fit, or ink would either get stuck or leak out everywhere.

This is One Thing, a column with tips on how to live. Growing up in Saudi Arabia, I learned cursive with a fountain pen in the third grade as part of the standard curriculum. I wasn’t good at ...

These form part of the Yasmin McMullon Collection of gold fountain pens, ball points and mechanical pencils.