Fast Pen Flushing (Fountain Pen 101)
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- čas přidán 9. 08. 2012
- Having a bulb syringe helps tremendously when cleaning your cartridge/converter fountain pen, as does an ink syringe. In this video, I'll show you how to quickly clean your fountain pens.
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Ink Syringe Set: www.gouletpens.com/products/g...
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Brian & Rachel Goulet started The Goulet Pen Company in 2009 and you can see the evolution of our mom and pop into a full-blown company through this channel. We run a dedicated online store with fountain pens, ink, paper, and other fine writing accessories. Our goal with this channel is to provide fountain pen fans at all levels of experience with comprehensive product reviews, round ups, and how-to videos to answer all the fountain pen questions you may have. Shop at www.gouletpens.com.
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Excellent video!! An additional tip...after the washing I use give the pens a squirt of compressed air (from a can) to flush out any remaining droplets of water. This makes the pens ready for immediate use without any ink dilution. Cheers, Lester
Now I know Im a fountain pen junkie while I watch these videos at 2 am
Crash & Burn haha I once watched four hours of fountain pen videos before I realized how much time had gone by. It was 4 am before I knew it and felt like an uber nerd when I could hardly stay awake at work.
when i read your comment my eyes flitted to the time on my computer and i was like "fuck" lmao it's 2:11am rn
Christian it's 2:10 for me lol 1 minute apart
Edit: It's now 2:11
@@NateMylott ditto
Oh my goodness I totally empathise with this. And I want to buy everything which is the biggest problem.
I a small word of caution with the bulb syringe to newbies is that you shouldn't apply too much force when flushing water out. With more sensitive pens and especially friction fit pens, I've had the feed and nib completely shoot out. Also, with long term excessive force I'm sure it can do permanent damage to the housing and probably irreversibly force the feed out of the grip section (depending on what pen of course). Thanks for the video as always Mr. Goulet!
Good point, I forgot to mention this. I haven't done this to any of my own pens before, but I've heard of it happening. You really don't need a lot of force when flushing with the syringe, just as long as the ink goes through it'll be fine. If you're using moderate force, I don't think you'll have any problem long-term.
I have a Schaeffer without the converter, and no kids or syringes at home. So I adapted a (thouroughly cleaned) metal turkey baster with a very pointy end with an empty cartridge to flush my pen. Worked like a charm, McGyver style!
And thanks a lot for your awesome vidoes!
Omg, my mind is blown. Finally, a humane use for the Toddler Torture Device!
Brilliant tips. This will also help to reduce the stress on my converters. This video alone is worth the time subscribing to your wonderful channel. Thanks again!
This video made cleaning much more informative, and that the varieties require a little adaption but otherwise its basically the same. Thanks!
Hey, I didn't know you could do an impression of me flushing my converters the dopey way! It was spot on!
Just tried this for the first time. You're a hero.
I'm just starting out with fountain pens and just ordered a couple 1.1 stubs from you guys. I stumbled on this video and wow. I have to say, this is fantastic! Most things I watch and am kind of "that makes sense", but I NEVER would have thought to use the cartridges and syringe to flush. It's easy enough that I would actually probably do it regularly! Many thanks!
My preferred method for the pesky Pilot pens is to take one of their cheap converters (like the "cleaning converter" from the Parallels) and break the press bar out, then pull the sac out, leaving you with just the base metal ring which takes the bulb syringe very well indeed.
Thank you so much for this instructional video. I love using my fountain pen, and I now know how to take care it properly.
Hi,
Thank you so much for this excellent advice on pen cleaning. It is something that worried many because always trying to follow the makers advice is not always easy especially when there is several pens to work on.
Take care
mrbluenun
Thanks! This helped me a LOT
Clever hints ... especially using the modified empty cartridges as adapters. Thank you. My syringes should arrive here any day. You shipped them quickly. I'll be cleaning 4 different types of pens so this will be interesting.
Thanks! I was passed along that tip a while ago (I don't remember from whom), and thought it was worth sharing :)
Thanks for this vidéo i have the same Lamy (which I love) and was wondering how to clean it...👍🏻😊
You are a life saver I got a fountain pen from y grandfather and I need to clean the thing thanks keep up the good work and yes I have subscribed
IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!
