New Year, New Hobby? A Basic Introduction to Fountain Pens

By Susan Jones-Davis, Club Coordinator

Edited by Alicia S., Website Manager

Additional Assistance from Members Roshan D'Souza, Sam S., and Teresa Widdowson

Why Fountain Pens?

At a time when most of our communication is done electronically, some people are discovering or rediscovering the physical act of writing as a satisfying, meditative, and/or joyful process. The tactile feeling of a pen nib on the page, seeing the ink follow each stroke, creating a physical piece of communication, and maybe sharing that with someone special to you offers an experience no digital communication can match.

Fountain Pens — Basic Terms

Unlike a dip pen (the most famous example would be a quill), which must be frequently dipped into ink to keep writing or drawing, a fountain pen has a reservoir of ink within the pen body, allowing a continuous feed of ink to the nib through gravity and guided flow (i.e., capillary action). Depending on how much the reservoir holds and how much you use the pen, it could be days, weeks, or months before you need a refill on ink.

Caps: Twist or Pull?

Pens from makers Jinhao (L) and Monteverde (R). Photo by Teresa Widdowson.

Some pen caps are removed by pulling and others twist off—it’s a small detail, but can be a big problem if a cap is removed incorrectly. For example, if a twist cap is forcibly pulled off, it can ruin the threads on your twist cap. It’s good practice to always ask “twist or pull” or “How does this open?” when handling an unfamiliar pen. 

Nib Sizes

The tip of the nib is the part of the pen that touches paper and does the actual writing.

Nib sizes vary by manufacturer, but generally Western-made pen nibs are usually broader than Japanese nibs. Generally, Western nibs run one size larger than Japanese nibs, so most American and European-made fine nibs are about equivalent in writing width to the average Japanese medium nibs. Chinese fountain pens seem to fall closer to European widths, possibly because they manufacture many pens and nibs for the world market.

Standard nibs on modern fountain pens are usually steel or gold. More expensive pens usually have gold nibs, and less-expensive pens are mostly steel nibbed. 

A Magna Carta Mag 600 Golden Gate pen inked with Alexandrite Diamine demonstrated on Tomoe River #7 paper. Photo by Roshan D'Souza.

The most common nib sizes are

Extra-Fine (EF),

Fine (F),

Medium (M), 

Broad (B) 

Double Broad (BB), and

Stub.

Some Japanese pen makers will use the term “Course” (abbreviated as C) instead of Double Broad.

There are many more specialty nibs, but the ones listed above are the most common. JetPens has a great introductory guide. (We are not affiliated with their site; we just know a good resource when we see one!)

Choosing a Nib 

If your handwriting is tiny, a finer nib—a Western EF or F or Japanese M—may suit you. For larger handwriting, a medium or broad nib might be more appropriate. One tip to help choose a nib that suits your handwriting is to write lots of cursive Es. If your Es are open at the center, you are probably using a nib size that works well with your writing style. If your Es are solid blobs, you might like to try a finer nib.

Not sure what you want in a nib? Consider attending a Seattle Pen Club meeting! Ask (nicely) if you may try people’s pens! Club meetings and informal hangouts with pen folks are great ways to try new pens, inks, papers, pencils, and more. (Plus, we’re just cool people to spend time with.)

Custom-Ground Nibs

Nibmeisters or nib grinders are professionals who modify pen nibs. They do this by sanding, grinding to a custom shape, repairing, and/or tuning a pen nib to requested specifications. Sometimes they make adjustments to standard guidelines listed on a website, and sometimes you sit with them at a tradeshow and provide feedback while they work until they have adjusted a pen to your exact and unique desire. Experienced nibmeisters can grind most nibs to whatever variation a customer chooses—a very fine point, a nib with some flexibility, a more left-handed friendly nib, etc. 

Unfortunately, as of January 2026, SPC is unaware of any nibmeisters working in the King County area. Our website lists recommended nibmeisters who do business by mail (and

An empty demonstrator pen. Photo by Teresa Widdowson.

attend some pen shows). Additionally, if you’re willing to travel to Portland, Oblation Papers & Press will announce in their newsletter and on social media when a nibmeister visits their store. (Again, no affiliation.)

Demonstrator Pens

Demonstrator fountain pens have transparent barrels, revealing the inner workings and the ink inside the pen. They started out as a way for pen sellers to demonstrate to their customers how the pens worked. Now, they are a fun way to display attractive ink and keep an eye on how much ink you have left. 

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