I'm a newbie here, and this is my first post, so I apologize if this question is basic/common knowledge. I just got two fountain pens to test out how good fountain pens are, and I'm really happy with both of them, but what I don't understand is why they work the way they do. From my understanding of the anatomy of FPs, ink moves from the reservoir through the feed to the slit in the nib. This deposits the ink on the paper, through a combination of capillary action and gravity. So why is it, when the pen is held nib down, does the ink not flow out through the slit? Why does ink only flow through the slit in the tip of the nib when it is touching paper? When I got my pens, I was nervous about holding them nib down because I assumed that this would cause ink to leak from the pen. But the only way I can get ink to spill from the pen other than when I'm writing is when I shake it vigorously. Thanks!