Titanium - a versatile alloy for fountain pen nibs
Titanium ore was first discovered in 1791 in Cornish beach sands by the English clergyman and mineralogist, William Gregor. The new element was not purified until 1910, however, and another 40 years were to pass before it began to be refined and produced in marketable quantities.
In his periodic table of the elements, first published in 1869, Dmitrii Mendeleyev assigned titanium the atomic number 22, which places it in the first main transition series of elements, metals which are mostly hard, strong and lustrous.
Today we know that this light-weight, high-strength metal possesses a number of extraordinary properties that make it one of the materials of greatest technological interest in many sectors. Titanium is practically immune to corrosion by saline solutions and shows exceptional resistance to an extremely broad spectrum od acids, alkalis and other aggressive chemicals agents, both synthetic and natural.
Its strength and excellent corrosion resistance make Titanium an ideal candidate for use in manufacturing fountain pen nibs, which are subject to continual contact with one of the most aggressive of all commonly-used substances: pen ink.
