Date:  Wed, 13 Apr 1994 10:10:14 -0700

From:  "Gerald W. Walton" <vcgw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAIL.BACKBONE.OLEMISS.EDU>

Subject: Re: ink pen



At 09:01 PM 4/12/94 -700, Keith Russell wrote:

>... and he insisted that the term was necessary to

>distinguish between the various types of writing instruments.



I am afraid I pronounce _pen_ and _pin_ exactly the same.



I had never used "ink pen" until fairly recently but have found it to be a

useful term. I am a fountain pen collector and have found that if I just

ask "Do you have any pens?" I get lots of "Oh, yes" responses when the

person really has some cheap ball point pens for sale. Changing it to

"fountain pens" doesn't help much at many flea markets, for some people

think a ball point pen is a fountain pen. If I use "ink pen," that seems

to get the message across. Sometimes the response then is "Oh, you mean

those that you have to fill with ink." Then I know I am on the right track.



GWW