Refilling Vintage Fountain PensThe refilling procedure for almost all vintage fountain pens operates on the same principle, despite different refilling mechanisms.
- First, submerge the nib (point) of the pen in ink.
- Second, expel the air from the ink reservoir.
- Third, let the vacuum created when the air is expelled pull the ink into the reservoir. Lever filling pens use the up and down action of the lever to do this. Piston filling pens use the back and forth action of the piston. Button filling pens usually need 8 to 10 strokes of the button before they are full.
The most common reasons that fountain pens do not fill properly are:- The nib is not submerged in the ink, so the vacuum is pulling in air rather than ink.
- The channel between the nib and reservoir is clogged and needs to be cleaned.
- The filling mechanism no longer pulls a vacuum and needs to be restored.
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