How to Clean a Fountain Pen: Fountain Pen 101 Part Three 

This is an incredible tip and it’s such a shame there’s a shortage at the moment.

That's brilliant, why did I never think about that.

Just tried it. Incredible. And the plus is that since we go through these bottles like water, I always have new ones;)

​@@jamesyoo4779the shortage is from all of the fountain pen people buying them up. 😊

Also works with a fresh bottle to ink your pen up with hotsauce.

I agree!

Buddy you're bold. I could never 😅

I got a nice shade of blue from mixing a more indigo blue with a turquoise blue ink.

@@Mr.BrownPants-lz8mx I have no knowledge of the components making up Krytox GPL 205 so I have no basis for giving a recommendation. I'd have to know what's in the stuff before offering an opinion on the material's efficacy or potential to foul pen or ink. If you don't know what's in it, don't use it. You say you're a 'keyboard nerd', but I don't know if you're implying the material is used to clean, lubricate, or shine the keys on your instrument. Cleaning and lubrication may be synonymous in the context of maintaining a keyboard, but the components used to lubricate will definitely pose a problem for pens, since lubrication typically means application of lipophilics such as oil or grease or long chain hydrocarbons--all of which will clog your pen. If the material is a lubricant, it may also contain Teflon micro-particles or talc micro-particles, which again are water insoluble and will foul your pen. You simply have to know what's in the material. You may think, for instance, that hand sanitizer cleans hands so, 'Hey, I'm gonna use it to clean my pen!' Bad idea. Hand sanitizer contains 65 to 80 percent ethanol (grain alcohol--the stuff you drink) and a small amount of alcohol-soluble gel which is likely *insoluble* in pure water--or water-based ink. Some plastics and feed materials are incompatible with alcohol, so you may ruin them by using hand cleaner. Worse, the gel will almost certainly ruin your ink, since it will likely act as a flocculant and may also cause otherwise soluble components of the ink to fall out of solution, and now you've got a real mess that will resist most cleaning liquids; your pen may be irreversibly ruined at that point. You have to know what you're using and how it works. I know the components of a pen and how each component will react to exposure to any liquid or solid, but that's because I'm a research chemist with deep training in incompatible materials and 35+ years experience in the laboratory. Laypeople like you will have to trust the word of an expert such as Brian Goulet, but as you see from my comments, I question some of his advice. Now I am no pen expert, to be sure, but I absolutely know materials and how they react, so I have a solid basis for questions and advice. Good luck! PM 2024

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TI_yZLPyHWE.html

Good points. I also buy a multi-pack of syringes and then sacrifice a empty catridge by cutting the end off and shoving it into the bulb. This ensures a better fit. Especially on ones like the Lamy that has an oddly shaped connection point you don't want to force a bulb tip into. And on the hot water, I've found bath-water warm (120°F ) is about as hot as is practical. Above that, you can damage feeds and may need to re heat-set them. Not something you want to do as a beginner. Once I found the bulb syringe though, I've never needed to use anything but room-temp filtered water.

@@evanbasnaw Great idea for the Lamy. I don't own one yet, but will keep this in mind for sure. Thanks!

Just place it under running water.

YES! I NEVER put a pen inside an ink bottle. I purchased a set of five ink syringes a couple of years ago. That's really all you need, whether filling a cartridge or converter. It's cleaner, faster, and easier.

​@@AncientNovelistDitto! I love my syringe set! I can't stand how messy doing the pen into the bottle is. 😅

@@AncientNovelist, what do you do if you're filling a piston FP?

@@harrylew I use a narrow-diameter cylinder. I transfer a few mL from bottle to cylinder and then draw up into the pen from the cylinder. Yes, it means I lose a mL or two of ink, but I never have to worry about contaminating 60 or 100 mL in the bottle.

Because we all know how much Brian LOVES to clean his pens and how meticulous he is about it. 😂

Clear. Rinse it clear to make sure you don’t get a ‘surprise’ color at first.

I had a ‘problem’ fountain pen that had been put back into its box for a long, long time. I had a bad converter that leaked everywhere in and on that pen. I flushed everything in the sink and then put the nib into a glass of water and had to continually change it out because of all gunked up ink residue. I did add a few drops of Dawn dish soap for a bit. After it began to pretty much go mostly clear I held the glass under running water (not too hard) and let the ‘nib and ribs’ as I call it gently agitate, sort of like a wash cycle in a washing machine. When it got even clearer, I left it sitting in the glass of water overnight. I cleaned the barrel under the faucet (we have good water here so I just used tap water and also used a bit of Dawn dw liquid (that poor pen) and I keep a plastic box of cotton swabs handy in the kitchen (I also clean my coffee maker brew basket with those). When everything was free and clear I left all of it lying on paper towels. Viva is a good thick brand that has little if any paper dust, but that’s what I always have so it was handy. I did use a pen syringe as well during all this. I spent a few hours one night doing all this. I have learned my lesson from leaving a pen dirty just because I was exasperated by its poor performance that was due to a bad converter cartridge. Now that pen lives in its box clean. I’ll eventually get around to replacing the converter, but I now have a standing army of Lamy Safaris that live happily in a leather pen case I got just for them. I’ll get another for my other pens - later. Lamy has my full attention as of now, as I love everything about them.

Diamine makes great inks, but watch out for those with sheen, unless you’re looking for those. Huge selection, huge. I have two boxes of Levenger inks from about thirty years ago and amazingly those are still good. Sailor inks are good. Shop around and watch videos from Goulet for the different inks.

If you’re using it regularly you wouldn’t have to until you think it’s time for a good flushing out.

Ooooo, never thought of that! Thanks ~~~~~

I would email the company directly. Their customer service team is excellent and will spend as much time as necessary to come to a solution. Hope this helps. 😊

I would not recommend using water resistant ink in a fountain pen - even though it used to be compulsory in legal or otherwise binding documents. They can ruin your pen, as many include oxidising substances like ammonia. The same goes for marker inks!

Don’t! Some pen materials are destroyed by alcohol.

NEVER USE ALCOHOL!!! It will harm your pen. Instead run a Luke warm solution of distilled water with two or three drops of Dawn liquid soap to flush out the old ink. I would not recommend putting the old ink into its source bottle. Use a micromesh towel to wipe. Avoid a paper towel.

Oh no! Yeah, India ink will wreck things. - Drew

@@Gouletpens All is well because I also made my first purchase from y'all last night and ordered a TWSBI Eco! Been watching y'all and researching for months, I'm excited to actually get to use one (properly)

It's definitely cheap but, if you don't have a car, it's a pain to bring home.

I don't have a car.. I do have arms and legs though. And shops that are not in the middle of nowhere.