Originally they were see-through fountain pens used to demonstrate the internal workings of a fountain pen. Now the term refers to any clear pen.

You can see the color of the ink or paint you're working with. You can see how much ink or paint remains. You can fill and empty the pen cleanly. The clear shell is attractive.

Twist the knob on the back of the pen that drives the piston to reduce the volume inside the reservoir. Stick the front of the pen into the container of ink or paint. Now twist the knob in the opposite direction to suck up how much you need.

We now provide a tool with each large demonstrator that lets you grab the feed on the underside and pull it out easily,

It's a device that enhances the performance of flexible nibs. It rests on top of the nib, and stores ink in the space over the nib. This continues to feed ink to the nib when the nib flexes backwards and rises off the underfeed. The tip of the overfeed slides into the gap between the two tynes as they separate and acts like a bridge to continue the steady flow of ink to the tip. 

No, only medium to large pointed nibs. You can't use them with crowquills - that would require a very small overfeed. We provide overfeeds for our Manga G nibs, Brause Rose nibs, and our Sketch nibs.

Yes, you can. You replace the overfeed with a spacer we provide with each overfeed pen. The spacer keeps the nib tucked in tightly. You can slide the overfeed back in when you want to use it. Overfeeds aren't suitable for close work with fine detail. They are best for drawings with wide line variation. 

Manga G nibs are popular with a wide range of artists, from calligraphers to comic book artists. The three most popular Manga G nibs are made by Zebra, Nikko and Tachikawa. They are well made nibs that provide great flex and last longer than most dip nibs. 

These are pointed nibs made by Brause, and are popular with a wide range of artists. The tip is very flexible, so it takes more practice to use this nib successfully. An overfeed works well with this nib to constrain the flex.

We make these flexible nibs, which are designed for quick and easy sketching. Our Sketch nibs skate over paper in all directions. This is difficult to do with Manga G nibs, where the point can snag on the paper. Sketch nibs work well with overfeeds to spread the ink, which lubricates the nib movement.

These fit into the front of our pens and let you draw and write with smaller nibs, including the Gillott 303, crowquills and Hawk quills.

Washing a drawing means applying water or dilute ink solution to your drawn lines to create tonal values that enhance the appearance of your drawing.

You can also add a bit of color to your drawings. Fill the Brush Tool with watercolor or colored ink and brush it onto your drawings.

Fill the tool with water, ink or water color and press the tool onto the back of your pen. Draw your lines using a nib, spin the pen in your hand, brush on the solution, then spin the pen again and resume drawing.

Clear Cut nibs are smooth flexible nibs designed for drawing with thicker inks and paints. They are not plastic nibs. The material is 100% recyclable.

Use Clear Cut Nibs to lay down a solid bead of color. You can twist and turn the nib for different effects. You can clip and shape the nib for different types of drawn lines. If that's too much work, you can use the nib we ship - it is pre-cut for the most popular lines.

We provide Clear Cut nibs in two sizes depending on the thickness of the ink or paint you want to use. Thicker inks and paints deserve larger nibs.