How to Clean Fountain Pen Nibs

Fountain pen nibs are delicate instruments that require regular maintenance to keep them in good condition.

When ink residue builds inside the nib over time, it can cause blockages that affect the flow of ink onto paper.

If you start to notice skipping, inconsistent, or scratchy writing, there’s a good chance your nib may be dirty or is blocking ink flow.

This isn’t a problem you want to ignore because it results is a crappy writing experience, but more importantly, all think gunk build-up can damage to the nib.

Making it a habit to regularly clean fountain pen nibs can help prevent ink from drying up and keep them writing smoothly. Here’s how to do it.

And click here if you want more on how to clean your fountain pen.

Nib cleaning supplies

A lot of people think you need a bunch of fancy supplies to clean fountain pen nibs, but that’s not true. Most fountain pens are pretty easy to clean (especially if you make it a habit). As you learn how to use your fountain pen, you’ll see how important cleaning is.

Start with:

• Water. Tap water is fine. Ideally, room temperature. Avoid using hot water. Distilled water works fine too.
• Bowl or cup. I use an old take-out container that I keep for cleaning my fountain pen parts.
• A toothbrush or microfiber towel. I use a travel toothbrush from a six-pack and a microfiber cloth.
• Syringe. You may want to get a flat-edge syringe to squirt water in hard-to-reach places, but soaking should help get rid of most build-up.
• Pen flush or pen wash. Some brands sell a pen flush which is water with a tiny bit of ammonia in them.
• Paper towels. Let your pen parts dry for a few hours or overnight on a paper towel after cleaning.

For extra tough gunk, you may need to move beyond water to clean fountain pen nibs, so try some of these solutions.

• Ammonia. Pen flush is about 1 part ammonia to 10 parts water, so you can make your own by adding a tiny amount of ammonia to water. However, check the nib material since ammonia can be harsh on brass, copper, and aluminum.
• Vinegar. Distilled white vinegar is a great household cleaning solution, so you can use the same approach with your pen. Ideally, you’d want somewhere around 3-4 parts vinegar to 10 parts water.
• Dishwashing soap. Use a gentle liquid dishwashing soap if you have a lot of build-ups. But use just a drop or two, and make sure to rinse the nib thoroughly with water.

Avoid using rubbing alcohol, hot water, or bleach on your pens; it will damage them.

Time to clean the nibs

First, disassemble the pen.

Many pens also let you remove the nib (but not all), and you can usually do it in one of two ways:

• Slowly pull the nib and channel/feed out of the grip section.
• The nib and feed may screw into a collar, unscrew it and slowly pull it out.

Next, soak them for a minute or two to get the ink out

Here are examples of each:

I was able to pull the nib and the channel out of my Platinum Prefounte. It’s a pretty simple setup.

My Kaweco Classic Sport has an unscrew collar nib. So I first unscrewed the collar and then gently removed the nib and the channel. This channel has a bit more going on — you can see the fins.

With this one, the actual metal part of the nib comes off too.

That also goes into the water solution.

Once you finish your preliminary soak to get most of the ink off, then refill your container and let them soak again.

If you need to get the gunk off, then gently use your brush or cloth to rub at some of the areas where you see residue.

When everything is clean, dry the nibs and let them sit for a few hours on some paper towels.

How long do you soak fountain pen nibs?

I clean my pens regularly, so I rarely soak them for more than about 10 minutes all in. Keeping your pens clean makes the cleanup process really fast and easy.

But if you have a stubborn build-up, you may need to soak the nib for a few hours or even overnight.

If you have specific questions, check out your pen manufacturer’s website for more instructions.

Take care of your pens

The best way to ensure your pens live a long and happy life is to clean them on the regular.

Make it a habit to give your nibs a good soak a couple of times a year, and you’ll get much better results.

Liz

Hey, I'm Liz. I'm the founder of this thing. Pen-obsessed and a notebook nut, I love writing by hand. So I'm gonna talk about it on a computer.