Wrico Needles

I discovered Wrico pens in flea market in Rio de Janeiro. This is quite surprising because it’s a very old American brand of pens patented in 1926.

WRICO is actually short for “Wood-Regan Instrument Company», New York, United States of America. They are sold in a small wooden tube covered with a green paper and contains an incredible long directions.

This pen has a removable tip made in brass which is placed in the center of an open reservoir on a side that is manually filled with a dropper or a brush. The black cylindrical body is in bakelite and at its end there is a small plunger. then you work the plunger at the back of the pen to get the ink flowing.  They give a great consistent clean line. More than a tip it’s well and truly a needle! There are seven models of styli (No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 7T) in which are  exchangable needles  (# 3, 6, 7).

Wrico pens work by capillary action, storing ink between two metal tines and releasing it as the paper breaks the surface tension of the ink.  You can adjust the screw to increase/decrease the distance between the tines and change the width of the line it draws.  They are great for technical drawings and cartography and are also used in calligraphy.  If you have wondered how some old drawings and maps had thick accurate straight lines, they probably used a ruling pen.

These older pens are so much better.  They are really durable and easy to use. Wrico is the predecessors to the Rapidograph Technical pens.

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