Investigative Reporting: Fountain Pens. Part 1

Investigative reporting: Fountain pens. Part One.

Ask me why I am fascinated with a common object like fountain pens, and I’ll say there is nothing ordinary about them. They are object d’art. One is never too old or young to enjoy beautiful, sparkly things. 

My first fountain pen was a gift from my stepfather. He passed away earlier this year, and now I have his fountain pen a twin to mine. They are Parker Sonnet silver-bodied, gold-plated dibs that are extra fine. Throughout the years and then decades, I’ve collected other fountain pens; this one has always remained my favorite. It’s a workhorse for someone who learned to write cursive with it and later became a writer. This pen and I have a very long and personal relationship. I’d dare call it a love affair. Mon coeur. 

While organizing stuff in my very untidy office, I came across my pen box containing about 12 fountain pens of all sizes and price ranges, starting at $8 and escalating to several thousand. I cleaned their outside encasement, filled them up, and noticed that when tested, they worked but were sluggish. Oh, Sherlock, and what now? 

So, a Fountain Pen investigative reporter took a ride on the information highway and found all kinds of information about practices that needed to be corrected about the care of my fountain pens immediately. 

I learned the following. They need to be flushed at least once per month! Shoot me; my sixty-year-old pen has never been flushed. When filling the pen, the ink bottle must be shaken, and for a better flow, it’s recommended that you fill the pen, empty it, and fill it again. I’ve been doing none of these steps.

There is no time to waste. I bought some Montegrappa USA Fountain Pen Flush ($18.00) and a bottle of distilled water, as their instructions indicate. 

As you’ll see in the pictures, I placed two small glasses over paper tower. The one on the left contains the distilled water. The one on the right is the Fountain Pen Flush. 

Open the pen and take it apart. Empty the ink well into the distilled water, flushing it until the liquid becomes clear. Then submerge in the Montegrappa liquid and flush away. At the end of each procedure, I let them sit in the solution for a couple of minutes. 

After the final step with the distilled water rinse, I dried my Parker, put her back together, and went for a test drive using Diamine brand Majestic Blue color ink. Diamine ranks second, only after J. Herbin, in the ranking of best inks worldwide—nothing but the best for my girl. 

I felt her sigh in contentment when we were done. We’ve been on such a long journey together. As we continue down the yellow brick road of life, my hand embraced her, and I wrote a one-liner and drew a little heart as I did as a little girl when we first met. She writes beautifully. The feel, the comfort, the obedience, and the resistance she offers are beloved by me. We will continue to twirl away into the sunset. 

Happy Holidays.

Thank you for reading.