It’s important to hold a fountain pen properly, because this will prevent your hands from getting tired as you write, and it will facilitate the writing process. When you write, you can either post the cap on the back of the pen, or remove it completely if you have small hands. [2] X Research source
Angle the pen at a 45-degree angle and place the nib against the paper. [3] X Research source Make a few strokes with the pen, rotating the pen slightly in your hand as necessary until you find the spot where the pen writes smoothly and without scratching or skipping. [4] X Research source
Hold the pen in your hand and keep your fingers and wrist rigid as you move your arm and shoulder to move the pen. Practice a few strokes in the air first, and then start making a few strokes against a piece of paper until you get the feel for writing with your hand.
Use light strokes as you write, because pressing too hard can damage the nib and disrupt the ink flow. [6] X Research source Writing with your hand instead of your fingers will also help ensure that you don’t apply too much pressure.
Cartridge pens are the most common today, and they are the easiest to refill. To write with this type of pen, you simply purchase pre-filled ink cartridges, so when one runs out, all you do is replace the cartridge. Converter cartridges are reusable cartridges that get inserted into a cartridge pen. These are great for people who don’t mind refilling the ink and don’t want to throw away a cartridge every time the ink runs out. Piston pens are similar to converter cartridges, but the pen comes with its own built-in refilling system, so you don’t have to replace the reusable cartridge with a separately purchased converter.
Insert the small end inside the nib. Push the cartridge onto the nipple until it clicks, which occurs when the inside of the nib punctures the cartridge to access the ink. If the pen won’t write immediately, sit it in a vertical position to allow gravity to pull the ink down into the nib. This can take about an hour. [9] X Research source
Dip the entire nib into an ink jar, making sure to cover the hole on the back of the nib. Turn the piston knob in a clockwise direction to draw ink into the chamber. When the chamber is full, pull the pen out of the ink. Turn the piston in a counter-clockwise direction again and let a few drops of ink back into the bottle. This will help remove air bubbles. Clean the nib with a cloth to remove any excess ink.
Slowly press the converter at the back of the pen, and wait for air bubbles to appear in the ink. Slowly release the converter and wait for the ink to be drawn into the chamber. Repeat until the chamber is full.
A round nib, which is great for making uniform lines A small nib, which will create thinner lines A firm nib that doesn’t have a lot of flex between the two tines, so the tines won’t spread out under pressure to create a broader stroke
Stub and italic nibs, which are wider and flatter than round nibs. These are able to create both wide and narrow strokes, because vertical strokes will be as wide as the nib and horizontal strokes will be as thin. A wider nib, which will create wider strokes. Nibs typically come in five sizes: extra-fine, fine, medium, broad, and double broad. A flexible or semi-flexible nib, which allows you to control how narrow or broad a stroke will be by applying more or less pressure.
Gold, which has lots of flexibility, so you can control the width of the stroke Steel, which has more spring, meaning you can press harder without separating the tines, so your stroke won’t get broader when you press harder
Unscrew the cap, then unscrew the nib to remove it from the pen. Remove the ink cartridge. If there’s still ink in there, put a piece of tape over the opening to keep the ink from drying out. Hold the nib under room-temperature running water to flush out ink. Then place the nib in a bowl of clean water, nib-down. As the water becomes inky, replace it with clean water. Repeat until the water remains clear. Wrap the nip in a piece of soft and lint-free cloth, such as microfiber. Place it nib-down in a cup and let it dry for 12 to 24 hours. When it’s dry, you can reassemble the pen.
