A
dip pen or
nib pen usually consists of a metal nib with
capillary channels like those of
fountain pen nibs, mounted on a handle or holder, often made of wood. Other materials can be used for the holder, including
bone,
metal and
plastic, while some pens are made entirely of
glass. Generally speaking, dip pens have no
ink reservoir; therefore the user has to recharge the ink from an ink bowl or bottle in order to continue
drawing or
writing. However, there are simple, tiny tubular reservoirs that illustrators sometimes clip onto dip pens; these allow drawing for several minutes without recharging the nib. Recharging can be done by dipping into an
inkwell; however, some illustrators and cartoonists, who are the main current users of such pens, are more likely to charge the pen with an eyedropper, a syringe, or a brush, which gives them more control over the amount of ink applied. Thus, "dip pens" are not necessarily dipped. Many illustrators call them "nib pens."