Saturday, August 29, 2015

Quick Cleaning Your Fountain Pen

by Tony Thomas

If you are out and about and would like to change the ink in your fountain pen, here is a tip for cleaning it quickly: First of all, get a glass of water and a paper towel or absorbent tissue.   Empty the pen converter and dispose of the ink or put it in a storage vial.  Then, use the paper towel or absorbent tissue to absorb all the ink in the nib and feed.   It may take awhile for all of the ink to soak into the towel or tissue. After that, soak the nib and feed as well as the converter in the glass of water. Fill the converter and empty it several times until the water is pretty clear. Disassemble the nib and feed if you can and use a tissue to absorb any remaining ink from both and also the section.   If possible, refill the glass of water and repeat the steps.   When you are done, you should have a reasonably clean pen that is ready to fill with a different color of ink.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Ink Mixing

by Tony Thomas

Mixing ink is a lot of fun and is a very economical way of getting the most out of your ink.

My favorite brand to mix is Waterman.  It is a great, cheap everyday ink that is problem-free in just about any fountain pen and mixes well.

I use Serenity Blue, Black and Tender purple as my mixing inks.  I make a "Blurple" (inspired by Richard Binder) by mixing 80% Serenity Blue with 20% Tender Purple.  And a Blue/Black by mixing 80% Serenity Blue with 20% Black.

Both of these mixes are fairly water resistant (see pic below).  Have fun mixing!   Waterman Inks



Scribbles on the top have been soaked in water.
Writing on the bottom after it dried.  Used
really cheap copier paper.