I was wondering why you don't just hold the pen tip/grip section under a small stream of water from the facet in your sink. I clean my converters the same way. The sink is easily cleaned up after everything is cleaned. Of course, I am always careful not to let anything fall into the drain!
I always enjoy listening to your videos!
That'll help, but just running it under a tap doesn't force ink through the pen like flushing with a converter or bulb syringe will do.
Those cheaper ear wash kits which come with a bulb also work excellent for this. I had an old used up "murine ear" ear cleaning kit. Used the bulb that came with it for pen cleaning and it worked great. Been using for several years now.
Brilliant idea about making the adaptor using an empty cartridge. I'll have to try that. Thanks.
Truly useful and practical techniques.
Clever... I'll definitely remember this for cleaning my pens! Now to just go and empty one of my old Waterman cartridges to make one of these adapters..
neat! I don't know that I have any stats specifically on how it's tracking, I'll have to look into it.
Thanks! I just ordered my first, second and third fountain pens this week, I was worried about how to clean them and now I'm not so much. Thanks for these great & funny informative videos, they are sure to help me a great deal now and in the future. I'm totally a subscriber!
I didn't even know you had to clean them. I don't have one yet but I did place an order and waiting for. Glad I'm doing my research.
Thanks! It should help out.
That's brilliant! Thanks muchly
Cleaning a pen using a converter is SO TEDIOUS!
Thank you so much for this very helpful video! You don’t know how many hours (and money) you’ve saved me. People like you make the internet amazing. Thanks from Denmark! 😊
This is such an awesome video!!!!
Thanks!
Excellent ideas!
Great tip! Thanks!
great tips/tricks!
Clever!!👏👏👏
Clever idea using the cartridges!! Perfect solution. :)
Brilliant!
Hey thanks for the tip! I didn't have a bulb syringe but tried a turkey baster, it leaked around the connection but there was enough water going through to clean a really dried out ink nib thoroughly after several loads of water.
Interesting! Definitely a good option when in a pinch (and not on Thanksgiving). :) - Colin
Thanks for this tutorial. I was just given some old pens & nibs that need cleaning.
I've just started to work with fountain pens.
You can definitely benefit from this, then!
I just got a squirt bottle like for condiments and just slowly trimmed the top until it has an opening the size of a converter, fill the bottle with water and just squeeze it through. Essentially the same deal
great ideas, thanks
Thank You!! With my pen fetish and my growing collection of Fountain pens I love your posts!!!
+Mike Monaghan Awesome! What are some of your favorite fountain pens in your collection? - Colin
+The Goulet Pen Company So much fun.... I use a LAMY daily it takes my abuse and is used continually . I also have 2 Cross Pens that flow perfect when writing. I ordered some of the really cheap pens to see how they go. Of course I want what I would call the Holy Grail, Mont Blanc. But my love of pens is great and I am enjoying your videos, Thank You
You can also modify a bulb syringe by cutting enough of the tip off to fit over the outer diameter of a cartridge
... and there's my converter. Nice.
And, the chocolate brown I got from mixing Passion Red and Woodland Green was really nice. I'm going to get me some pretty brown ink!
Very helpful, thanks!
you got it Daniel :) -Brian Goulet
Thank you SO MUCH for this video. I recently got back into using my pens and my Vanishing Point desperately needs flushing. Now I'm better equipped to do it! Thanks.
Glad to hear it! Bulb syringe is life for FP cleaning. - Colin
great video Brian, just started using a fountain pen (Pilot penmanship and pelikan fount india ink) for pen and ink artwork on hot press watercolor paper, some just line work with ink, others ink plus watercolor washes. I've used a lot of koh-I-noor rapidographs (endless hours of removing clogs and cleaning),various dip pens and disposable multiliner permanent ink pens. I'm really impressed with what I can do with these pilot pens(tho still much to learn), really love the EF nibs from Japan(next will be Platinum carbon desk pen and their ink).Really like the bulb and cartridge cleaning methods. I have an old koh-i-noor red and black bulb/syringe pressure cleaning kit with Rapido-eze liquid pen cleaner(anyone that's ever used a technical pen is familiar with this), anyway, after watching your video, I was curious to know if I could somehow use the koh-I-noor bulb for cleaning my fountain pen, so I dug around and found the thing and tried to screw it on the pen and guess what, it screwed right on! Very surprised .Don't know how many different manufacturers pens it will fit, but it fits Pilot. the bulb holds apprx 50 to 60 ml of water. You might want to give it a look and see how many different pens it will screw onto and post your results for other users of various pens to check out. Seals very well on the Pilot and can be used like the convertor method or bulb method. Of course I'm a newbie and maybe it only fits the pen I have but should fit others I'm thinking. Just a thought. Again, thanks for the videos.
