Hi All -

My Esterbrook J exploded on the airplane. Thankfully it was in a ziplock bag, so the ink didn't go anywhere.

But now I have ink all over the barrel, in the lever, and (I suspect) inside as well.

Can anyone give me tips on how to clean it up? Do I remove everything (including the J-bar) and rinse it out?

Thanks in advance for your help.

- Yumbo

I would take all of the parts (cap, nib, section/sac, barrel) and run them all under cold water (the nib you could soak). Washing them under running water is much faster than soaking and also more thorough, and there's less of a chance that you'll forget and leave them soaking while they get rusty. When the water runs clear, shake them out into a paper towel to get as much water as possible out. Let them air dry for a few days and you should be good to go. As for the J-Bar, they're easy to take out, but personally I don't think it's necessary, as long as you get the water out of the barrel so it does not rust. If it's humid, you could probably use a hair dryer to evaporate some excess moisture hiding in the parts.

Although you typically want to avoid excess moisture inside of a cap or barrel, it's better than ink!

Yumbo,

That sucks. Just so you feel better my B decided to do the same in my pocket yesterday while I was in the clean room. It may have been the cap came off or the heat under the gown, don't know and don't plan on repeating this experiment to find out. Imagine the mess I found when I took the gown off and noticed the interesting ink blot test all over my shirt.

If you are wondering, I happened to be using permanent black since I was consulting. Yes I also have an interesting tattoo.

I think Esterbrook was in general sending me a message--I haven't had one inked for several weeks...

Todd

YOU? haven't had an Estie inked in WEEKS?!


are you ill?

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Bruce,

I've learned my lesson............

Todd