Storing Nibs In Oil?

[Icywolfe]

Water and air will make steel rust. So would storing it in oil make it last for years?

[ac12]

Well only if you are talking about dip pen nibs. Wiping them with oil is usually sufficient. Or just store them in low humidity, a jar with a desicant pack.

Fountain pen nibs are stainless steel or gold.

[Icywolfe]

Well only if you are talking about dip pen nibs. Wiping them with oil is usually sufficient. Or just store them in low humidity, a jar with a desicant pack.

Fountain pen nibs are stainless steel or gold.

I was talking about Dip pen and Steel FP nibs.

 

My Stainless steel Multi-tool has some rust showing on it. It's slowed down by WD40, but I do know stainless steel can rust.

[ac12]

I would rather put the dip pen nibs in a container with a dessicant to absorb the moisture in the container.

Storing in oil would be MESSY.

 

I don't know of any steel FP nibs, which is not to say there aren't any, cuz I've seen a couple of really corroded FP nibs. Not sure what the nib material was, but it was corrosion, not red rust.

 

Oil is goina be a PiA to clean out of the feed if you coat/soak a FP nib+feed in oil. I would NOT do it.

Also some plastics do do not react well with oil.

Clean it DRY it and put it in a low humidity container.

Edited August 17, 2014 by ac12

[Icywolfe]

I would rather put the dip pen nibs in a container with a dessicant to absorb the moisture in the container.

Storing in oil would be MESSY.

 

I don't know of any steel FP nibs, which is not to say there aren't any, cuz I've seen a couple of really corroded FP nibs. Not sure what the nib material was, but it was corrosion, not red rust.

 

Oil is goina be a PiA to clean out of the feed if you coat/soak a FP nib+feed in oil. I would NOT do it.

Also some plastics do do not react well with oil.

Clean it DRY it and put it in a low humidity container.

I mean for stuff you can remove the nib out of the feed.

[TheDarkFaery]

Oil is going to horrid to clean out. It doesn't mix with water and fp ink is mainly water.

[Icywolfe]

Oil is going to horrid to clean out. It doesn't mix with water and fp ink is mainly water.

Can't you just rub off the oil?

 

I mean storing as super long term. Longer than your life time. I'm thinking about the future here =P When WWZ happens and the zombies takes over and aliens purify the Earth and Aliens starts living on this Earth and creates a artificial sun because the sun is out.

Edited August 17, 2014 by Icywolfe

[wallylynn]

well, if it's that long, oil won't suffice. Oxygen still penetrates oil (think vegetable oil going rancid). I'd have to suggest casting inside a block of glass or something.

[Algester]

NO A VACUUM CHAMBER WILL :X but I dunno... how you get an industrial vacuum chamber for your pens

[Buzzie]

Immersing vintage razor blades in common mineral oil (non-petroleum) after each use will double or triple their usable life span and usable shaving edge.

 

During the early days of double edged razor blades (think Gillette Blue Blades) in the 1930's Depression era and 1940's war material shortages, blades dulled very quickly. Some men who could afford it used a new blade every day. To extend the usable life of a blade, ceramic cups with a domed lid were mass produced to hold mineral oil. The dome had a hole in the middle through which the razor's handle protruded. It was kept near the sink. After rinsing the razor and blade in water, the razor with blade intact were dropped into the mineral oil until the next usage the following morning. It worked because the mineral oil displaced any traces or water and completely blocked any trace of rust or deterioration of the blade. I used the small cup and mineral oil well into the 1960's. Mineral oil can be food-quality, is transparent and does not spoil. It was readily available and very inexpensive. And it did preserve the razor-sharp edge long after air-dried blades were useless.

[estie1948]

Can't you just rub off the oil?

 

I mean storing as super long term. Longer than your life time. I'm thinking about the future here =P When WWZ happens and the zombies takes over and aliens purify the Earth and Aliens starts living on this Earth and creates a artificial sun because the sun is out.

No, you can't just rub off the oil. As for preserving nibs for "aliens", I guess I am a bit of a bad sport. I'd say let them make their own since they are going to have to make their own ink anyway.

 

-David.

[Icywolfe]

No, you can't just rub off the oil. As for preserving nibs for "aliens", I guess I am a bit of a bad sport. I'd say let them make their own since they are going to have to make their own ink anyway.

 

-David.

I can always leave them a pen and 5ml vial of Sheaffer Peacock Blue. It will burn out their eyes. =D

 

I once accidentally put some grease on the nib but I was able to wipe it off.

