Storing Pens With Water In Them: Heroic Or Heretical?

[Houston]

A fountain-pen friend of mine mentioned, in passing, that after he cleans his pens, he fills them with distilled water before storing them.

 

Does anyone else do this?

 

Does the practice carry any risk?

 

I've only ever heard of something like this in relation to vintage piston-fillers with cork piston-heads or seals -- the water being meant to keep the cork hydrated, so it doesn't dry out and crumble. But I haven't heard about in any other circumstance.

 

I can imagine a wet sac being better in a lever-filler than a dry one -- especially if the pen hasn't been thoroughly cleaned of residual ink. But I can also imagine a constantly wet pen being at risk of corrosion. On the other hand, a constantly inked pen (in use) is constantly wet, so...perhaps no harm?

 

Is my friend an idiosyncratic ignoramus, or an enlightened expert?

[wallylynn]

I think the biggest risk is that stuff likes to grow in water.

[Astronymus]

Water is life. I don't know much about piston fillers but I can imagine every pen becoming a little incubator for bacteria and fungi.

 

Ink has usually ingredients to prevent grow. Yet given some time even ink will become populated with organisms. Also ink should usually be neutral so no corrosion occurs. This also is not always the case. And, if becoming infected, ink might change its pH-value. So, unwanted inhabitants and corrosion.

Edited March 9, 2019 by Astron

[Jerome Tarshis]

+1

 

Both heretical and heroic, I should say. Over the course of history heretics have had many bad things happen to them. One may applaud their courage without thinking they are prudent.

 

The basic question is, why in the world would anyone want to put water in an empty pen that's being stored? With those cork piston seals, there was a rationale, good or bad. What is the rationale for pens in general?

[Tseg]

+1

 

What is the rationale for pens in general?

 

If you store with distilled water, you know ink will not dry out in them.

[Mech-for-i]

I see no point in doing so .. and plenty of reasons not to

Edited March 9, 2019 by Mech-for-i

[Bo Bo Olson]

Depends on how antique a cork is............a cork that sat for three generations will be dried out.

Eventually will need a new one.

To Zombie a dead cork, one needs a week of soaking, not a day. After that, I suggest keeping the cork wet. For both, I earned the hard way.

I didn't and the Zombie died for good. :headsmack:Twice in two pens.....the other couple lasted until I could get them re-corked.

 

I have everything but a bottle of will power. And a desk with dunes of drifting western saga that will never be cleared.

 

I spoke with Francis over the years and he also boils sized cork in paraffin, (thicker English mineral oil) and beeswax. Then he slathers the cork with silicon grease. That should be what any repair man does working with cork.

Properly treated cork is smoother than any other gasket and is also recommend for plastic gasket replacement by Marshal & Olifield's Pen Repair book.

 

I also favor soaking any old NOS cork pen in water for quite a while before using it. They will be '50's or before.

 

Piston pens with out cork....I see no reason to keep them wet. Plastic Gasket 1.0...'38/39-55 wears out more often than Plastic Gasket 2.0, '55-now. If the Plastic gasket ...which would normally be PG 1.0, starts having problems it must be replaced or corked.

I do have a couple dead 1.0 PG's......Trouble is they look different widths...and would need different cutters...........

I once wanted to order $35 worth of goods from Richard Binder, and the US post office was going to charge me $35 to mail it across the pond.

So I waited until I went to the States and had it mailed to my motel. So eventually, I'll have those pens re-corked, instead of replacing PG 1.0 with PG 2.0.

 

Richard Binder sells Plastic Gasket 2.0 and various sized cutters. Do inform him of what pen exactly you intend to put in PG 2.0 in so he can send the proper sized cutter.

 

Snorkel may use a O ring for something. as designed..........but I read that O ring as a replacement for Plastic Gasket or cork in a piston is bad for the pen, the pen can bludge. They are not Twsbi or Ahab pens.

There are of course some who say only the old pre-50's-30's (different plastic than now) pens will bludge...............I wouldn't risk it .....but if you are so cheap....it is after all your pen.

Please do inform folks you replaced the plastic gasket with 'silicon' O rings, when you sell your pen, so I can stay far away from it.

Edited March 9, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[Freddy]

+1

 

Both heretical and heroic, I should say. Over the course of history heretics have had many bad things happen to them. One may applaud their courage without thinking they are prudent.

 

The basic question is, why in the world would anyone want to put water in an empty pen that's being stored? With those cork piston seals, there was a rationale, good or bad. What is the rationale for pens in general?

I'm of the same opinion.........

Fred

1+1=3...Buy 2 get 1 free...............

[Ron Z]

There is the theory that you should keep pens with cork seals wet. But I disagree.

 

A cork seal in a pen is not like a cork in a wine bottle, where the entire end of the cork comes in contact with the liquid in the bottle. Very little of the cork in a pen will come into contact with the water, usually just a little of the edge is exposed. The rest is behind the piece that holds the cork on, or in contact with the barrel wall. The cork is usually very well lubricated with silicone grease, which repels water, so it accomplishes nothing. With other pens, or pens with plastic piston seals, there is no point. In sac pens, it may in the long run do more harm than good.

[wallylynn]

> Properly treated cork is smoother than any other gasket and is also recommend for plastic gasket replacement

 

Makes me curious about swapping out the orings of my noodlers safety pen.

[Ron Z]

Properly treated cork is smoother than any other gasket and is also recommend for plastic gasket replacement

 

 

 

I don't know that I agree with that, but I suppose that there is room for disagreement. Trying to put a cork on a Conklin Nozac is a pain in the tush at a minimum. Proper sizing and treatment of an 0-ring is important though, and too tight can present problems. But that doesn't mean that cork is always better.

[inkstainedruth]

Interestingly enough, a friend of mine told me several years ago that she found a Parker 51 at a local weekend flea market. She contacted Parker to find out what it was, and Parker told her to store it with water in it to keep the sac from drying out (she's a botanical artist amongst other things, and bought the pen for doing drawing).

But I'm pretty much in agreement with the people who say that storing pens with water in them is just asking for stuff to grow.... I read enough posts from people asking about whether they've gotten a pen or ink infected with SITB....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Olya]

Interestingly enough, a friend of mine told me several years ago that she found a Parker 51 at a local weekend flea market. She contacted Parker to find out what it was, and Parker told her to store it with water in it to keep the sac from drying out (she's a botanical artist amongst other things, and bought the pen for doing drawing).

But I'm pretty much in agreement with the people who say that storing pens with water in them is just asking for stuff to grow.... I read enough posts from people asking about whether they've gotten a pen or ink infected with SITB....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

That's interesting.

 

Experts get things frequently wrong still, even today (e.g. releasing dodgy ink), so I don't trust even the maker fully and those in charge of the sacs back in the day aren't around anymore at Parker (my guess), so the advice of people today there isn't 100% with that aspect too.

 

In any case I wouldn't store any pen with water (distilled or not) either. Pens that go back into hibernation are cleaned and dried, ready to be inked up once the fancy strikes me again. I think storing pens with water in them is asking for trouble and only a matter of time until sth happens..

[Astronymus]

Using destilled water doesn't make a difference anyway. There are enough nutrients in the cork. Nom nom.