Fountain Pens: A Guide for Absolute Beginners
You Bought a Fountain Pen. Now What?
A no-nonsense guide for new users, condensing all the advice I wish someone had given me when I started using fountain pens.
Welcome!
You’ve just acquired your first fountain pen. Maybe it was a gift, maybe it was a long-considered splurge, or maybe it just looked really cool and you’re wondering what makes it different from every other pen in your drawer.
Whatever brought you here, you’re in good company. Writing with a fountain pen is one of life’s most relaxing pleasures. It’s tactile, personal, and just a little bit old-school in the best way. But now that you’ve got a fountain pen…what do you need to know?
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to go from “Uh, what do I do with this?” to confidently putting ink on paper. No fluff, no gatekeeping—just the stuff you need to know, explained clearly.
I. What You Actually Bought (and Why That Matters)
Not all fountain pens are built the same, and a few key features will shape your experience.
Cartridge? Converter? Something Else?
If you got one of our Bottle and Plume Starter Kits, skip to the next section: you’re already set with a cartridge/converter fountain pen, which is the easiest kind to use and maintain. These pens can use pre-filled ink cartridges or a converter, which is a small cartridge-shaped refillable unit that lets you use bottled ink.
Other filling systems you might hear about:
Piston-fill pens: Have an internal mechanism to suck ink directly into the barrel.
Vacuum-fill pens: Use pressure and suction for filling (more capacity, but more complicated and harder to clean).
Eyedropper-fill pens: You literally fill the whole barrel with ink (DIY-friendly but not for everyone).
If your pen didn’t come with instructions, don’t panic. Check the manufacturer's site or on google/youtube/reddit.
Nib Size
Fountain pen nibs aren’t one-size-fits-all. You’ll see options like EF (extra fine), F (fine), M (medium), B (broad), and even stub, italic, oblique, waverly, falcon, music, architect, or flex nibs. Don’t worry: as a beginner, just knowing about fine, medium, and broad will be all you need.
The basic rule for how these nibs differ is that
Finer nibs equal thinner lines, more control, better for small handwriting or office paper.
Broader nibs equal smoother feel, show off ink qualities better (like shading or sheen).
Stub/flex nibs are unique and dramatic-looking, and often used for calligraphy or fancy journaling. They take some skill to use well.
Bottom line (pun intended): If you’re new, stick with a fine or medium. You can always experiment later (and trust us, you will).
Which is better for you? Fine nibs are better if you’ll need to write on a lot of cheap paper at school or work. Medium nibs are better if you have good paper available and want to see the fun properties of the ink you use.
Steel vs. Gold Nibs
You may have heard people waxing poetic about 14k or 18k nibs. Gold nibs do generally feel a bit softer and springier, but steel nibs today are excellent, especially in starter pens. Focus on the design and nib tuning before worrying about metal content.
II. How to Ink It Up
You’ve got the pen. Now let’s put some ink in it.
Option 1: Install a Cartridge
This is the easiest method. Open the pen, push the cartridge onto the nib section until you feel a little “snap,” then wait a minute or two for the ink to flow. Give it a gentle shake or scribble if needed.
Note: International standard cartridges are common, but some brands use proprietary sizes (like Pilot, Lamy, or Parker). Make sure you’re using the right one.
Option 2: Use a Converter
Converters look like tiny syringes or twisty piston things. Here’s how to use one:
Insert the converter into the pen just like a cartridge.
Submerge the nib fully into your bottle of ink.
Twist or push the converter to suck up ink.
Twist back to push out air bubbles, then suck again to get a full fill (optional but helpful).
Wipe the nib with a tissue, screw the pen back together, and go!
Pro tip: If you’re using one of our Starter Kits, you’ll have a converter already, along with some ink samples to try out right away.
III. Ink: The Beautiful Rabbit Hole
Ink is where things get fun — it’s no accident that my username on Reddit is InkSampleFiend! Unfortunately, bottled ink is also where many beginners start to feel overwhelmed. But don’t worry, it’s easy to get started!
There are thousands of colors, brands, and finishes. Some shimmer, some sheen, some are waterproof, some are permanent. But let’s keep it simple:
All fountain pen ink is water-based.
