construction of a fountain pen墨水笔构造.docx
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construction of a fountain pen墨水笔构造.docx
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constructionofafountainpen墨水笔构造
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Constructionofafountainpen
If,likeme,youarefascinatedbyhowthingsgetdesignedandmade,thispageshouldbeofinterest.I'llbreakthetypicalfountainpendownintoparts,andthenspendabitoftimeoneachpart.Thephotobelow,courtesyofmypartsbox,showsyouwhatthesepartslooklike.
Typicalsacfillerpen(c1940)disassembled.
Thepoint
Thepen'spointis,ofcourse,whatthethingisallabout,anditsconstructionwasthemostinvolvedandhighly-skilledprocessinthemanufactureofmostpens.Pointswerealsocalled"pens"backinthedaysofdippens.
Terminology:
Iprefertheterm"point"forthewholemetalpart,butmostpeoplecallthem"nibs."Tome,the'nibs'arethelittlelumpsofhardmetalattheveryendofthepoint,thebitsthatactuallycontactthepaperanddeterminewhatkindoflinethepenwillwrite
Earlyfountainpensusedgoldpoints(asdidhigher-qualitydippensofthesameperiod)butnotjustforthesakeofluxury:
goldishighlyresistanttocorrosionandchemicalattackandcouldthereforetoleratevariouskindsofinkmuchbetterthanthesteelsthatwereavailableinthosedays(someearlyinkswerequitecorrosive).Thegoldwastypicallypreparedasasheetthatmightvaryslightlyinthicknessfromoneendtoanother(athinner“heel”helpsthepointto“set”betterinthesection,andputsmorematerialatthewritingendwhereitimprovesstrength).Severalpointswouldbestampedoutfromthissheet,andwouldthenbeformed(rolled)imprinted(withmakernames,hallmarks,etc.),possibly“masked”orplatedwithacontrastingcolormetal(likerhodiumorpalladium),andpolished.
“SolidGold?
”Sorry,nope.
Althoughweusuallysaythataluxurypenhasa“solidgold”point,thisactuallyisnotliterallytrue.Byitself,puregolddoesnothavethemechanicalstabilityortensilestrengthneededforthetaskofwriting,soitmustbemixed(“alloyed”)withothermetalssuchascopper.Themixofalloyingmetalsuseddeterminesthestrengthandmechanicalpropertiesofthepoint,aswellasitscolor.
Thecontentofgoldinanalloyisexpressedinkarats,wherepuregoldisdefinedas24karats.OutsidetheU.S.,goldcontentisoftenexpressedinparts-per-thousand.Penmakersintheolddayspreferred14kgold(14/24thsor585pptpuregold)foritsgoodbalancebetweenstrengthandworkability,butmodernpensaremorelikelytouse18k(18/24thsor750ppt).
Why18k?
ThisistheminimumgoldcontentrequiredincountriessuchasFranceinorderforamanufacturertobeabletoadvertiseaproductas“solidgold.”
Itusedtobethecustomtostampatinylogoor“hallmark”intogoldpartsinordertoidentifythefoundrythatmadethem(andtosignifytheirquality).Mostpencompaniescontinuetohallmarktheirsolidgoldpoints.
Next,craftspeoplewouldelectricallyweldatinybeadofiridiumorotherveryhardmaterialontothewritingendofthepoint;thisbead,properlyknownasthe“nib”(or“nibs”,sincetherewillbetwoofthemoncethepointhasbeenslit).Thenibisveryimportant,asitbearsthebruntofthewriting;itmustbeveryhardsoasnottowearoutundercontinuedfrictionagainstpaper.Thequalityoftheweldwascriticalinorderthattheiridiumwouldnotsimplyfractureorsnapoffundercontinueduseofthepen.Incidentally,althoughnibsareoftengenericallyreferredtoasbeing'iridium',theymayinfactbemadefromothermaterialssuchasruthenium,oralloysofsuchelements(Parkerusedaneight-partalloyonsomeofitspens,whichtheycalled'octanium').Lessexpensivepensmakedowithoutsuchexotictipping;theymayhaveablobofsteelontheend,or(forreallydownmarketpens),somesortoffoldedsheetsteelarrangement.
Aftertipping,thepointswerethenrununderhigh-speedcarbidesawstomakeathin,cleanslitabouthalfwaydownfromthetips.A“breatherhole”mightbedrilledorstampedintothepointattheendoftheslit,mainlyasastressrelieftokeeptheslitfromspreadingintoafull-lengthcrack(somebreatherholesareoffancifuldesign,likekeyholesorhearts).Thebreatherholemaynotactuallyberequiredfor'breathing,'sincemanypensgetalongjustfinewithoutit.
Thefeed
Thatrathernondescript(usuallyblack)thingythatyouseeunderthefancygoldpointisknownasthe“feed.”Youlikelywouldn'tthinksotolookatit,butthefeedisprobablythemostimportantsinglepartofthepen.Withoutaneffectivefeed,eventhefinestpenmadefromthebestmaterialswilldripandleakconstantlyorelsenotgiveupanyinkatall.
