About Our Fountain Pens

Ackerman Fountain Pens are designed to let you use popular drawing nibs, especially dip nibs, in a fountain pen and not bother dipping the nib. Durable and designed to last a lifetime, our current product line is the 12th version since Ackerman Pens was established twenty years ago. 

Anatomy of a Fountain Pen

There are three parts to any fountain pen:

  • The cap
  • The body, which contains the nib and feed
  • The barrel, which houses the reservoir

The cap and barrel screw together for a tighter fit without leakage.

Expand Your Carrying Capacity

You can double the carrying capacity of a fountain pen by removing the cartridge and filling the pen body with ink or paint. Doing so removes the "double wall protection" provided by a cartridge. The screw seal on the body is tight, so there is little risk of leakage.

The Benefits of Fountain Pens

  • Use any ink or paint - nothing sticks to the pen, and they're easy to clean
  • Designed to hold the most popular large drawing nibs
  • Replace the nib easily - slide out one tool and slip in the other
  • Large capacity ink reservoir - draw all day and don't run out
  • Use other nibs in the same pen
Other Nibs You Can Use
  • Brause Rose, including Bandzug and Ornamental
  • Croquill
  • Manga Gi Zebra
  • Hunt, including 22B, 56, and 101
  • Principal
  • Sketch

How To Fill Fountain Pens

Filling your Ackerman pen is easy:

  1. Unscrew the pen in the middle so you can see the reservoir.
  2. Remove the reservoir.
  3. Fill the reservoir with ink or paint.
  4. Insert the reservoir back into the front of the pen.
  5. Screw the pen back together.

If you have trouble filling the reservoir, here are a couple of tricks:

  1. When you remove the reservoir, wiggle it first to dislodge the mouth of the reservoir from the seal. Ink and paint can dry out and make the reservoir stick.
  2. Take care where you lay the pen after removing the reservoir. The pen still contains ink or paint, which can leak out. If you leave the pen horizontal, such as laying flat on a desk, you might have enough time to fill the reservoir and re-insert it before any ink or paint leaks out.
  3. When you fill the reservoir, don't fill it to the top. Leave a 1/4" (.635 cm) of free space. If the pen is full of ink, the burp might come out of the front end.
  4. When you insert the reservoir back into the pen, twist the reservoir to seat it. You should feel the reservoir stop snugly inside the pen.

Make sure you replace the back cap and seat that correctly.

Shake the pen a couple of times to get the flow going. Tilting the pen back and forth can also work. Sometimes you have to flick your wrist.

Keep a backup reservoir filled and ready. Fill the capped reservoir with the ink and paint you want to use. This way, when your pen runs out, you can remove the old reservoir and insert the new quickly. Switch the cap from the new reservoir to the old reservoir so the old reservoir doesn't leak.

How To Clean a Fountain Pen

Our Fountain Pens are easy to clean. Just open them up, remove the piston and push out the feed, enabling you to look through the body. Flush them out, and put them back together. Ackerman Pens provides a kit including a small wrench, two replacement seals, and instructions.

If you've used permanent media, such as India ink and acrylic paint, that has dried inside the pen and plugged it up, you need to do a little more work. No need to worry. Nothing will stick inside the pen permanently. 

  1. Remove the nib and feed from the front of the pen or the adaptor and clean all parts.
  2. Unscrew the front from the back of the pen, remove the reservoir and clean.
  3. Flush water through the pen parts. If water does not run freely, you have more work to do.
  4. Hold the pen up to a light so you can see through it. Try to discern if there is a partial obstruction. Try to flush it out with more water.
  5. If that doesn't work, stick a stick, such as a chopstick, into the pen part until you feel the obstruction, then wiggle the rod until you free the obstruction. Poke out the obstruction or flush it out with water.
  6. If that doesn't work, soak the plugged pen part in warm, soapy water overnight.
  7. If that doesn't work, try a stronger solution, such as a household cleaning liquid like 409.
  8. If nothing works, return the product to Ackerman Pens, and we'll clean it for you.

Cheers and Happy Scribbling!