The best sort of maintenance and care for your fountain pen is, of course, preventative maintenance – making sure problems don’t occur in the first place. Many problems with fountain pens are connected to ink drying in the nib. These problems can be reduced by replacing the cap promptly after using the pen. It can be a good idea to always do this, even if the pen is only going to be unused for a few minutes, as even that short span of time is enough for the ink in the nib to start drying out and possibly creating a clog.

Despite what they are made of – metal – the nibs of fountain pens can be surprisingly fragile. Although they do not break that easily, they can, on the other hand, become deformed if care is not taken. This is especially true for those nibs that contain or are made from gold, something that is seen in the more expensive types of pen. The tips of the pen are usually made from harder metal then the rest of the nib; once, iridium was common but other platinum group metals are more commonly used today with gold nibs. Pens with steel nibs are often tipped with steel as well.

Given that the nibs are essentially split into two parts to allow the flow of ink from the reservoir to the tip of the pen, deformation can interrupt this flow. This can prevent the ink from flowing out, meaning the pen won’t work, or perhaps allowing too much ink to come out, causing blots or worse. For this reason, it’s a good idea to keep the lid on the pen when it isn’t being actively used. This will protect the pen from damage, should it be accidentally dropped onto a hard surface, as well as helping to prevent clogs.

As well as the nib, other parts of the pen also need to be taken care of. How this is done depends on what the pen is made from; metal pens can require different products to plastic ones, and metal pens made from precious metals require different care to those made from more common ones. Fairly standard household cleaners – and they must be non-abrasive, check the label! – combined with non-abrasive clots usually do the trick for most pens. Precious metals may require specialist metal cleaners, such as silver polish – again, make sure it’s non-abrasive; Brasso, a common household metal cleaner is abrasive and can ruin your pen – depending on the metal.

To prevent your pen getting damaged when it is not being used, a case can be a useful accessory. If the pen is clipped inside a jacket and coat, that’s one thing, but if it’s tossed inside a container with many other items, the casing of the pen can quickly become damaged. To prevent this, buy a case for it. These can vary from cheap plastic or cardboard ones to far more expensive hard cases. Many pen manufacturers will supply, either separately or included, cases with their better-quality fountain pens. Genuine velvet (not pseudo-velvet materials, made from such as plastic, which can scratch the casing) lined cases are the best, especially rigid ones. The amount you spend on a case, if one isn’t included, should be steered by how much the pen cost. Obviously, a really expensive pen deserves a good case; a cheap disposable fountain pen does not.

As with many things, fountain pens can be damaged by direct sunlight. This can cause the colour of the casing to fade, and can even cause it to become brittle, if it’s made from plastic. This is another reason for keeping the pen in a case.

Unless the fountain pen is being used regularly, it is also a good idea to remove the ink, and clean it out, so that the ink doesn’t dry out and clog up the pen for the next time you are going to use it. The pen should be flushed out, using the same method as to clear a clog. This is also a good idea to do if you are changing from one ink type to another, even if the only difference is colour. Blended colours do not achieve what you want when writing.

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