Do not use India ink or calligraphy dip pen ink. Those will ruin your pen.
If the bottle or label says “fountain pen safe,” you’re good to go.
If you're bewildered by all the choices, our Mystery Ink Sample Boxes are designed for exactly this. They give you a curated handful of amazing inks—no stress, no guesswork.
Ink Characteristics to Know
Shading: The ink pools darker in some areas, giving your writing texture.
Sheen: At certain angles, you’ll see a metallic surface shine.
Shimmer: Sparkly bits. Fun, festive, these inks need occasional shaking (before filling your pen, and sometimes while you’re writing) to keep shimmer particles suspended. Shimmer inks can also mean a bit more cleaning for your pens, which is why I don’t include them in starter sets.
Water Resistance: Some inks are water-resistant; some are waterproof, others will vanish in the rain.
IV. Writing: It Feels Different, and That’s Good
Using a fountain pen is more like holding a paintbrush than a ballpoint. The key is light pressure and the right angle.
Tips for Writing Comfortably
Don’t press hard! Let the pen glide. Especially at first, err on the side of “too light;” if you press too hard you could damage your fountain pen’s nib.
Hold your pen at about a 45-degree angle from the paper.
The nib has a “sweet spot”—you’ll feel it when the ink flows smoothly. You may need to adjust your grip slightly to rotate the nib side-to-side a bit on the paper to feel when it’s making the best, flattest contact with the paper.
Left-handed? Try an extra fine or fine nib and experiment with hand angles to reduce smearing. Fountain pen inks take longer to try than you’re probably used to from using ballpoints, rollerballs, and gel pens.
Paper matters. Normal office copy paper often feathers or bleeds. Feathering is when ink spreads out along the paper fibers, giving your writing a “rough” look. Bleeding is when the ink soaks through to the other side of the page.
You’ll get the best results from fountain-pen friendly paper, like the ones we include in our Starter Kits (we also stock fountain pen friendly papers individually).
V. Cleaning and Maintenance
A fountain pen isn’t high-maintenance, but it does need occasional cleaning, especially:
When you’re changing ink colors. If you change colors a lot, this isn’t a hard requirement, but it’s a good approximation.
When your pen is skipping (stops putting down ink in the middle of a line) or hard-starting (doesn’t start putting down ink until partway through your stroke on the paper). To be fair, skips and hard starts are often caused by other things, often related to your nib, but cleaning the pen is a good first troubleshooting step.
It’s been sitting inked and unused for a while.
How to Clean Your Pen
Please keep in mind: these instructions apply to cartridge converter pens, since that’s what we put in all of our Starter Kits. If you have a pen with a different filling mechanism (piston, vacuum, lever, etc.), you’ll want specific instructions for your type of pen!
Remove the cartridge or converter from the pen.
Rinse the nib section under cool running water.
Use a bulb syringe (or the converter) to flush water through the nib. To do this with the converter, empty the ink out of the converter, reinsert it into your fountain pen, and then put the nib into a cup of clean water, filling and emptying the cartridge through the nib until the ink is completely flushed out.
Repeat until the water runs clear.
Let it dry completely before re-inking, unless you don’t mind a bit of watered-down ink for the first few minutes of writing. If you used a cartridge converter to flush the pen, remove the converter for drying. Pro tip: wrapping the nib in a towel (or paper towel) can speed up the drying process.
Cleaning frequency? Common advice is to clean pens every 2–4 weeks if in regular use, but I think that for most inks, less is fine. Definitely clean more often if you use pigmented or shimmering inks; those can dry and get stuck on your pen, making it VERY hard to clean.
VI. Troubleshooting: When Things Go Weird
Even good pens occasionally misbehave. Don’t panic—here’s what to do.
Common Issues & Fixes
Skipping or hard starts? Try cleaning first. Dirty feeds are the #1 cause.
Ink blobs or burps? It could be heat (from your hand or environment), or the ink level is low. Adding ink often helps (provided the pen isn’t leaking because it’s damaged).
