Amazon Basics Refillable Fountain Pen, Medium Point, Brass Barrel, Black Ink

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Fountain pen nibs need much less pressure to write than a ballpoint pen since they have liquid ink. Just moving the tip evenly across the paper should yield the best results. Most likely no. Modern fountain pens are normally ready-to-go once they've been loaded with ink. Can I take my fountain pen on an airplane? B2P stands for Bottle-2-Pen. They’re made in the United States from domestically sourced recycled plastic bottles. The Pilot B2P Refillable Retractable Gel Pen and B2P ballpoint pens are made from 89% and 83% recycled plastic bottles, respectively. They’re refillable so you can cut down on plastic waste that way too.

Converters function like a piston, pushing or screwing into position. Following a few simple steps, they are incredibly easy to use: A refillable pen might also seem like a great choice, but look out for what the disposable portion of the pen is made from. Try to choose refills made from non-plastic material, or if made from plastic, then a post-consumer recycled plastic would be greener.It’s challenging to choose a best overall pen because none on the market are flawless. Even those that use biodegradable materials aren’t 100% compostable. Fountain pens are a top choice when considering the environment because they could theoretically last a lifetime, but they are also more expensive and require one to handle bottled ink.

Before you go, please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, questions, or fountain pen stories! If needed, you can always remove the barrel and twist the fully loaded converter to release just a drop or two of ink from the tip. Fair warning, if you twist too much, you will drip a lot of ink so be prepared with a paper towel or water. How to Use a Fountain Pen: The little slit and hole in the nib serve integral purposes of both feeding ink to the tip and preventing structural damage to the pen while it is in use.

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It is important to keep your pen cap on when you are not using it. Since the ink often has water in it, the ink in the nib can dry if left exposed to air and will not write when you go to use it next. To accomplish this feat over the years, ink manufacturers have used a wide variety of chemicals. These chemicals could be pigments that make the lasting color, carriers that keep the pigment in a liquid flowing form, and additives that serve a function like prolonging shelf-life or preventing clumping. In a lot of ways... just like any other pen! Here are just a couple tips to make writing with fountain pens easier, but all in all once your pen has ink flowing you should be pretty good go. Tip #1: Place the pen at a 45 degree angle. Tip #2: Don't press too hard. The barrel of this pen is made from spongy cork bark that provides a no slip grip. Did you know that a cork tree is able to shed and regrow its bark causing no harm to the tree? It’s a great alternative to plastic. Cork is lightweight and feels comfortable in your hand. It’s also 100% compostable.

More and more cities and states are passing legislation to ban plastic bags and straws, but rarely do we think about the impact of the ink pen. Most of us own too many of them, even if it feels like you can never find one when you need it. Almost none of those pens are recyclable because they’re made of a combination of different types of plastic, metal, and ink. A large portion of them will end up in the landfill…and in that weird place in your car that is just out of reach. The ones that don’t make it to the landfill will eventually become part of the microplastics problem, polluting our oceans and land. With the exception of quill pens (which are not at all practical), there’s no such thing as completely zero waste pens. There are some eco-friendly pens, however, and as consumers become more aware of plastic waste, the market for plastic-free pens is expanding.

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With 5,500 participating locations in the US, there may even be a drop-off point at your local OfficeMax, Staples, public library, or school. And if there’s not, you could be the person to start one. Seltzer is a women-led company based in Asheville, North Carolina, that also sells a variety of other products that are made in the United States by small businesses that also care about the environment. Let’s look at some of the best options for zero waste pens. You can read more about why these pens have been chosen below. Ink converters require bottled ink to fill your fountain pen, so you'll likely have to buy that separate, but there are so many options out there for fountain pen ink. Sam Di Nardo is an author for Dayspring Pens, where she has honed her expertise in ballpoint, rollerball, gel and fountain pens since joining the team in 2018.