LAMY fountain pens are one of the most popular and widely-used fountain pens around the world. It comes as a surprise to no one that most people who’ve bought one would want to know how to clean and care for their fountain pens.
In this article, we go over some care tips you can follow to extend the shelf life of your fountain pens. If this sounds like you, stick around to find out how to clean the LAMY fountain pen.
What Should You Know Before Cleaning Your LAMY Pen?
Most LAMY fountain pens use either a cartridge convertor system or ink cartridges, while the LAMY 2000 & LAMY dialog 3 fountain pen models use a piston filler system. Although these ink supply channels are different, there are a lot of crossovers between them when it comes to cleaning.
Although not essential, you should buy an affordable fountain pen flush kit beforehand. Not only does it help to smoothen the cleaning process but also ensures you do a very good job with it.
The flush kit also comes in handy when you have to clean dried-up ink that’s clogging your feed and giving your LAMY pen an inconsistent ink flow.
Why Do New LAMY Pens Need Cleaning?
It might seem counterproductive to clean a brand new pen, but it is required, especially for LAMY models.
The high production standards of the LAMY brand call for the testing of all their fountain pens before shipping. As a result, many new owners may find residual (sometimes, dried out) ink on the nib of their pens.
If you’re one of them, rest assured that your pen doesn’t have a factory fault and is indeed new and not preowned. Testing the pens before shipment ensures that every buyer gets a fully functional pen upon purchase.
Also, to help you narrow down the cause of residual ink on your new pen to the process of post-production testing, the LAMY team uses blue ink for their ink path tests. That way, you can tell if the seller is indeed selling you a new pen or passing off a pre-owned pen as new.
Cleaning a brand new LAMY pen is easier than an already broken-in version, as there is less wear and tear. The pens have minimal mileage on them, so to speak, so there shouldn’t be any issue with dried ink or gunk clogging up the feed.
How To Clean LAMY Fountain Pen
1. Detach and Disassemble the Pen
Most LAMY fountain pens have a fully detachable top half. Once you separate that from the barrel, you can take out everything in the front section of the pen — just as in this video.
2. Mount the Relevant Converter for the Model of Your Pen
Depending on the model, LAMY pens use different converters. Each model is designed slightly differently from the other, so consult your user manual to see which converter to use.
3. Flush the Pen Nib
After applying the convertor, flush the nib of the pen in some running water or flush solution. Then draw some clean water into the converter, just as it is shown in the video above. Continue until the water runs clear until you see that your pen is clean enough.
4. Clean the Ink Path
At this stage, some people prefer to shake the front of the pen, with the converter attached, to get rid of the excess drops of water. This is not fully necessary as the water you’ll expel is the one in the already clean converter, not the ink path.
Instead, you can pass the ink path into the cleaning solution or water by twisting the converter piston to push it back.
Repeat the entire process about 5-10 times to completely flush the feed and pen nib.
How To Clean An Already Broken-In LAMY Fountain Pen
If you’ve had your pen for a while but need to either do a regular clean and maintenance or change the ink color, you can use a process that’s quite similar to cleaning a new LAMY pen.
Cleaning a broken-in pen revolves around drawing in flushing solution or water through the ink path to remove clogged bits and dried-out ink so the pen has a clean, debris-free path for ink to flow through.
Compared to newer pens, older ones have more wear and tear to deal with. You have to put into consideration that the nib, feed, or section of your pen may have some damages. Also, if you’ve had a previous issue with misaligned tines, there’s a high chance that an ink blockage will prevent the cleaning solution or water from getting into the converter.
To clean an older LAMY pen, you should:
1. Remove Any Blockages
Use a paper towel to remove clogged ink caused by misaligned tines. Depending on the extent of the damage, you can also realign the tines before cleaning the pen to ensure the solution or water passes through.
2. Flush Out the Old Ink
Use the same process as cleaning a new LAMY pen to flush out the old ink in your pen. Because an older pen has been significantly used, the build-up for ink is higher, so you may need to flush the pen’s ink path more times than with a new pen to get it clean, especially if you use only water.
3. Refill the Ink
Depending on your pen’s ink filling system, you can either install the cartridge ink or refill the converter with bottled ink. Once done, reassemble the pen parts and return the barrel into place.
If this is your first time cleaning a fountain pen, then this process may take you longer than usual, but after a few trials, it becomes as easy as breathing.
Conclusion
There you have it — cleaning your LAMY pen, whether old or new is very important. Hopefully, this guide on how to clean a LAMY fountain pen will make the entire process easier for you, especially as a first-timer.
Lamy fountain pens are a great choice and are easy to clean. If properly cared for, your Lamy fountain pen will offer you a quality writing experience for years to come.
Don’t forget to browse the rest of our articles if you want more tips on how to use and care for your fountain pens.
