An independent catalogue

What we publish

We answer the questions that come up when you write by hand: which nib to pick, how to clean a pen, why ink spreads on some paper, what happens to a pen on a flight. Each entry gives the answer early, and then the reasoning, so you can decide for yourself.

The site is laid out like a collector's catalogue because that is how the hobby tends to feel. Entries are numbered as plates, and each has a swatch. The swatches and diagrams are drawn for this site. They illustrate an idea and are not samples of real inks.

How we work

Entries are written by the editors. We check facts against pages we have read, and we link to them so you can read them too. Where official guidance exists, as with airport liquids or the law on wills, we go to it first. On hobby questions the best available advice often comes from makers and retailers, and we say so when it does, since a shop has products to sell.

We do not test or rate individual products, and we do not publish reviews or "best of" lists. When a product appears in a photograph, or a source page discusses one, that is not an endorsement. Rules and prices change, so check any official source yourself before relying on it.

Our entries on health or the law are general information only. They cannot take the place of advice from your GP or a solicitor.

Guest contributions

We accept guest posts that meet the standards on our write for us page, and they are labelled with their author. If a contribution has a commercial connection, it has to be disclosed.

Get in touch

Corrections are welcome. If we have something wrong, please email [email protected].

Photo credits

Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons and are self-hosted, some of them cropped or resized. Each is also credited where it appears. Diagrams and swatches are our own.

• Home page and sharing image. Photo: Alexis Lours, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• How to choose your first fountain pen. Photo: ElooKoN, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• How to clean a fountain pen without damaging it. Photo: Pavel.satrapa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• What paper stops fountain pen ink feathering and bleeding?. Photo: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Which ink lasts? Permanent ink for signing and record-keeping. Photo: Ceinturion, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Can you take a fountain pen on a plane?. Photo: Chi King, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• How to start a journal you will actually keep. Photo: David Schwarzenberg, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• How to choose your first fountain pen, writing samples. Photo: Francis Flinch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• How to clean a fountain pen, clear pen. Photo: August Geyler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• How to start a journal, notebook. Photo: Lewis Ronald, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Home page, ink bottle. Photo: Eric Magnan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• This page, inkwell. Photo: W.carter, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.