Fountain Pen Cleaning and Maintenance

Proper fountain pen maintenance is a very important, yet often overlooked aspect to getting the most enjoyment from your pens. I set out to create this particular video to help new and experienced fountain pen fans alike to get the most out of their pens, and to give my personal thoughts about pen cleaning to the community. It's long, longer than I originally set out to create. It's all good stuff, though, and it covers a lot.

Here's what I cover in this video:

  • Why you need to clean your pens (0:53)
  • How often you should clean them (2:40)
  • Pigmented/Carbon inks (3:46)
  • Choosing proper inks for use in fountain pens (5:07)
  • Storing unused pens (6:43)
  • Demonstration of how to clean out a pen from start to finish (7:25)

assorted cleaning materials on white notebook background

Of course everything here is my generalized opinion; you should always refer to the instructions provided by your specific manufacturer when considering the cleaning process for a given pen. That said, the guidelines I lay out in this video should be acceptable and universal for almost all fountain pens, so take the info and use it however you most feel comfortable :)

 

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