How to Clean a Fountain Pen: Fountain Pen 101 Part Three

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Why is cleaning important?
01:45 When you should clean your fountain pens
03:46 Basic tools needed
04:50 How to actually clean the pen
06:41 Advanced Fountain Pen Cleaning Tips
10:28 Pen Storage
12:19 Thanks for watching!

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[namniag]

Cleaning my pens is such a relaxing activity for me, it’s like zen gardening. It’s pen gardening!

[Snick]

I’ve found a repurposed sriracha bottle beats a bulb syringe hands down—huge water capacity and the nozzle fits quite nicely 90%+ of the time.

[davegoodridge]

I always enjoy the strange new colors I get when the new ink cartridge start’s mixing with the old ink!

[kirkstephens]

That Drew Cameo with the coffee/tea is the best thing I've ever seen. 🤣🤣

[KendallW]

These revised 101 videos are so good! I will add that storing a pen nib down is fine on a desk, but be careful when it's in your pocket -always nib up for that. Also, room-temp water is best for cleaning a pen because warmer water can dissolve lubricants more. And last but not least, make sure to push on the bulb syringe on the back, as demonstrated here, a side-squeeze version that I used will wear out the bulb syringe super fast. I made a video a little while back with some of these tips I've picked up along the way. I really want that Goulet mug @2:29 :)

[AncientNovelist]

Brian, I've found ultrasound quite useful, especially for older used pens. Some of my older pens have simply not responded to normal cleaning, but ultrasound has brought them back to life. I'm now using a 1966 Parker sterling silver cisele (Model 75) 14K fine nib, which was hopelessly encrusted through the feed. Twelve minutes in ultrasound with a single drop of Dawn did the trick, and now the pen is writing as smoothly as my Pilot Elite 95s. About returning ink to the bottle from the pen: I am surprised you recommended this. I definitely recommend NOT ever doing this, especially if you experience problems. Any kind of mysterious junk can end up in your ink, especially if you use silicone grease and other things that can solubilize water-incompatible materials. By injecting potentially contaminated ink back into the bottle, you may have just ensured pen and ink problems for as long as you attempt to use that bottle of ink. Far better, I think, is to simply discard the ink, and without question this should be done if the pen is experiencing mysterious problems. Discarding a few pennies worth of ink will save both time and money--and mostly time, which would otherwise be devoted to fruitlessly troubleshooting an issue that comes down to contaminated ink. In general I recommend staying away from silicone and any other lipophilic stuff, as these materials can solubilize compounds that, once released into aqueous ink, will fall out of solution and also may precipitate out elements of the ink, creating a real mess inside the pen. I know eyedropper aficionados will not want to hear this advice, but I'm a chemist and know only too well how easy it is to really muck things up by introducing incompatible materials. Nice explanation of cleaning, but I'd recommend retracting or perhaps limiting your endorsement of squirting ink back into the bottle. My advice: Don't do it! Nice video. PM 2023

[legolas]

I think you should suggest these 101 videos to all new customers.

[Tomatohater]

I actually clean my pens in my kitchen sink, which has always worked quite well for me. No big deal if I spill any ink - which I do.

[karma]

Kudos on referencing “The IT Crowd”. Loved that series!!!! ❤️🖋🙋🏼‍♀️❤️👏🤣🤣 And also thanks for these beginner Fountain Pen tutorials. I always learn something new! 👍

[kimberleemodel]

Old pill vials are good for flushing pens. Also, when using my bulb syringe, I like to squeeze a bit of water out and suck it back in quickly. I have no idea if it works, but my thinking is that quick changes in pressure sloshes more water in and out of the gaps in the feed.

[MarshaLove]

Great info, except I cringed on the part about dipping an inked nib into the ink bottle to get it going or putting the unused ink back into the bottle. 😬 Yes, I know a lot of people successfully do that all the time. But I think about the possible paper fibers, etc that are picked up by the nib in use, and then introduced back into the 'clean' bottle of ink.
If I don't want to write a pen dry, and the ink is a limited/discontinued one that I don't want to 'waste', I'll save the ink in a clean sample vial.

[mphuong]

all great contents! another thing I've learned to do, especially important with plastic bodied pens, is to not overtighten the barrel every time you twist it back onto to the grip part; otherwise the plastic may crack and eventually break. since most entry level pens are platics (the preppy and kakuno ;) ), new fountain pen users should definitely note this.

[shstapleton]

Do clean out inside the cap, with a wet cotton swab, especially if the cap isn’t clear. It’s surprising how much ink can accumulate in there.

[denniskirschbaum]

Great info as always. I think it is worth pointing out that if you are using a pen consistently, like daily, and you are using one color in it, and it is writing well, you may not need to clean it but rarely. I have gone years without cleaning with single color pens I use all the time. No issues at all. I don't think I have ever cleaned my Lamy 2000 which I only use with Lamy Blue Black ink. I've had it for years. When you do need to clean, you can't beat the bulb syringe as Brian says. I learned that trick from Brian and there is no easier way to clean a nib and feed. Life changing when you want to change colors.

[michaelmedlinger]

Thanks, Brian! A refresher course is never a bad thing. It’s easy to forget a step or two.

[McAmeronIII]

Brian Goulet can make pen-cleaning seem interesting and entertaining while freely imparting many years of gleaned knowledge; no small feat! BUT, for me, the most exciting moments in this video are of Drew rinsing that beautiful Visconti Mythos Apollo...sigh. It was so nice to see Drew's video on that, most affordable, Visconti in its revamped/updated and exquisite form. Viva l'Italia! Viva GPC!

[mempo]

your channel (and all the underlying efforts) are an endless goldmine of practical data en nerdy faits divers. Love it. Thank you so much, once again - this one freshed up my handling & got forwarded to a colleague and (fresher) fountain pen enthousiast.

[arlenet.]

Hello! Thank you for making this video! It’s very helpful to me as a newbie in the pen community as I am finding out different pens have cartridges only, converters or piston filled etc. So much to learn…but I am determined to learn as much as I can and have fun along the way. Thanks Brian and Drew for the video!

[woodthrushcottage]

Well done! Love this remake including your funny co-star's appearances! 🎉

[sonyaj]

This video was so timely! I recently got into fountain pens, and after getting my first one a couple of months ago, I recently ordered some inexpensive pens of various brands and nib types to help learn about what I like/don't like before possibly dropping some major $$ on one. So, I've got them filled with different inks, and make a point to use them (for sketching and drawing, primarily) each day.

I was rinsing them in the sink and soaking the nib/feeder section, so I'm glad to see the correct way.

Thank you for the info - I love that there's so much info on fountain pens out there to help out newbies. It was Marc Kompanyets' drawing channel that got me hooked on fountain pens, and I now totally understand the obsession with them 😂!