Whether it’s time for an ink change or to clear out some dried ink from an old favourite, cleaning a LAMY fountain pen helps to ensure it keeps delivering smooth, flowing lines.
The basic clean
To perform regular maintenance or address minor performance issues, a basic clean is a solid place to start. For this method, you’ll need:
- some running water
- a bowl or glass
- some paper towel or a soft cloth
Step 1
Start by filling a small cup or bowl with room-temperature water.
Step 2
Hold the grip section of your pen and twist the back section to remove it. Remove the ink cartridge or converter from the grip section. Holding the grip section with the nib pointing down, rinse under gentle running water for a few seconds to wash away some of the surface ink on the feed.
Step 3
Place the grip section (and, if you’re using one, the converter) into the small bowl or cup of water and let it soak. If ink has leaked into the body of the pen, you can also soak that, but it’s not necessary otherwise.
Step 4
Let the grip section soak in the water until the water stays clear, replacing the water each time it clouds over with ink. Once the water has stayed clear for an hour, remove the grip section and any other accessories from the water.
Step 5
Place the grip section and any other soaked pen components on the paper towel or soft cloth to dry. If you can, put the paper towel or cloth in a glass so that it holds the grip section upright with the nib pointing down; this will help water to escape from the ink feed more easily. Leave any parts on the towel or cloth until fully dry – this may take up to a day, depending on the atmospheric conditions.
Once the pen components are all fully dry, insert an ink cartridge, or place a converter into the grip section and refill following these steps [link – refill fountain pen guide].
Flushing the feed
For a more thorough clean, flushing the feed with water will help to remove more stubborn dried ink and restore pens to like-new condition. For this method, you’ll need:
- two glasses of water
- a bulb syringe or your pen's ink converter
- a piece of paper towel
Step 1
Hold the grip section of your pen and twist the back section to remove it. Remove the ink cartridge from the grip section (if you’re using a converter for this process, you can leave it in place).
Step 2
Place the two glasses side by side, and decide which one will be for clean water, and which will catch the inky stuff flowing out of your pen. If you don't have a bulb syringe like this one, you can also use the converter from your pen to flush the dried ink out. Bulb syringes are readily available at most chemists.
Step 3
Fill the syringe with water from the clean water glass, and insert where the ink would usually go into your pen. Hold the pen over the second glass, and apply firm but gentle pressure to flush the ink feed. Go slowly, especially if your pen has lots of dried ink in there, so water doesn't go shooting through – you're looking for a steady trickle.
If using your converter to flush your pen, leave it in place and dip the nib of your pen in the clean water. Draw the water up in the same way you'd fill it with ink, then flush over the second glass.
Repeat the process until the water coming out of your pen flows clear.
Step 4
Pat gently around the nib and grip area with the paper towel to remove any excess water before refilling, and your lovely clean pen is now ready for fresh ink. Refill your fountain pen following this guide [link – refilling fountain pen].
The LAMY 2000 Fountain Pen can be cleaned using a similar method to the one outlined above, using the piston filling system in the same way as one would use a converter to flush a fountain pen. Gently twist the top section of the pen anti-clockwise to prepare the piston, then dip the nib in the water and twist the top section to draw water into the pen. From here, follow steps 3 and 4 using the piston mechanism.