A good fountain pen is one of the few objects that gets better the more you use it. A vintage nib in particular wears very slightly to the angle you hold it at, so over time it becomes your pen in a way a new one can’t.
Ink and fill
Stick to standard fountain pen inks. Keep India ink, calligraphy ink, and anything pigmented or shimmering away from a vintage pen, because they can clog a feed that’s older than you are. Fill it, wipe the nib, and you’re writing.
Keep it flowing
A pen that gets used often rarely gives trouble. If one has been sitting, flush it with cool water until it runs clear before the next fill, and do the same when you change ink colors. Store it nib up so the ink doesn’t pool and dry in the feed.
Let it adapt
Give a vintage nib a week in your hand before you decide what you think of it. Write with a light grip and let it find your angle. A nib fights a heavy hand and rewards a patient one, and after a while it lays down a line you won’t get from anything off the shelf.
Every pen we sell is inked, written with, and flushed before it ships, and the listing names the nib size and any quirks we noticed, so you know what you’re getting before it lands.