Care
of Fountain Pens
- Unless
fittings are of solid gold, they
will generally be gold plated. Over time, gold plating will
wear. For that reason, we often use a light coating of
shellac to
protect the plating on the clips (and sometimes the levers) of vintage
pens. Don't incessantly polish a vintage pen and
particularly, do
not use metal polish, methylated spirits or a petroleum based product
on any part of a pen. Polishing removes important imprints
and plating
and, no matter how much care is taken, eventually destroys the
character and patina of a fine writing instrument.
- Under
no circumstances
should drawing inks or Indian Ink be used in pens regardless of
attractive
colours! In our experience, Conway Stewart and Diamine inks
produce good
results in most pens. There is nothing wrong with Parker's
"Quink" inks so long as they are manufactured in Britain, France or the
USA.
- Generally,
there is nothing wrong with using old ink so long as it is designed for
fountain pens, does not have a foul smell and contains no sediment.
- Certain
"exotic" inks allegedly designed for fountain pens are not water based.
Rather, they are spirit or in some cases, resin based.
Avoid these types of inks at all costs as they quickly
"gum-up" a
pen.
- Fountain
pens require little routine maintenance - just simple care and basic
cleaning. Keep the cap free of ink deposits - wipe it out
every week with a damp cloth and allow to dry.
- Any
fountain pen requires a regular clean-out with cold water.
Under
no circumstances use anything other than cold water. At least
monthly is a sensible interval to flush out a pen.
- To
properly flush out a fountain pen with water, empty it and re-fill it a
number of times with cold water until the expelled water is clear and
no longer carrys traces of ink. Dry the pen by standing it
nib
downwards on a piece of tissue or soft cloth. Cartridge pens
require special treatment as the ink flow is always "one way".
Use an old cartridge and draw up water into the cartridge to
flush out the pen. Do this a number of times until the
expelled
water is clear. Dry a cartridge pen in the same manner before
re-fitting a new cartridge.
- Vintage
(and some new) hard rubber
pens require special storage treatment - away from sunlight or other
strong light sources. Black hard rubber will quickly fade to
brown (or worse) if exposed to sunlight or strong, artificial light for
any length of time.
- Pens with
light coloured resin barrels which
are fitted with ink sacs require special care if stored for long
periods. Black rubber sacs will discolour light barrels over
a period of time.
- Some
English pens are made with casein rather than hard rubber, celluloid or
resin. Casein and water do not mix well. Casein
pens
disintegrate when moist for any period of time. Many Burnham
and
some Conway Stewart pens are casein. Casein can be found among the
Conway Stewart models, 12, 15, 28 and many older Dinkies.
- Plunger
fillers such as Onoto will often benefit from a light coating of
pure silicone grease on the piston rod. Use only pure silicone
grease
available at pool and diving shops.
- If
treated properly, vintage pens will last 'another lifetime' but,
they must be treated carefully to ensure they retain both their value
and appearance. We are happy to provide recommendations as to suitable,
practical, leather (or other) cases that suit your particular
needs.
- Please,
don't post the cap on vintage pens when writing
with them. Regardless of the quality of a vintage pen, one
way or
another, a posted cap when writing will eventually, permanently mark
the top of the barrel. If you have other queries or
questions, please
contact us.
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