A Brief Introduction to Pens

Pens are commonly used writing tools, invented in the early 19th century. The pen is made of metal and writes smoothly and elastically. There are obvious trademarks and models at the mouth of the pen sleeve or on the surface of the pen tip. It can also be divided into dipping pen, tap pen and ink bag pen.

Structure composition

NIB

Pen tip, can be said to be the most critical part of the pen, from thin to thick, there are various changes. The most common size of pen tip is “B (Broad thick), M (Medium thick), FM (Fine-Medium medium and fine), F (Fine fine) and EF (Extra-Fine fine)”, from coarse to fine is B > M > F > EF, the size of pen tip is also slightly different in each pen factory. In the same size unit, the tip of Japanese pen is thinner than that of European pen.

According to the usual writing habits, most Westerners use M-point pen, while B-point pen is used for signature. Because of the complexity of strokes in Chinese writing, F or finer EF tips can be generally used.

Type

There are many types and models of pens. According to the composition of pen tip, it can be divided into three types: gold pen, iridium pen and ink bag pen.

Fountain pen

The pen tip is made of gold alloy. The pen tip is soft, elastic and comfortable. But the price of the gold pen is more expensive, the tip of the pen is soft, and it is not easy to master, so beginners should not use it.

Iridium point pen

Pen tip does not contain gold, part of the pen tip is gold-plated, the pen tip is hard, but cheap, is a relatively suitable tool for beginners to learn to write.

The reason why the gold and iridium pen tips are more durable than the pen tips is that the secret is the small round particles on the pen tips. This small round grain is made of Iridium-Ruthenium alloy. It is very hard and wear-resistant. According to the experiment of Shanghai Venus Golden Pen Factory, if the point of the pen and the point of the pen are ground on the oil stone at the same time, after an hour, the point of the pen wears only 0.07 mm, while the point of the pen wears as much as 5 mm!

Although the prices vary greatly, the iridium grains of the pen tips are all special alloys of “Iridium, Ruthenium”. The reason why the smoothness of the pen tips differs so much is because of the different polishing methods and fineness. So in a sense, a gold pen is the same as an iridium pen. But the material and feel are different, which leads to the price gap!

The ink contains a small amount of sulphuric acid, but this corrosive sulphuric acid will pose a serious threat to the pen. If the pen tip is made of ordinary steel, it can not withstand the corrosion of sulfuric acid and can not last long. What metals resist corrosion? Gold, iridium and stainless steel. Gold is a corrosion-resistant metal. People think of using it to make pen tips. However, pure gold is too soft to be directly used to make pen tips. As we usually say, the tip of a golden pen is made of alloy. The tip of a better gold pen is marked 14K, which means 58% of gold, and silver and copper: 12K, which means 50% of gold. In this way, not only the hardness is improved, but also the elasticity is particularly good. The small silver-white round grain on the tip of the gold pen is called Iridium Gold. It is an alloy, mainly Iridium, and other rare metals, especially wear-resistant. Because when writing, it relies entirely on it to scratch across the paper, and it often has to “travel thousands of miles” in its life. The iridium pen tip is made of stainless steel. Fortunately, the small round particles on the iridium pen tip are exactly the same as those on the gold pen. As a result, Iridium pens are almost as effective as gold pens, but much cheaper. So Iridium pens with good quality and low price are very popular. Ordinary dipping pens and pens have no iridium grains embedded in their tips, so their service life is much shorter.

Ink pen pen

The ink bag pen can be used without absorbing ink and inserting a special ink bag.