How to fill a fountain pen

If you own a fountain pen you will eventually need to fill it (unless you aren't writing with it and are just gazing at it wistfully). This article will tell you how.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Your fountain pen.
• Bottled ink or cartridges (depending on the pen).
• A sink.
• Paper towels, tissues, or a cloth.

1. GETTING READY
   Locate your fountain pen, your ink, and a sink. You you might also want some newspapers or paper towels. You need to determine your pen's fill method: is it converter, cartridge, piston, or some exotic alternative?

2. DETERMINING FILL METHOD
   If you bought your fountain pen new and paid under $100 for it, your pen is probably CARTRIDGE/CONVERTER fill. You can determine this by (gently) unscrewing the SECTION, the place where your fingers rest when you are writing with the pen. The nib and section should unscrew as one piece; you will find the cartridge or converter attached to them. A cartridge is simply a plastic tube of ink. A converter will usually, in modern pens, have a twist nob attached. If the section looks like it doesn't unscrew, you may have a different fill type; go to the next step.

3. OTHER FILL METHODS
   Your pen probably comes with documentation detailing the fill method, but if it doesn't, look for the relevant method in the list below.

4. 
    
   CARTRIDGE FILL

   If your pen is cartridge fill, simply unscrew the nib section, take out your old cartridge and snap the new one in place (you should feel the seal over the end break as you install it). Throw away the old cartridge, or keep it forever (some fountain pen people use syringes to refill old cartridges). Write a few lines, and voila! You're done.

5. 
    
   CONVERTER FILL

   If your pen is converter fill unscrew the nib section, revealing the converter. Dip the nib and part of the section in ink. Turn the knob on the converter as far as it will go in one direction; you should see the converter fill with ink. You may turn the nob slightly back in the other direction to express a few drops of ink. Put the pen back together - you're done!

6. 
    
   PISTON FILL

   The pen will have a BLIND CAP. This is a cap at the end of the barrel (opposite the nib). You can unscrew this cap, but it does not actually come off the pen. To fill, dip the nib and part of the section in ink. Unscrew the blind cap and keep unscrewing it until it stops rotating. Then screw it back down. You may want to repeat this step once. Your pen is filled!

7. 
    
   BUTTON FILL

   The pen has a blind cap; underneath the cap is a metal button. Dip the nib and part of the section in ink. Depress the button fully, then quickly slide your finger off so it snaps back up (this gets the maximum amount of ink into the reservoir). You may repeat this step as much as you like (probably three times is quite enough). Your pen is filled.

8. 
    
   AEROMETRIC FILL

   The pen has a converter attached to the section. The converter is a metal tube covering a pliable sac; you can press a bar inset into the tube to compress the sac. This is fairly common in modern very inexpensive pens from Asia. Dip the nib and part of the section in the ink. Press the bar a few times (generally until you don't see any bubbles in the ink). You're done!

Tips & Warnings

• Generally you can clean your pen the same way that you fill it (with the exception of cartridges). Simply fill the pen with cool or cold water, then empty it into a sink. You empty the pen by following the same steps as filling it, just without having the nib immersed in anything.
• You will usually need to wipe the nib and section off after filling. Use a soft cloth or tissue (some pen experts believe that paper towels are too scratchy).
• Clean the pen if you wish to change from one type of ink to another. Very, very rarely inks will interact chemically and clog the pen.
• Use only FOUNTAIN PEN INK. India Ink, inkjet ink, and drawing ink will all damage your pen.