Hello everyone,
I’ve got a pen I only use to write in a journal dedicated to my mother who passed away. When I wish I could still talk to her I get that journal and write whatever discussion I’d like to have with her. I have a Pilot Cavalier that is only used for this.
I’m worried the irregular use might damage the pen. Sometimes I write everyday, but not everyday I have ideas of what to say so sometimes I go a couple of days, even weeks without writing much if at all.
Can it be bad for the pen and what is the proper maintenance I should do on such a pen with such irregular usage?
I’m starting thinking about using it more for other occasions and let it loose its “sacred” aspect, but I’m not sure yet.
As long as you don’t let the ink dry in your fountain pen, you should be fine. In a fountain pen with a properly sealed cap, that should easily be several months. I recently opened a Pilot V pen that I hadn’t touched since 2020 and it wrote on the first try.
If you can share what pen you are using, maybe we can give you a better answer than “It depends” :)
The pen in question is a Pilot Cavalier. I cap my pens as soon as I’m done writing or pause to think. It’s almost the same reflex as hitting ctrl+s when working on a computer.
It feels like a rather premium pen compared to my other pens so I think it might be more robust.
The other two I have are pilot metropolitan and a jinhao 750 but those two are used everyday, several times a day for work so no worries about dry ink.
The Cavalier should have a good cap seal - so there’s no danger of it drying out if left unused for a few weeks. But, even if you find it has dried up, there is nothing to fear - just flush it out with water till the water runs clear, shake it (like you would an old-time thermometer) to remove any excess water, and let it air dry. Then you can ink it up and you’re good to go.