Fountain Pen Care

Fountain pens are often a fine example of exceptional workmanship and artistic design. Many people enjoy writing with well made pens and spend a lot of money in obtaining these ancient necessities. Maintaining these treasured items starts with thorough and delicate cleaning after every second filling of ink.

Fountain pens should be soaked and cleaned with cold water only. Hot water can damage the different parts of the pen, particularly the feed. Using a household cleaner with ammonia or adding ammonia to a cold water soak can help remove excess dirt that has been dried on. Cleaning, or "flushing" the nib may warrant the use of the water pressure in the faucet or from an ear syringe to get clean. Removable nibs can be cleaned with a Q-tip.

Fountain pens come in a variety of materials anything from sterling silver, hard metals, lacquers, celluloids and fine resins. Each of these finishes require personal attention and specified care. For sterling and silver plated pens, a polishing cloth or glove as well as silver cleaner can do a good job at shining your pen to its fullest potential. Harder to clean designs may require liquid silver polish. Silver tends to scratch and wear more readily than other finishes, which adds to the charm over time but can have detrimental effects if not looked after properly. More durable metals such as chrome, palladium, rhodium, sterling silver and platinum are easier to handle and can be polished simply with a soft cloth.

Another durable finish, lacquer, is best kept clean with a soft cloth and should never be cleaned with chemicals. Celluloids are an ancient form of plastic and can also be cleaned with a soft cloth. Fine resins are sought after for their light weight but can break or crack, just like lacquer and celluloids, if dropped or mishandled. Fine resins can acquire light scratches over time and should be cleaned with no more than a soft cloth.

Drying the fountain pen after rinsing can easily be accomplished by placing a paper towel on a toothbrush rack near where the nib will be and let it remain in the slot overnight. Remove the ink cartridge and store in a flat pen case if you will not be using your pen for more than a week. General storage requires that the pen sit upright with the liquid away from the nib in order to prevent ink from drying up and ruining the pen.

Fountain Pen Resources