1. Our number one tip, use your pen. It is designed to be written with not placed in a drawer.

2. Don't leave your pen in the car. The heat and sun can do irreversible damage to your pen.

3. Don't use cleaning fluids or any abrasive substance (car wax) on any part of your pen. The fluids and/or abrasives will damage the fine finish.

4. You can restore a finish that has dulled, just buff on any high quality furniture wax using a soft cotton cloth.

5. Keep your pen away from extreme hot or cold temperatures.

6. Fountain pens should be carried and stored with the nib point up. This allows the ink to drain back into the cartridge and not dry in the feed.

7. Never use India ink or similar ink in a fountain pen.

8. On acrylic pens use plastic polish to revive the luster. A quality rubbing compound can also buff out light scratches.

9. Before it can be used, a fountain pen must first be primed with ink.

10. Avoid carrying your pen in a pocket with keys that could scratch the finish or metal parts of the pen.

11. Some pens may change color slightly, like Padauk, due to acids on your skin, this is normal.

12. India ink and calligraphy ink can cause permanent damage to the nib, feed and reservoir of your fountain pen.

13. Do not press down hard while writing, as too much pressure could damage the tip.

14. A fountain pen should be cleaned after every second filling of either ink from a bottle or cartridge.

15. Wood is a natural product and will swell and possibly crack if exposed to excessive moisture.

16. If your pen is taken apart, to replace the ink, be sure not to lose the small springs that aid the mechanism in functioning.

17. To ensure your pen functions correctly, make sure that springs are replaced in the orientation they were originally in when you took the pen apart to replace ink cartridges.

18. The delicate thin veneers of wood, acrylic, deer antler and other materials, that your pen is made of, can chip and crack if dropped.