Atrax fountain pen with a black and white blank.

[sumterdad]

Ok here is my first fp done with one of our special blanks. I upgraded to the heritage medium nib. Over all I think it turned out well. I really like these kits and will definitely be buying more in the future. I do have a question for the fp experts. Can you leave it inked up and how long will that little cartridge of ink last. Do you also have to clean the nib to get it free of ink.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

First let me say that you've done an excellent job.
Now to answer your questions.
1-If you mean can you leave it inked for extended periods of time while not in use then the answer is not in most cases more than a few weeks.
part two of that question the length of time a cartridge will last is hard to answer again if you asking as to length of time, unopened indefinitely, once open and installed over time they do dry up and evaporate.Time varies as to brand of ink as some or more water based than others, recommend if not using for extended periods un-install and discard.
2- Yes!Yes!Yes! Fountain pens are like a beautiful woman they need maintenance and well worth a little effort. I recommend that after every 2-3 refills that the feed and nib be cleaned with tepid water.

Ok here is my first fp done with one of our special blanks. I upgraded to the heritage medium nib. Over all I think it turned out well. I really like these kits and will definitely be buying more in the future. I do have a question for the fp experts. Can you leave it inked up and how long will that little cartridge of ink last. Do you also have to clean the nib to get it free of ink.

 

[Matt Cotton]

Nice pen, been seeing alot of the Atrax and finally ordered some myself. Great looking blank. I had been wondering the same thing about inking a fountain pen, main reason I haven't made any yet so thanks for asking.

 

[EarlD]

Very nice blank/pen. I'm liking the Atrax also.

 

[Drstrangefart]

The Atrax has definitely become a great billboard for casting and exotic woods. The blank looks great, too. No clue how the whole fountain pen thing goes, though.

 

[watch_art]

It's better not to leave a pen inked and unused for a long period of time. I do it all the time, but I don't have any problem taking my pens apart to clean them. But usually a good flushing with some soapy water will clean them out fine. If you let one dry out, then a flush or soak in some ammonia water will help. As long as you don't let it dry out completely you should be okay. If you pick it up and scribble with it a bit every day or so it should be just fine. Also, if you get a converter you can flush it with that, as well as use bottled inks which just blow the cheap carts away. If you don't have a converter handy, you can flush (really really well) with one of those nose sucky things. Just suck up some water in the sucky thing, put the tip on the cart nipple, and squeeze. You'll get all the ink out and then clear water in a mater of seconds.

 

[sumterdad]

What are the chances of the ink just leaking out if is just laying on its side or should it be stored in a certain position.

 

[wiset1]

Great looking turn! Since I know nothing about FP's I'll keep my mouth shut

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Shawn, while I agree with using a converter for inking your pen I would use a second converter for flushing , that being said as all of our component sets have virtually the same type feed and housing I think a much better and cleaner feed system cleaning is done by simply removing the feed and housing and ruining under tepid water, visible looking at the veins of the feed to make sure that no dried ink is clogging the flow. Take less than 5 minutes. On pens that the feed and housing do not come out as easy a flushing will help. Ninety five percent of all fountain pens that are in drawers not being used are because of improper maintains or in some cases none.

 

[watch_art]

Storing your pen on it's side won't hurt anything - it won't leak out unless there's just a loose connection, crack in the nib housing, section, or converter or cart. Unless air is getting in where it doesn't need to be getting in, it won't leak.

Shawn, while I agree with using a converter for inking your pen I would use a second converter for flushing , that being said as all of our component sets have virtually the same type feed and housing I think a much better and cleaner feed system cleaning is done by simply removing the feed and housing and ruining under tepid water, visible looking at the veins of the feed to make sure that no dried ink is clogging the flow. Take less than 5 minutes. On pens that the feed and housing do not come out as easy a flushing will help. Ninety five percent of all fountain pens that are in drawers not being used are because of improper maintains or in some cases none.

A separate converter isn't really necessary for flushing purposes. Removing the converter isn't necessary unless it fails or you let ink dry up in there, and you need a more aggressive cleaning - like with the nose sucky thingy. I use 409 to clean new pens and to flush old ones - just have to be sure to get all of it out with a thorough water flush so no 409 remains.

Here's a video of the nose sucky thingy in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipwFvY0PUqs

And there's a ton of videos on fountain pen maintenance and other things here:
http://www.inknouveau.com/p/tips-tricks.html

 

[boxerman]

Very nice pen.

 

[Brooks803]

Very cool Chris! You're really stepping up your turnings.

 

[sumterdad]

Very cool Chris! You're really stepping up your turnings.

Thanks. That really means alot coming from you.