Cleaning a fountain pen
the way we do it at the bench
The single biggest cause of 'broken' pens arriving at our workshop is dried ink — and it's almost always preventable. Here's the cleaning routine we use on our own pens, and the mistakes that turn a $45 service into a $140 restoration.
How often is often enough
A pen in daily use wants a flush every four to six weeks — or every time you change inks. A pen you're storing needs cleaning before it goes in the drawer, full stop. Dried iron gall and shimmer inks are the usual killers; they cement themselves to the feed channels within a month.
The test is simple: if flow feels lazier than it did, flush. If you can't remember your last flush, flush.
The bench method
Cool water only — never hot, it warps feeds. Bulb flush through the nib until the water runs clear, which takes longer than people expect: five minutes for a well-kept pen, twenty for a neglected one. Then a drop of dish soap in a cup of water for the stubborn stuff, flushed thoroughly afterwards.
Dry nib-down on a paper towel overnight. Capillary action pulls the last moisture out through the feed — don't reassemble wet.
A pen that gets flushed monthly will outlive its owner. A pen left inked in a drawer becomes my problem — and your invoice.
What never to do
Never soak the whole pen — barrel materials like ebonite and celluloid discolour, and water gets behind the section seal. Never use alcohol, ammonia or anything marketed as 'miracle ink remover'. And never leave a shimmer-inked pen unfilled for weeks; the particles set like glitter concrete.
If a pen hasn't moved ink in a year, don't force it at home — that's bench work, and forcing cracked feeds is how pens die.
When to stop and send it in
Three signs a pen wants professional attention: flow that stays lazy after two flushes, ink in the cap (usually a cracked feed), or a nib that's started scratching since a drop. Our service and clean is $45 — cheaper than the part you'd break pushing on.
The flush bucket
Every neglected pen tells on itself in the rinse water — the colour never lies.