Thread: Sending Fountain Pens by Air

You can try the nib by a small dip in ink to test for quality then gently rinse and dry the nib , I would not send the pens "activated" as they most likely would leak. The cartridges have a small ball seal and can be shipped quite safely (,all the spares come by air mail) if you insert the cartridge beforehand it pushes the ball valve open . I believe cargo holds are not pressurised so would be a risk. Cheers ~ John

I agree with John I do not send them active in fact I never give my fountain pens active. I show the receiver how to load and change the ink before I give then the pen but never load it unless they ask. I do this for 2 main reasons. 1 they may be buying it as a present and could leak or the ink could dry in the nib before the intended recipient gets to use it. 2nd is the leaking.
I would recommend that the user takes the cartridge out every time they fly and place it in a zip lock bag that way if it does leak it is contained. If you arrive without leaking then it only takes 2 seconds to replace.

Good luck

Always empty