Pen Cleaning Solutions?

[Anderglan]

Sorrow cleaning? I've never heard of that term.

it's a pun... sorrow = thorough

[Eclipse157]

Sorrow cleaning? I've never heard of that term.

Must be when you're so emotionally devastated by the pen cleaning process that you cry your eyes out. It is said that tears shed in a state of pen-sorrow can clean the hardest clot of inky crust as easily as a hot knife cuts through butter, that they rejuvenate ebonite to a pristine sheen, and a single tear in a whole bottle of ink makes it waterproof, featherproof, smearproof, wet or dry to your heart's content, adds sheen and shimmer and a divine scent.

 

jk ofc

 

 

it's a pun... sorrow = thorough

I'm curious: in what language does that pun work?

 

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by Eclipse157

[SpecTP]

Hi all,

 

I find cleaning my pens to be a tedious chore and as such I dont switch inks very often. However, playing around with different inks is something Id really like to do.

 

Do any of you use cleaning solutions? Do the pens clean up much faster when using a cleaning product instead of just using water?

 

Thanks,

 

Alex

I use a few drops of Dawn with water in my ultrasonic cleaner. I also own some of the commercial flushes too. I use those when the ink is especially resistant to my regular regimen.

 

I find cleaning my pens to be a soothing and zen exercise so I don't mind doing it on a regular basis.

[dan in montreal]

I must be some kind of heretic, but good old tap water usually does the trick for me, and it has for the last 30 years. I don't own an ultrasonic cleaner. True, I rarely leave ink in a pen for extended periods of time (extended meaning 6 months). Pens filled with problematic inks get the homemade pen flush treatment.

BTW, is it me or is plain household ammonia more and more difficult to find?

It is in my part of the world.

[Pen Engineer]

Sorrow cleaning? I've never heard of that term.

It's a little bird that loves picking...

[Pen Engineer]

Must be when you're so emotionally devastated by the pen cleaning process that you cry your eyes out. It is said that tears shed in a state of pen-sorrow can clean the hardest clot of inky crust as easily as a hot knife cuts through butter, that they rejuvenate ebonite to a pristine sheen, and a single tear in a whole bottle of ink makes it waterproof, featherproof, smearproof, wet or dry to your heart's content, adds sheen and shimmer and a divine scent.

 

jk ofc

 

 

I'm curious: in what language does that pun work?

 

 

Yes, tears can move mountains so why not a piece of gunk?

 

That pun works in English, apparently. And you know what they say about the English, don't you?

[Pen Engineer]

I must be some kind of heretic, but good old tap water usually does the trick for me, and it has for the last 30 years. I don't own an ultrasonic cleaner. True, I rarely leave ink in a pen for extended periods of time (extended meaning 6 months). Pens filled with problematic inks get the homemade pen flush treatment.

BTW, is it me or is plain household ammonia more and more difficult to find?

It is in my part of the world.

good habit.

 

Have you tried the chemist? Or do they call it pharmacy or drugstore in your nook of the woods?

[Bibliophage]

good habit.

 

Have you tried the chemist? Or do they call it pharmacy or drugstore in your nook of the woods?

Interestingly enough, while most drug stores/pharmacies sell cleaning supplies, the largest supplier of them in the US is generally the local grocery store. Even Lysol concentrate, which I would expect to find at a pharmacy, is mostly sold at small supermarkets.

[Mercian]

Wrt filling a pen and allowing your chosen cleaning solution to wick through its nib on to a wad of kitchen roll paper - I find the cleaning process to get completed in far fewer steps if I leave the fluid in the pen overnight or during a whole day (agitating occasionally) before putting the pen in to the stage of wicking the solution through the nib.

 

Better still is to fill the pen with cleaning solution, and then clip it in to my shirt (pocket or placket) all day before wicking. That way it gets agitation AND mild heating in order to accelerate the cleansing process.

 

I came to this method because I like to use iron-gall inks, and those do occasionally like to deposit some iron salts inside a pen.
(Plus because I am a tinfoil-hatted obsessive, but that’s another story....)

 

I will be investing in a small ultrasonic cleaner soon, but if you haven’t got the space (or cash) for one of those, then the method above will give you better results than just straight wicking.

 

My full method is:

1 - rinse/cycle lots of cold water through the pen, until that is coming out clear;

2 - fill pen with your preferred cleaning solution;

3 - wear pen on shirt all day/evening;

4 - place pen nib-down on a wad of kitchen paper overnight (or for a couple of hours if daytime);

5 - repeat as necessary until no ink is visible on the kitchen paper beneath your nib after wicking;

6 - rinse pen with plain water, and then wick that through it one more time;

7 - air-dry the pen overnight;

8 - return pen to storage or use.

 

I do recognise that this process would usually constitute ‘overkill’ for most inks, but it’s the one that I use for i-g inks or heavily-saturated inks, because it gives me peace of mind in those instances.

 

One last thing: for i-g inks steps 2-5 chez moi start with iterations of wicking a weak solution of white vinegar (I understand that Citric acid or Ascorbic acid would be better. And less smelly too) followed by stages of wicking plain water, or plain water plus dish detergent and then wicking plain water.