[ac12]

You CANNOT wipe off oil.

There will always be something left on the nib.

You have to chemically clean the nib to remove the oil, or burn it off and risk damaging the nib.

[kidde]

If you pulled the nib you could coat it with whatever you like. If you put the feed into it you would have to pull the nib in order to clean the feed, so you end up pulling the nib either way. Removing the nib originally removes the danger of a reaction with the oil and feed. Silica packs in an airtight container (Mason jar?) should serve the same purpose, plus keep anything from rubbing the body. This assumes no damage due to off gassing of plastics and rubber. Think vintage jade pens that are now brown. Without knowing exactly which elastomers and plastics are used and how fully they are cured makes the whole exercise academic. Your pens, your decision.

 

Paul

Edited August 17, 2014 by kidde

[dxing97]

Oil can be really messy, and might not be able to last generations (depending on the oil) but a glass ampoule kind of thing might work, where the nibs are kept in a heat-sealed glass tube. I don't know if the ampoules out there are big enough for FP nibs or if the heat involved in melting glass will damage the nib, but here's a video showing how to make one using glass pipettes and a torch.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cve_D3tWlzE

[Namru]

I was talking about Dip pen and Steel FP nibs.

 

My Stainless steel Multi-tool has some rust showing on it. It's slowed down by WD40, but I do know stainless steel can rust.

Not all stainless steel is the same. The steel in your multitool sacrifices rust resistance for strength, a FP nib does not.

[lynxcat]

if a light coat of oil (3-in-1 or similar; WD-40 is NOT a corrosion protectant... it isn't even a lubricant...) isn't enough, then all i can recommend is a coating of wax. paraffin or somesuch.

[penrivers]

 

 

I mean storing as super long term. Longer than your life time. I'm thinking about the future here =P When WWZ happens and the zombies takes over and aliens purify the Earth and Aliens starts living on this Earth and creates a artificial sun because the sun is out.

Remind me of that old Frederick Forsyt ' novel, the Jackal, somebody is looking for a Smeisscher mp40 sub machine gun and the dealers has them hiden in steel barrels of 200 litres filled with oil since 1945. Or that short story of Ray Bradbury when a space ship land in a planet far away and it comes that some machines buried in oil are waiting for them for hundreds of thousand years in order to kill them. Any way I think is to much for a nib to set it in oil, surely it can penetrate and destroy the nib material

[Icywolfe]

if a light coat of oil (3-in-1 or similar; WD-40 is NOT a corrosion protectant... it isn't even a lubricant...) isn't enough, then all i can recommend is a coating of wax. paraffin or somesuch.

WD40 is advertised as those thing though.

 

Not all stainless steel is the same. The steel in your multitool sacrifices rust resistance for strength, a FP nib does not.

True.

 

Oil can be really messy, and might not be able to last generations (depending on the oil) but a glass ampoule kind of thing might work, where the nibs are kept in a heat-sealed glass tube. I don't know if the ampoules out there are big enough for FP nibs or if the heat involved in melting glass will damage the nib, but here's a video showing how to make one using glass pipettes and a torch.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cve_D3tWlzE

How about I put oil in that ampoule with the nib.

[dxing97]

 

Oil can be really messy, and might not be able to last generations (depending on the oil) but a glass ampoule kind of thing might work, where the nibs are kept in a heat-sealed glass tube. I don't know if the ampoules out there are big enough for FP nibs or if the heat involved in melting glass will damage the nib, but here's a video showing how to make one using glass pipettes and a torch.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cve_D3tWlzE

 

 

How about I put oil in that ampoule with the nib.

That would be redundant protection and not entirely nessecary.

 

Placing a nib in mineral oil slows down the oxidation (rusting) of the metal. It doesn't stop it entirely, but that won't be obvious until many years after you've sealed it.

 

To stop something from rusting, you have to keep it away from water and air. By placing a nib in oil, you're getting rid of any water, but air can very slowly seep into the oil, allowing the nib to rust (similar to how a balloon leaks air). If you're talking about storing a corrosion-prone steel nib for a decade or two (don't quote me on that), storing nibs in a very airtight glass jar under mineral oil will probably do the trick.

 

If you're talking about generations, then you'll need something like ampoules where there is almost no way for air to get in. Oil isn't necessary because there is not air for it to protect the nib from, and if any air does get in, the oil won't really stop it from rusting, only slow it down.

 

I'm assuming you're planning on not using a nib for a long time.