great vid. .thanks
That's what I do. I find it faster to clean the converter apart from the pen anyway, that way you can shake the dickens out of it with some water in there to really clean it out well.
Thanks :)
Hi! I'm new to the fountain pen world, and was wondering if this cleaning process is necessary for every ink refill or only if you want to change color. THank you so much for your helpful videos!
Vanessa Mohr-Bell Not for every refill. If you're using the same color you could clean it about once a month. If you are changing colors you'll want to give it a good clean! -Margaret
Good video!
I
❤Brilliant
I've been given a wonderful Spalding fountain pen few days ago, hence I'm kind of a newbie at this topic.
I find this piece of advice super useful and smart. Thus, thank you so much.
Anyway, I have a question for you: what should I do with the flushed dirty solution water+ink? Should I dump it down the sink or is there the danger to pollute the environment?
I was curious about this, so I did some looking around. I think most inks are completely fine, with the exception of inks with shimmer. Apparently shimmer inks use tiny pieces of glitter, and glitter has been found to be pretty bad for the environment. You can do more research by searching for "microplastics." But typical inks are fine when rinsed into a modern septic system..
That's how I do!
Haha, that's awesome! Hey, whatever works...
That's how I felt the first time I heard of anyone doing this. I'd never seen a video on it, and I thought to myself "the world has to know about this!!"
Great hack!
Hi! I inherited my mom's fountain pen collection and many of them have dried up ink cartridges in them (they have sat in a pen box untouched for over a year). Is it safe to soak the entire nib section (detached from the body) in water to loosen up the dried ink before flushing it? Or do I really need to flush it a million times (that's how it feels right now anyway). Thank you!!
+Alexandra Leggitt You could soak it in water, but we'd recommend using something like Pen Flush to help get some of that dried up ink out of there. www.gouletpens.com/gpc-penflush08/p/GPC-PenFlush08 That should help :) -Margaret
Thank you for the info love it. Question if I use a converter how can I clean the pen with the bulb syringe? How can I clean the converter?
If you remove the converter, the bulb syringe should plug into the back of the pen to flush out the nib/feed. An ink syringe is really useful for cleaning out the converter itself, otherwise just drawing water up over & over. - Colin
Okay nice thanks, but how can I clean the converter it self ? I know it’s a newbie question lol but I’m kind of new in it.
or you could get silicone tube to connect the bulb pump with the pen.
I have syringes that fit exactly onto the sheaffer pens ( the Sheaffer thingy fits very well in the syringe), so there is no need to use cartridge to flush it.
Do you still have to clean to converter the same way by twisting water in and out of it?
I know this is late, but to anyone else seeing this: Yes, unfortunately. But check out Brian's original video, he has a tip about loosening the ink around the end of the converter that seems helpful. czcams.com/video/ipwFvY0PUqs/video.html
For pens that come apart, that's definitely something good to do. Most Lamy pens don't come apart that easily though, so you have to experiment.
Greets! Maybe you can help me with my calligraphy pen Lamy Joy 1,9 mm.
I cleaned as the video says with water and removing all possible ink, I even used a hair dryer to leave no water in afterwards and inserted a new cartridge and since then I never get full coloured strokes as it once was, as if there would be still water making my ink thinner. I have been leaving my pen sepparated in its different pieces hoping that it dries but when I put all parts back together it starts writing nicely and in a few movements I get again discoloured strokes.
What can I do, so that my pen writes nicely as it once was at the beginning?
The water pressure doesn't damage the feed? I'm pretty new to pens, and I have an old Waterman I want to clean out and use.
Thanks. That's useful to know. ;)
lol at 0:06 when the intro ends, BAM your face filling the screen.