I have not yet felt the need to go vinegar;water;ammonia;water - and I hope to never need to do so!

Edited March 11, 2020 by Mercian

[Pen Engineer]

Wrt filling a pen and allowing your chosen cleaning solution to wick through its nib on to a wad of kitchen roll paper - I find the cleaning process to get completed in far fewer steps if I leave the fluid in the pen overnight or during a whole day (agitating occasionally) before putting the pen in to the stage of wicking the solution through the nib.

 

Better still is to fill the pen with cleaning solution, and then clip it in to my shirt (pocket or placket) all day before wicking. That way it gets agitation AND mild heating in order to accelerate the cleansing process.

 

I came to this method because I like to use iron-gall inks, and those do occasionally like to deposit some iron salts inside a pen.

(Plus because I am a tinfoil-hatted obsessive, but that’s another story....)

 

I will be investing in a small ultrasonic cleaner soon, but if you haven’t got the space (or cash) for one of those, then the method above will give you better results than just straight wicking.

 

My full method is:

1 - rinse/cycle lots of cold water through the pen, until that is coming out clear;

2 - fill pen with your preferred cleaning solution;

3 - wear pen on shirt all day/evening;

4 - place pen nib-down on a wad of kitchen paper overnight (or for a couple of hours if daytime);

5 - repeat as necessary until no ink is visible on the kitchen paper beneath your nib after wicking;

6 - rinse pen with plain water, and then wick that through it one more time;

7 - air-dry the pen overnight;

8 - return pen to storage or use.

 

I do recognise that this process would usually constitute ‘overkill’ for most inks, but it’s the one that I use for i-g inks or heavily-saturated inks, because it gives me peace of mind in those instances.

 

One last thing: for i-g inks steps 2-5 chez moi start with iterations of wicking a weak solution of white vinegar (I understand that Citric acid or Ascorbic acid would be better. And less smelly too) followed by stages of wicking plain water, or plain water plus dish detergent and then wicking plain water.

I have not yet felt the need to go vinegar;water;ammonia;water - and I hope to never need to do so!

and how do you get the stain out of your shirt?

[Bibliophage]

and how do you get the stain out of your shirt?

What shirt?

 

[Pen Engineer]

What shirt?

 

Your words: "Better still is to fill the pen with cleaning solution, and then clip it in to my shirt (pocket or placket) all day before wicking. That way it gets agitation AND mild heating in order to accelerate the cleansing process."

 

That shirt!

[Bibliophage]

Your words: "Better still is to fill the pen with cleaning solution, and then clip it in to my shirt (pocket or placket) all day before wicking. That way it gets agitation AND mild heating in order to accelerate the cleansing process."

 

That shirt!

Oh! HIS shirt. I wasn't wearing one.

 

[Karmachanic]

I've been using H₂O diluted 1:1

[Pen Engineer]

Oh! HIS shirt. I wasn't wearing one.

 

no details, please!

[Pen Engineer]

I've been using H₂O diluted 1:1

excellent! Keep it pure and simple! I love your slogan. I have not worked out how to put one there. Not simple enough for me.

[Mercian]

and how do you get the stain out of your shirt?

 

I’m a rural FrootLoop with twigs in his beard - stains on my shirt are the least of my worries

 

(Proper answer: Attaching the pen to my shirt forces me to make sure it is securely-capped, and also to remember to take it off if doing anything that is potentially dangerous to the pen. At the moment, during flood-season, that includes e.g. clearing out jetsam from the grid over the entrance to the stream-culvert at the edge of my garden.)

[dan in montreal]

good habit.

 

Have you tried the chemist? Or do they call it pharmacy or drugstore in your nook of the woods?

Getting back to this thread 2 days late: I used to find the stuff in grocery stores, hardware stores and the pharmacy. Last time I asked, the employee looked at me as though I was asking if they had pure cocaine or weapon-grade plutonium. The only stuff I seem to find are perfumed solutions containing other chemicals I would not want to run through pens. I still have enough to last me a long time, though.

 

edit: typos

Edited March 14, 2020 by dan in montreal

[Pen Engineer]

 

I’m a rural FrootLoop with twigs in his beard - stains on my shirt are the least of my worries

 

(Proper answer: Attaching the pen to my shirt forces me to make sure it is securely-capped, and also to remember to take it off if doing anything that is potentially dangerous to the pen. At the moment, during flood-season, that includes e.g. clearing out jetsam from the grid over the entrance to the stream-culvert at the edge of my garden.)

got a cast iron fountain pen?

[Pen Engineer]

Getting back to this thread 2 days late: I used to find the stuff in grocery stores, hardware stores and the pharmacy. Last time I asked, the employee looked at me as though I was asking if they had pure cocaine or weapon-grade plutonium. The olnly stuff I seem to find are perfumed solutions containing other chemicals I would not want to run through pens. I still have enought to last me a long time, though.

excellent. Yes, it seems to last a long long time.