I can’t believe that I already use most of the hacks without knowing! For the “shaking down” technique (tip 3), I would use some tissue/kitchen towel paper covering the whole nib, and then (hold tight!) give the pen a few flicks. The tissue is just there to catch the ink so I don’t get ink on my clothes or on the carpet.
I suffered with a cheap highly saturated ink back when I was a beginner user. I found the dipping in ink/water hack particularly useful. Only, my ink problems were so bad that I had to constantly dip my ink into the glass of water/ink bottle that I could have used a dip pem instead 😂 Thank you for the diluting ink tip though. I'll try that with my cheap ink
Thanks for all the Tips and tricks. And the end of the video. I like seeing people acting Goofy. Makes my day to see others just having fun and not taking life so serious. Especially people in the fountain pen community. Plus I just love all your videos, you seem so Genuine about wanting people to fall in love with Fountain pens as much as we all know you love them. 😁
I use to think itndoesnt work like that since one time I tried an there was not that much ink in the converter but for some reason I tried it again with a demonstrator pen a long time later and I realizes that 40 percent of ink was in the feed and I facepalmed
The rubber band cap-insert removal trick...!! GENIUS!! Thought I'd seen it all by now, but you guys still come up with great tricks and hacks...thank you! :-)
Hey brian, here's another little hack i discovered for jinhao pens like the x750 and x450, and i think the 159. I had a brand new one where the cap just spun around and round in circles and it drove me nuts. I discovered in the cap there's a plastic piece meant to catch ink that may drip out. This piece screws into the cap and if it comes loose then the cap will spin around after it snaps on the section. Much like your rubber band over a pencil trick, i did something similar to tighten that plastic puece into the cap and voila, no more spinning cap.
Thanks for the tips Brian! I thought I was a little clever when I discovered putting the nib in water to get it flowing again. I should have realized a lot of people would have figured that out too! XD
after watching this vid, I start using bulb syringe to flush my pen. this is so much easier. on top of that I add on by using blunt needle syringe to flush my converter. Now even a Con-70 can be clean easily! Nice hacks~
I go for pens that allow both a cartridge or a converter.. So i can ink it up with something like edelstein amethyst.. And carry a spare cartidge or 2, ro help me out in a pinch.. Also if you fill cartridges with a syringe, keep one for each ink, and label them up...
Useful hacks. My my personal favorite hack not shown is using a syringe (from GPC) to clean out then refill used cartridges. Once I learned this one I have not bought a converter since. I am sure I learned this from Brian somewhere. Love the out takes at the end. Thanks! (please you need a special warning for the weak of heart before you show some one damaging a nib!)
A habit of mine to shake a sleepy pen a few times in the wastepaper bin beside my desk. Wets the feed. Makes for a interesting occasional rinse out of bin too.
About hack number one, if you cant find a bulb syringe, i find that a squeeze eyedropper also helps, it doesnt have the same water capacity as a bulb syringe, but it basically does the same thing.
I had a professor that wrote everything with fountain pens, when he had one that needed a bit of help to get started he would pull out a small flip-top container that had a bit of sponge curled up in it with water. Looking from the top there was a small hole for the nib to go into and moisten the feed.
It was a smart way to help keep his pens fresh. When I asked about it he told me that he got it from a friend that sold fountain pens but could not remember the store.
I'd lean towards the x450. It takes a #6 nib so that opens up a lot of options and an avenue to upgrade the pen down the line. Really didn't like the WritINK when I used it. - Colin
I was hoping you might have a good hack to make it easy to completely fill a cartridge converter. No matter what I do, I can never seem to get it o fill completely.
This video (th-cam.com/video/sT2aShpP3tI/w-d-xo.html ) might be helpful. Usually if you expel the ink back into the bottle and then draw it back up, it'll remove most of the air bubbles! - Colin
I saved lamy and pilot cartridges in order to fill them up with diluted x-feather... My wife and I write a lot that it made it a chore to fill up using a cartridge converter everyday... This way we can only fill all the cartridges at one time then do a quick change when needed, then when the all the cartridges are empty, I just refill them.. At least, I just do one mixing and filling in one week rather than everyday... :) plus the cartridges have more ink capacity than the cartridge converter, so our ink capacity stays longer... I just use cartridge converters for pens that I use occassionally... :)
Jeremiah Anthony Reynaldo I do this too! I made a rack out of aluminum billet to hold a half dozen Pilot cartridges so I can fill them all at once. Saves a lot of time! Paint stirring sticks would work as well, or holes drilled in a chunk of 2x4 scrap, or stiff cardboard. It just needs to hold them snugly and keep them upright!
