A Warning About Pen Cleaning!

[KCat]

Do NOT get distracted and leave your beautiful pens with gorgeous celluloid bindes in a water bath for several hours.

 

I am too sad and ashamed to post a picture of my White 400 Torty Pelikan. The binde shrank and seam pulled away near the section. Of course, the pen will still write. Of course, if you don't look at that side of the pen, it's still a beautiful pen. Looking at the seam side of the binde, however...

 

sadness.

 

(pics added below for education of others despite my shame)

Edited May 7, 2015 by KCat

[ethernautrix]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

 

Sorry to hear about that, KCat.

 

At least it still writes.... Focus on that....

 

Sad face, though.

[pen2paper]

sad for you too..!

 

when/if you're able to, a photo could turn the experience into an invaluable teacher.

 

hmmm... could there be an art repair? recall the lacquer break that was beautifully repaired?

perhaps someone has a donor body?

[tinta]

Sorry to hear about the damage to your pen.

I am not familiar with this pen model, but curious about the material.

Is is it a celluloid nitrate or an acetate?

Are both these kinds of plastic susceptible to this kind of water damage?

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the warning. I have a few 1980s and 1990s era Pelicans -- including my very wonderful M400 Brown Tortoise -- plus one from the 1950s. In particular I would not like anything happening to said BT or the 1950s era 400, not least of which because they're my two most expensive pens.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[NibDog]

how do we know which pens to avoid? I must confess i would have never thought twice about leaving a pen to soak overnight at room temperature

[ac12]

I have not been able to figure out what is the "bindle" on a pen.

I tied Google but it did not help me with regard to a pen.

[penmanila]

It's binde, not bindle, and you can find an explanation here:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/m/index.html?page=ref/glossary/B.htm

 

I have not been able to figure out what is the "bindle" on a pen.

I tied Google but it did not help me with regard to a pen.

[Russ]

KCat, I am very sorry. I remember how much you enjoyed that pen. Perhaps you can be good to yourself and get a replacement while using the first as a backup. Take care.

[Chrissy]

I am so sorry to hear this. I must admit I have left pens in my water bath for over an hour, but I can only assume they are plastic and that behaves differently to celluloid.

 

I hope someone can help you to find a new barrel. Is it a current model pen? If so do you think Pelikan might help?

[tinta]

When I googled binde I got a pictures of what I would call the coloured "body" of the pens (the part that is in between the blind cap or piston knob & the section).

Could it be the barrel?

Edited May 7, 2015 by tinta

[KCat]

When I googled binde I got a pictures of what I would call the coloured "body" of the pens (the part that is in between the blind cap or piston knob & the section).

Could it be the barrel?

 

The binde is the wrap that goes around the barrel. On Pelikans and some other pens, the barrel itself is a transparent tube with a celluloid acetate sleeve. That sleeve is the binde. I'll go ahead and post. I guess I'm over the shock.

[KCat]

I am so sorry to hear this. I must admit I have left pens in my water bath for over an hour, but I can only assume they are plastic and that behaves differently to celluloid.

 

I hope someone can help you to find a new barrel. Is it a current model pen? If so do you think Pelikan might help?

 

I'm sure they would...for a substantial fee. Not an option right now. Maybe some time in the future. She's not a rare bird but she's been with me a long time now.

[KCat]

Here's the wounded bird. (sniffle) The peeling binde keeps me from covering her beak properly. I have to push the binde in to get the cap on and it doesn't screw down completely.

 

 

 

Here she is looking fine from the other side, poor girl.

 

[KCat]

Sorry to hear about the damage to your pen.

I am not familiar with this pen model, but curious about the material.

Is is it a celluloid nitrate or an acetate?

Are both these kinds of plastic susceptible to this kind of water damage?

 

I knew CN was susceptible to water damage. It will outright bloat, I believe. I honestly didn't think about CA being so. Even so, I never leave my pens in the U/S like that. I've left plastic nibs in there (not hard rubber) when they were in bad shape, but I rusted a VP once long ago so I'm careful with my pens. I just got wrapped up in other stuff and spaced it out. Woman-of-a-certain-age disease. Yeah, that's my excuse.

Edited May 7, 2015 by KCat

[KCat]

I am so sorry to hear this. I must admit I have left pens in my water bath for over an hour, but I can only assume they are plastic and that behaves differently to celluloid.

 

I hope someone can help you to find a new barrel. Is it a current model pen? If so do you think Pelikan might help?

 

Yeah, something like a Lamy vista or even an M200 can take a significant soak. And I've had to do that. (hangs head). Geez, I could just bang my head against the wall. This is my second -- no, wait, THIRD! -- Pelikan disaster in six months. I've recovered one. One was pre-97 and I never found a replacement piece so the little cap end just sits there looking nekked. The other was a separation of barrel from section. I managed to repair that one (whew! LE pen that would have been very hard to replace). Now this. GAH! Maybe I should just stick with my VPs for a while, eh? All these years--I don't think I've ever broken a pen before.

[dcwaites]

Once you've let it dry out properly (probably a couple of days) would an appropriate glue and binding repair the problem? It seems to me that the water may have induced some swelling, so hopefully the drying out might shrink it back again.

 

For glues, I think that cyanoacrylic (super-glue) might be too difficult (drying too fast). Perhaps a US equivalent to Multihesive might fit the bill.

 

I've never had a Pelikan, so I am speaking from ignorance here, but perhaps a pen repair meister could comment authoritatively.

[KCat]

Once you've let it dry out properly (probably a couple of days) would an appropriate glue and binding repair the problem? It seems to me that the water may have induced some swelling, so hopefully the drying out might shrink it back again.

 

For glues, I think that cyanoacrylic (super-glue) might be too difficult (drying too fast). Perhaps a US equivalent to Multihesive might fit the bill.

 

I've never had a Pelikan, so I am speaking from ignorance here, but perhaps a pen repair meister could comment authoritatively.

Unfortunately, this is it after drying out and it has already shrunk up. That's really more the problem than anything. I can press the peeled binde against the barrel, but the sides don't meet, there remains a significant gap between them. I kind of wonder if I'd noticed it when I first pulled it out of the water, if I could have glued the binde then such that when it dried, it dried in place. We'll never know because I'm not going to soak it again to find out. At the time I just thought, "Oh dear. I forgot my pen." took it out and set it aside to dry for later. Wasn't until I went to ink it and cap it that I realized it was messed up.

[Chrissy]

I am truly mortified. I'm really upset for you, because I know if I had done the same thing I would be devastated.

 

I wish I could think of something to suggest. I was thinking about strapping it all together tightly with something, so it would dry in the best position. However, at that time I wasn't aware that it was already dry.

 

It's bed time here in England, but I just know that thinking if there is any possible way to fix this is going to keep me awake.

[JotterAddict62]

I posted this warning as I forgot about the pen for 5-6 days in water to soak. When I picked it up at an auction I could not remove the cap that's why I soak the pen.

 

 

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/288279-parker-duette-jr-aka-depression-warning/