In this article, you’ll learn about how these two writing instruments differ; and, though you can’t really use a fountain pen to create modern calligraphy as we know it, you’ll probably end up wanting one. There’s no better way, after all, to feel retro-chic in your everyday writing endeavors!
I remember having an internal debate when I decided to learn calligraphy: “Do I start with one of those pens you dip into ink, or do I start with one of those pens that already has an ink cartridge in it?” As far as I knew, dip pens and fountain pens were essentially the same thing, but fountain pens seemed to be more portable and convenient. Gosh, was I wrong! I have gleaned from reader emails that — understandably — some people have the same mentality that I did. The goal of this post, therefore, is to explain to you how fountain pens are different from from dip pens.
First, let’s talk about what a fountain pen actually is:
The fountain pen was invented in Northern Africa a long — looong — time ago. Its development came about because writers were tired of using dip pens, which at that time were used for standard writing {not the ornamental calligraphy we create today}. The writers had a need for something more convenient and less messy. Fast forward thousands of years, and we now have the modern-day fountain pen, which kind of works like your standard, everyday gel pen {think: Pilot G5}. Basically, you’ve got a nib that connects to a feed; that feed gets ink from the cartridge of your choice, and it’s all held together with a barrel.
Ink cartridges are widely available at art stores and online; and you can buy bottles of ink to inject into empty cartridges as well.
The million dollar question, of course, is this: Can you use fountain pens to create modern calligraphy? When I say “modern calligraphy”, I mean calligraphy styles like the Learn for a Latté series — pointed pen style.
It’s my belief, of course, that a person can always do anything he or she puts their mind to, but the average modern fountain pen probably isn’t the tool for the job in this case. Why? Because modern fountain pen nibs simply aren’t flexible enough to provide the upstroke/downstroke variation that we like in modern pointed pen calligraphy. The photo below shows me exerting pressure upward on a Plaisir Fine Point fountain pen nib; you can see that the tines don’t spread in the least bit.
Now, compare the photo you just saw to this photo, which depicts pressure being exerted on a Brause EF66 nib affixed to an oblique dip pen.
Do you see how the tines are spreading out? That flexibility is what gives stroke width variation. To illustrate what this means, I have created two different versions of the same Janet Style calligraphy envelope for you. One was written using a fountain pen, and one was written using a dip pen. You can see in the fountain pen example below that there is no stroke variation; all of the strokes used to write the letters are exactly the same width, despite the fact that I exerted more pressure on the downstrokes. {For an explanation of upstrokes and downstrokes, visit the Cheating Calligraphy blog post.}
Conversely, the Janet Style envelope created with a dip pen boasts a rich contrast between stroke widths:
This contrast is possible because of the nib’s flexibility. Now, don’t get me wrong: there are some fountain pens out there (such as the Noodler’s Flex) that can achieve some stroke variation as per this YouTube video. I have also been told that there are vintage models that are quite expensive but can achieve great stroke variation! Unfortunately, though, I personally haven’t found any fountain pen that has the proper flex to accomplish the stroke variation that I prefer when creating modern calligraphy.
That said, fountain pens are absolutely worth your time. I would tell you that they have a cult following, but the truth is, the adjective “cult” doesn’t apply because *a lot* of people are really in to fountain pens. This article makes a good argument for using fountain pens in everyday life, which is the use they are best suited for.
I, personally, enjoy using fountain pens to write letters. Silky fountain pen ink gives you a gradient effect as you write {known as “shading”}, which cannot be achieved with “normal” {e.g. ballpoint, gel} pens. In my opinion, fountain pens are great for anyone who wants to write with a beautiful instrument; and if you’re someone who writes a lot in his or her profession {e.g. medical doctor, a student}, a fountain pen can make that task fun. Indeed, Azizah Asgarali of Gourmet Pens was first inspired to try fountain pens when her doctor used one to write out her prescription!
In addition to being useful for everyday writing, fountain pens can be used to make some awesome hand-lettering! Flytrap Style is a dream to write with a fountain pen because it’s so easy to shade the inside of the letters; the wet ink eagerly blends to make quick work of shading. If you used certain colored inks, you may experience a beautiful gradient effect when writing in this style.
Of course, you can also use it to create faux/”cheating” calligraphy, as shown in Kaitlin Style below:
Though this is a short blog post, I want to sum it up in bullet points to reiterate what fountain pens are good for, and not so good for.
One last thing I have to say about fountain pens is, as a beginning fountain pen user, I have found this to be an issue:
Amazingly, I make more of a mess with fountain pens than I do with dip pens! If you get a fountain pen, learn from my mistake, and try to keep your fingers off of the nib. I wear the ink like a badge of honor, but I do have to admit that the cashier at the supermarket yesterday was eyeing my bright red fingertips suspiciously!
I hope this blog post cleared up some questions for you, particularly if you were confused about the difference between these two writing instruments! I can’t pretend to have a vast knowledge of fountain pens; but I have told you what I know, and I genuinely hope you’ll do some research to find the fountain pen of your dreams. While fountain pens cannot replace dip pens {and vice versa}, the two complement each other so very well, and fountain pens are fantastic tools to add to your artillery. I know that some readers of this blog are knowledgeable fountain pen enthusiasts, so if you have anything to contribute, please don’t hesitate to comment! I know I would love to learn a bit more from you re: fountain pens, and others would appreciate it as well.
Thanks so much for reading, and enjoy the rest of your week!
Warmly,
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