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Hey guys, not sure if best in this forum or maybe maintenance/repair... but if it needs moved I'm sure it'll be moved. I'm sure many people probably have done this but, earlier this year I started getting into fountain pens beyond that of my Pilot V-Pen disposable. I like to keep my stuff clean so a couple of months ago I made my own flush using a 'recipe' found on here and YouTube. In addition to using the flush (which is rare and only when changing colours completely in a pen) I wanted a better way to flush so came up with this. I took one of a few syringes that I have. All plastic syringe with the curved end, I think maybe 3 for $5 off eBay, commonly used for wood glue. I cut the end off and left about 1cm / 3/8". I then took a Lamy cartridge and I think a Kaweco cartridge, and cut the very end off (not where the opening is). Cutting is very easy, syringe/cartridges are a soft plastic so I basically took an exact-o utility knife and rolled the piece back and forth beneath it and is sliced right through... don't use scissors, it'll pinch/buckle the tubes. Now, I can interchange between the two and they slide on and fit snugly onto the syringe. I can pop them into the section and slowly/carefully push water in/out. Usually I fill up a small bucket with warm water with a few drops of soap for the initial flushing pushing water in/out, then dump the water and switch to warm water without soap and flush water out only. Works quite well... the Kaweco fits most of my pens, the Lamy fits my Lamy and Parker pens. Just thought I'd share... cheap/easy DIY pen flusher tool. And, if anyone is wondering... the flush I use is a 1:10 ratio of Pure Ammonia (not scented) and Distilled Water, with a few drops of Dawn dish soap. http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a611/THRobinson/Fountain%20Pens/20151127_225632_zpsk0phgqxo.jpg http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a611/THRobinson/Fountain%20Pens/20151127_225744_zpsuiaswrap.jpg

I have a handlful of Vintage and new Pens. Parker Vacumatic, Parker Duofolds, Skyline Everysharps, Pelikan 400nn. Pelikan M200's, M400, Sailor 1911, Various TWSBI's. Inks: Only "wetter" inks. Aurora, Diamine, Waterman, Iroshizuku. Mostly blues. I have read that pens should be flushed or cleaned regularly to extend the life of the feed and nib and prevent ink drying out and build up. I have been using the above pens regularly, every 1-2 weeks or much more, for some time. Should I be emptying the ink and cleaning out the pens every so often? How often? Or, is it not necessary as long as the pens are inked and used regularly? Thanks for your help. jim

I have a few Indian eyedroppers that I have yet to use. I would like to ink one up this weekend, but I'm not sure how to clean/rinse/flush an eyedropper without disassembling the feed and nib from the section. With a convertor or sac, it's quite easy to rinse the pen, but how do you rinse/flush an eyedropper without removing the feed and nib? Thanks in advance.

Where are you guys finding ammonia in Canada (Ontario)? I looked online at Canadian Tire, 100% pure ammonia perfect! clicked on it and 0 stock/no longer being carried. They have another brand, but lemon scented and such so, not sure what else is in it. Same as the local grocery stores. Checked Home Hardware, and they have a brand called Old Country. I looked online but can't see if it's pure or not. Sadly, I'm in a Hamlet (not even a Village) and it's a fairly long drive to go store to store, and from past experience I've learned that calling does not yield useful answers. Anyone ever try the Old Country stuff? or know where else may carry ammonia?

Not sure if this should go in Inky Thoughts or here, so apologies in advance if I made the Wrong Choice I was having a flushing and filling session yesterday, and noticed that one pen and ink combination was virtually unflushable: Monteverde Impressa, with Iroshizuku momiji( which disappointed me by being much pinker than I expected) After about half an hour of repeated flushing with just water, it - the converter - was still very very pink. I gave up after that, and will have another try later, but it got me wondering.....are some inks just so "stainy"(not the correct word, I know, but it conveys the meaning, I think) that you have to have a dedicated pen for them? And does anyone do that in any case - keep the pairing if same pen with same ink? Alex

I got a lovely Yard-O-Led, second hand, good condition, but am having problems getting it to write. I have flushed, flushed, flushed with warm water and an ear bulb 'skoosher', but there seems to be a build up of ink just round the joint between the nib and the part which holds the nib; when I lean it on damp kitchen towel, a purpley blue ink comes out. Im itching to use it....any suggestions? Will have one last flush and see if it clears. Should I send it to be serviced? Any help gratefully received.

Howdy, So I have a pen that I've flushed out many many times now (I got it clogged up and sacless) but even so, Apache sunset ends up turning brown in it. The ink that was dried in it when I got it was blue black, so I'm not sure why it's turning the colour it is. I've flushed it multiple times and each time, the day after the ink has turned brownish, like a burnt Sienna / coffee colour. I havn't done a complete flush with ammonia yet as I don't think we have any, but I've done warm soapy water flushes and left the nib soaking for a few days. Has anyone else had this ink change colour inside a pen or is it just that I'm likely to have to do an ammonia flush? Is it possible that it's something in the sac (it was a black colour) is slowly seeping out and into the ink?

so it's been half an hour, I've cycled the plunger on my parker 51 vacumatic innumerable times, shaken it till my arms are sore, wicked and wicked and wicked with a tissues...AND ITS STILL SPEWING GREEN INK T_T. anyone got any tricks to flush these pens? haha

Is it alright to use bottled water in order to flush a fountain pen? Or should I just use tap water? I don't have distilled at the moment