Tips to Unclog a Sheaffer Fountain Pen

Each Sheaffer fountain pen, as almost any fine writing instrument using ink, can get clogged. The ink flow can be stopped by two main factors: improper care and bad ink.

Cases of improper fountain pen care include, for example, keeping the writing instrument in the wrong position. When not used for some time (over several hours), a pen should be put in uphold position, the nib up. Otherwise the inks may get stuck in the residue and over the time clog the filling mechanism. A fountain pen can be damaged by using bad ink for filling and writing. No pen-o-phil in the world will ever recommend waterproof or Indian ink for fountain pens! It is like one of the commandments for any pen lover. Unless you want to make serious damage to your precious pen, never use waterproof or Indian inks in it.

There are special inks aimed just at using in fountain pens. Sheaffer itself produces nice ink of many colors, and what could be better of using original Sheaffer ink in Sheaffer fountain pens? It gives you an absolute guarantee that no damage to the pen will ever occur. Of course there are superb inks made by Mont Blanc and Waterman, or you may find Noodler's to be what you really like most of all inks. I personally use Noodler's in my Sheaffer Agio Limited Edition.

With the above said, I am going to describe some steps that will help you to unclog a Sheaffer fountain pen.

Don't get nervous and stay away from panic. It's not Doomsday. Avoid excessive shaking or other physical measures - remember, that your writing instrument most probably cost well over $100. It is that kind of things that need special care - always.

If you just don't know what to do or feel totally uncomfortable at the idea of screwing things up, it is a good idea to bring the pen to a pen shop (if there's one in your area). For about $20, they will clean the pen out and return it back to you in perfect condition. Cleaning may take up to one day, so probably you won't get your pen back the day you bring it.

However, there's a good chance you can unclog Sheaffer's pen at home conditions. If you have any high soluble ink at hand, like Sheaffer Skrip, you may try to clean the pen with it. Such inks are reported to clean the clogged residues of ink.

But in most cases it is not enough, and you have to use some chemicals for proper cleaning. Usually it is a mixture of ammonia and water (1 part of ammonia, 10 parts of water). Use a converter, or a piston from your fountain pen to fill the nib section with the solution, drop it and leave it in the mixture overnight. Be sure to flush it with water after it's dried. Gently blow water through the nib section toward a nib to remove the softened ink residue. Try not to use more than 5 parts of ammonia because it can seriously damage the precious writing instrument. Normally ammonia:water as 5:10 is used in most serious cases with stubborn clogging which happens quite rarely.

By the way, the last method is exactly what pen shops use to unclog all fountain pens, not just those bearing Sheaffer's company logo.

Alberta Glamerheim is a pen collector writing articles about fountain pen care and collecting. More tips on unclogging a Sheaffer fountain pen can be found on her blog.