The KACO Edge has grown on me in the week since I added it to my collection. The makrolon texture keeps fingers from slipping. And the snap cap is fun, yet secure enough for pocket carrying.

I appreciate the aesthetics of vintage fountain pens — and the artistry of truly outstanding old-school nib work.

And I dig a pen that wears its history on itself. Scratches, dings and stains all drive home that the pen in hand may be older than I am, or than my parents are. I have a Parker Vacumatic that’s older than my grandparents.

Looking back across my last month of inked pens, I notice a pattern. I’ve struggled with smearing ink.

This is particularly true with faster writing: especially making and updating checklists, and meetings with students. My weeklies have grown smudgy and smeary.

For the first time in my teaching career, my class was interrupted by a question about fountain pens.

A student - we’ll call him Arush – whose fountain pen had run out of ink during his own class, knocked politely in my doorway. Apparently, Arush asked to leave his own class when his Sailor ran dry. He asked his own teacher for permission to find me for more ink.