Pen Cloth - What Is It?

[pgmrdan]

I assume it's for dabbing at ink from the ones I've seen. I usually just grab a corner of a paper towel or a tissue but the paper fibers can become a nuisance.

 

What kind of cloth is best suited and what are the uses?

Edited November 13, 2014 by pgmrdan

[Ergative]

I use old underwear (washed, of course!). It's super soft and there is no lint. Whenever a t-shirt or tank-top (or even underpants) is too ragged to be worn, I wash it carefully, and cut it up.

 

Bonus points if it's white: Then you get to see all the different colors of ink that you've been using accumulate on it.

[PAKMAN]

I have a worn out bath cloth that I repurposed as a pen cloth. I lay it out and put pen and ink on it when I fill pens. Then I used it to clean up the ink on the pen when it is inked up. The ink is quickly dry so I just fold it up and toss it back in the desk drawer until I am ready to fill a pen again.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Parts of the old flannel shirt you don't use to polish your pens.

 

I tend to use inks that don't cause nib creep...then don't need a cloth...only a bit of Kleenex to clean the section when filling from a bottle. Don't see using a cloth for that, in the wet ink, might make an old stained ink wet again.

 

I don't often see a need for cleaning up the nib every time I fill. It's seldom a problem looking clean enough. Normal filling don't make a nib dirty**...IMO....though I'm sure I've bound to have given a nib a quick wipe, it's seldom.

 

**will creepy ink?? Or must that come from writing......I don't use too many supersaturated inks. Ah, Ha!.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[arcadeflow]

I call mine ink cloth. I tried a lot of microfiber dust cloths until I found one that didn't repel water nor loose its fibers on my nibs. The one I found to work well is a bit too small, but it works great. Montblanc sells a box of 8 cushioned little pieces for this purpose, but I am not sure it is practical and easy to clean.

[penrivers]

Flannel, there are blocks of 10 or 20 in small sizes in Walmart or car refactions stores, any way you can use whatever, however I don't like towels to do that.

[Wolverine1]

I have a lint-free microfiber cloth about 16"X16" that I have been using as a pen cloth for years now. I have had it in use for the past, well, since about 1998, because I remember I had the cloth before I went in for treatment for cancer. It was originally a light green color, but, over the years with ink stains of all sorts on it, plus with the occasional washing, it has become a rather interesting piece. Looks like a Jackson Pollock piece!!!!:)

[PS104]

If you're of age to have children use cloth diapers. After a couple of years of washing they become the softest cloths you've ever felt, albeit a bit stained (so what were you going to do with them anyway?)

And they're environmentally friendly. No more use-and-toss.

After you've done your pens you can use them on your car

Wish I had saved more of them

[Avetikus]

I'm another one that uses old t-shirts, cut into maybe 8x8 in. squares or at least square-ish shapes.

 

I'll dip, fill, carefully wipe the grip, and give the edge between the nib and grip a wipe with a folded corner.

 

Then when it's all inked up I'll chuck it and grab another. My other half uses so much fabric softener that I'm never short of t-shirts to use.

[gweimer1]

I lucked out, and found a 3-pack of new infant sized T-shirts at the local grocery store for 50 cents. Perfect for my use.

[napalm]

[Dickkooty2]

True Blue,

 

A very interesting observation!

 

Dick

[Dickkooty2]

Actually, 'pen cloth' seems a little non-specific to me. In 3rd grade at the Harrington School in Philadelphia in 1942, we called them 'pen wipers'. Miss Hatton started us on cursive writing and we felt as though we had made a step up the ladder toward adulthood.

 

It was a 'pen wiper' because you wiped your stick pen and removable nib with it after the practice session. You dipped into your inkwell situated on the upper right=hand corner of your screwed-to-the-floor row desks with the flip-up seats.

 

Of course, we also bought War Savings Stamps at a dime apiece to be pasted in that War Bond Savings Book. $18.75 bought a $25.00 bond redeemable in ten years and we sang 'Johnny got a Zero'.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I use old underwear (washed, of course!). It's super soft and there is no lint. Whenever a t-shirt or tank-top (or even underpants) is too ragged to be worn, I wash it carefully, and cut it up.

 

Bonus points if it's white: Then you get to see all the different colors of ink that you've been using accumulate on it.

 

Ditto, as long as it's all-cotton. I distrust poly-cotton in the area of scratching... but I also find it a bit (ahem) humid for comfort anyway.

[amberleadavis]

 

 

Oh My!