Unstaining A Noodler's Ahab

[Wheatflower]

This summer I got an Ahab and promptly used it to try my sample of Bay State Blue. Yes, I knew of BSB's reputation. Today I flushed the last of the ink out, and to my complete lack of surprise I now have a blue-tinted Ahab demonstrator.

 

This isn't a horrible thing, as I have LOTS of blue inks I can use in that pen, but on the other hand having it totally clear again would be very nice. So is there a good way to remove ink stains from an Ahab? If it was acrylic I would take my chances with a dilute bleach solution, but I don't know what that would do to whatever weird stuff this pen is made of.

[SujiCorp12345]

Filling up the pen with Noodler's Eel Rattler Red maybe? I haven't tried this method personally, but Amber says that this helped her mostly unstain her Pelikan M200 demonstrator.

[zuph]

A dilute bleach mixture shouldn't damage the celluloid, especially for brief periods of time. It could corrode the nib, though, so remove that unless you've been looking for an excuse to replace it.

 

Alternatively, a dilute mixture of ammonia is less risky, although you may have to leave it in the pen overnight to remove BSB.

[Wheatflower]

A dilute bleach mixture shouldn't damage the celluloid, especially for brief periods of time. It could corrode the nib, though, so remove that unless you've been looking for an excuse to replace it.

 

Alternatively, a dilute mixture of ammonia is less risky, although you may have to leave it in the pen overnight to remove BSB.

As it happens I mixed up a fresh batch of pen wash (purified water, ammonia, dish soap) last weekend, so I filled the Ahab and let it sit overnight. This morning the liquid was blue-tinted, so clearly some ink is coming off. I refilled it with fresh pen wash and left it to soak more.

 

Suji, thank you for the reminder about Rattler Red! I'll check my box of samples to see if I have any; if I do, I'll try it.

[wallylynn]

I used the bleach. no harm to my pen.

fyi, my ahab piston discolored all on it's own over time.

[amberleadavis]

So, uh, yeah, I haven't tried Rattler Red on my Ahab. It was stained by Diamine Grape in the Ahab's inaugural fill. As of 2 months ago, it looked like this.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/2015-Pens/slides/20150408_170210.jpg

 

Currently, I have it filled with Callifolio Rose Grenade. I'll let you know how it looks in a few weeks.

[amberleadavis]

I would have posted an updated picture but my teenage daughter has claimed this pen. She declares that it is freeing to use whatever ink she wants and not worry about stains.

 

I wonder why she worries about stains and not the wrath of the penless mommy.

[amberleadavis]

OH, the BSB stains in the TWSBI Vac 700 are completely gone. Quink with Solv-X and vintage Sheaffer Blue-Black were the only two inks the evol-ex used, but you can't see any of the stains.

 

How did your Ahab do?