Care for Your Mont Blanc Fountain Pen
So you've bought a lovely new Mont Blanc fountain pen, but you are not sure how to care for it. Well, the first thing you should make sure is that you don't press hard when you are writing, as this could damage the nib. Remember, your Mont Blanc fountain pen should glide effortlessly across the paper.
Your fountain pen will also require cleaning, so you will need to periodically flush it out. There are two ways your Mont Blanc will hold ink, either a chamber that requires you to manually fill from an ink bottle, or an ink cartridge. With the chamber you need to fill it and empty it with cool water a few times. Doing this every couple of months will keep dried ink from building up and affecting the ink flow. You must not use hot water or any solvents as they could damage your pen. If you use a cartidge then, when empty, remove it and carry out the above process.
Please also make sure you use only inks intended for a Mont Blanc fountain pen. Mont Blanc do produce an excellent range of inks, at reasonable cost, so we would recommend you use them. If at all possible, try to keep your fountain pen full of ink, since if the ink chamber is close to empty the ink flow can become irregular.
Make sure you only clean the nib and chamber with water. Don't soak any other part of your fountain pen or you could cause irreparable damage. If your Mont Blanc fountain pen leaks at all, and you get ink in the cap, wipe it out with a damp cotton swab. Don't just stick the cap under a running tap as this is unecessary and may harm your pen. If your pen becomes blocked with dried ink, just soak the nib by placing your fountain pen nib-down in enough water to just cover the nib.
Once you have cleaned your Mont Blanc fountain pen you must leave it open to dry. Don't use a hairdryer, or place it on or near a heater. It needs to dry naturally. Once dry, if your pen does not write straight away you need to resist the urge to press down hard on the nib. All you need to do is wet the point of the nib with a little ink or warm water.
One final tip. If you are taking your Mont Blanc fountain pen on board a flight, it is recommended that you empty it of ink first. Even though you may be in a pressurized cabin, the change in atmospheric pressure could cause your beautiful fountain pen to leak ink all over everything.
