Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “How To”
Fountain pen blotting paper can be very useful, especially if you enjoy using inks or papers that have higher dry times. What is blotting paper? Essentially, it is a highly-absorbent paper that can be used to soak up excess ink on the surface of your paper. If you’ve never used blotting paper or don’t know anything about it, there are …
From time to time, you might see Rakuten Global Market mentioned as a place where you can get great deals on fountain pens or find pens that aren’t normally available in the United States. Indeed, Rakuten has a huge, almost overwhelming, selection of fountain pens and supplies. If it’s your first time visiting the site, there’s no doubt you’ll be …
Writing with fountain pens can give your written words a lot of character. Some properties of fountain pen inks can give them even more character. In this post I want to discuss shading and suggest a few ways that you can get better shading from your fountain pen inks. What Is Fountain Pen Ink Shading? If you’re not clear on …
One of the most important aspects of using fountain pens is cleaning them. With regular and proper cleaning, your fountain pens should last for a very long time without any issues. Without regular and proper cleaning, you will likely experience skipping, ink flow issues and possibly even mold. If you’re new to the world of fountain pens, in this article …
Look through photos on social media platforms like Instagram and it won’t take long before you see the popularity of ink splat photos. There’s a good reason ink splats are so popular. They can show off all of the properties of ink, from shading to sheen, and usually represent the different colors you can expect to get from a given …
If you enjoy using fountain pens, there’s a chance you also enjoy photographing and sharing photos of them. In this series of articles, I want to share some tips on how to photograph a fountain pen so that you can get the best images possible, regardless of what type of camera you use. Before you start taking photos, you’ll need …
If you enjoy using fountain pens, there’s a chance you also enjoy photographing and sharing photos of them. In this series of articles, I want to share some tips on how to photograph a fountain pen so that you can get the best images possible, regardless of what type of camera you use. In this article, I’m going to focus …
A few weeks ago I moved from San Francisco to Denver. While this can explain my lack of recent posts, it also gave me a good opportunity for a new post! How do you move an entire collection of fountain pens and ink across the country? Having done it a few times, I’ve learned a few things and will share …
If you ever start using or collecting vintage fountain pens, chances are you’ll end up with a nib that is no longer shiny. While it may still work just fine, wouldn’t it be nice if it looked good, too? I’ve got a very simple trick that you can use to shine up almost any gold nib that has seen better …
Many people enjoy using fountain pens not only because they are a pleasure to write with, but also because they are beautiful. Depending on the type of writing you do, sharing your writing with others may not always be possible. Fortunately, in today’s world of social media it couldn’t be easier to share images of your beloved pens. In this …