Cleaner Way For Fountain Pen Nib Tweaks

[Petermor]

Hello yall

Im new to fountain pen nib tweaking so forgive me if Im ignorant on the subject. Currently each time I tweak a nib and feed, I do it with the pen inked up. Tweak ,,,write,,tweak ect...All this tweaking and test writing gets me fingers inky, not to mention cleaning the pen afterwards. So I thought is there a water reactive paper, so that one can tweak,,write,tweak ect on the paper, without having to get inky fingers or clean the pen afterwards.

[gerigo]

Yes there is! It's sold at Japanese/ Chinese calligraphy shops for brush pens to do water calligraphy or writing without ink. I have not tried it with fountain pens, and don't know whether the nibs will destroy the surface of said paper.

[markh]

Hello yall

Im new to fountain pen nib tweaking so forgive me if Im ignorant on the subject. Currently each time I tweak a nib and feed, I do it with the pen inked up. Tweak ,,,write,,tweak ect...All this tweaking and test writing gets me fingers inky, not to mention cleaning the pen afterwards. So I thought is there a water reactive paper, so that one can tweak,,write,tweak ect on the paper, without having to get inky fingers or clean the pen afterwards.

 

 

Having inky fingers is an important part of collecting, adjusting, and repairing fountain pens. It shows dedication, and if you have enough ink it shows you have (or are developing) expertise and experience.

 

If you go to a pen show, you can immediately pick out the people in the crowd who are serious about pens - their fingers are inky.

 

Display you inky pinky proudly, along with you other fingers, shirt, pants, carpet, etc...Its a badge of honor that admits you into the club of true pen aficionados.

 

Don't be in ink wimp!!

 

 

 

.

[LindaM]

Or you can use finger cots to avoid the mess:

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=finger+cots&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Afinger+cots

[Petermor]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

[FarmBoy]

You should come to Peters Cafe in Millbrae. Some guys there are tweaking and flossing nibs on Sunday afternoon.

[Hooker56]

My solution to inky fingers is ReDuRan 'special hand cleaner for dyestuff contamination' by Stoko

 

I bought it from Amazon. Works easy and fast and removes all traces of ink. IIRC, it was about $6.00 for a 3.5 oz tube. It's lasted me 5 months and I bet I haven't even used a quarter of it.

[Ego Id Veto]

Here in Australia there's a brand of soap called Solvol. Dunno if it's in the States. It's basically soap with sand in it, and it's designed for mechanics and such that get grease stains on their fingers.

I bought it to use after I go fishing or fix up my bike, but I discovered it's fantastic for getting rid of ink from skin!

[Dr.Grace]

Here in the US we have Lava soap. It does work for ink stains, but if you use it too much, your skin can suffer.

[grahamtillotson]

Agree with markh that it is part of the fun. Plus, interestingly, the ink on your fingers sort of makes you commit to a nib tuning session. Not like you can dash off to work or a party with those fingers, so you might as well take your time and enjoy it.

 

I use Brillo pads to get ink off. Scrub very lightly and the ink will be gone in no time. The cleaning compound in them is great for getting ink off.

 

Graham