How to Use a Fountain Pen

To use a fountain pen, fill it with ink, hold it lightly with the nib facing up and write at a slight angle without pressing. A converter pen fills from a bottle of ink.

How do you fill a fountain pen?

You fill a fountain pen by drawing ink from a bottle into the pen. A converter does the drawing. A cartridge pen takes a new cartridge.

The steps below are for a twist-action converter.

1. Unscrew the barrel and check that the converter is fitted.
2. Twist the converter so the piston is fully down.
3. Dip the nib fully into the ink.
4. Twist the converter the other way to draw the ink up.
5. Wipe the nib with a tissue and screw the barrel back on.

Fill it over a sink or a sheet of kitchen roll. A little ink on the nib is normal.

How do you hold a fountain pen?

You hold a fountain pen lightly near the grip with the nib facing up. Rest the pen on your middle finger. Let your thumb and first finger steady it.

Tilt the pen so the nib meets the paper at a slight angle. Do not press. A fountain pen writes under its own weight. Pressing can bend the nib.

The broad 0.7mm nib on the metal pen lays down a wide line. Write a little larger than you would with a ballpoint.

How do you practise with a broad nib?

You practise with a broad nib on scrap paper before you use a good notebook. Write large and slow at first.

Start with loops and straight lines. Write a line of words at a steady pace. Notice how the line changes as the angle changes. Slow down if the strokes look ragged.

Write the date and your name a few times. Move to the notebook once the line looks even.

What if the pen skips or blots?

A pen that skips usually needs the ink to reach the nib. A pen that blots has too much ink on the nib.

If it skips, hold the pen nib down for a moment. Draw a few loops on scrap paper. If it blots, wipe the nib and write a line to clear the extra ink.

Keep the cap on when you are not writing. A nib left uncapped dries out and will not start.

How do you clean a fountain pen?

You clean a fountain pen by flushing it with clean water. Unscrew the barrel and remove the converter. Rinse the converter and the nib end until the water runs clear.

Dry the parts with a tissue and let them air dry. Always clean the pen before you change ink colour.

How do you carry a fountain pen?

You carry a fountain pen capped and with the nib pointing up. That keeps the ink in the converter and away from the cap.

Clip the pen inside a jacket pocket or slide it into a pen loop in a bag. Keep it out of a hot car and off a sunny windowsill. At home, lay it flat on the desk or stand it nib up in a pot.

What do you need before you start?

You need the pen and a bottle of fountain pen ink. The metal fountain pen comes as a single pen with a twist-action converter. No ink and no box are listed.

The metal fountain pen has a metal body with a gold-tone fretwork barrel. The cap is black and the clip is gold-tone. The listing gives a weight and no length. A black version exists but this page sells the gold fretwork pen.

The pen cannot write until you fill it. Keep a bottle of ink beside it on the desk.

How does a quill pen differ from a fountain pen?

A quill pen holds no ink. You dip the nib into a bottle and write until the line fades.

The feather quill pen gift set has a brown speckled feather in a silver-tone stainless steel holder (supplier stated). It arrives in a brown presentation box tied with a ribbon. The listing names no ink, cartridge or converter.

To write with it, dip the nib, tap off the extra ink and write a few words. Dip again when the line thins. The table compares the two pens.

	Metal fountain pen	Feather quill pen
Price	£19.99	£17.99
Ink	Inside the pen, with a twist-action converter	None stored, you dip it
Nib	Iridium, 0.7mm broad point	0.5mm
Weight	About 46g (supplier figure)	Not listed
Box	None listed	Ribbon-tied presentation box

What paper suits a fountain pen?

Thick paper suits a fountain pen better than thin paper. Wet ink can show through a thin sheet.

The leather-bound notebook has 200 sheets of 120gsm paper. The pages are 19 x 14cm. The cover is brown crazy horse leather and the notebook weighs 540g.

The listing says nothing about ink performance. It does not say whether the sheets are lined, plain or dotted. Test the pen on the last page before you write a full entry.

Which one to choose

Pick the metal pen to carry, the quill for dip lettering and the notebook for the pages.

You want	Choose
A pen you fill from a bottle and carry	Metal fountain pen
A traditional dip pen in a gift box	Feather quill pen
Pages for a journal or a sketchbook	Leather-bound notebook

Pens, notebooks and other desk pieces are in Accessories.