How to open a fountain pen...

[Keith with a capital K]

I was just reading about Cam's problem with his new Legacy and the faint of heart should really avoid looking at that thread as the pictures are shocking.

 

I thought this would be a good time to remind people how to properly open a fountain pen as the damage to Cam's pen is much like that kind of damage that happens when people use the wrong methods to open a pen.

 

What one has to avoid is the two handed method many may have become accustomed to because they were using stick pens with tight caps. This is where the cap is held in one hand and the pen barrel is held in the other and you pull and jerk the pen open with significant effort. I really cringe when I see people hold a pen in front of them and open it like they were unsheathing a samurai sword.

 

This is a really risky venture as opening a fountain pen in this manner can cause the pen's nib to strike the cap and in the case of metal capped pens, the nib will be damaged and with plastic or celluloid pens, the cap will be probably the primary victim.

 

I actually had a young lady at Staples take an all metal Cross Townsend from the display and open it in the samurai manner and as good as I am, I wasn't fast enough to stop her. I heard the nib as it struck the cap and sure enough, the nib had been badly bent.

 

Quite simply...don't do this.

 

I like using the one handed method.

 

With a slip capped pen: I use my 2,3,and 4th fingers to secure the barrel and my index finger and thumb to loosen the cap. I can then use my free hand to lift the cap from the pen.

 

With screw caps: I still use one hand and being rather dexterous, I unscrew the cap with my thumb and index finger before removing the cap with my free hand. In watching people I see that most use two hands to do this, one hand to hold the pen and the other to do the unscrewing which is fine.

 

The most important thing to remember is that although the pen is mightier than the sword, you are not a Samurai.