Why the first ballpoint pen didn’t write on paper?
The first patent for a ballpoint pen was obtained in 1888 by John J. Loud (1844-1916) , inventor, lawyer and...a leather tanner.
While tanning leather, he often needed to mark a point to cut. A pencil would be too faint and using a fountain pen made this process quite messy.
Looking for an alternative, he designed a writing tool that had a small rotating metal ball clutched in a socket.
This mechanism allowed the ball to cycle ink from the reservoir inside the pen to the surface as the ball spun around in its socket.
The inventor described this writing instrument as ‘an improved reservoir or fountain pen, especially useful, among other purposes, for marking on rough surfaces…where an ordinary pen could not be used.’
Loud’s first ballpoint pen was great when used on leather, but it was too rough on paper.
That’s why this invention could not replace fountain pens at the end of the 19th century.
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