All About Pens

As an Engineer, a pen is very essential tool. You can use it to make sure that you get your message across. Or use it to affix your John Hancock on an important project. But for whatever purpose your favorite pen may serve you. It is good to know a little background about it.

It comes in different form and has evolved with time. In the historic times, there were type of pens used by people who want to impart their thoughts, feelings and knowledge to other persons. These pens are actually cheap pens, because a person can actually use a stick or a feather and dip it in the ink to impart their thoughts and emotions.

Here are the several types of historic pens:

·         Dip pen- it is actually made up of metal tip but has wood for a handle, and is more like the fountain pen that we have now. But unlike the usual pen, the dip pen has no ink reservoir; hence the name dip pen. A person needs to dip the tip or nib of the pen into the ink in order to write.

·         Quill pen or commonly known as the feather pen; these feathers usually come from a big bird like the goose. The quill pen was used during the medieval times and is used on parchment papers. Since you need to have a feather to write, it is considered as one of the cheap pens.

·         Reed pen, it came from a bamboo and has a slit at the tip where the ink would flow. The reed pen is still in use in some areas in Pakistan, it is believed that the use of reed pen improves one’s hand writing.

·         Ink brush, this type of pen is commonly used for calligraphy. The brush can be made up of hair or feathers and the handle is made up of wood. Mostly used in East Asia, and the Chinese are known to have propagated the use of ink brush.

Now in the modern times, pens have definitely evolved. There are pens which are considered cheap pens and still there are the expensive pens. The modern times pens are:

·         Ballpoint pen, it is probably the most common amongst the types of modern pens. Ballpoints are also considered cheap pens because there are a lot of companies which manufacture this type of pen. A ballpoint pen ink usually dries easily upon contact on the paper unlike other pens.

·         Rollerball pen, this type of pen usually utilizes water-based ink or gel ink. It functions like the ballpoint pen, wherein the ink would flow through the nib and will dry up easily as well. It provides the convenience of using a ballpoint pen however since the ink is gel like; ink flow much smoother and gives the fountain pen effect.

·         Marker or the felt-tip pen, it is made up of fibrous material. Large markers are being used on big or wide surfaces to make the writing more visible to the reader. There are two types of marker, the permanent marker and the non-permanent or the erasable marker which is used for whiteboards.

·         Fountain pens, this pen is not actually considered one of the cheap pens. Fountain pens are much more expensive and elegant compared to the rollerball pen and the ballpoint pen. Most fountain pens are designer pens.