The lamy dialog 3 is a revolutionary fountain pen without a cap thanks to a fascinating twist mechanism the nib slides elegantly out of the interior of the barrel while the clip retracts onto the shell the twist action fountain pen is then ready to write when the fountain pen is twisted closed a ball valve automatically moves in front of the opening and protects the retracted nib from drying out and getting dirty the clip lifts up and the fountain pen can be clipped into a pocket or bag