Thefeedhasthedifficultjobofbalancingthedelicateforcesofatmosphericpressureandcapillaryactiontopromotethecontrolledexchangeofink(goingoutofthepen)withair(goingintothepen).Thefeedmustalsoguidetheinkdownthroughtheslitandbetweenthenibs(andnotoutthesidesofthepoint).Finally,thefeedmustbeabletostoreor“buffer”excessinknotneededforwritingsothatthependoesnotblotorflowtooheavily.
Onolder(andnewer)pensofquality,thefeedisoftenmadefromhardrubberorvulcanite;thismaterialcanbeshapedandadjustedunderheattomakeitfitwellunderthenib,soastopromotegoodinkflow.Lessexpensivepensusuallymakedowithmoldedplasticfeeds,whichcanbejustafunctionalbutarenotaseasilyadjusted.Theplasticshouldbeofatypeandfinishthatiseasilywettedsothatitwon'timpairflow(notallplasticsaresuitableforthispurpose).
TheWatermanmulti-channelfeedwasthegranddaddyofvirtuallyallmodernfeeddesigns;thelaterWaterman'spoonfeeds'includedlittlespoon-likecavities(invisiblefromtheoutside)thatcouldholdexcessink.Morefamiliartomanyarethe“comb”feedsusedonpenslikethePelikan800(andthepenshownatthetopofthepage);thecombslitsservemuchthesamepurpose.
Testsofinkflowwithinthefeed(don'taskmehowtheydidthem)haveshownthatthefluidpressurevariesina“zigzag”fashionovertimeasyouwrite,indicatingthatyouareactuallypumpinginkfrominsidethepenasyouwrite.Carefuldesignandexecutionofthefeedchannels(includingvariationintheirdepth)isrequiredtoreinforcethispumpingbehavioraswellastodealwithexcessinkflowthatmayhappenduringlongwritingsessions.
Also,weshouldincludeinthisdiscussionthecollectorunitsfoundonParkerpenslikethe51and61;theseareessentiallygiganticinkbuffersthatactuallyenvelopthesmallpointsandfeedsofthesepenstoprovideagoodinksupplyjustwhereitisneeded.
Thesection
Thesectionisquiteliterallythelinchpinofthetypicalfountainpen;itholdstogetherallofthepen'svariousparts,includingbarrel,sac,breathertube,and(ofcourse)thepointandfeed;itsometimesalsohasthethreadsordetentstoholdthecapinplace.It'salsotheplacewhereyourfingertipsfallwhenyouwrite,soitissometimescalledthe“gripsection”orjust“grip”.
Mostvintage-pensections(liketheoneshownabove)aresimpleplasticorhardrubbersleeves;thepointandfeedarepress-fittedinsidethesection(wheretheymustbecarefullyadjustedor“set”toprovideforgoodwritingperformance).Thesacswerefittedtoareduced-diameter“nipple”attherearofthesection.Thesectionwastheneitherscrewedorpress-fittedintothebarrel.
Inmoremodernpens,thepointandfeedmaybecombinedintoasingleunitthatisthreadedtobescrewedintothesection;thisfacilitatesremovalofthepointforthoroughcleaning(althoughsomepens,likethefamousMontblanc149,haveafluidsealthatcanbreakifyouremovethepoint,andthatmustthenberenewed).
Inthe1930s,Parkerandothermakersintroducedsac-lesspenswithtranslucentbarrels;theseallowedyoutoseehowmuchinkremainedinthepenatanypoint.Makerswhocouldn'tsummonthetechnologytocreatesuchproductscouldoftenofferareasonablecompromiseintheformofthe“ink-view”or“visulated”section,whichhadatranslucentportionthatcouldatleasttellyouwhenyouwerejustabouttorundry.
Thefiller
Theinternalinksupplyiswhatmakesafountainpena“fountain”pen,asopposedtoadippen.Ofcourse,youhavetobeabletoreplenishthatinksupplywhenitrunslow,andthiscallsforafillingsystem.Ihaveanotherpagedevotedtofillingsystems,butwe'llreviewthemoreimportantoneshere.
Eyedroppers
Ontheoldestfountainpens,youremovedthepointandsectionandusedalongglasseyedropper(usuallyprovidedwiththepen)totransferinktothebarrel(whichwasabigemptyvial).Sincethesepensfrequentlyleakedatthesectionjoint,WatermanintroducedanimportantvariationintheSafetyPen,apenwhosepointcouldberetractedintothebarrelsothatatight-fittingcapcouldbescrewedon.Safetiesremainedinmanypenmakers'inventories(particularlyinGermany)wellintothemiddleofthe20thcentury,thechoiceforconservativeusersnotyetconvertedtotheself-filler.
Sacfillers
Aroundtheturnofthe20thcentury,penmakersbegantodevelop“selffillers”thatcouldberefilledcleanlyandwithoutaneyedropperorotherexternaldevice.ThefirstofthesewasprobablytheConklincrescentsystem.Whilethecrescentitselfdidnotlastlong(evenConklindroppeditsometimeinthe1920s),theuseofaninternalsoft-rubbersacdidcatchhold,andwasusedbymostmakersthroughtotheveryendoftheclassicfountainpenerainthe1950s.InadditiontotheConklincrescent,severalothertypesofsacfillersemergedintheearlydecadesofthefountainpenera,thetwomostpopularbeingthebuttonandthelever.
Parkerdevisedthebuttonfiller,inwhichabuttonattheendofthebarr
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