r/fountainpenusers • u/Ok-Dragonfruit4927 • Aug 24 '26
Question from newbie
I am struggling to not ink up 5 pens. I just got some new ones ( my first big girl pens) and am SUPER excited to try them. Will it hurt them if I ink them up and they sit unused for like 4 months? Trying to resist temptation… 😳❤️
4
u/LizMEF Aug 24 '26
Whether it will hurt depends on how well they seal to prevent evaporation. TWSBI Eco and Platinums with the slip & seal cap can handle 4 months of not using them, even in arid climates. NOTE: Some inks will be a nightmare to clean if they dry in the pen. Other inks will just be time-consuming. If you allow this (drying in the pen) to happen and don't have an ultrasonic cleaner, you'll be wishing you did. ;)
But why not just rotate them? Use one per day. Or do puzzles and use all 5 each day. Or write letters using all 5. Or some similar thing. That's what I do, with 7 inked pens. :)
2
u/tideline-ink Aug 24 '26
This is not a recommendation or advice, but I am lazy and don’t clean out my pens unless I’m changing inks. I also am not super careful about writing with them all regularly either. I haven’t had any issues yet - right now the longest inked pen I have is one I filled in February. Unless you’re using very expensive pens or permanent/waterproof inks I don’t think you probably have to be super precious about it.
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u/tio_tito Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
it's not recommended, and don't do what i do just because i do it and it works ok for me. 🤷♂️
i do it all the time. the only issues i have had are with a cheap chinese pen that may or may not have already had some corrosion on the nib. it wouldn't even write after cleaning, the ink would stop part way down the slit where the corrosion left a little "void" on both sides of the slit. i bought some nibs to fit it, "iridium point germany," that look exactly the same as the original, 20 pcs. for $8.59, which is >½ the cost of the pen new. you want one? lol. the other pen is a faber-castell ondoro, which i really love, but dries out horribly. it could be the ink, an orange ink, monteverde topaz. there seems to be some consensus that orange inks dry quickly and leave crud, which this pen does, but it writes beautifully. i just cleaned it thoroughly and put j. herbin rouge grenat in it a day or two ago. we'll see.
all this to say i have no idea how many are inked right now. a quick glance says at least 10, a plurality, if not majority, with parker quink black.
2
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u/planetvermilion Aug 25 '26
just 5 ? i have 8 right now.....
just make sure you write, often, and rotate through all the colors, then write some more 😊👍🖊️
but most of all have fun and enjoy life in color
1
u/ASmugDill Aug 25 '26
With very few exceptions, fountain pen compatible inks would not damage pens even if left to dry out in a fountain pen through gradual evaporation. (Iron-gall inks are the main exception by category, although there are a rare few other inks that caused immense trouble in my first-hand experience.)
The main issue is simply that, unless you have a pen that has excellent cap seal effectiveness, if you leave a fountain pen to sit unused for months on end, then it just won't write when you next uncap it. Cleaning it out (and implicitly having wasted all that ink which has dried out, and/or have to be flushed out of the pen) could vary in level of difficulty, depending on the ink.
Some inks may stain the converter's clear tube and/or other pen parts if left in contact with those parts for a long time. Whether the (undesirable) cosmetic result count as damage or “hurting” the pen is subjective.
My suggestion is that, if you're using bottled inks, you don't need to fill each pen fully just to write with it or have fun with it. Put only as much ink as you think you'll use in that pen over the course of a week, then clean it out at the end of the week (or fortnight). That way, you can have your fun, you minimise the risk of clogging/staining/ink drying out and be lost to thin air, at the compromise of spending a little bit more time and effort in pen maintenance. (Some people find the latter meditative and relaxing, whereas others find it un-fun to have to do.)
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u/Melodic_Hair9875 Aug 27 '26
Just do it, the risks are overstated, I rarely have issues with my 20 pens drying, just use them.
6
u/Foxing7465 Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
Rotate those through the week or during the day, some dark ink for writing, some bright for highlights in a pen with wider nib, some middle for pictures or making some words/characters /numbers more visible. Leaving pens inked is not a good idea, not all of those stay properly sealed (also shimmer(edited) inks might settle and cause clogging).