have you ever wondered where some people
write with a fountain pen rather than
with a ballpoint pen actually it's
because they have a bunch of advantages
at the same time you can make a lot of
mistakes with them especially when you
start out and in today's video we talked
about the seven fountain pen mistakes
that most beginners make and how you can
avoid them I like a ballpoint pen
fountain pens can cost hundreds or
thousands of dollars and they're an
accessory that enhance your handwriting
and make it more unique the same time
they demand a certain amount of care and
attention because they use ink and a nib
in the u.s. most people are very exposed
to fountain pens unless they actively
pursue them and if they do however most
people fall in love with them and always
prefer them over regular pens when
you're start out you're very prone to
make those mistakes and all the people
I've met who just started the fountain
pen when they were an adult made those
as well so let's dive right in one the
biggest mistake is not using a fountain
pen at all even if you own it you may
just have it in your desk drawer and it
never sees the light of day in my
opinion a huge advantage of a fountain
pen is your signature not only it
doesn't make it look more sophisticated
but it's actually much harder to fake
because the lines vary in thickness
depending on the pressure you put onto
the nib of course it's easy to forget
about handwriting in a digital world you
can take notes with your phone you can
use Google home assistant or alexa but
at the same time it has been proven that
writing down things by hand especially
if you take notes enhances your memory
and you learn faster as Murphy's Law
have it you never have a pen when you
need it so it really pays to make a
fountain pen part of your everyday carry
so you always have it handy when you
need it to learn more about everyday
carry and whatever items you can carry
with you please check out this video
here the second or two is using the
wrong paper because of the NIP and the
ink feed you get more ink onto the paper
now most regular paper is our thin and
sometimes flimsy and when you use a
fountain pen you encounter something
called bleeding basically it's just in
bleeding into the paper leaving a very
undefined line that doesn't look as nice
as if you write with the same fountain
pen on a thicker paper that absorbs the
ink better so instead go with a slightly
thicker cardstock or go with fountain
pen paper which hardly costs more at all
but it's specifically made for fountain
pen ink if you don't have Babur about
the kind of paper you use I suggest you
get an extra fine or a fine ab because
with those you get less encounter paper
and it will look good no matter what
paper you use that being said if you
write a note to someone they always feel
extra special if it comes on a thicker
cardstock or even a cotton paper because
it's just a wonderful experience
the third mistake most beginners make is
pushing too hard on the nib if you have
a regular ballpoint pen or a rollerball
you can really push hard even push holes
into your paper now with a fountain pen
you can also add pressure in a more
pressure you add the wider your pen
stroke gets that can be really nice for
a signature or you want to get a
calligraphy effect when you right now
with nibs you have to pay a little more
attention because they're split in the
middle so the ink can get to the paper
and if you push too hard you may damage
or break the nib and then you'll have to
exchange it also if you push too hard it
scratches on the paper it tires out your
hand and it's just hard on the paper as
well as the pen in general I say a
softer touch is better do you want to
write long letters it pays to have a pen
that's slightly heavier but not too
heavy so you can just have it glide over
the paper when you write something
without having to push on it very
forcefully the fourth mistakes most
people make is using the wrong ink when
you start out you might think that all
ink is alike and you can just buy the
cheapest one out there and it'll do a
good job unfortunately that's not the
case if you have calligraphy pens they
use a different ink if you have a
fountain pen you should always go with a
specific fountain pen ink why basically
they have a different chemical
composition that is best for fountain
pens because if you get something that
is too thick and it dries too quickly it
will clog up your fountain pen and
you'll have to constantly clean it the
great part about fountain pen ink is
that it comes in hundreds of different
colors and it's a great way to express
your personality through your ink
for example I usually have a really dark
green ink which is still contrasting on
white paper at the same time it's
different than royal blue ink which is
probably the number one sold color in
the world today so you choose the
special color feed your favorite color
or maybe the color of the logo of your
company you really underline the whole
message make it unique and special and
even harder to fake if you have a
