Oh No, It's That Time Again! Fp Cleaning And Other Rituals

[DrDebG]

I clean mostly when I change inks. If I don't I don't worry to much about it. Right now I have two that have had the same ink in them for extended periods of time. My Parker 51 Demi Vacumatic and Parker 140. Why? Because I like the ink in them. The 140 is a bit easier to clean. My other Pelikan's are more likely to get changed more frequently. I typically keep between 8-12 pens inked. It's about 8 or 9 today. Counting the two above. I cleaned and filled the M200 Brown Marbled this morning and filled my TWSBI 580 - which had been waiting for a fill or a few days.

 

O.K. - time to 'fess up. I too have a couple of pens that I leave inked all the time. I have a Montblanc 144 that loves DeAtramentis Pearl Violet, more than any other ink. So, that pen usually is always filled, unless I decide to clean it out and not use it in my rotation which rarely happens. The other is a Pelikan 400 that loves Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu-kusa. I think the last time I flushed that pen was probably 6 months ago.

[praxim]

Regarding the comment on tracking combinations, I had a more complex system tracking by ink and by pen, which I abandoned as too much work. Now, I still keep a dedicated ink book making entries which note the pen. When writing a journal, I always note the pen and ink in the margin then, when it is finished, go back to create an index to pages by pen. This is easier and as useful. The database on pens and inks notes basic characteristics of each anyway. The above tracking is to compare colours and lines.

 

Please excuse my digression to a topic previously discussed elsewhere.

[DrDebG]

Regarding the comment on tracking combinations, I had a more complex system tracking by ink and by pen, which I abandoned as too much work. Now, I still keep a dedicated ink book making entries which note the pen. When writing a journal, I always note the pen and ink in the margin then, when it is finished, go back to create an index to pages by pen. This is easier and as useful. The database on pens and inks notes basic characteristics of each anyway. The above tracking is to compare colours and lines.

 

Please excuse my digression to a topic previously discussed elsewhere.

 

Please do not think this is a digression at all. The topic is about the rituals we use... not just pen cleaning.

 

This is great. I may have to give your system a try.

[JotterAddict62]

I have become kind of lazy. It is long time I haven't flushed some of my pens that needs cleaning. But then I have started feeling I am getting old. Do I need hiring someone to do the job on my behalf after getting good training?

+1 Here

Outside yard work comes first during the daylight hours and indoor work at night. [ pen cleaning & restoring ]

 

Ken

[sirgilbert357]

Since my pens all use a dedicated ink that rarely - if ever - changes, I don't have to clean them as often as those that switch inks frequently. For a pen that sees constant use and stays mated to a particular ink, I consider the ink type more than how much time has passed since the last cleaning. My Pelikan M800 inked with Smoky Quartz, which is in constant use, will likely get cleaned every 6 months or so. Even Pelikan don't recommend frequent cleaning, and they strongly urge against using anything other than clean water (but of course they assume a certain type of ink, so I clean a bit more frequently to be safe):

 

https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US_INTL.CMS.displayCMS.252358./refills-and-care

 

Now, my Lamy 2000 inked with Noodler's Liberty's Elysium, which stays in constant use also, will get cleaned more often. I take the pen all the way down and open up the feed and make sure there is no residue left. I find this ink leaves behind what I can only describe as pinkish purple "soot". It definitely isn't a stain, and wipes clean away with a paper towel or a light treatment with an old toothbrush and water, but it won't come off with just basic rinsing. This is done about every four months or so I guess. I don't adhere to a rigid schedule, I just do it whenever I grease the piston. I'd guess the ink itself might be the cause for me having to grease the piston a bit more often too, as my Pelikans, which only use Pelikan inks, don't have to be greased as often. Not sure what that's all about, but I don't really worry about it. It's super easy to do...