Jeremiah, I also reuse my cartridges for a few times before disposing of them. I found the easiest and cleanest way to refill them is to use a thin plastic syringe with a needle, but I file the tip so not to poke me. As much as I love my inks, I don't want them running in my veins.
I actually figured out number two on my own not long ago because I use really cheap paper. I'm glad I'm not doing something that's gonna hurt my pens, I was worried about that.
In my TWSBI Eco, I took out the inner cap. I did this so I don't have to worry about unreachable ink, and any ink that does leak into the cap, I can get it out with my hoodie string!
Except for numbers 7 and 9 I have figured all these out already. One thing I have done for cleaning out the pen as in number one and can save you money on buying the blub....may gross some of you out but it works great....I fill my mouth with warm/hot water and blow through the champer!
Not really a hack, but you can disassemble those converters for a thorough cleaning. Brian covers that in this Q&A slice: th-cam.com/video/cLXTW1WFdXo/w-d-xo.html - Colin
Can you do the demonstrator hack on a Eco Twsbi? That would be a life saver! It's the only reason I haven't been using it as much. I dislike looking at my dirty cap! 😭
So my hack is the filling one to get a more saturated feed, but it applies to vac fillers too, though you need to proceed with EXTREME caution. You wanna keep your nib pointed up and only pull the filling rod like a couple millimeters at most. Probably less. You won't even want to re-engage the vacuum mechanism. Turn your pen back nib down and GENTLY push the rod downward until your feed saturates as shown with the converter in the video. Stop pushing before you drip ink though. You'll then turn your pen back to nib up and push the filler rod back in the rest of the way. Maybe only do this if you are experienced but if you own a vac filler, you probably are.
Brian,when the ink in bottle is at the lowest point , then can I use the syringe (not the bulb syringe )and take up all the ink and push it directly to my converter or cartridge ?
Hack #8 : I don't know where I got it from, I've seen people using their tongue to moisten whatever pens, so I put spit on my finger and write the pen on my moistened finger.
Only adjustment I make when flooding the feed have the feed up. You can see the ink move in and stop rather than waste that single drop of ink from your 700 bottles. God forbid! Blessings!
Wow, I honestly never knew that there's an issue with flying with a fountain pen. I've flown around loads with my Lamy Safari and never paid any attention to how full the cartridge was. That worried me. I'm flying again in 2 weeks time....
If u take a little bit of dishsoap and put it into the ink it will make the ink flow alot easyer. I am talking very very little dishsoap ( a thoothpick )
As long as you're not adding pressure, it should be fine to use the underside. It's still the iridium tipping touching the paper, just a finer grind. - Colin
Not sure I consider this is a hack or not. I remember someone asking me if I stood on the bank of a stream would it be safer if the current was fast or slow. The answer is fast because it has less contact with the bank and not eroding it. When using a bulb syringe I imagine it would be good to use a gentle squeeze rather than a quick squeeze to remove all the ink from the pen. Thought I would throw my 2 cents in...?
I'm seriously laughing at the nib abuse comments...I love them! Still very much a pen newbie, but I have to say, the bulb is seriously a game changer when I am cleaning my pens. Also, the needle syringes are great cuz I like to try lots of different inks and they are perfect for the sample sizes. I did lose my first "expensive" pen today. Granted, it was a Lamy Al Star and not a huge $$$ loss but still...I was a bit heartbroken. Curious if anyone has lost an expensive pen. Do you replace it? Do you throw a tantrum? Do you drown yourself in Ben and Jerrys? Is there a hotline for this? LOL
Not sure how I'd function without a bulb or ink syringe! Sorry for your Al-Star loss, that is heartbreaking. I'm sure others can commiserate, maybe we should set up a hotline to vent. - Colin
You replace it. And then you buy another one to soothe your aching heart. And then a third one just because, since when did you ever need an excuse to buy another fountain pen?