fountain pen that you don't use a lot
you leave it in the drawer or you only
use it for signatures chances are that
the ink on the inside of the fountain
pen will dry in and then it won't start
when you want to write if that sounds
like you I suggest to look for a
specific ink that is supposed to not dry
as quickly and that way you don't have
to clean your pen and it's more reliable
at the few times you actually use it the
fifth mistake is not cleaning your pen
when it has dried on the inside
generally if you keep running a pen and
you use high quality fountain pen ink
chances are you hardly ever maybe never
have to clean your fountain pen over
time however there may be dust or
something gets clogged up and then it's
time to clean your pen so how do you do
it basically there are two ways one the
simple way is to simply drop your entire
pen in water if it has several parts
that you can take apart take it apart
try to let it soak in so the dry spots
can soak up and then see put it all
together and see if it writes again if
that's not the case you may want to use
a little toothbrush maybe you want to
blow water from the bottom part through
the ink feed throughout the nib just to
make sure it's not clogged up definitely
only use water to clean your fountain
pen and don't use alcohol or acetone as
they may damage the pen that being said
the second and best way to clean a
fountain pen is to use an ultrasonic
cleanser it's very gentle it works with
water and sound waves that make the
parts vibrate and that's clean them you
can use it for jewelry or all kinds of
other parts even for clothes if your
cleaner is large enough all you do is
simply add cold water to your ultra
sonic cleanser you immerse the pen on
the inside maybe you make sure that you
get the water into the inside chamber if
it's a piston filler or you just fill it
up with water and take care
thing apart so the water can reach all
the parts that are dry and dirty keep in
mind an ultrasonic cleanser will heat up
the water and in combination with the
vibrations can cause especially all the
Pens that are made of materials like
celluloid to actually expand in fact at
once ruined and old more blow Meister
should fountain pen with the casing of a
celluloid because it had metal parts on
the inside that came up and from the
bump now I can still use the pen however
for collectors it lost basically all of
its value so keep that in mind and
always take a look and Shorter's always
better that you run for five minutes
rather than ten take a look see where
it's at and if it maybe it's already
clean so you can just take it out the
six mistake is dropping a fountain pen
on the nib I know you don't drop your
pens intentionally but I don't like with
a ballpoint pen if it falls right on the
tip of the nib it may break or it may
deform and then it's time to have the
nib replaced if you just have a steel
nib it's actually quite inexpensive if
you have a more expensive fountain pen
with a gold nib just a nibble own can
cost anywhere from like two hundred to
five hundred dollars which is quite
costly in any case I don't suggest you
go to professionals have it replaced
because you yourself will likely screw
it up and the ink feet and the flow
won't work after you repair it to
protect your pen I suggest you always
put on the cap when it's not in use and
you can also have an extra pouch maybe
in letter where the pen is protected
last but not least the 7th mistake is
not keeping the nib up when you travel
especially if you're in a plane the
cabin pressure changes over time and if
your nib faces down or if it's
horizontal chances are ink is pushed
outside of the pen and either you get a
stain on your jacket or the next time
you open your pen your all your fingers
are gonna be full of ink now a good ink
is very colorfast so you can't just go
to the bathroom and wash it off you'll
have ink stains on your fingers for a
few days which is a very marital mistake
so once you make it you won't make it
again so what should you do always keep
the pen with a nip up and you'll be just
fine
and don't have to worry about any ink
leaking or ink stains on your finger
so overall you have to pay a little more
attention to a fountain pen and you have
to be a little more deliberate than with
a ballpoint pen or a rollerball on the
other hand a fountain pen enhances your
handwriting in the look of it in a way
no rollerball a ballpoint can compete
with compared to our other videos I'm
wearing a rather casual combination
today because this is of an off-white
solid polo shirt - cotton pique fabric
paired with a checked red and white
seersucker pair of shorts which I really
like because they don't wrinkle very
much as well as matching salmon-colored
boat shoes if you enjoyed this video
make sure to check out our other
fountain pen guides for example on
whether a mumble oh my so shook is worth
its price or on the flip side five
inexpensive beginner fountain pens that
are really really good of course also
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