Fountain pen experts warn us about temperature extremes; beware of leaky pens when the weather is hot, and watch out that your ink doesn’t freeze when the weather is cold.
Living in western Washington state, we typically don’t have to worry about extremely cold weather. Of course, our climate is changing – already HAS changed a lot in my fifty years of living here – so we do have to be better prepared nowadays for more extreme highs and lows and chaotic weather phenomena.
Right now, for example, we’re enduring bitterly cold temperatures usually reserved for areas of Washington located east of the Cascade mountains (or actually *in* the mountains).
I cannot remember a time before this when we had temperatures approaching zero. With such low temps, for once I actually do have to worry a bit about my inks freezing: an expensive loss and messy problem if ink bottles freeze and crack, or whole pens, depending on the filling system and how full it is.
Fortunately we are home and not going anywhere during this cold snap, and keeping all of the structures warm enough to prevent fluids freezing, including going to our out-of-state landlord’s outbuilding bathroom to make sure the toilet-water (and a mysterious turd that apparently has been there since the last time they visited many months ago) doesn’t freeze OR catch fire from our efforts with a space heater.
The small cabin (most people would call it a “tiny house”) where my pens and inks and Big Blonde desk live has a small enough footprint (and poor enough insulation with more-than-enough unsealed gaps) that it would not take long for things to freeze up inside at these temps if these kinds of cold weather events happened while away from home.
I’m grateful to be safe at home, keeping the faucets dripping and all my inks fluid, suffering nothing more than some sluggish writing with one pen due to the chilliness, and unpleasant coldness in my hands with my stainless steel Parker Sonnet.
This cold snap is also an opportunity to be glad I couldn’t afford to order any inky treats this season so I don’t have to worry about them freezing in transit or delivery!
