Fountain Pens

Fountain pens are pens which contain their own ink source. They can be refilled with ink, either by means of a bladder system in the pen, or by cartridges.

Fountain pens are traditionally used for handwriting, not so much for calligraphy. But with the variety of pen sizes, you can write letters that have more of a calligraphy look to them.

The nibs on fountain pens have a rounded edge to them so they don't produce the fine hairline strokes that you get with a dip pen. However, you can make a fountain pen nib into more of a calligraphy nib by using a heavier toe-nail clipper to cut off the bulb end of the nib, then using a very fine stone or sandpaper to file the edge smooth.

A fountain pen used this way makes a great tool when you need to address a lot of envelopes, for example.

Following are some fountain pens that are fairly readily available. They often come in a set with several different nib sizes. Those with cartridges usually come with a variety of ink colors as well.

Tip: If you get a cartridge pen, it can get rather expensive to keep buying new cartridges. One way around that is to get yourself a syringe and simply refill the cartridge from your own ink source. Just be sure to rinse out the cartridge with water - using the syringe - before adding your own ink. And remember to use an ink that is formulated for fountain pens so that you don't run the risk of gumming up your nibs & pens.

NoNonsense Calligraphy Pen by Sheaffer
Probably the best of the calligraphy fountain pen sets available. It comes with the pen, three sizes of interchangable nibs, ink cartridges in a variety of colors, a practice pad, guideline sheets for each of the three nib sizes, and a calligraphy instruction booklet. I still have the set I first got many, many years ago.

Osmiroid
These come with interchangable nibs and a squeezefill - which is a type of cartridge which can be refilled by squeezing it.

Staedtler Calligraphy Set
Staedtler has several different calligraphy sets, including a 33-piece set with 4 pens, 5 nibs, 20 ink cartridges, a metal pump, instruction book and storage tin.

Platignum
An inexpensive starter set, if you can find them.

Master Calligraphy Set by Nicole
Comes with 2 pens, 6 nibs, and 12 ink cartridges.

Manuscript College Cartridge PenBasic Six Set
Comes with 1 pen, 6 nibs (from .85mm to 2.8mm), four ink cartridges, and an instruction book