Twsbi: How Much Cleaning Is Enough?

[rjbull]

"We shall take a bath four times a year," proclaimed Queen Elizabeth I of England, "whether we hath need of it or no."

 

I recently bought a TWSBI-530, yet to be inked. Because it can be dismantled completely, I will be tempted to do exactly that, every time, after every fill, "whether it hath need of it or no."

 

Please, how often, or in what circumstances, does it really need to be completely dismantled for cleaning?

[Sleepy]

Pretty much never. There's no point in dismantling any pen more than is necessary, you will only cause unnecessary wear to the components/threads etc. How clean do you really want a pen to be? If you're putting the same ink in a pen constantly, then I don't see any need to clean it unless it develops a problem. If you are changing colours then obviously you should flush one colour out as completely as possible first. And if you are using a Baystate ink from Noodler's then you should perform a more thorough flush to ensure you don't get a mix of a Baystate and non-Baystate colour which could react in a way you don't want.

[rjbull]

Thanks - indeed, wear and tear was a concern. I didn't want to be continually re-greasing seals, either. But I was also wondering if I would get it clean enough by simple flushing to change colours. This is probably only temporarily relevant as I've been experimenting with different colour lately, and shouldn't expect clinical cleanliness anyway. It's only a hobby... only a hobby...