When I get an old Esterbrook fountain pen from an antique store or eBay, one of the first things I do is dismantle the pen and get it ready for restoration. Cleaning the nib (which unscrews in Esterbrook pens) is one step in this process. I usually clean the nibs one at a time, but I had a growing pile of nibs that needed to be cleaned, so I thought it would be fun to clean them all at once and make a little video. The major steps include: 1) Soak the nibs in water 2) Rinse the nibs in clean water 3) Soak again, change out water as needed, and let sit over night 4) Rinse again 5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 until water starts to become clear after over night soaking For mild to moderate amounts of dried ink, steps 1 through 5 will often be all you need to do. Finishing steps 10,11, and 12 below will also be helpful. Some situations will require more work though (steps 6 and 7). 6) (optional, if above steps not making enough progress) Use a little ammonia (about 10 parts water to 1 part ammonia) to help remove some more ink. Rinse. 7) (optional, if you have the equipment) Use ultrasonic cleaning machine to remove even more ink. 8) Rinse 9) At this point I inspect each nib individually and repeat steps 7 and 8 as needed for each one while also doing the following: 10) Brush the parts with a soft toothbrush 11) Run a thin guitar string through the feed channels if they seem clogged 12) Push water through the feed channels with an ear bulb (cut off the tip such that a nib will fit ...
Tags: Esterbrook, Renew Point, Fountain Pen, Nib, Cleaning, Ultrasonic, iphone 4, imovie App
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