About our Classic Pens
Our Classic Fountain Pens are designed to let you use popular drawing nibs in a traditional fountain pen and not bother dipping the nib. They are made from material to which nothing sticks, so you can't plug up these pens using India ink and other permanent drawing inks and paints. These pens are designed to last a lifetime.
Two types of Classic Pens
We provide two types of Classic pens - Fountain Pens and Pump Pens. Both types operate like most fountain pens - you fill a cartridge or reservoir with ink, insert the cartridge into the pen, and start drawing or writing. They are similar in appearance and performance except for the Pump Pen, which provides a pump on the side. The pump lets you force more ink or paint to the nib or brush.
Advantages
- You can use any ink or paint - nothing sticks so you won't lose the pen if India ink dries out inside the pen. We don't suggest you use enamel or lacquer, but if you do, you can clean it all out.
- Designed to hold the most popular drawing nibs. You can switch nibs on the fly as long as they use the same ink feed.
- Our Classic pens are modular - you can use different feeds and nibs in the same pen - just pull out the old and press in the new.
- Contains a large capacity reservoir. Draw all day and don't run out. You can double your carrying capacity by removing the reservoir, but you do lost that "double call of protection".
- Pump Pens are Fountain Pens with a pump on the side designed to let you expel more ink and paint when you want a stronger flow. You might want to do this when you're working with thicker ink and paint or when you want to "paint" a larger area, such as a backdrop. You get what you press - from a drop to a gush.
You can use other tools
We provide metal nibs and quill nibs for our pens. You can also use brushes and marker tips two types of Classic Pens - Fountain Pens and Pump Pens.
Pen anatomy
There are three parts to our Classic pens - the cap, the body, and the barrel. They held together with fine threads that hold the pen together securely and prevent leakage.
- The cap covers the nib or tool and seals it against leaking and evaporation
- The body contains the nib and feed
- The barrel contains the reservoir
The body screws onto barrel, and the cap screws onto the body.
Expand your carrying capacity
You can double the carrying capacity 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.
- 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
Nibs you can use
- Brause Rose, Bandzug and Ornamental
- Crowquills and Hawk quills
- Gillot 303 nibs, also 404s and 170s
- Hunt drawing nibs, including 22B, 56, and 101 Imperial
- Manga G made by Zebra, Nikko and Tachikawa
- Principal nibs made by Leonard
- Our Sketch and Music nibs
. . . and soon Speedball Broad Edge nibs also called "Lettering Nibs" and Brause Blue Pumpkin nibs.
Filling Classic Pens
Filling your Classic Pen is easy:
- Unscrew the pen in the middle so you can see the reservoir.
- Remove the reservoir.
- Fill the reservoir with ink or paint,
- Insert the reservoir back into the front of the pen.
- Screw the pen back together.
If you have trouble filling the reservoir, here are a couple of tricks:
- When you remove the reservoir, wiggle it first to dislodge the open end from inside the seal. Ink and paint can dry out and make the reservoir stick.
- Take care where you lay down 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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 hold the pen 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.
Cleaning Classic Pens
Our Classic 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.
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.
- Remove the nib and feed from the front of the pen or the adaptor and clean all parts.
- Unscrew the front from the back of the pen, remove the reservoir and clean.
- Flush water through the pen parts. If water does not run freely, you have more work to do.
- 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.
- 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.
- If that doesn't work, soak the plugged pen part in warm, soapy water overnight.
- If that doesn't work, try a stronger solution, such as a household cleaning liquid like 409.
- If nothing works, return the product to Ackerman Pens, and we'll clean it for you.