Remember the wooden pencil boxes with a little hole for an eraser and one "layer" would swing aside to reveal a bottom compartment. They also had a sliding wooden lid on them.
I loved those stuey, as for the ink from school desk, I came home with most of it on my fingers. I thought I'd never get to the big classes so I could use the inkwell, smaller children used crayons and pencils, then Quink was bought for me. My very own bottle, I was so proud.
The 'weapon of mass destruction' was a piece of blotting paper about 2" long, rolled tightly and bent in two, it was dipped in the inkwell and fired from a stout elastic band between the index finger and thumb with devastating results!!!
I remember that when you got a new nib the trick was to lick it in order to get the ink to flow freely. Over-licking meant you ended up with blue lips.
Paddywak, exhibiting an amazing show of dexterity, I simply use the horse's hoof stone remover on my Honk Kong army knife to extricate those pesky corks.