Railroading (two thin lines)? Often means the ink flow can’t keep up—try a wetter ink. Pilot Iroshizuku inks are known to be extremely wet, so they’re good to have on pens that are drier-writing.
If your pen is scratchy on one side only, the nib may be misaligned, i.e. the tines might be slightly bent out of shape. If you’re feeling brave, it can be diagnosed and fixed with a jeweler’s loupe, lots of YouTube videos, and some courage—but for pricier pens, we recommend reaching out to a professional nibmeister for any diagnosis/fixes.
VII. Don’t Panic, Don’t Overthink
Here’s something every seasoned fountain pen user has learned:
Your pen isn’t broken just because it acts weird once.
Inks behave differently in different pens. The same ink might even look significantly different out of two different pens/nibs.
The paper might be the problem. Cheap paper can often make things less enjoyable (although erring on the side of a finer nib on cheap paper is likely to help).
Your grip — the way you’re holding the pen, sitting, aligning the nib with your paper — might be the problem.
There’s a learning curve, but it’s not steep. Give yourself a few days to get used to how it feels to write with a fountain pen, and don’t be afraid to experiment.
VIII. Leveling Up (When You’re Ready)
Once you're comfortable, you’ll probably want to try:
Swapping Inks
Ink samples (like the ones in our Mystery Ink Boxes) are a fun, cost-effective, low-risk way to try new colors and ink properties. You’ll start to notice that certain inks feel wetter, drier, more vibrant, or more subtle.
What should I write?
If you’re itching to write but you don’t know what words to reach for, here are some fun things to try:
Journaling: this can be a real growth experience to do a bit of journaling, and it’s a nice habit to get into.
Letter Writing: this is a wonderful way to slow down and really communicate something meaningful (or just fun) to someone you love. Write in your own voice — don’t worry about making it sound literary or letter-like — and tell the other person what’s going on in your life, while asking about theirs. You’ll be amazed at how friends and family will react to getting a real letter in the mail. Many people I’ve written to tell me it was a highlight of their week.
Transcribing books: one of my favorite “chill out” activities is transcribing a few pages at a time of The Count of Monte Cristo. If you take any entertaining or worthwhile read and transcribe it, you’ll find that it slows down your brain to the point where you are thinking about the text in a whole new way, having insights you could have otherwise never gotten from a quick read. No need to transcribe every single page! Just have fun with it.
Keep a Commonplace Book: if you’re wondering what to do with a beautiful journal or notebook, try filling it over the course of a few years with quotes that have inspired you, information that blows your mind, pieces of poems or books that have moved you, and anything else you want to be able to remember next year — or next decade.
Fountain pens encourage slower, more thoughtful writing. A few minutes a day can feel surprisingly grounding.
Paper Upgrades
Explore fountain-pen friendly paper, for example:
Rhodia (smooth, lots of functional formats, and consistent)
Clairefontaine (smooth, luxurious — what I use for letter-writing)
Tomoe River (ultra-thin, sheening heaven —not an everyday paper for me, but good for showing off fountain pen ink properties)
Apica (great, relatively cheap paper)
Accessories
Not required, but fun:
Pen sleeves or cases to protect your pens
Notebook covers or portfolios
Cleaning supplies (a bulb syringe is a game-changer)
Blunt-tip syringe makes refilling cartridges easy — some people even use them to fill converters to their absolute maximum capacity, although filling this way means that the ink will take a few minutes to trickle down to the nib.
IX. Final Thoughts: You’re In Now — Enjoy the Ride
You now own a tool that connects you to centuries of tradition and a growing, wildly enthusiastic community that spans the globe. Whether you bought your fountain pen to write letters, journal, sketch, or just make your daily notes feel a little more intentional—you’re part of something special.
You don’t need to be a collector, a calligrapher, or a stationery nerd to love fountain pens. You just need a moment of quiet, a piece of paper, and the desire to make a mark.
And when you're ready to explore further, we’ve got you covered. Our Starter Kits are designed to take the guesswork out of your first steps. Our Mystery Ink Boxes let you discover new favorites without decision fatigue. And our curated selection of paper, pens, and accessories is always growing—with quality and curation at the core.
Happy writing.
–
Bottle and Plume
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