Cleaning Rusty Dip Pen Nibs

[Movis]

I recently inherited a selection of Brause and Speedball dip pen nibs. However, they had been neglected for years, and are quite rusty. I don't want to use them in that state, for fear that the rust would contaminate my inks. Is there any good way to clean rust off of them?

 

I also received a set of Osmiroid calligraphy pens, some with shadow nibs. There's some old ink ink one or two of them. I know that soaking should be my next step, but what exactly should I soak them in? The pen is in good condition overall, but the clutch ring is slightly worn out and loose.

[Pickwick]

Fine steel wool will clean up old dip pen nibs.. You'll just need to check whether it's surface rust and not caused any serious corrosion. You might check to see if the clutch ring is removable and can be replaced.

[Movis]

Ok, steel wool was my first thought, but some of the nibs have brass collectors on them as well, and I was concerned about being able to reach all the nooks and crannies. Is there a solution I could use to prepare the nibs to be scrubbed?

 

The clutch ring looks replaceable, it is a surface mounted type, just a brass ring around the section. I'm not sure where I could find a match though.

[irrigger]

Birchwood Casey makes a product that dissovles rust chemically. It is used in the refinishing of gun parts. It's available at most sporting goods stores. This might be an option if you don't want to risk scrubbing the nibs with steel wool.

 

Cabela's Blue and rust remover

[Pickwick]

Birchwood Casey makes a product that dissovles rust chemically. It is used in the refinishing of gun parts. It's available at most sporting goods stores. This might be an option if you don't want to risk scrubbing the nibs with steel wool.

 

Cabela's Blue and rust remover

 

 

 

You don't need to scrub, just a gentle I find suffices for me!

[Daisy]

For rust:

+1 on the steel wool -- definitely try the #0000. I don't have any familiarity with the product that irriger mentioned, but if I were in your shoes I'd go with naval jelly: it's ubiquitous, it's cheap, and it's just fine for brass. Seriously. I wouldn't mess with anything else unless I had to. Plus, you'll use it for other things around the house and it won't be a single use purchase.

 

---

 

For dried ink:

I don't know what Osmiroids you have or if they are special to you in any way, but I soaked my own Osmiroids countless times in ammonia and water solution (often more ammonia than water) and they were just fine. Please note that I would NOT recommend this for any other pen!!! It's just that I owned several Osmiroids and they were cheap plastic with pretty good nibs, and when I first tried it I knew of no reason not to. And indeed, they were fine. DO NOT do this to another pen unless you know for a fact your solution isn't too strong for that pen, or contraindicated altogether for that material. But I never had a problem with my Osmiroids and ammonia, even straight ammonia for short periods of time (like 10-15 minutes or so), so I mention it to you as a very cheap option.

 

But if these Osmiroids are special to you or you're just not sure and you'd rather not go that route, AND there's dried ink involved, you may want to try ultrasound cleaning, either buying a cleaner (check FPN threads for a recommendation) or taking the nib/feed to a jeweler for them to do.

 

You could also try a pen flush of some kind -- the two that come to mind are JB's Perfect Pen Flush and Kohinoor Rapidoeze -- though dried ink will probably take you several soaks.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

(edited for clarity between rust solutions and dried ink solutions)

Edited October 11, 2012 by Daisy

[Daisy]

P.S. On the steel wool, remember to use a light hand, like Pickwick advises. You really won't need more than that, even with the finer grades.

[Movis]

Thank you very much for all the help!

 

Would the steel wool and naval jelly be easily available at a hardware store, or something like that?

 

@Daisy: The Osmiroids were my departed Grandmother's, and I would like to keep them in good shape, but I don't think ammonia would hurt them. They seem like the cheap plastic that you describe. An ultrasonic cleaner is a bit out of my range for the moment, so it'll have to do.

[nordenfeldt]

The rust removing solution mentioned is 1-2% phosphoric acid. I used it to de-rust gun parts quite successfully. You need to keep an eye on it, as it first removes the rust, but will eventually attack the steel. It may leave a black coating which may be removed with fine steel wool.

[Daisy]

Hi Movis! Both #0000 (affectionately known as "four-aught") steel wool and naval jelly are easily had at any hardware store. Like I said, ubiquitous. And CHEAP! I recommend them also because you will most definitely end up finding uses for both; for instance I polished a chromed but rusty metal dish drainer with #0000 a few weeks ago and it now looks smoking new. Didn't take a lot of effort, either.

 

Oh, and just in case you don't already know, expect your #0000 steel wool to dissolve after having been exposed to water and left to dry. That's okay, it's the nature of steel to do that, and like I said, it's CHEAP.

 

I think the product Nordenfeldt is referencing is the same gun bluing remover Irriger was talking about; like I said I know nothing about that, but naval jelly is safe to use on any metal except aluminum and chrome, IIRC, and of course you don't want to take it to any non-metal item.

 

Good luck!

[Movis]

Thank you all very much for the help! I did not know that steel wool dissolves after being exposed to water, so that's very helpful!

[Scrawler]

Can dip pen nibs be covered in anything, or treated in some way, to reduce rusting in the first place?

[Daisy]

Can dip pen nibs be covered in anything, or treated in some way, to reduce rusting in the first place?

