Squiffy,
A bow pen was always included in a technical drawing set before the days ot Rotring pens (which were before Autocad!) and usually consisted of a freehand pen and a compass attachment. The gap in between the two points of the pen could be adjusted by a screw half way down the bow, which effecively adjusted the gap and hence the line thickness.
All you did was dip the pen into the ink and the capilliary action drew the ink up between the two points and into the gap. You had to take great care not to make a mess with them but they were actually very versatile and could be used for all sorts of paints and inks. Being very robust they can still be a usefull tool for fine line drawing with paint on very uneven surfaces such as figures.
Technical pens such as Rotring pens are also handy but they are a bit more temperamental and infinately more exensive. You are also limited to the inks you can use so they don't have as much going from them. Bow pens are a classic "Back to Basics" item whereby nothing since has been developed which does the job better. |