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General Pen Information

Mission City Pens are individually hand crafted one at a time to ensure quality, reliability and durable finishes.  Pencils are available but the selection is smaller.

There are 3 basic pen styles - ballpoint, rollerball and fountain.

Ballpoint pens I create will either use a standard Cross or Parker refill depending on the pen style. All are easy to change, come with instructions and the refills are available on line or at your local larger office supply stores.  You do not need to order refills through me.  Most ballpoint pens do not have a cap that you must remove to use the pen.  Most operate with a twist or click to extend or retract the refill.  The description of the pen you are looking at will indicate the refill type and if it is a click, twist or a cap that must be removed.   

You can "supercharge" a ballpoint pen by changing to a different refill.  Some refill types write smoother, lighter or darker than others. 

Rollerball pens will all have a cap to remove prior to writing.  The cap will be threaded on, snapped on or magnetic.  A cap is required to help keep the ink from drying out or leaking if the nib is left touching something.  The wicking action will result in a leak.  The cap is removed exposing the ink cartridge to use.  Rollerball pens generally write smoother than a ballpoint.  There are different rollerball refills available to match your writing preference.  All my pens use a standard size rollerball refill available on line or at your larger local office supply store.

Fountain pens, also called ink pens, also will have a removable cap to expose the nib to write.  The cap will be threaded, snap or magnetic.  Like a rollerball pen, the cap helps keep the ink from drying out or wicking onto your shirt pocket.  If the fountain pen is not used regularly, even with the cap attached, it will dry out requiring flushing to clean the nib.  The ink is stored in a cartridge that feeds ink through the nib feeder and to the nib.  Capillary action while writing continues the ink flow.  Fountain pens generally write smoothest of the 3 pen types.  The ink comes out "wet" therefore is subject to smudging for a brief second.  Nibs can be exchanged to get a different writing feel including flexibility, width and flow.