Can you use a jewelry cleaner to clean nib and section?
Thank you for the tip on flushing, but I would also want to know about the drying process since no one seems to talk much about it. I tend to pat my pen dry and leaving it to air for hours and even over night. But it seems that the next time I use the pen, the ink comes out more liquidy? I'm not sure if I'm not drying it properly or if it's any other problem... 🤨
That's the normal thing that happens, don't worry about it! I sometimes leave my clean and disassembled pens to dry for over a week (good excuse to have a lot of other pens), and some of them still manage to retain a little bit of moisture and have the liquidy thing happening in the beginning just like yours. Two solutions, you can use a paper towel to try to draw the water out as Brian shows in the vid (except you need to do that for a lot longer, it slowly draws the water out over 3-5 mins of holding). Or what I also do sometimes is ink the clean pen up, use the converter to push ink up into the feed just till you see it froth around the nib, and then suck it back down slowly. Repeating this process a couple times and then leaving it to sit overnight, gives you a pen that's more primed and ready to write next day because any leftover water in the feed will have mixed thoroughly with the ink and become less noticeable.
what do you mean?
I just followed this great piece of advice, but then I encountered another issue: after cleaning the tip and drying it with a towel, I started writing instantly. At first I could hardly see the letters - they were diluted and the colour (in my case the Lamy blue) weak. Gradually, as I wrote, the letters became more and more dark blue, but when I compare my text to something that I wrote before I cleaned the pen, it's still quite obvious that the former has more water in it. So what I wonder is if it's supposed to be like this, or have I done something wrong while drying the pen?
Jonathan Johnson even I have faced the same situation. I guess some amount of moisture remains in the feed which cannot be removed. As it gets mixed with ink after writing few lines. The ink gradually regains its origional colour.
Normally it should be dried for 1 day wrapped with cloth or tissue. Better to have spares.
I have a qn: for pens like the Lamy Safari, why don't you just take/gently pull out the whole feed+nib and then run them under the tap or distilled water?
I took a used cartridge, poked a hole in the tip, carved it to be large enough to fit in a syringe but still be airtight
and now i use to to flush my pens, gets it done in less than 10 flushes
"On the brink, she spills the ink, down the sink,"
- Captain Beefheart
genius!!!
right? Love this trick -Brian Goulet
What’s the best way to clean the ink reservoir? Also, after I flush my pen - the new ink comes through really watery for a while. How do I prevent this?
Using a ink syringe (www.gouletpens.com/products/goulet-5ml-ink-syringes?variant=11884650168363 ) is the best way I've been able to clean the pen's filling mechanism. Just squirt ink in there until it runs clear. Giving the pen parts a good shake to remove any excess water can help so it isn't watery from the start. You can also prime the feed by forcing more ink through the pen to start. - Colin
I just found two of your videos and now I have away to refill my one ink pen instead of by another pen to just have ink to use
Why not just run cold water from the tap straight into the place where you put in the cartridge?
I think because the channel where the ink travels is pretty small and water might just run out the top instead of cleaning that channel.
The other reason: most tap water has a lot of minerals in it. With a bulb syringe, you can use distilled water which will not gunk up the pen.
I have done that, and it doesn't clean out ink as fast as he does in these videos. Probably my ink is more dried than his is, but I also think the tight fit between the bulb and the pen allows water to push in with more pressure.
Also, like JohnMcKLV said, hard water can cause clogs. In the past I would just do the final flushes with distilled water after using tap for most of it, and hope for the best.
if i don't mind the mixing of ink colours can i just switch ink colour without completely flushing the pen clean??? or is it bad for the pen if i did this? the brand of ink i use is noodler's ink and iroshizuku if it matters. so i don't write with my fountain pens i draw with it so i don't mind the changing of colour in ink as much. Thank you. ♥
No. You have to flush the pen out, because mixing two inks (even ones from the same company) may result in disaster for your pens, such as clogging the fins.
You certainly could! That would effectively ruin the syringe for all other pens though, so you'd need to dedicate the syringe just for that brand's pen.
I needed to clean my pen, so I filled the end up with water, and blew through it to get the ink out. After a while, it ran clear. Is this a bad way to do it? or must I buy a little pump as shown in the video? Also, will it stain my ceramic sink if I drip the ink into it?
