Guides
How to clean a fountain pen
Cleaning takes five minutes of work and a few hours of waiting. Doing it every couple of months prevents almost every problem this hobby has.
The routine
Flushing a pen, step by step
- 1
Empty whatever is in it
Expel the remaining ink back into the bottle if it is clean, or into a sink if it is not. Remove the cartridge or converter.
- 2
Rinse the nib and section under cool running water
Cool, not warm and definitely not hot. Heat can loosen the adhesive holding some nib and feed assemblies together.
- 3
Flush the section repeatedly with the converter
Fit the converter, draw a full load of water, expel it, repeat. Ten to fifteen cycles is normal. You are watching for the water to run clear.
- 4
For a piston filler, do the same with the built-in piston
Fill from a glass of cool water and expel. It takes more cycles because it holds more.
- 5
Soak if the water will not clear
Stand the nib section in a glass of cool water for a few hours or overnight. This does most of the work for a badly clogged pen, unattended.
- 6
Dry nib-down on a paper towel
Overnight. Water left in a feed dilutes the next fill and can produce a pale first page.
How often it is genuinely needed
| Situation | How often | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Changing ink color | Every time | Residue muddies the new color and can precipitate solids |
| Same ordinary dye ink, daily use | Every four to eight weeks | Prevents gradual build-up in the feed |
| Pigment ink | Every two to three weeks, minimum | Pigment dries hard and blocks feeds |
| Shimmer ink | Frequently, and agitate between fills | Suspended particles settle in the feed |
| Before storing a pen | Always, and store it empty | Ink drying in a stored pen is the main cause of clogs |
Quick picks
Ranked for the beginner buying their first setup. Every pick names who it is wrong for.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No image Pilot CON-40 converter The screw converter that fits the widest range of Pilot pens, including the ones with narrow barrels. | Bottled ink in a Metropolitan or Kakuno | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
| 2 | No image Platinum Carbon Black, 60 ml A true pigment ink: the blackest line you can get out of a fountain pen, and permanent once dry. | Line work and archival notes | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
1. Bottled ink in a Metropolitan or Kakuno
Pilot CON-40 converter
The screw converter that fits the widest range of Pilot pens, including the ones with narrow barrels.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
Pilot sells several converters and they are not interchangeable. The CON-40 is the small one that fits nearly everything; the CON-70 holds far more but only fits wider pens.
The CON-40 has agitator balls inside it, which look like a defect and are not — they stop ink clinging to the walls.
If you own a Metropolitan and want to use a bottle, this is the part.
| Type | Screw-type converterSource: Pilot CON-40 converter (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Fits | Pilot fountain pens that take the CON-40, including the Metropolitan and KakunoSource: Pilot CON-40 converter (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Capacity | Not published |
| Larger alternative | The CON-70, for pens with a wider barrelSource: Pilot CON-70 converter (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
What it does well
- Fits the widest range of Pilot pens
- Cheap enough to buy two
- Screw fitting will not fall out
What it does not
- Small capacity
- Not interchangeable with the CON-70
- Pilot does not publish the capacity
Skip this if your Pilot takes the larger CON-70 — buy that instead and get double the ink.
2. Line work and archival notes
Platinum Carbon Black, 60 ml
A true pigment ink: the blackest line you can get out of a fountain pen, and permanent once dry.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
Pigment ink suspends solid particles rather than dissolving a dye, which is why it is opaque, why it is permanent, and why it will clog a pen left to dry out.
For drawing, for signatures, and for anything you want legible in twenty years, nothing else in a fountain pen comes close.
It demands discipline. Do not leave it in a pen you are not using, and flush thoroughly when you change ink.
| Format | 60 ml bottleSource: Platinum Carbon Black (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Type | Pigment ink (carbon), not a dyeSource: Platinum Carbon Black (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Also sold as | Platinum Carbon cartridges, for pens that take themSource: Platinum Carbon ink cartridges (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Published drying time | Not published |
What it does well
- Genuinely black and genuinely permanent
- Excellent for ink drawing over watercolor
- Available as cartridges as well as a bottle
What it does not
- Will clog a pen that is left to dry
- Needs more frequent cleaning than any dye ink
- Not a good match for a pen you use once a fortnight
Skip this if your pen sits unused for weeks at a time — a dried pigment ink is a much bigger problem than a dried dye ink.
What never to use
- Hot water. It can loosen adhesives in nib and feed assemblies and, on some pens, deform plastic parts.
- Alcohol, acetone or solvents. They attack plastics and finishes. There is nothing a fountain pen needs that water will not do.
- Ultrasonic cleaners on an assembled pen. They are effective on a bare nib and feed and can damage the rest.
- Anything abrasive. No brushes on the nib, nothing pushed into the slit. The tines are set to a tolerance you will not restore by hand.
- Ammonia solutions, routinely. A dilute ammonia soak is a known last resort for a badly clogged pen; it is not a maintenance step, and it should not be used on pens with rubber sacs or unknown materials.
Cleaning a pen that has dried out completely
Soak. Stand the nib section in cool water overnight, change the water, and soak again if it is still colored. Dried dye ink almost always redissolves; dried pigment ink may need several cycles.
Do not force anything through the feed. The channels are fine and easily damaged, and patience does the same job with no risk.
Storing a pen you are not using
Empty and dry, capped, nib up. A pen stored inked will eventually dry out, and a pen stored inked with pigment ink will need serious work to recover.
If a pen is going to sit for more than a month, that fifteen minutes of flushing is the cheapest insurance available.
Questions people actually ask
How do I clean a fountain pen?
Empty it, rinse the nib and section under cool running water, then flush repeatedly with a converter until the water runs clear. Soak overnight if it does not clear, then dry nib-down.
How often should I clean my fountain pen?
Every time you change ink, and roughly every four to eight weeks with ordinary dye ink in daily use. Pigment and shimmer inks need cleaning far more often.
Can I use hot water to clean a fountain pen?
No. Heat can loosen the adhesive holding some nib and feed assemblies together and deform plastic parts. Cool water does the job.
How do I unclog a dried-out fountain pen?
Soak the nib section in cool water overnight, change the water and repeat if it is still colored. Do not force anything through the feed — the channels are fine and easily damaged.
Should I store a fountain pen with ink in it?
Not for more than a few weeks. Empty, flush and dry it before storing, and keep it capped and nib up. A pen stored inked will dry out, and pigment ink will be much harder to recover.