Pens

• Fountain pens
• Gel pens
• Brush pens
• Felt tip pens
• Featured types

Fountain pens

A fountain pen feeds water-based ink through a split nib using capillary action, so it writes with almost no pressure. That's why people with hand fatigue often love them. Nibs run extra fine (EF), fine (F), medium (M) and broad (B). Most beginner pens take cartridges, and many accept a converter so you can fill from a bottle. Our fountain pen guide covers the details.

Gel pens

Gel ink sits between ballpoint and liquid ink: bold, smooth and available in just about every color. Point sizes are listed in millimeters. A 0.38 mm or 0.4 mm point keeps tiny handwriting crisp, 0.5 mm is the everyday middle, and 0.7 mm or 1.0 mm writes big and bold. Lefties should look for "quick-dry" formulas.

Brush pens

Brush pens have flexible tips that swell into thick lines when you press and slim down when you ease off. That's the heart of hand lettering. Small, firm tips are easier to control when you're learning; big, soft tips are more expressive once you've got the hang of it.

Felt tip pens

Felt tips (and their finer cousins, fineliners) glide with no pressure and don't smear like gel. They're great for color-coded notes, sketching and bullet journal layouts. Pigment-based versions resist water and fading better than dye-based ones.