Do y'all have nibs set aside that you already messed up and you just straighten them up for videos or are there tens of nibs giving their LIVES so you can make a point?!?!?!
EXTREME NIB DAMAGE at 1:30, Proceed with Caution. - Colin
Also, shoutout to Brian for pointing the wrong way at 2:54. :) - Colin
I saw this warning, and I still made a horrified noise when I saw it...
Why, why, why?!? I am dialing the nib abuse hotline and reporting this continual abuse!
I cringed hard when i saw :(
Ouch, that hurt to watch!
Brian's sounding more and more like a beauty guru with these titles.
Izzy 5:17
I was so traumatized by that nib smashing that I completely missed the next hack D':
hellofriendxD yeah I had to scroll to comments to see if that nib was already damaged of if they murdered it on the show
Yeah, it hurt me emotionally
True pain
Do the shaking of the pen with the CAP ENGAGED on the nib.
Popi I 🔥
Aarrghh I just died while seeing the smashed lamy
Most likely a Jinhao 599 or 599A
No you can see the classic Lamy Safari design, as well as the branding on the nib.
ROTF!! The bloopers were fantastic!! Thanks for including them! Jazz Hands!! Starburst!
Over the past 40+ years of enjoying fountain pens, I have discovered and used all of these "Hacks"; They all work exactly as he has described.
Nice! As you gain experience, they can be somewhat intuitive but glad they've worked for you! - Colin
thanks for introducing me to the fountain pen community... really appreciate your vids
The out takes were the best part.. what a goof ball!! Thanks Brian..
Why is this literally the best video ever made?? The one about shaking your pen and also the one about the cap insert probably blew my mind.
I can’t believe that I already use most of the hacks without knowing!
For the “shaking down” technique (tip 3), I would use some tissue/kitchen towel paper covering the whole nib, and then (hold tight!) give the pen a few flicks. The tissue is just there to catch the ink so I don’t get ink on my clothes or on the carpet.
Great hacks -knew it all, but worth a reminder. And loved the bloopers!!!
Using a boogerator! Never would have thought of that. Awesome!
Wow that was the most exciting video I ever saw!
Y’all had to do me dirty smashing that nib lol thanks for the tips! Especially the cap one. Going to do that on for sure!
I suffered with a cheap highly saturated ink back when I was a beginner user. I found the dipping in ink/water hack particularly useful. Only, my ink problems were so bad that I had to constantly dip my ink into the glass of water/ink bottle that I could have used a dip pem instead 😂
Thank you for the diluting ink tip though. I'll try that with my cheap ink
The best part is the end. Love it
I bought a bulb syringe after seeing another goulet video about it. Wow, what a game changer. It makes cleaning pens sooooooo much easier.
Viscontiepen
what a kind and fantastic man. hope he lives a long and happy life :)
thanks for taking time out of your day to give us helpful information :)
Love these shorty videos. Great hacks in this one.💖
Thanks for the TWSBI cap insert hack. Really helpful tips
most of these i have figured out on my own but would help a lot for those who have no experience. As always great video :D
Loved the bloopers at the end HATED the nib damage at 1:30...
OMG, #7 is exactly what I needed. I just left my ECO cap soaking in pen flush a little while ago. I'm gonna go do the pencil trick RIGHT NOW.
Yeah, I felt badly for the nice nib too. Thanks Goulet Pens; I learn so much from your wonderful videos! These are indispensable educational vids!
Thanks for all the Tips and tricks. And the end of the video. I like seeing people acting Goofy. Makes my day to see others just having fun and not taking life so serious. Especially people in the fountain pen community.
Plus I just love all your videos, you seem so Genuine about wanting people to fall in love with Fountain pens as much as we all know you love them. 😁
I was literally trying to find out if filing the converter directly is avoided for a reason. Thanks for answering my question!
