Flushing Out a Pen?

[jdboucher]

When I flush out a pen it seems to take a long time to dry. I notice that with a black ink, if i dont take enough time for the pen to dry, the ink looks gray. Is there any way to lower this drying time? Thanks for the info.

[el3ssar]

Using a hair drier ? When I clean a section, then I wrap the nib with absorbent paper. It helps to take the water out of the feed

[JayLo]

I've seen customized salad spinners but never used one.

[Ernst Bitterman]

Two ways--

 

Cautious/Cowardly: Let it rest point down on paper towel/toilet paper for a few minutes.

 

Quick/Madcap: Put a piece of said paper around the point, gather the pen and paper in your hand, and with a firm grip on it, shake it like a thermometer.

 

The latter is actually a little more effective, but also harder on the heart.

[churl]

I usually wrap the nib with something very absorbent like a paper towel and let it pull the water out. As long as the material is in contact with the tines or breathing hole, it should pull the water out by capillary force.

 

I have tried the shaking method, but found it a little too hard on the nerves.

[pb2]

A designated roll of toilet tissue on end enables you to stick the pen in upright (tip burird in the thick of it. I leave 'em in overnight if I want them really dry. This is a pretty good method for wipe-down after filling as well. It get's really colorful after a bunch of fillings. I hold the roll together with a strip or 2 of colored tape. Blue duct tape looks macho!

 

I'm thinking about getting a small fan and using rubber bands to hold a pen on a fan blade. Then my whole basement workshop would look colorful.

[Brassai]

One final note.... if you're not flushing with Distilled Water, at least pick some up at the store for a final rinse before drying. It'll wemove any hard water in the final rince and you won't get a mineral build up on or in your pen.

 

D.

 

[FrankB]

My routine when flushing a pen is to shake off excess water, blow some of the water out of the section (on c/c fillers), use some toilet paper to dry off the nib and ink feed, and let the pen sit disassembled overnight. I have no speed drying method.

[MrBlue]

Am I horrible for not really letting my pens dry after flushing? After a good paper towel wrap and shake (the "Madcap" method mentioned above), I will just use the converter or piston to draw ink in and out of the pen several times to remove the remaining small amount of water. Theoretically, that little bit of water could dilute the ink in the bottle, but the amounts are so small that I don't think it makes any difference at all. I certainly have never noticed any difference.

 

 

[Ernst Bitterman]

You're free of sin. Drying is only an issue when the pen is going into storage for a while. If you don't mind the nigh-imperceptible dilution of the ink, the pen won't mention it either.

[scribe75]

I rest the nib point down in paper towel for two days, then re-assemble and store. Too chicken to "shake-shake-shake." As for re-loading after rinsing. If there is only a drop in the feed, I re-fill, empty, and re-fill again. Your drop will be diluted into the entire bottle of ink, ergo, no real dilutive effect to the ink in the pen. Good luck!

[Pinmin]

When I flush out a pen it seems to take a long time to dry. I notice that with a black ink, if i dont take enough time for the pen to dry, the ink looks gray. Is there any way to lower this drying time? Thanks for the info.

Richard Binder can help with this (and almost all questions) not a paid advertisement

 

[sharonspens]

I like that "designated roll of TP" idea. As i was reading this thread I started thinking that I should flush all of my pens next weekend before I leave the country for two weeks. This would be the perfect way to get them all dried out (and I could use the paper for the cover of some art journal - two-for-one!).

 

Sharon in Indiana

[MicheleB]

I "assumed" TP would be too fibrous and leave little particulates all over the nib. You don't find the toilet paper too fibrous? What brand do you reco? I never thought I'd be asking that question ;-)

 

Typically I do what you do only with paper towels folded inside a large shot glass or ceramic cup. I just fold the paper towel so that I can slip multiple nib points between the folds.

 

However, in general I never feel like I get enough ink out without doing the thermometer shake especially with vacs and yes it is nerve wracking and potentially nib bending. I am thinking of a salad spinner mod.

 

 

A designated roll of toilet tissue on end enables you to stick the pen in upright (tip burird in the thick of it. I leave 'em in overnight if I want them really dry. This is a pretty good method for wipe-down after filling as well. It get's really colorful after a bunch of fillings. I hold the roll together with a strip or 2 of colored tape. Blue duct tape looks macho!

 

I'm thinking about getting a small fan and using rubber bands to hold a pen on a fan blade. Then my whole basement workshop would look colorful.

 

[PaFitch]

The nice thing about Esterbrook pens is that the renew point can be unscrewed. This allows for some extra soaking to clean it. When drying, both the renew point and the section with the sac attached can dry separately.

[piembi]

I usually wrap the nib with something very absorbent like a paper towel and let it pull the water out. As long as the material is in contact with the tines or breathing hole, it should pull the water out by capillary force.

 

I have tried the shaking method, but found it a little too hard on the nerves.

 

Me too.

 

Pelikans will be treated with the fast drying method: I unscrew the nib to flush and soak pen and nib properly. This gives access to the pen itself: I stick some rolled paper towel into the pen to absorb the water. Nib will be wiped with paper towel, too. This is dry enough to fill the pen with new ink without diluting the ink noticeably.