Thoroughly Cleaning A Noodler's Eye Dropper Pen

[Ink Stained Wretch]

So with the ink purchase I recently got there was a Noodler's eye dropper pen included. Before I try it out I will want to thoroughly clean this pen of the usual oils and manufacturing debris we find in our favorite writing instruments.

 

For most pens this means a nice soak in a dish detergent solution. But of course this eye dropper has silicone grease on the threads. I'm wondering how to clean it thoroughly without the silicone grease, or the "O" ring, getting compromised.

 

I could just put it in the small shot glass I use to soak pen parts and only fill the glass up part way, but I'm concerned that this will form a dam or some sort of clog right at the point in the ink channel where the dish detergent solution ends and the air in the ink channel begins. Also, I like to flush pens, when possible, by blasting water through them with an ear syringe, and then putting the pen in the ultrasonic cleaner. I'm not sure if I can do this with the Noodler's eye dropper.

 

I am not sure if this is a "Charlie pen," but the clear barrel has "NOODLER'S INK" engraved on it.

 

Does anyone know if it's pretty easy, or not to be recommend, to try pulling the nib and feed out of the section of one of these pens? In that case I'd just clean the nib and feed and separately without endangering the silicone grease and "O" ring.

 

If you have experience with these pens please let me know about it. I am possibly not the only one with this question, although I have looked through FPN as much as I can and have not found this exact topic anywhere.

[Danny Kaffee]

My suggestion is to not bother with the soaking to begin with. I rarely soak or flush pens to begin with and have never had a problem.

 

If you feel you must flush the pen, I'd recommend getting a small container of silcone grease (easily obtained from Goulet Pens or in other places as well) so you can freely reapply as needed.

Edited November 9, 2015 by Danny Kaffee

[catbert]

If it is a Charlie, you can easily pull the nib and feed for cleaning, and flush the section while you’re at it. No need to soak the whole pen - though the threads can be regreased, as Danny noted.

 

However, the presence of an o-ring makes me wonder if it is a Charlie. Mine doesn't have one.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

My suggestion is to not bother with the soaking to begin with. I rarely soak or flush pens to begin with and have never had a problem.

 

My experience has been different. I'd bought a nice Sheaffer broad nibbed fountain pen here on FPN a number of years ago. I really liked the idea of this pen. But when I inked it up it skipped and hardly wrote much of a line in the 25% of the time when it would put down a line of ink at all. I put it aside for quite a while. then I got an ultrasonic cleaner and eventually thought to try cleaning that Sheaffer. Well, after a thorough cleaning the pen wrote beautifully. I have had other fountain pens that I've resurrected from the junk box by simply cleaning them very thoroughly. I find that newly manufactured fountain pens so frequently have oils and/or manufacturing debris in the ink channel that it's worth it to just automatically clean them when they arrive.

 

 

If you feel you must flush the pen, I'd recommend getting a small container of silcone grease (easily obtained from Goulet Pens or in other places as well) so you can freely reapply as needed.

 

I do have a tiny amount of silicone grease. If I have to I'll do that, but I'm trying to preserve the whole sealant thing as is from when Nathan Tardif slipped that "O" ring on there with his greasy, little fingers .

[Ink Stained Wretch]

If it is a Charlie, you can easily pull the nib and feed for cleaning, and flush the section while you’re at it.

 

Great! That would solve all of the problems.

 

 

However, the presence of an o-ring makes me wonder if it is a Charlie. Mine doesn't have one.

 

Uh oh. Hold on ( sound of feet padding out to look at this eye dropper, sound of feet returning) Yep, this pen definitely appears to have a greasy "O" ring at the base of the section's screw threads.

 

I've been looking for more information on the Noodler's Charlie pen but I do not see a review of one here on FPN and I have not seen a photograph of one. Maybe it isn't a Charlie Pen, but it came with a bottle of a Noodler's ink, and the clear, plastic barrel of the pen says, "Noodlers Ink" on it.

 

I've looked for photographs of a Charlie pen, but what I've seen does not show if it has an "O" ring or not. Are there any of these Noodler's Ink pens that has a reputation for being very difficult to remove the nib and feed from? I don't truly care what the pen is called, I just want to know that trying to pull the nib and feed out of it won't destroy it.

[catbert]

I've been looking for more information on the Noodler's Charlie pen but I do not see a review of one here on FPN and I have not seen a photograph of one. Maybe it isn't a Charlie Pen, but it came with a bottle of a Noodler's ink, and the clear, plastic barrel of the pen says, "Noodlers Ink" on it.

 

I've looked for photographs of a Charlie pen, but what I've seen does not show if it has an "O" ring or not. Are there any of these Noodler's Ink pens that has a reputation for being very difficult to remove the nib and feed from? I don't truly care what the pen is called, I just want to know that trying to pull the nib and feed out of it won't destroy it.

 

Here's my review of the Charlie pen. The photos might help.

 

The other free Noodler's pen I know of is an eyedropper-converted Platinum Preppy, which might have an o-ring and probably won't need cleaning or flushing - or at least my (non-Noodler's) Preppy didn't.

 

Goulet lists which Noodler's inks include a free pen, and whether it is a Charlie, a Preppy or something else, here.

[crescent2]

My Charlie pen doesn't have a o-ring. I posted a comment on one of Nathan's Youtube videos and he replied. I was having a problem with the Charlie pen and he told me to push the feed and nib a little farther into the pen, which solved the problem. I'm not a tinkerer but even I could do this. So, it's easy to remove and replace the feed and nib on a Charlie pen.

 

My Charlie came with a bottle of Heart of Darkness ink.