No, that way is perfectly fine. The syringe method is just one that Brian prefers. Be sure to wash away the ink as it's coming out of the pen, don't let it linger in the sink and you should be good! - Colin
Hey Brian. I have tried to watch most of your videos. I haven't seen one yet on how to get ink off of your fingers. This is a problem when cleaning pens and filling them. And sometimes accidental spills. There are several Y/ T videos on how to remove ink quickly from your hands and furniture etc. You may consider making a video on this subject. This is probably the most negative thing about fountain pens. I like everything your company stands for. Gary P.
We have a slice on how to get Noodler's inks off your hands (czcams.com/video/0FSCv6VFUIc/video.html) but all that advice applies for any ink. There's not any magical solution that removes it completely immediately. Brian also talks about filling pens without getting inky fingers here: czcams.com/video/ht-1S0jtRm8/video.html, hope that helps. It can definitely be an annoyance, so maybe a full fledged video is a good idea! - Colin
After my first cleaning and getting ink on my hands, I looked as though I was in a paint-ball fight. Now, when cleaning pens I wear disposable vinyl or latex cloves. Those gloves are reusable, dry them they are then ready for their next use.
Is it weird i have both bulb syringes?
ok, so i flushed mine i have a sheaffer fountain pen. like wise to the one in your video. I was wondering what you do if the ink is thinned out when you write. Is that ink just thinned by water and is being worker out? is my pen screwed up or is there a proper way to dry the nib and feed properly
If there was still water in the pen/converter when inking it back up, it should dilute the ink a bit to start. Shouldn't be enough to cause a big issue after a few sentences of writing though! - Colin
Does the lamy vista clear demonstrator get scratched inside the cap part because I got mine heavily scratched after couple of days usage.
I haven't seen that happen, so not sure what issue could be. Brian does have a video on how to get scratches from the outside of the pen, but it could be useful for this scenario as well (czcams.com/video/D7-tdj-KsG0/video.html). - Colin
I don't have a syringe and I was wondering if I can just let if soak in warm water. Will that flush it out?
Soaking can work, especially if the ink has dried up, but really the pressurized water from either the ink or bulb syringe is what works. Running it under the faucet is a decent alternative. - Colin
I can't believe there's a channel dedicated to pens.
I mean, this is CZcams. There's a channel dedicated to pretty much everything. - Colin
Can i use this method if i'm changing the colour of the ink cartridges?
If you're changing ink colors, I'd probably recommend a more thorough cleaning than this. - Colin
I have a fountain pen and i used the wrong ink a permanent marker ink. And it made my pen not working anymore. I try to blow an air through the nib and no air pass through i think the permanent ink stuck up in the nib. How should i solve it? Since it is my first pen..
BTW, do you recommend using cold, warm or hot water when cleaning out the nibs?
I usually use slightly warm water. Definitely not hot though as that can warp plastic feeds or converter connections. - Colin
I have a few old Parker 51 Specials (c. 1955 with aerometric fillers - these pens don't disassemble without much effort) that have been sitting for who knows how long with gunked ink in them. I squeezed clear water thru filler (and got some of ink out), soaked in clear water for 24 hours, squeezed water thru filler again and a little more ink came out. Still, the sac is totally black, and if I soak in water (30+ hours now) and squeeze sac, a little more ink comes out. I'm going to try the Monteverde Flush, but is there any other/better way to clean an aerometric filler Parker 51 Special?
That's what they are around here! Two kids in diapers....we use a lot of these. I keep separate pen/booger ones though ;)
Bro can we clean it with cloth
Do the pens need to be completely dry before putting a different color ink cartridge in and writing again? Will just dabbing with a paper towel suffice?
Try to get as much water out as you can, but no matter what there's still going to be a few droplets in the converter & feed. It's not a big deal, the ink may appear watery to start (1 or 2 sentences) but should be fine after that! - Colin
will the nib and inner metal bits rust if I use water?
+bobbybrainstorm No water is safe to clean with! -Margaret
Hopefully I get a response if I flush my pen and leave can I store it away or do I need to put ink in it then store it away
If you're going to store it for a long time (months) definitely rinse it thoroughly with water, and store it away dry. - Drew