 

Hi Scrawler, I suppose there might be but what you really need to do is just clean them thoroughly each time you use them, and dry them immediately. With regular inks, a cup of water and a paper towel will do just fine: dunk, wipe well, dry. That's it. The Speedball regular series dip nibs will hold up to just about anything and last decades as long as they're kept clean and dry when not in use. Be sure to get between where metal touches metal; just slide the paper towel up in there and make sure you get that dry as well.

 

I suspect, because Movis says he inherited these nibs -- and, going by the flag he's located in a very humid locale -- the nibs were fine to begin with but perhaps not thoroughly dry before being tucked away for a long period of non-use. That's more than enough moisture to produce some superficial rust on them, but it's easily taken care of with the fine steel wool. Once he gets them initially cleaned up and rust free, all he has to do is keep them clean and dry between uses and it's likely he'll still be using them years from now.

Edited October 13, 2012 by Daisy

[Scrawler]

Can dip pen nibs be covered in anything, or treated in some way, to reduce rusting in the first place?

 

Hi Scrawler, I suppose there might be but what you really need to do is just clean them thoroughly each time you use them, and dry them immediately. With regular inks, a cup of water and a paper towel will do just fine: dunk, wipe well, dry. That's it. The Speedball regular series dip nibs will hold up to just about anything and last decades as long as they're kept clean and dry when not in use. Be sure to get between where metal touches metal; just slide the paper towel up in there and make sure you get that dry as well.

 

I suspect, because Movis says he inherited these nibs -- and, going by the flag he's located in a very humid locale -- the nibs were fine to begin with but perhaps not thoroughly dry before being tucked away for a long period of non-use. That's more than enough moisture to produce some superficial rust on them, but it's easily taken care of with the fine steel wool. Once he gets them initially cleaned up and rust free, all he has to do is keep them clean and dry between uses and it's likely he'll still be using them years from now.

I have been using dip pen nibs in unconventional ways to build some of my Frankenpens. I have discovered how to select and grind feeds, and have put a Hunt Imperial #101 in a Wearever, a Banks #14 into an Esterbrook J and a number of others. I am looking for ways to make nibs in that context last longer.

 

See these links for a couple that I am playing with

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/223718-frankenpen-rising/page__view__findpost__p__2376416

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/221942-my-frankenpen/page__view__findpost__p__2353496

[Daisy]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/223718-frankenpen-rising/page__view__findpost__p__2376416

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/221942-my-frankenpen/page__view__findpost__p__2353496

 

Wow. Seriously. Wow. That is so cool!

 

The Speedball nibs that Movis has are a little different, though. Here's what a Speedball nib looks like:

 

http://img2.etsystatic.com/006/0/5503649/il_570xN.375321722_mctv.jpg

 

Because of the brass reservoir, it's more prone to rusting, and thus needs a little extra care in cleaning and drying.

 

On the other hand, the nibs you're using -- that have no reservoir and therefore nowhere to trap water -- should be fine as-is. Polish them up from time to time if you feel like it, I suppose, but I know of nothing with which to improve their rust resistance beyond having a jeweler or other pro plate an especially fine nib for you. Even then, though, that would seem to be somewhat problematic in areas like the slit, and dependent on how the base material would take a plating and of what substance. At that point you might as well just buy a 14K or sterling nib outright and save the hassle.

 

What you'd normally use for larger objects, like a spray varnish or lacquer, wouldn't necessarily be workable on your nibs because it'd gum up the slit and the hole, and by the time you cleared the lacquer out of the slit most of the rust protection would be gone, plus you'd have to account for the flexing of the pen in choosing a waterproof finish that would flex with it and remain adhered to the base metal over time. Or so it seems to me. If you have some lacquer and over-the-hill nibs around, it would be worth a try just to see if it could be done.

 

But in the end, by the time you're done with a given pen, the nib can be swapped at whim for another, all freely available! The rust resistance of the nib may not actually be an opportunity for improvement when for far less trouble you can just swap it out. You system's even less expensive and more readily available locally than Lamy's!!! Nothing to gripe about there!

 

Wonderful work, though. Makes me wish I had some parts laying around myself!

[Scrawler]

Thanks for liking, Daisy. My hobby is to breath new life into old, and sometimes dead pens. If you like those maybe you would like Lily (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/226369-hello-my-name-is-lily/page__view__findpost__p__2414033). I am always on the lookout for old bits and pieces to work with and I like flex nibs, so it was natural for me to end up putting dip nibs in fountain pens. The gold nibs that work like these are out of my price range. I have thought about gold plating a Hunt Imperial, and even thought about the possibility of getting it tipped. But that would be ridiculously expensive. I am fairly sure I could copper plate one of these. But I thought I would just ask, because I do not see this subject discussed often.

[Daisy]

Hurts nothing to ask, eh? And I'm glad you did, because I got to see all your cool steampunk pens! I'm just sorry I can't think of anything that might help.

 

And yes, I did like your Lily!

[Pickwick]

In the time when dip pens were the norm, what is now called the "nib" was purchased by the gross. So no one bothered to clean up a "nib" just replace it with a new one. The best thing to do is clean up "nibs" shortly after use and that should alleviate the problem of rusting to some degree.