Choosing Ink for a Metal Fountain Pen
Which inks are safe in a copper, brass or titanium fountain pen, which to avoid, and how to pick colour, flow and drying time for your writing.
The STEX journal
Notes from the workshop.
How copper ages, how to care for it, how to choose a nib, an ink and a weight that suits your hand. Straight answers from the people who make the pens.
Copper, Brass or Titanium: Choosing a Pen Metal
Copper vs brass vs titanium fountain pens compared on weight, feel, patina, durability and care, so you can pick the metal that suits how you write.
Fountain Pen Care: How to Clean and Store Your Pen
How to flush and clean a fountain pen, how often to do it, how to revive a dried-out nib, and how to store and travel with a metal pen.
Fountain Pens Made in India: A Living Craft
India's fountain pen tradition, from hand-turned ebonite to machined metal, what to look for in an Indian-made pen, and how STEX makes copper pens in India.
How to Choose a Fountain Pen as a Gift
A practical guide to gifting a fountain pen in India or abroad, for graduations, weddings, Diwali and colleagues, with tips on metal, nib, budget and engraving.
How to Clean a Copper Pen (and When Not To)
Clean a copper fountain pen safely with lemon and salt, vinegar or copper polish, protect the nib, and decide whether to keep the patina.
How to Fill a Fountain Pen With a Converter or Cartridge
Step-by-step: fill a fountain pen from a bottle with a converter, or fit an international cartridge, plus fixes for a pen that won't start writing.
Pen Weight and Balance: Why Grams Matter in the Hand
How pen weight, length and balance change your handwriting, light vs heavy fountain pens compared, and how to find your ideal weight in grams.
What Is a Schmidt Nib? The German Heart of a STEX Pen
Why STEX fits German Schmidt nibs, how nib widths from extra fine to broad compare, and how to choose the right width for your handwriting.
Why Copper Pens Darken: The Patina, Explained
What copper patina is, how a copper fountain pen turns from rose to brown with a faint green cast, how fast, and how to speed it up or slow it down.
Your First Fountain Pen: A Beginner's Guide
How to choose, fill, hold and write with your first fountain pen, which nib and paper to start with, and the five mistakes beginners make.