You may have come across our Pen Servicing Accessories page and wondered what some of the nifty little gadgets are for. Well this blog will hopefully give you a better understanding of that with a brief description of how to use them to get the most out of your pens. Take a look at our full Pen Servicing Accessories page here.
Bulb Syringe: An easy, quick and convenient way to flush out your fountain pen. Can either be used with water or cleaning fluid. Remove the cartridge or converter then either using the cleaning fluid or water, fill the bulb syringe, push it into the top of the fountain pen and simply slowly expel the fluid until the water runs clear.
Ink Syringe: Used to fill your fountain pen with ink, especially eye-dropper pens. Fill the syringe with your chosen and fill up the barrel or converter. Trying to be a little more eco-friendly? If you still prefer to use cartridges, you could carefully refill an empty cartridge with ink to be used again.
Brass Sheets: These soft, thin brass sheets can be used to floss between the nib tines to release any dried ink or fibres trapped between them.
Smart Grip: Used to gently grip the nib/feed to unscrew or pull from the nib unit to allow you to clean your pen or change a nib.
Micro mesh: a very fine abrasive paper used to gently smooth your nib to your preferred writing experience. If you have a scratchy nib, this could help. First check the scratching is not from any other issue such as bent tines, then begin by finding the scratch by drawing a figure of eight on a piece of paper. Once located, very lightly do the same on the micro mesh, then again on the paper. Then just work on the scratch on the micro mesh. It is advisable to just do a very small amount of work on the micro mesh before checking on the paper again. It is possible to go to far with your nib! If it is possible practice on an inexpensive nib before altering you more prized nibs. Please be very careful before doing this and be aware that altering your nib will invalidate any manufacturers guarantee.
Silicone Grease: helps lubricate piston mechanisms and rubber O-rings within the pen. A toothpick or cotton bud would be ideal for application on an O-ring, while a cotton bud would be safer to apply inside a pen's barrel. A tiny, tiny amount is all that is needed to lubricate a pen.
Pipette: Just like a syringe a pipette can be used to fill an eye-dropper pen. Can also be used for cleaning purposes, mixing small amounts of ink or moving ink into different containers.
Fountain Pen Cleaner: Perfect for cleaning out your fountain pens for either general maintenance or for stubborn dried up ink that's causing your pen to clog. Use your syringe, bulb syringe or pipette to flush out your pen parts or soak in a small bowl overnight.
Ink Sample Vial: Great for transporting small samples of ink in your bag or briefcase. Also great small containers for spare nibs, feeds or small pen parts.
Blunt Needle for converter: An easy way to fill your converter without submerging the nib and feed. Can fit on the end of the converter and enables you to extract the very last drop of ink from the bottle. Only compatible with international standard converters.
Glass Bottle with Pipette Lid: With handy screw on pipette lid, it can be used to store or transfer small amounts of ink.
I hope this blog was useful and gave you an idea of how to use our servicing accessories to maintain and get the most out of your pens.