Nib Unit stuck in Bexley Ebonite Pen

[jdclarkson]

I recently acquired a NOS Bexley 5th Anniversary Carved Obsidian (Ebonite) pen with the older 14K nib. The nib unit should screw out (I a sure of this, having confirmed with Howard Levy). It doesn't budge with finger grip and normal force. Howard tells me it may be shrinkage that has caused the problem over the past 13 years.

 

So, what would be a safe way to loosen the nib unit so that I can unscrew it? Would heat from a hair dryer be safe? I'm afraid to soak, but don't know why I am afraid to do so. Any thoughts? If the answer is simply, "If the pen writes, leave it alone," I am prepared to hear that, too.

 

Please let me know your experience.

Edited April 30, 2010 by jdclarkson

[watch_art]

a 10-20 minute soak in warm/hot water should be okay. or some dry heat from hair dryer or heat gun. not really really sure if water plus ebonite are a bad combo, but i soaked my wality to get the feed out and it's fine. it's got an ebonite feed with plastic section. not sure what it would hurt though. if the ink is water based then the feed is going to get wet when you use it.

 

soak it. what will it hurt?

[jdclarkson]

a 10-20 minute soak in warm/hot water should be okay. or some dry heat from hair dryer or heat gun. not really really sure if water plus ebonite are a bad combo, but i soaked my wality to get the feed out and it's fine. it's got an ebonite feed with plastic section. not sure what it would hurt though. if the ink is water based then the feed is going to get wet when you use it.

 

soak it. what will it hurt?

 

Thanks, watch_art. My worry is about the section grip, which is made of ebonite. If soaking would cause it to swell, then I suspect the screw-in nib unit would be even tighter in the section grip. Seems like heat might be the safer route to take, but, again, I have no experience with ebonite so I'll hold off on either soaking or heat until I get enough feedback to see a consensus. So, anyone else have direct experience?

 

Thanks.

[OldGriz]

a 10-20 minute soak in warm/hot water should be okay. or some dry heat from hair dryer or heat gun. not really really sure if water plus ebonite are a bad combo, but i soaked my wality to get the feed out and it's fine. it's got an ebonite feed with plastic section. not sure what it would hurt though. if the ink is water based then the feed is going to get wet when you use it.

 

soak it. what will it hurt?

 

Ebonite and water are generally considered NOT a good idea and I do not recommend soaking an ebonite pen in water....

My first question is WHY do you need to remove the nib. If the pen is writing well and you do not intend to replace the nib with a different size nib, leave it alone...

One of tenets of most restorers is that we do not remove a nib from the section UNLESS we absolutely have to.

If you ABSOLUTELY have to remove the nib, I recommend dry heat

If all you are looking to do it completely clean the nib, start by flushing with cool water... if you are still having a problem try a solution of 10% household ammonia and cool water... it that does not work buy some technical pen cleaner (I use Rapidoeze) from your hobby shop and use a 50/50 mix with cool water... followed by a cool water flush

[jdclarkson]

Ebonite and water are generally considered NOT a good idea and I do not recommend soaking an ebonite pen in water....

My first question is WHY do you need to remove the nib. If the pen is writing well and you do not intend to replace the nib with a different size nib, leave it alone...

One of tenets of most restorers is that we do not remove a nib from the section UNLESS we absolutely have to.

If you ABSOLUTELY have to remove the nib, I recommend dry heat

If all you are looking to do it completely clean the nib, start by flushing with cool water... if you are still having a problem try a solution of 10% household ammonia and cool water... it that does not work buy some technical pen cleaner (I use Rapidoeze) from your hobby shop and use a 50/50 mix with cool water... followed by a cool water flush

 

Thanks, Tom. The only reason I want to remove the nib is to satisfy some obsessive-compulsive tendency I have. Since the nib SHOULD be able to be unscrewed, I want to unscrew it! Then, the Universe somehow will be in order. (Can you relate?) I might at some time like to swap in a spare Bexley stub unit I have, but not right now. I have not inked the pen yet to see how it writes, so cleaning is not an issue. This was a NOS pen, so there should be no ink to worry about yet. I, too, have used dilute solutions of ammonia or Rapidoeze and have had good results with both. This pen doesn't need it. Probably never will since I fastidiously clean and flush after each cartridge full of ink.

 

... Sounds like maybe I should grit my teeth an leave it alone...

Edited April 30, 2010 by jdclarkson

[watch_art]

i read that high heat and prolonged exposure to water can ruin ebonite. would a short warm soak really damage it?

[OiRogers]

My worry is about the section grip, which is made of ebonite. If soaking would cause it to swell, then I suspect the screw-in nib unit would be even tighter in the section grip.

 

As counter-intuitive as it may seem... if you were to apply dry heat (heatgun, alcohol burner, torch, oxy-acetaline cutter...) (note: kidding about using any heat source beyond the alcohol burner... and even that should be used with great care) the section would indeed swell. The exterior diameter would increase, and the interior diameter would *also* increase.

This principle is used often to remove stuck / rusted bolts.

 

When the heat is removed, the ebonite should return to it's original shape. Hard rubber pens which have warped can often be brought back into shape the the application of heat.

 

 

As Tom (Old Griz) pointed out, leave that nib alone unless you NEED it out. If you need it out and you aren't skilled with hard rubber + flame / heat by all means send it out to be worked on... should be an easy fix for our repair folk.

Edited May 1, 2010 by OiRogers

[grahamtillotson]

A slight extension of this topic since I'm guessing not a lot of people have the carved obsidian (I also have one). I've been able to unscrew the nib, but the fit of the section in the body is quite tight. The obvious catch is that the pen is a cartridge/converter filler, so unscrewing the section is a required operation.

 

I put a very light coat of beeswax on the threads to ease things up a bit and that has helped. I'm wondering if there are any long-term techniques for keeping the pen in shape and preventing the dreaded body crack when screwing the section in. Would frequent use help? That would be a lovely problem to have.

 

Graham

[grahamtillotson]

People on this thread might be interested that there is a 5th anniversary obsidian up for auction on eBay at the moment. Quick window though, only two days:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301115181254

 

Graham

[SteveE]

Just one more caution for those who may have older Bexley pens that have ebonite feeds. A couple of years ago I was discussing one of my earliest button-filled Bexley pens with Howard Levy. He mentioned that most of the pen parts can be replaced, BUT he has no remaining stock of the ebonite feeds. So. . . unless you are prepared to do some retrofitting, or have a donor pen for parts, be very careful with ebonite feeds in the early Bexley pens.

[Guest Ray Cornett]

Not trying to buck the system or anything but I have soaked every one of my nib sections with ebonite feeds as well as hard rubber in hot as well as cold water to loosen old ink and such to free the nib without any issues. Perhaps I am just lucky. I loosened the section of the silver Waterman in my profile image with simple hand heat. My hands tend to build up a lot of heat sometimes. I grasped the section in my hand and held it for about 10 minutes and it loosened the sealant enough that it pretty much came right out in about a minute.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Ray Cornett

[grahamtillotson]

Glad to see that the 5th anniversary ebonite series has the screw-in nib units (just emailed Howard to confirm but it seems others have already done this). I just bought another pen in the 5th anniversary series (on the way) and FWIW I've needed to get the nib units out to clean them thoroughly. I had a Deluxe that would write and stop -- no amount of soaking would fix the problem. I got the nib and feed out, scrubbed them clean and reassembled, and it writes like a dream. Also I'd like the option of swapping nib units between my Bexley pens. Not like I'd do it all the time but I like the idea of trying different body/nib combinations.

 

Graham