I use to think itndoesnt work like that since one time I tried an there was not that much ink in the converter but for some reason I tried it again with a demonstrator pen a long time later and I realizes that 40 percent of ink was in the feed and I facepalmed
I'm looking to buy my first fountain pen and these hacks will definitely be on my radar. I have never used a fountain pen before.
I bought a TWSBI Go and I am already considering a new nib! Gold plated one, maybe platinum coated, but it costs a 30 euros incl shipping! Help!
Life got’cha down? Just “flip the nib!” Love it! 😋
Hello. Thanks for these hacks. I stumble on the searching for information on "what are Fountain Pen Ink Absorbers"? Hope you do a video about that.
Love your nail varnish, Bri. ... thought your fave colour was blue. Still, v cute
That transition pop, though! Yecch
The rubber band cap-insert removal trick...!! GENIUS!! Thought I'd seen it all by now, but you guys still come up with great tricks and hacks...thank you! :-)
Great hacks! And the bloopers were a happy bonus. :D
Great video.. but the outtakes were The Best!
Hey brian, here's another little hack i discovered for jinhao pens like the x750 and x450, and i think the 159. I had a brand new one where the cap just spun around and round in circles and it drove me nuts. I discovered in the cap there's a plastic piece meant to catch ink that may drip out. This piece screws into the cap and if it comes loose then the cap will spin around after it snaps on the section. Much like your rubber band over a pencil trick, i did something similar to tighten that plastic puece into the cap and voila, no more spinning cap.
AWESOME! Got the insert out of my Custom 823!!! Someone is going to be very clean...
Thank you for hacks no. 7 and 10. Greetings from Spain
Thanks for the tips Brian! I thought I was a little clever when I discovered putting the nib in water to get it flowing again. I should have realized a lot of people would have figured that out too! XD
Thanks for the cap insert tip! I’ve been trying to figure out how to clean out my twsbi - now I can finally get rid of that ink ring 😊
after watching this vid, I start using bulb syringe to flush my pen. this is so much easier.
on top of that I add on by using blunt needle syringe to flush my converter. Now even a Con-70 can be clean easily!
Nice hacks~
I go for pens that allow both a cartridge or a converter.. So i can ink it up with something like edelstein amethyst.. And carry a spare cartidge or 2, ro help me out in a pinch..
Also if you fill cartridges with a syringe, keep one for each ink, and label them up...
Liked # 7 that was a cool one. Loved the outtakes those were great also.
These are great. 🙏
Awesome video! Loved the bloopers! Haha!
Great vid guys! Love how you were using Imperial Purple, I’m using that ink right now. Got it as sample with last order and it’s awesome.
I'd like to add a scent to my ink. Any suggestions as to what type would work?
Great video!
Love the video darker background. Well done Brian :)
Useful hacks. My my personal favorite hack not shown is using a syringe (from GPC) to clean out then refill used cartridges. Once I learned this one I have not bought a converter since. I am sure I learned this from Brian somewhere. Love the out takes at the end. Thanks! (please you need a special warning for the weak of heart before you show some one damaging a nib!)
Yes, that's a great one! Especially if you have a lot of cartridges like I do. Just swap them in. - Colin
Hack #7 new to me and also very applicable since I have a few demonstrators with ink the in caps :D
A habit of mine to shake a sleepy pen a few times in the wastepaper bin beside my desk. Wets the feed. Makes for a interesting occasional rinse out of bin too.
Great info and great bloopers. The Starburst Guy, formerly known as The Pen Guy.🤗🖋🤓
Does hack number 7 work with the pilot custom 823
Great hacks. The bloopers were hilarious! I needed a good laugh today, thank you.
can the inner cap of the kaweco classic sport clear version be removed?
i bring around an ef preppy with some dry ink around with me for writing on cheap paper
The bloopers part was a nice bonus :)
Hahahaha
01:30 - THE PAIN!!! THE PAAAAIIINNN!!!!
Also - use medical syringe to fill converter\used ink cartridge.
About hack number one, if you cant find a bulb syringe, i find that a squeeze eyedropper also helps, it doesnt have the same water capacity as a bulb syringe, but it basically does the same thing.
