Ask The Desk: DDC Factory Floor and Pen Cleaning

Lori asks:

Two questions for you. First how often do DCC Factory Floor editions come out at Draplin’s site?

And when to you expect to get air mail rubber stamps back in stock?

From what I understand, the DDC Factory Floor Editions are intermittently available. Your best bet to keep track of these collectible Field Notes, keep an eye on the Draplin site and join the Field Nuts Facebook group to keep informed.

And to your second question, I am reproducing stamps today and should have them in the shop within ten days.

Dena asks:

Hello, I am new to fountain pens.  To even try to rank myself as novice would be laughable.  I purchased a Kaweco Classic Sport and fell in love with it, and now have a Pilot on the way.  My question is fountain pen care.  I’ve unsuccessfully searched your site but have not found a care/cleaning section.  Do you have a tutorial or is this something your could post on soon?  Very much enjoy your postings and it has become a daily stop for me!

I’m as surprised as you that I haven’t included any cleaning information. My system for cleaning is pretty simple. I use a plastic container (previously contained hot and sour soup from my favorite Chinese take-out restaurant) and water. I disassemble my pens and remove the cap and body so that I only wet the nib, feed and cartridge converter. I use the converter to suck water in through the nib and feed and then squeeze it out into the sink and repeat until the water looks pretty clear. I will also use a bulb syringe to help push water and dried ink out of the feed and nib if necessary. If the water doesn’t run clear, I will attempt to disassemble the nib from the feed and drop them in the water to soak.

If I was using a cartridge rather than a converter, I will use a syringe to flush out the cartridge so that it could be reused later.

Brian Goulet created a great cleaning video that can demonstrate cleaning techniques better than I can explain it: