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Missing the biggest lesson I learned in the course of using them for almost half a century: - when the pen goes dry, clean it thoroughly before refilling or re

Missing the biggest lesson I learned in the course of using them for almost half a century: - when the pen goes dry, clean it thoroughly before refilling or replacing the cartridge Back when I was writing a lot I was able to remember to do that every other time, but these days, it just gets done each and every time. The other issue is how long a pen can be left with ink in it: - days are okay - weeks are probably okay - months are not okay So, unless confident you'll be using it again in a week or two, empty, and flush and dry thoroughly before putting away. And a final recommendation --- try an italic or stub nib, and get a book on Chancery Italic: https://sites.google.com/view/briem/free-books https://sites.google.com/view/briem/free-books or see: https://www.handwritingrepair.info/ https://www.handwritingrepair.info/

drewzero1 3y ago
> months are not okay I was a big (cheap) fountain pen collector for a while and used them almost exclusively in school, but then I had a few jobs that didn't involve much writing and they kind of fell by the wayside. I'm still discovering pens that I left full of ink and after a few years they can really get messed up. The cheaper ones end up with nibs broken from rust, but the ones that avoid that fate get their feeds and filling systems clogged up with dry ink instead. Now I try to have only two or three pens inked at a time because I'll forget about any more than that. I had myself a little flush-and-dry party the other night because I discovered several that I had left inked. I can also definitely second the recommendation for a stub nib. I ground a custom one at one point and it was just perfect, nice line variation and smooth writing.
- semi-extrinsic 3y ago
  Same here, in my current job the fountain pens get very little use, maybe just a few times a month. I discovered that my Platinum Carbon Desk pen is hands down the most resistant towards clogging and drying, even with quite dry inks. I heard the Sailor Desk pen is very similar. The nib is very fine though. So I currently keep that one with a black ink, and a glass dip pen for occasionally using some of the other fancy inks.
CTDOCodebases 3y ago
Good advice. I started journaling then stopped and I know have 2 pens that need to be be flushed. The eye dropper one (Q1 mini) that I used fortunately has avoided this fate.

drewzero1 3y ago

> months are not okay I was a big (cheap) fountain pen collector for a while and used them almost exclusively in school, but then I had a few jobs that didn't involve much writing and they kind of fell by the wayside. I'm still discovering pens that I left full of ink and after a few years they can really get messed up. The cheaper ones end up with nibs broken from rust, but the ones that avoid that fate get their feeds and filling systems clogged up with dry ink instead. Now I try to have only two or three pens inked at a time because I'll forget about any more than that. I had myself a little flush-and-dry party the other night because I discovered several that I had left inked. I can also definitely second the recommendation for a stub nib. I ground a custom one at one point and it was just perfect, nice line variation and smooth writing.

semi-extrinsic 3y ago
Same here, in my current job the fountain pens get very little use, maybe just a few times a month. I discovered that my Platinum Carbon Desk pen is hands down the most resistant towards clogging and drying, even with quite dry inks. I heard the Sailor Desk pen is very similar. The nib is very fine though. So I currently keep that one with a black ink, and a glass dip pen for occasionally using some of the other fancy inks.

CTDOCodebases 3y ago

Good advice. I started journaling then stopped and I know have 2 pens that need to be be flushed. The eye dropper one (Q1 mini) that I used fortunately has avoided this fate.