I had a professor that wrote everything with fountain pens, when he had one that needed a bit of help to get started he would pull out a small flip-top container that had a bit of sponge curled up in it with water. Looking from the top there was a small hole for the nib to go into and moisten the feed.
That's a pretty smart system! Like an envelop sealer. - Colin
It was a smart way to help keep his pens fresh. When I asked about it he told me that he got it from a friend that sold fountain pens but could not remember the store.
Hey, I use the nib upside down all the time on cheap paper! I'm not alone!
What paper was the person writing with the Lamy with purple ink writing on? And what thickness was the nib? Thanks
I believe that was just generic printer paper with a LAMY fine nib & Diamine Imperial Purple ink. - Colin
Thanks Colin, very helpful! It looked beautiful regardless of the paper!
Hey I wanted to buy a fountain pen but I am confused between Faber castell writink and jinhao x450 any suggestions
I'd lean towards the x450. It takes a #6 nib so that opens up a lot of options and an avenue to upgrade the pen down the line. Really didn't like the WritINK when I used it. - Colin
I was hoping you might have a good hack to make it easy to completely fill a cartridge converter. No matter what I do, I can never seem to get it o fill completely.
This video (th-cam.com/video/sT2aShpP3tI/w-d-xo.html ) might be helpful. Usually if you expel the ink back into the bottle and then draw it back up, it'll remove most of the air bubbles! - Colin
I saved lamy and pilot cartridges in order to fill them up with diluted x-feather... My wife and I write a lot that it made it a chore to fill up using a cartridge converter everyday... This way we can only fill all the cartridges at one time then do a quick change when needed, then when the all the cartridges are empty, I just refill them.. At least, I just do one mixing and filling in one week rather than everyday... :) plus the cartridges have more ink capacity than the cartridge converter, so our ink capacity stays longer... I just use cartridge converters for pens that I use occassionally... :)
Jeremiah Anthony Reynaldo I do this too! I made a rack out of aluminum billet to hold a half dozen Pilot cartridges so I can fill them all at once. Saves a lot of time! Paint stirring sticks would work as well, or holes drilled in a chunk of 2x4 scrap, or stiff cardboard. It just needs to hold them snugly and keep them upright!
Jeremiah, I also reuse my cartridges for a few times before disposing of them. I found the easiest and cleanest way to refill them is to use a thin plastic syringe with a needle, but I file the tip so not to poke me. As much as I love my inks, I don't want them running in my veins.
I actually figured out number two on my own not long ago because I use really cheap paper. I'm glad I'm not doing something that's gonna hurt my pens, I was worried about that.
In my TWSBI Eco, I took out the inner cap. I did this so I don't have to worry about unreachable ink, and any ink that does leak into the cap, I can get it out with my hoodie string!
Loving the bloopers in the end! Lol :D
Except for numbers 7 and 9 I have figured all these out already. One thing I have done for cleaning out the pen as in number one and can save you money on buying the blub....may gross some of you out but it works great....I fill my mouth with warm/hot water and blow through the champer!
Does anyone have a reliable hack for cleaning out ink from behind the plunger of Lamy converters?
Not really a hack, but you can disassemble those converters for a thorough cleaning. Brian covers that in this Q&A slice: th-cam.com/video/cLXTW1WFdXo/w-d-xo.html - Colin
The Goulet Pen Company Thanks for the reply! I watched that video but problem is, I can’t get it off for the life of me.
*Awesome!* Thanks for short to the point practical hacks/ideas/help, and at the end *the laughs* . 💙
Can you do the demonstrator hack on a Eco Twsbi? That would be a life saver! It's the only reason I haven't been using it as much. I dislike looking at my dirty cap! 😭
Amanda Rivera you sure can! -brian
The Goulet Pen Company Thanks Brian! I will try it tonight!
