This is my favourite thread as it both highly informative, amusing, and relates to my favourite interest. Basically, everything a SDMB thread should be.
Pod… what took you so long to get in here? 
Fountain pen ink can be waterproof depending on the type. For example, Parker black is quite permanent and very resisitant to fading. This is important where I work as I handle a lot of legal documents and one cannot use ink that will fade… I got a card from a dear friend some years ago and sadly, the ink she used is really fading away. If you still need to write on carbons you need a pen with a manifold nib which is sturdy enough to go through multiple part forms. Rotring 600’s have this kind of nib and are almost indestructible.
I’ve got some ink test results somewhere which show what inks are the best when it comes to permanence and water resistance. I’ll be putting it up at my site whenever the server is back online (later today). There will be writing samples too… woo hoo!
Algernon - If I tell everyone how to do it then I’ll be out of a job…
But seriously, one thing I’ve found in talking to pen collectors is that we’re all pretty good about sharing knowledge although we all have our secrets…
Feynn’s quick primer on pen/nib repair:
There are many aspects to making a nib perform the way it should. It needs to be clean (along with the entire pen) and the tines need to be properly aligned. A misalignment will make the pen scratchy or prevent the pen from starting or writing at all.
The tools I use are simple; dental picks, fine razors, and a variety of sanding papers (for cutting) and high grade 1 micron sanding disks for polishing. I also have several illuminated magnifiers and a high powered jewellers loupe. Having steady hands and nerves of steel come in handy as you are sometimes working on a microscopic level. Some pens require specialized tools, ie. Parker vacs need special pullers to remove the filling unit.
The pen I serviced was an Osmiroid and one feature I like about them (besides a general low price) is that the nib and feed are one unit that can be screwed in and out making them easily interchangeable and replaceable if your favourite pen sustains some gorm of grievous injury. Esterbrooks and Pelikans also share this feature (as does the Parker 45) so changing nibs is something you can do yourself. That’s a great feature when you consider that traditional nibs usually need to be professionally serviced as nib removal and adjustment are much more involved and risk prone.
This was a mint condition pen and since the tines were properly aligned all I had to do was open up the ink channel a little. I also did a light polishing to the point to make the pen smoother and ensure proper contact when the pen touched paper. The adjustments were microscopic in nature but now the pen writes smoothly with no skipping or hesitation. I consider this to be an accountants pen, perfect for filling in ledgers and not what I would use for intensive note taking. I also ran a few types of ink through it to see what worked best and settled on blue Quink.
I rarely use any kind of heat on pens as there is some risk involved. Plastics can warp and celluloid pens can actually burst into flames if subjected to an open heat source. Warm water is generally okay unless you are working on old cellluloid pens as they don’t like water either.
One of the best thing I like about the thread is the Q&A. I am putting together a collection of articles and many of the questions put forward here will be addressed there too. I would be happy to take any pen reviews too as other people can hear about why you love your favourite pen.
Gotta run…
