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Esterbrook 484 Dip-Less Ink Well

Bitzel

By Bitzel
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Bitzel NOS (New Old Stock)

Bitzel

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Having recently acquired a good number of 484 and 444 ink wells and dip-less pens, I've spent the better part of the last three days soaking and cleaning everything. I think I have a ways to go on these parts, still.

 

post-121923-0-45953100-1462031322_thumb.jpg

 

The ebonite rods in the ink well feed are the most fascinating to me. Given how many there are and how light they are, I'm afraid to wash them in any meaningful way; washing the feed cup will cause the rods to float up and out and into my sink, and washing them in their own bowl makes me shudder to think what recollecting them would be like. I've resorted soaking them with the metal washer holding them on, rinsing them thoroughly, then removing the washer and letting the rods dry on some paper towels.

 

I shouldn't be surprised at how much ink is still in these old wells and materials, but I am. Still, the process has been quite fun.

 

A

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AAAndrew Antique

AAAndrew

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The feed cup, at least on the 444 and 445, pulls right off, and there's a washer holding the rods into the cup. I gently pulled that washer out, it' comes out easily, and dumped the rods into a wide and shallow plastic bowl I use for my pen cleaning. They don't float, except if the surface tension keeps them on top, and if you're careful, and keep them away from the sink, they clean quite well. I transferred them from bowl to bowl using my fingers and a plastic tweezers I had from a kid's science kit of my son's. The really just need to soak, and maybe gently wash them by rubbing them with your fingers. I then laid them out on a paper towel to dry. That was the most nerve-wracking part for me as I was in constant fear of flicking them across the room or the cat jumping up on the counter to explore the latest playthings. But they dried quickly and I used the tweezers again to put them back into the cup.

 

Good luck!

 

“When the historians of education do equal and exact justice to all who have contributed toward educational progress, they will devote several pages to those revolutionists who invented steel pens and blackboards.” V.T. Thayer, 1928

Check out my Steel Pen Blog. 

"No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the mistake is to do it solemnly."

-Montaigne

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PaFitch Extremely Rare

PaFitch

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There is a thread somewhere in the forum with a full explanation and pictures of cleaning the 444. The units with rods are easier to put back into service than units with the foam (which do exist).

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AAAndrew Antique

AAAndrew

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I summarized it a bit over in this thread

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/307357-esterbrook-444-inkwell-without-ink-as-stand-for-lever-fill-deskpen/?p=3615306

 

“When the historians of education do equal and exact justice to all who have contributed toward educational progress, they will devote several pages to those revolutionists who invented steel pens and blackboards.” V.T. Thayer, 1928

Check out my Steel Pen Blog. 

"No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the mistake is to do it solemnly."

-Montaigne

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