Heat Setting Nibs/feeds

[Guest Ray Cornett]

Is it safe to heat set vintage pens? Dip into hot water just deep enough to cover the nib and feed but not up to the section for about 30 seconds and then press the nib and feed together? Is this mainly for certain types of nibs?

[OcalaFlGuy]

Yes it is safe but for vintage you want dry heat not wet, hot water will turn an ebonite feed nasty brown.

 

EXACT information on HOW to Do the set hasn't been forthcoming here in the past.

 

I think I have seen Mike Masuyama use the heated bead thinggummer that eyeglass places use for frames, for modern plastic feeds. (Which would make sense as they each are of a similar material.) It is my understanding that setting a modern plastic feed requires additional care vs hard rubber and may or may not react to the heat the way it's desired.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited March 21, 2014 by OcalaFlGuy

[viclip]

It's important to ascertain the feed material:

 

ebonite feeds take dry heat,

 

for plastic use hot water (no guarantee!)

[Guest Ray Cornett]

The interesting thing is GouletPens did a video on a modern ebonite feed flex pen they sell and how to heat set it.

[OcalaFlGuy]

To be a bit more correct, the Goulet's have put up Nathan Tardiff's (Noodler's) video on heat setting.

 

This is more relevant as Nathan is more a proponent of the use of open flame than other experts are. Of course, he has also had A LOT more experience Using said open flame than most people too.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[FarmBoy]

MAPP gas should be hot enough for this operation.

[Ron Z]

MAPP gas should be hot enough for this operation.

I get the humor, but you have to be careful. There are folks who would take you literally. Literally. Really.

 

Dry heat for hard rubber, 30 seconds in boiling water for plastic. Boil the former and it can turn brown, dry heat the later and it will melt (or at least the edges will) before it softens enough to press against the feed.

[Vintagepens]

. . . Nathan is more a proponent of the use of open flame than other experts are.

 

A polite way of saying that absolutely no one else recommends it.

[Vintagepens]

I get the humor, but you have to be careful. There are folks who would take you literally. Literally. Really.

 

Apologies for repeating an old story, but this reminds me of the time a friend told me about the problems he was having with destroying pens he was trying to open up with his heat gun. Turned out the temperature control was defective and the unit was running at top temperature -- but somehow he didn't clue in that something was wrong even though the nozzle was glowing red hot!

[Ron Z]

Some time I need to do a blog post about the first, and only time I used open flame, and that was after many years of repairing pens so I knew about heat. Spectacular is the word. Never again.

[79spitfire]

Some time I need to do a blog post about the first, and only time I used open flame, and that was after many years of repairing pens so I knew about heat. Spectacular is the word. Never again.

+1, I ruined an old Austrian pen doing this.

(also taught me that celluloid can look just like hard rubber!!)

 

Man, those are BIG flames!!

[Guest Ray Cornett]

I am so extremely lucky as I used a small tea candle flame to loosen the section of my Waterman 512 1/2 PSF with gold cap and overlay. But in my defense I had a lot of experience with flame and heat guns for other sort of similar things. I did start the pen pretty far above the flame after using my hand to "find" the heat level above it so I didn't get too close. Worked perfectly and the pen is refurbished now with the exception of the missing clip.

 

As for the Goulet heat setting video it is his own video that he made. There is some modern pen they sell with a flex nib and ebonite feed that he used for the video demo. But then again if its a modern cheaper pen they might not care if the ebonite turns colors.

[OcalaFlGuy]

 

As for the Goulet heat setting video it is his own video that he made. There is some modern pen they sell with a flex nib and ebonite feed that he used for the video demo. But then again if its a modern cheaper pen they might not care if the ebonite turns colors.

 

Depends on which video you mean. This one on a GP page ISN'T their's it's Nathan's as I mentioned.

 

http://www.gouletpens.com/Noodlers_Black_Konrad_Flex_Pen_p/n14007.htm

 

Wonder why Nathan used flame instead of hot water On His Own Pen, in His Own Vid? Probably because he knows what hot water does to ebonite.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Guest Ray Cornett]

 

Depends on which video you mean. This one on a GP page ISN'T their's it's Nathan's as I mentioned.

 

http://www.gouletpens.com/Noodlers_Black_Konrad_Flex_Pen_p/n14007.htm

 

Wonder why Nathan used flame instead of hot water On His Own Pen, in His Own Vid? Probably because he knows what hot water does to ebonite.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

It's one of the Noodler's pens. This video is Brian Goulet himself. I'll check that video though.

 

[Vintagepens]

Note that black hard rubber that has not been exposed to light will not normally fade when exposed to hot water.

It's only when the molecular bonds have been (invisibly) broken down that the material becomes vulnerable to fading.

 

That's probably why sellers of new pens with ebonite feeds don't worry about recommending the use of hot water for heat-setting.

[Ron Z]

As for the Goulet heat setting video it is his own video that he made. There is some modern pen they sell with a flex nib and ebonite feed that he used for the video demo. But then again if its a modern cheaper pen they might not care if the ebonite turns colors.

 

Quoted just the end of the post. Two comments:

 

Using a tea candle may seem grand, but they produce a fair amount of carbon black as part of the combustion and the temperature is relatively low. You therefore end up with carbon on the nib and feed. An alcohol lamp is hot and burns cleanly, so does not release carbon.

 

Now to the above part - modern pens, with few exceptions, are usually made of acrylic or some material other than the rather inflammable nitrocellulose (celluloid) of vintage pens. You can get away with more heat with acrylic or hard rubber, much more in fact, than you can with celluloid. Even the modern celluloid pens are likely made out of cellulose acetate, VS nitrocellulose.

[kpyeoman]

 

A polite way of saying that absolutely no one else recommends it.

 

This statement gave me a great laugh -- thanks!

[kirchh]

:

 

Using a tea candle may seem grand, but they produce a fair amount of carbon black as part of the combustion and the temperature is relatively low. You therefore end up with carbon on the nib and feed. An alcohol lamp is hot and burns cleanly, so does not release carbon.

 

I believe a candle produces a hotter flame than does an alcohol lamp, which provides a relatively cool -- not hot -- flame.

 

--Daniel

[Ron Z]

I believe a candle produces a hotter flame than does an alcohol lamp, which provides a relatively cool -- not hot -- flame.

 

--Daniel

Anyone care to test the temperature? You have to admit though that the alcohol lamp is a cleaner flame.

[FarmBoy]

Random thoughts on combustion.

 

Would expect alcohol to flame around 850. Would expect hydrocarbon wax around 1050 though core flame (oxygen rich zone) to be much hotter at >1250.

 

Carbon soot is the result of poor combustion at the tip of the wick. The wick also adds to the soot.

 

Try burning wax in an oxygen enriched environment. Almost as much fun as hydrogen/oxygen filled balloons.