Edited November 10, 2015 by crescent2

[Danny Kaffee]

It sounds like you got a Platinum Preppy.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

 

Here's my review of the Charlie pen. The photos might help.

 

The other free Noodler's pen I know of is an eyedropper-converted Platinum Preppy, which might have an o-ring and probably won't need cleaning or flushing - or at least my (non-Noodler's) Preppy didn't.

 

Goulet lists which Noodler's inks include a free pen, and whether it is a Charlie, a Preppy or something else, here.

 

Thanks for all of that. The Goulet's link says I have a Charlie.

 

From the photographs in your review of the Charlie pen I have something a bit different. Mine only says, "Noodlers Ink" on the barrel, it doesn't say "Charlie." But it seems very similar. Mine has a brownish end cap that's fixed in place, same plastic as the cap. Maybe I have an earlier or later version of the Charlie pen. Or maybe it just wasn't being called by that name when it was made.

 

My Charlie pen doesn't have a o-ring. I posted a comment on one of Nathan's Youtube videos and he replied. I was having a problem with the Charlie pen and he told me to push the feed and nib a little farther into the pen, which solved the problem. I'm not a tinkerer but even I could do this. So, it's easy to remove and replace the feed and nib on a Charlie pen.

 

My Charlie came with a bottle of Heart of Darkness ink.

 

Thanks for more confirmation that I can most probably remove the nib and feed for an initial cleaning.

 

It sounds like you got a Platinum Preppy.

 

No, I definitely do not have an eye dropper converted Platinum Preppy. I have more than one of those from years ago, and this is not one. The eye dropper pen I'm talking about says, "Noodlers Ink" on both the clip and the barrel, the cap screws on and off, unlike the snap cap of the Preppy, and the pen I'm talking about has "Noodlers Ink Co," on the raw stainless steel nib while the Preppy has a red tinted nib with the Pilot nib markings on it.

 

If I can manage it later today I'll try to photograph this Noodler's pen and post that image here.

[inkstainedruth]

 

Here's my review of the Charlie pen. The photos might help.

 

The other free Noodler's pen I know of is an eyedropper-converted Platinum Preppy, which might have an o-ring and probably won't need cleaning or flushing - or at least my (non-Noodler's) Preppy didn't.

 

Goulet lists which Noodler's inks include a free pen, and whether it is a Charlie, a Preppy or something else, here.

Make sure you click on the links for the specific colors, though -- because Dragon's Napalm (as an example) does apparently now come with a Charlie, and it doesn't necessarily say so on the main link.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Sasha Royale]

DAWN dish detergent is used to clean oil spills from wildlife. It is an excellent grease cutter and certainly mild. A thirty-second flush and rinse is plenty for a new pen. Soaking is not necessary. You can restore the silicone grease easily.

 

I received a Noodler's eyedropper twice, with ink purchases. Personally, I put the ED "freebies" into storage. I have fountain pens. I am not a fan of eyedropper pens.

[inkstainedruth]

I received a Noodler's eyedropper twice, with ink purchases. Personally, I put the ED "freebies" into storage. I have fountain pens. I am not a fan of eyedropper pens.

I didn't used to be a fan of them either. But I like the Charlie pens.

All fill systems have their plusses and minuses. The up side of eyedroppers is the amount of ink they hold. The down side of course is that they are a lot more susceptible to changes in temperature and air pressure. Three of the Charlie pens I have came from the Commonwealth Pen Show, and I've got Myles Standish in one of them. It blurps a lot of ink and gets very drippy when the pen is about half empty, and I was getting some bleedthrough in the Miguelrius journal, even though that paper is normally pretty good for FP inks.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[zwack]

It seems there are three Noodler's eyedropper pens.

Converted preppies, Charlie's and an unnamed eyedropper with an end cap that matches the cap. The end cap can be used to store spare o-rings. Some of these come with a flex nib (distinguished by the slit going most of the length of the nib).

 

These say Noodler's Ink Co on the barrel and the nib but have no other marking.

 

The nib and feed are a friction fit and you can just pull them out.

 

I have a Platinum Preppy and this is definitely a different pen. None of the photos of the Charlie I have seen have a coloured end cap.

Edited January 18, 2016 by zwack

[Piper 987]

For most pens this means a nice soak in a dish detergent solution. But of course this eye dropper has silicone grease on the threads. I'm wondering how to clean it thoroughly without the silicone grease, or the "O" ring, getting compromised.

For a few dollars I got a dozen "O" rings (two different diameters) at the local hardware store. For another few dollars I got enough silicone grease to last several lifetimes. Now I have no excuse to not thoroughly clean any pen and especially eyedropper pens. Of course, I can also convert cartridge pens to eyedroppers and take advantage of the generous ink capacity.

 

That said, I learned to be very sparing with the silicone grease. It takes very little to seal the barrel to the section. I had trouble with a pen writing quite dry after it had written properly, even though it had plenty of ink left inside. I took it apart and found I had gotten too much silicone grease on the threads and a bit of it was now clogging the feed. Now I am more careful and only apply a very small touch of the grease to threads in a way that none will ever get loose inside the pen.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

It seems there are three Noodler's eyedropper pens.

... and an unnamed eyedropper with an end cap that matches the cap. The end cap can be used to store spare o-rings. ....

 

That's it! I read the above and I just got the pen and found that I could unscrew the end cap. That little spindle under the end cap is odd though. What is it really for?

 

Thanks for clearing this up for me.

[Arkanabar]

The non-Charlie Indian eyedropper is in the pen review index here as the Noodler's "Nikita Eyedropper". Review1 Review2

[zwack]

Thanks Arkanabar, so I have a Nikita then. Allegedly that spindle is to hold o-rings. It serves no other purpose (although it might have been part of the mould liquid injection site as well)