To help ensure your Pelikan fountian pen give you years of faithful service and to assist you care for your pen, we have put together a few tips on how to fill, use and care for your fountain pen.

Below is an image of the internal mechanism a Pelikan piston filler fountain pen to help you see how it works: 

Filling with ink

To move the plunger towards the nib and thus be able to fill the barrel chamber with ink, you turn the filler knob anti-clockwise. Do this without any ink the pen and with the cap removed.

Now place the nib in your bottle of ink, being sure to fully submerge it so that no air is drawn in along with the ink, which would result in a partial fill. Use the red dotted line above as a guide for how deep to submerge it.

 Turn the filler knob clockwise to move the plunger back away from the nib and draw ink into the barrel chamber. Once it will turn no more, the chamber should be full. It is now worth expelling a few drops back into the bottle and turning the nib upwards before tightening the filler knob clockwise. This will remove the excess ink from the nib and stop it from dripping onto your hand, paper or into the cap.

Cleaning & Maintenance

We would recommend cleaning your pen out after every 3-5 ink fills. Cleaning is simple - Use the same method as when filling but use cool, clean water and then expel the water back out. This ‘flushing’ will prevent dried ink clogging the nib.

Be sure to NOT use any detergents as they will break down the lubrication on the piston and make it difficult to operate. We suggest using a slow running tap, over a sink which won’t become ink stained. A container of water will soon become ink coloured. A few water fills will be enough to flush the nib sufficiently.

The nib will unscrew from the barrel of your pen, but will become difficult to remove as time passes. It MAY be worth loosening the nib when cleaning. Hold it as close to the pen end as possible and turn anti-clockwise ½ a turn and then re-tighten. This will assist nib removable in the future if needed, (e.g. if it becomes damaged) If it isn’t easy to unscrew, leave it be

The piston is designed to require no maintenance, but if it does become stiffer to turn, the lubrication may need to be re-applied. Please get in touch and we arrange this for you. It will ensure the effective working of the mechanism and prevent any damage

Email us at info@pelikanpens.co.uk if you have any queries or issues.