Glass pens were first developed several hundred years ago by the glassworkers of Murano, Italy. They were used to mark fabric in the textile industry in the U.S. in the 1800's since they don't snag the fabric as metal nibs do and they became popular with the American public for a period of time during the 1920's.

Ernst Glass Ink Pens are repairable because we use borosilicate glass. If a repair becomes necessary it will be covered under our Lifetime Warranty. This is a no fault warranty! It covers all damage from minor chip to major breakage. We don't need to know why or how, we'll just fix it!

Glass pens are loaded for use by dipping 1/2 to 3/4 of fluted nib length into the liquid medium and Lightly touching the inside rim of the bottle and rotating the pen handle to release excess ink. We recommend using Pelican 4001, or Parker Quink. These pens can be used with most fountain pen inks as well as liquid watercolors and liquid acrylics (thinning may be necessary with acrylic and metallic inks). Most inks can be cleaned using only water. Cleaning of India ink should be done with alcohol or ammonia solution. Liquid acrylics will need to be cleaned with alcohol. Cleaning of stubborn inks should first be done with ammonia/water solution and then alcohol if still persistent. No tools, fingernails, pins, or brushes should be used. Inks Containing Shellac or Lacquer Should not be used.

The designs and techniques used in creating these glass pens are original. Each glass pen is entirely hand formed without the use of molds or machinery. The material used is borosilicate glass [Pyrex (R)] which is substantially stronger, more durable and more fracture resistant (elastic) than the "soft glass" used in the production of other glass pens. There are glass pens that are imported from Europe and some being made here in the U.S. from imported soft glass nib stock. The nibs on those pens are formed by pushing the hot glass into a mold or by extruding it, therefore holding much less ink than our hand built nibs and are much more fragile and not considered to be repairable.

Should a repair become necessary a $12.00 US shipping and handling fee payable to:
Ernst
P.O. Box 524
Drain, OR 97435

Glass pen should be placed in the original case under the elastic straps, with padding inside & shipped in a padded mailer, payment enclosed, to the address listed above. Your pen will be repaired and returned as soon as possible. There are times when we are extremely busy doing trade shows and repair time may be 8 weeks or more.