greenoffi ce
Interestingly enough, one of the greatest dan- It doesn’t take a lot of money to get started in the
gers to pens is the use of poor quality ink. A joys of owning and caring for a fi ne writing ins-
bad ink will destroy a pen. These happen to trument. The easiest way to begin is to purchase
have thicker, less soluble pigments or chemi- a cheap, but excellent quality pen. The fi rst one
cal lacquers that can clog the inside workings I purchased was 10 years ago, a graphite-colo-
of pen like a blood clot. In some cases, inks red Lamy Safari (~$40) and I still use it regularly
can be acidic and corrosive, and can degrade today. The best bet is to talk to a fountain pen
or stain the pen’s ink reservoir, discoloring a specialist at a local retail store in New York City.
once beautiful, translucent barrel.
The two of my favorite stores in the New York area
Many ink companies have risen to the chal- are Joon (www.joonpens.com) and the Fountain
lenge of manufacturing inks that are safe for Pen Hospital (www.fountainpenhospital.com).
fountain pens. These inks are gentle, desi- Their knowledgeable and friendly staff will im-
gned to fl ow freely through any fountain pen, press you you with the rich history and meticu-
and bind to paper smoothly and effectively. lous details of their pen collections. You might
Some inks even contain lubricants or deter- even be tempted to take one for a test drive.
gents that clean the pen as they are used. Two Now for the crazies, there are also pen shows
great brands of fountain pen ink are Noodler’s near you ....
Ink and Private Reserve, distributed and re- Be careful though. Love hurts.
commended by fountain pen retailers.
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