<p>That is a <strong>ruling pen</strong> and as the name suggests is made for precision line work, typically with the use of a straight edge or other guide. It is not designed to be used as a free hand dip type pen, like a quill pen. The thicker arms of the pen give it some strength and separation so it works well drawn along an edge.</p>
<p>For it to work properly both points need to touch down at the same time at the start of the line and leave cleanly at the end. Typically this would be with the pen held vertically or near so and lightly drawn along the guide rule.</p>
<p>Your pen does look damaged with one of the arms slightly more bent than it should be. So if held normally it will not work, one side will touch first, the other may make contact intermittently or not at all. However if you hold the pen tilted to match the unevenness of the arms so that both tips make contact together it could still work. The amount it is off does not look too severe, it may be the previous owner, if there was one, made the adjustment to suit their line making style.</p>
<p>The only other thing if it did take damage is that the gap between the arms that holds the ink becomes too large and not as effective but as long as the pen holds a few drops of ink in its jaws it should give you a line. It then comes down to if it will work as precisely at the adjusted angle.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-05T14:55:39.647Z
I sanded it down to make the points even and now it's working just fine. Thanks!
Denitsa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-05T02:02:32.370Z
2024-12-07T16:00:52.197Z
2024-12-07T16:00:52.197Z
rebusB
<p>Is that how the tip of a line tool is supposed to look, mismatched?</p>
<p>I haven't used one before and I got this but I can't make it flow properly (whenever I manage to do it at all). I tried every suggestion I could find on the net and I'm starting to think it may be defective.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/z1QCpwC5.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/z1QCpwC5.jpg" alt="strength line tool" /></a></p>

<tool-usage>
Is the tip of my straight line tool defective?
Denitsa
# Is the tip of my straight line tool defective?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-12-03)

Is that how the tip of a line tool is supposed to look, mismatched?

I haven't used one before and I got this but I can't make it flow properly (whenever I manage to do it at all). I tried every suggestion I could find on the net and I'm starting to think it may be defective.

[![strength line tool](https://i.sstatic.net/z1QCpwC5.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/z1QCpwC5.jpg)

**Tags:** tool-usage


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-12-05. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

That is a **ruling pen** and as the name suggests is made for precision line work, typically with the use of a straight edge or other guide. It is not designed to be used as a free hand dip type pen, like a quill pen. The thicker arms of the pen give it some strength and separation so it works well drawn along an edge.

For it to work properly both points need to touch down at the same time at the start of the line and leave cleanly at the end. Typically this would be with the pen held vertically or near so and lightly drawn along the guide rule.

Your pen does look damaged with one of the arms slightly more bent than it should be. So if held normally it will not work, one side will touch first, the other may make contact intermittently or not at all. However if you hold the pen tilted to match the unevenness of the arms so that both tips make contact together it could still work. The amount it is off does not look too severe, it may be the previous owner, if there was one, made the adjustment to suit their line making style.

The only other thing if it did take damage is that the gap between the arms that holds the ink becomes too large and not as effective but as long as the pen holds a few drops of ink in its jaws it should give you a line. It then comes down to if it will work as precisely at the adjusted angle.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I sanded it down to make the points even and now it's working just fine. Thanks!  

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