Edited May 17, 2018 by sirgilbert357

[DrDebG]

Since my pens all use a dedicated ink that rarely - if ever - changes, I don't have to clean them as often as those that switch inks frequently. For a pen that sees constant use and stays mated to a particular ink, I consider the ink type more than how much time has passed since the last cleaning. My Pelikan M800 inked with Smoky Quartz, which is in constant use, will likely get cleaned every 6 months or so. Even Pelikan don't recommend frequent cleaning, and they strongly urge against using anything other than clean water (but of course they assume a certain type of ink, so I clean a bit more frequently to be safe):

 

https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US_INTL.CMS.displayCMS.252358./refills-and-care

 

Now, my Lamy 2000 inked with Noodler's Liberty's Elysium, which stays in constant use also, will get cleaned more often. I take the pen all the way down and open up the feed and make sure there is no residue left. I find this ink leaves behind what I can only describe as pinkish purple "soot". It definitely isn't a stain, and wipes clean away with a paper towel or a light treatment with an old toothbrush and water, but it won't come off with just basic rinsing. This is done about every four months or so I guess. I don't adhere to a rigid schedule, I just do it whenever I grease the piston. I'd guess the ink itself might be the cause for me having to grease the piston a bit more often too, as my Pelikans, which only use Pelikan inks, don't have to be greased as often. Not sure what that's all about, but I don't really worry about it. It's super easy to do...

 

 

Wow! Thank you for the great information. I rarely take my pens "apart", meaning take nib and feed out or pull the piston out, etc. In fact, I will only do that if there seems to be a build up of ink residue or if there is a problem. Of course, the inks I use are fairly benign - no iron galls or "shimmery" inks. I very rarely use permanent inks. If I do use a permanent ink or one that is a bit more difficult to clean, I will use them in a pen that is also easy to clean such as one of my Lamy Safari/Al-Stars, etc.

 

Because of the larger ink capacity, my piston fillers do not get flushed as often. But the majority of my pens have converters that do not have a great ink capacity. When they are "done" they get flushed and cleaned unless I am just refilling the pen with the same ink. Then, after every 3rd refill I will flush and clean the pen.

[sirgilbert357]

 

 

Wow! Thank you for the great information. I rarely take my pens "apart", meaning take nib and feed out or pull the piston out, etc. In fact, I will only do that if there seems to be a build up of ink residue or if there is a problem. Of course, the inks I use are fairly benign - no iron galls or "shimmery" inks. I very rarely use permanent inks. If I do use a permanent ink or one that is a bit more difficult to clean, I will use them in a pen that is also easy to clean such as one of my Lamy Safari/Al-Stars, etc.

 

Because of the larger ink capacity, my piston fillers do not get flushed as often. But the majority of my pens have converters that do not have a great ink capacity. When they are "done" they get flushed and cleaned unless I am just refilling the pen with the same ink. Then, after every 3rd refill I will flush and clean the pen.

 

 

Well, I should give a bit more detail because the Lamy 2000 is very easy to take apart. I don't go crazy or anything, I just mean I unscrew the section from the pen body and set the body aside. Then I push the nib & feed out of the section and clean the feed with the nib still on it. I'll clean out the inside surface of the section too with a wet twisted up paper towel. I never take it down further than that or take the piston assembly out of the body -- I've yet to see a compelling reason to go that far with any of my pens. The feed is fully accessible just doing what I do and it is possible to give it a very thorough cleaning with minimal effort. It's a pen I don't mind deep cleaning and actually find it somewhat enjoyable. There are times I go through a fill every week though and I still only clean it every 3-4 months. I find that to be more than enough, as there honestly isn't that much to do in there when I get it all apart.

 

I don't use shimmering inks either. If I did, I would want something like a TWSBI that I could take the nib fully apart easily (the Jowo nibs on TWSBIs are friction fit, so it is very easy to pull the feed out and get under the nib to clean out the shimmering ink particles).

[DrDebG]

Thank you sirgilbert357 for your great comments. I will remember that when I need to do a thorough clean on my Lamy 2000.