The historical trajectory of the fountain pen is somewhat ironic: what began as an significant item for the educated person to write cleaner and faster is now a niche writing tool that encourages slowing down. By niche I mean a growing global market worth $1 billion.
The world of fountain pens becomes deeper and deeper as you research. Physically speaking, everyone will find a pen for themselves: from an elegantly polished casing, through a richly decorated metal pen, to a vintage pen that is over 100 years senior. Nibs can be equally diverse and can be customized with gemstones, patterns and laser engravings, not to mention the many restricted edition pens that fuel the collectible market. The idea of ”one pen for life” is strange if you’re used to the current pigeonholing of products, but sustainability is attractive to fountain pen users.
“You are a momentary custodian; pens are designed to last a lifetime for you, your children and their children,” notes Alvin Nguyen, who works at a Chicago pen store and separately buys and sells scarce pens. The Japanese word for “fountain pen” has hallowed longevity: “万年筆” with three Kanji characters separate meaning “The brush/pen is ten thousand years senior.”
For an industry that is more than two centuries senior, it has been found that coffee has appeared many times in the form of pen and ink. Inspired by Japan kiss cafes and the dessert with coffee jelly enjoyed there, Platinum Century 3776”My favorite things – coffee jelly” (at the time of writing: $368 retail) has a 14K gold nib. It comes with a mixable affluent “Gloomy Syrup” ink, reminiscent of the shadowy maple syrup used in coffee jelly recipes, and is carefully packaged in a separate box.
As part of yours Coffee Edition Collectionproduced by industry stalwart Sheaffer fountain pen (in a dainty brown shade, of course) with a coffee cup emblem on the lid and coffee-scented ink. To go a step further, Manufactum has entered into cooperation with an ink manufacturer Detrament and created an exclusive, coffee-based ink. According to the product page, “the coffee has also been filtered several times, then coagulated and brought to the desired consistency using glycol.” If you think this is too kitschy or one of those “because we can” products, these aren’t the only coffee mascaras I’ve found; Entire collections of gastronomic scented inks are available.
The fountain pen as we know it today consists of four main parts: the nib, the ink delivery system, the body and the cap. There they are various mechanisms for filling the ink tank and feeding it to the nib, but I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty of it all. Rest assured that there are many websites, forums, videos and discussion clubs that can assist with your education.
The first patent for a fountain pen was filed in 1809 and was awarded to Frederick Fölsch in England. However, patents do not always reflect the name of the original inventor, and reservoir pens were no exception. Since fountain pens have undergone many evolutions, there are different opinions about who invented them. In 953 there was a pen mentioned in the Islamic history book “Kitab al-Majalis wa ‘l-musayarat”, where “the ink should flow only when desired, and the ink should not stain or leak.” In the 16th century, several European inventors described the existence of “tank pens”. At the time of filing the patent application, Fölsch improved upon the popular dip pens by installing a spring-loaded valve on one end that, when opened, allowed ink to flow under air pressure.
Additional improvements to the ink reservoir were made by Romanian inventor Petrache Poenaru in 1827, and in 1884 Lewis Waterman patented a capillary ink delivery system that used gravity and capillary action to flow ink. Early pens were handmade by craftsmen, but with the introduction of factories and mass production they became more accessible to ordinary people.
There is a thread running through many of my articles: a return to analog materials and instruments, whether hand-painted signs, neon signs or board games. All this encourages us to sluggish down. “At my company alone, we’ve seen tremendous growth in the industry, and it’s been almost unbelievable,” says Nguyen, noting that the pandemic has sparked a resurgence in the industry, especially as people look for something to do. The facts support his thesis: the global stationery market – including pens, pencils and markers – is predicted reach $23.9 billion by 2030, while the stationery market (because ink and paper are indispensable too) predicted reach $40.4 billion by 2033. “There are many ways to enjoy pens — not just the way you write with them and feel like you’re writing something special, but also just reconnecting with reality, like journaling.”
In more detail, cited earlier report found that the fountain pen segment is expected to grow from $1 billion in 2024 to $1.28 billion by 2034. In the U.S., 44% of sales are generated by a community of collectors who value premium and custom pens.
Brandon Reed, collector and restorer in Rocky Top Pen Cois part of this community of collectors. “I think there is a growing interest in the fountain pen market because our world is so digital that there is a need and return to tactile methods of writing, communicating, etc. using pen and paper. Especially now with ChatGPT, anyone can write anything and it can sound great.” He adds: “Not everyone can write something with a pen and make it look great.”
Reed first learned about fountain pens more than two decades ago, when he noticed that his professors wrote “with what I thought was the coolest thing in the world.” Once he experienced the distinct feel of a fountain pen on paper and learned about the craftsmanship behind them, he was hooked. Ninety-five percent of the time he uses fountain pens, and the remaining 5% is ballpoint pens. His collection currently numbers over 100 pens, but after two years of collecting, he began repairing and renovating the pens, paying particular attention to preserving the original nib and feeder. These days, his eye is drawn to pens that are over 100 years senior, often engraved with a name or location. Throughout the year, Reed attends feather shows and club meetings (“We actually had a so-called Pelican Center—85 people came.”) to stay connected with the pen pal community.
With an ever-expanding collection of more than a dozen feathers, Nguyen’s collecting strategy is more about acquiring, selling or trading: he buys to enjoy, and seeks out increasingly scarce pieces. He will also pay friends who travel to Japan to supply him with pens, explaining: “There’s a joke in the industry that all the best products – the most desirable things and their best ideas – don’t leave the country because they’re exclusive to Japan, so seeing them in the States becomes much rarer.”
One of his favorite pens, which he sold out, is the restricted edition Pilot M90, produced in 2008 as a recreation of the popular MYU pen from 1971. Unlike most pens, it has an integrated nib, which means the nib and barrel are made from one solid piece of stainless steel. A nice benefit of the industry’s growth is the raise in the number of independent makers and craftsmen, such as nibmeisters, who create custom nibs and service existing ones. Comparing them to jewelry makers, Nguyen says, “You’re working with a pen tip material that might be as wide as two edges of a fingerprint, and they work at that scale with really high precision, and most of the work is done by hand.” He references the intricately detailed work of Nibmeister Regalia Writing Labs, and I can see the comparison (this prototype nibit required “hours of hand sawing and forming in an effort to make the steel structure hang by a thread” and sold for $9,999!).
When is the cooperation between a specialty coffee producer and a fountain pen manufacturer? In all my searching, I couldn’t find this collaboration – someone send me a message if there is one! — which means this marketing idea is ready to be used. While writing this, I learned a staggering amount of information and history about the pen, as well as a deeper understanding of slowdown… and that I may just be buying a fountain pen in the near future. Nguyen says, “I think in the maker community, people see that they can create something that they can enjoy, and I think that’s what draws us all in, whether it’s coffee or fountain pens.”