THE POOR PEN! JESUS THAT GIVES ME NIGHTMARES
Do you have a mont blanc boheme
E. A K I don’t but my wife does -brian
Wow purple ink is darker than pelikan violet ink
Please tell me brand of this ink
So my hack is the filling one to get a more saturated feed, but it applies to vac fillers too, though you need to proceed with EXTREME caution. You wanna keep your nib pointed up and only pull the filling rod like a couple millimeters at most. Probably less. You won't even want to re-engage the vacuum mechanism. Turn your pen back nib down and GENTLY push the rod downward until your feed saturates as shown with the converter in the video. Stop pushing before you drip ink though. You'll then turn your pen back to nib up and push the filler rod back in the rest of the way.
Maybe only do this if you are experienced but if you own a vac filler, you probably are.
Brian,when the ink in bottle is at the lowest point , then can I use the syringe (not the bulb syringe )and take up all the ink and push it directly to my converter or cartridge ?
Yeah, definitely! One of the best ways to get every ink drop out of a bottle. - Colin
Yes. I always fill my converters with a syringe.
Hack #8 : I don't know where I got it from, I've seen people using their tongue to moisten whatever pens, so I put spit on my finger and write the pen on my moistened finger.
1:31 This part should either only exist on the Dark Web or shouldn't even exist!
cool.
The bloopers though. 😂😂🤣🤣
Only adjustment I make when flooding the feed have the feed up. You can see the ink move in and stop rather than waste that single drop of ink from your 700 bottles. God forbid! Blessings!
I would use tip 2 but my pen is very scratchy this way and then can get paper fibres stuck between the tines D:
Wow, I honestly never knew that there's an issue with flying with a fountain pen. I've flown around loads with my Lamy Safari and never paid any attention to how full the cartridge was. That worried me. I'm flying again in 2 weeks time....
I’ve found that hack #3 works best if you flip it upside down, like in hack #2.
Hack #4 - You still have to wipe the converter before inserting it back into the section. I wouldn't want ink drying outside of the converter.
When the sound is off, the end looks like someone having waayyyy too much fun at work...AWESOME!! 🤩🥳
If u take a little bit of dishsoap and put it into the ink it will make the ink flow alot easyer. I am talking very very little dishsoap ( a thoothpick )
Him ruining the nib in The fountain pen myths video and the lamy safary nib pained me deeply.
I actually thought it would damage the nib to write with the backside of the nib?
As long as you're not adding pressure, it should be fine to use the underside. It's still the iridium tipping touching the paper, just a finer grind. - Colin
Great tips, but I felt the pen of that nib when it was smashed on the paper. Poor thing!!! 😅😂
Not sure I consider this is a hack or not. I remember someone asking me if I stood on the bank of a stream would it be safer if the current was fast or slow. The answer is fast because it has less contact with the bank and not eroding it. When using a bulb syringe I imagine it would be good to use a gentle squeeze rather than a quick squeeze to remove all the ink from the pen. Thought I would throw my 2 cents in...?
I'm seriously laughing at the nib abuse comments...I love them! Still very much a pen newbie, but I have to say, the bulb is seriously a game changer when I am cleaning my pens. Also, the needle syringes are great cuz I like to try lots of different inks and they are perfect for the sample sizes. I did lose my first "expensive" pen today. Granted, it was a Lamy Al Star and not a huge $$$ loss but still...I was a bit heartbroken. Curious if anyone has lost an expensive pen. Do you replace it? Do you throw a tantrum? Do you drown yourself in Ben and Jerrys? Is there a hotline for this? LOL
Not sure how I'd function without a bulb or ink syringe! Sorry for your Al-Star loss, that is heartbreaking. I'm sure others can commiserate, maybe we should set up a hotline to vent. - Colin
You replace it. And then you buy another one to soothe your aching heart. And then a third one just because, since when did you ever need an excuse to buy another fountain pen?
I’ve been doing hack #4 ever since my first pen meet when people would give me sample vials :)
Hack #4: I use a syringe and directly draw ink and then put it into the converter. ✌️
@1:30 we need a warning about footage that may upset viewers who are sensitive about seeing violent footage!
I know! I actually forgot that happened and it startled me when I re-watched it today! - Drew
Do y'all have nibs set aside that you already messed up and you just straighten them up for videos or are there tens of nibs giving their LIVES so you can make a point?!?!?!
I felt the pain in his voice when the nib broke
Nooooooo the niiiiib!!!😱