How Do You Wipe Off A Pen Nib After Filling?

[stilllo]

This seems to be my greatest challenge, lately.

I'm newly bitten with the fountain pen bug and I own a single fountain pen- a Pelikan M805. I'm a student so I can only afford ONE pen, so I figured if I had to have only one pen, I couldn't go wrong with the Pelikan M805. It was a good choice, and I've been loving it since I got it several months ago. However, I can never seem to get the nib fully clean after I fill! It drives me mental. This is how I fill my pen:

1) Screw plunger piston forwards
2) Dip in ink up just past the lower bit of the grip, screw the plunger into the fully retracted "filled" position"
3) Squeeze out 3 drops of ink by twisting the plunger forwards just a touch
4) Point the pen skyward, and screw down the piston cap clockwise, done.

 

Then I carefully wipe off most of the excess ink on the bottle rim, and then I take a clean cloth to wipe off the nib, all while holding the pen pointing upwards so there's no ink flowing into the feeder...

But the nib never gets 100% clean! The more I wipe it, the more it gets tiny little steaks of ink on it, usually near the breather hole and the slit leading down to the tines. Is this just normal, and everyone goes around with tiny bits of ink on the nib (and I do mean tiny) or is there a way to get the nib perfectly clean? I'm new to this so I figure I'm doing something wrong.

 

Many thanks o7

Edited November 18, 2013 by lowfiwhiteguy

[Bo Bo Olson]

What ink are you using. Some creep.

 

I never wipe down my bottle top....never even thought of it....in there is no reason for any ink there.

 

I sink my piston pens to a bit over the start of the section. Fill, when I remember I let out the couple of drops....mostly I just start writing.

I wipe the nib top against the top of the inside of the ink bottle top.

I wipe off the section, and there might be a drop to dab on the nib, but I don't wipe it.

 

I don't try and wipe too much, or I'll accidentally come up against the feed and wick out ink....I could write with. Basically all I want to do is clean the section.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

You don't need to wipe the nib. The only thing you really need to wipe is the rim of the grip. The object is not to get ink on your fingers. The truth is that no matter how much you wipe your nib, it's always going to get there somehow. If your pen is jostled, ink may splash onto the nib. In the same way, sometimes ink flows down the engravings. Also, the next time you fill your pen, the nib is going to be submerged again, and you will have ink once again.

 

Wiping your nib is quite a waste of ink in my view since much of ink that is absorbed could be used toward writing. Much of it will be reconstituted when you fill your pen again, so it isn't lost.

 

It only gets better if you use a safety pen because the nib is often submerged in ink when the pen is stored.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8128/10199452115_53e6e770f6_b.jpg

 

Dillon

Edited November 18, 2013 by Dillo

[stilllo]

These are great bits of advice. As I said, I'm new, so seeing all these photos of people writing with their IMMACULATE nibs all over every website sort of made me think that an inky nib was undesirable. I use Pelikan 4001 Black and Royal Blue. Maybe I should stop wiping ink off it so that I don't scratch up the finish on the nib too quickly since gold is quite soft. Thanks!

[martinbir]

Similarly, it has never occurred to me to wipe the bottle top although I do have a couple of saturated blues with cruddy tops which may benefit from a wipe!

 

Again, I wipe the section and any drops from the nib and feed then let them take care of themselves.

[pmhudepo]

I have a small piece of cloth that's been washed a few times and it's now nice, absorbent and soft. I think it originally came with one of my pens. I fill my piston fillers (including an M800) like you do, although I often let out 4 or 5 drops of ink. I wipe the section and the nib, the section fairly thourough, the nib very gently. I never really worry about removing every droplet of ink from the nib

 

Perhaps those squeaky clean nibs you see in pictures have been flushed and cleaned?

 

This is how my pens often look, during a day's work:

 

 

 

 

 

Alternatively, check out "These Beautiful Pens" by MissElderberry for gorgeous pens which occasionally have a bit of ink on their nibs as well:

 

http://thesebeautifulpens.blogspot.nl/2013/11/collectibles-or-why-i-love-dorian-gray.html

Edited November 18, 2013 by pmhudepo

[dickydotcom]

I wipe the section and the base of the nib next to it. Then one sweep down the top of the nib to remove excess, trying to avoid the breather and slit.

I just use a bit of toilet tissue.

I do prefer to see a clean nib.

Also I have one steel nib that has a small hole in it where ink was left for a long period and it corroded.

 

Dick D

[Sejdr]

I am new to FPs and have just bought one so I am a bit anal.
I wipe the sides and the top with ear buds or a small cloth just to get rid of the excessive ink and ink "spots". Like my new nib shiny.

[beak]

I'm going to disagree with the statement that you don't need to wipe the nib after filling, simply because I have found that if I don't do so some ink can end up in the cap. This ink may subsequently appear on the section, and so on the fingers.

 

Don't have to go surgically bananas, just clean the section (the bit you hold) and get rid of any excess on the nib itself, though the odd smear on a nib matters not, I think. I like to use kitchen paper towel - face tissues leave bits on the pen.

 

Each to his or her own, I guess.

Edited November 18, 2013 by beak

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

On the topic of ink coming off the nib, if you withdraw the nib from the ink smoothly and slowly, there will not be many or any drops that can get knocked off. You can dab at any big drops if you need to.

 

Dillon

[fpenluver]

I do similar cleaning as beak. Too much ink on the nib may drip on the cap. Fully agree.

[bogiesan]

I'm usually inking up two or four pens at a time so it turns into a bit of a ritual.

I lay an ink-stained cloth on the countertop and gather ink bottles, wiping cloths, tissues, syringes, empty cartridges, convertors and pens.

I have learned to do a bit of wiping before filling to keep the whole process neat. The threads of the bottle. The rim of the bottle. Often the inside of the cap gets a rinse and thorough drying unless the cap liner is cardboard and then it just a wipe. Sometimes the inside of the neck to prevent any ink from transferring to the pen section. I'll rinse out the pen cap while I'm at it, drying with a rolled tissue.

After filling, I wipe down, wipe off or wipe dry anything and everything that I think needs it: bottles, caps, threads, pens, nibs.

 

Inks get on my fingers. Stray drops of inks appear magically on the countertop.

[Rita_K]

After filling a pen I usually wipe down the nib and section with a wet paper towel. The damp towel absorbs much less ink than a dry one and cleans up the nib nicely.

[sargetalon]

I use a paper towel to clean my section and get the bulk of the ink off of the nib. The towel itself though draws ink from the feed and smears it onto the nib so you really can never get 100% off and there is no need to. Some inks will creep more than others but as long as it's not gushing, a little ink never hurt anyone.

[jar]

I run the pen under the spigot and then wipe things down.

[Gamma Goblin]

After filling a pen I wipe the ink off the rim at the grip section and then I wipe it off the nib, taking care that I don`t come onto the venthole or nib slit. I can remove all ink that sits on the nib this way. I use a small nib cleaner made from suede to clean my nibs.

[ac12]

I am similar to Gamma Goblin

I wipe the grip, then the nib, but I avoid the slit and breather hole.

I might do a FAST wipe over the slit, but any wiping on the slit will wick up ink that is better on the paper, so you have to be careful.

But if I don't get all the ink off...so what, I learned to ignore it.

[rockspyder]

I know we are supposed to tolerate/like an inky nib, but sorry, I like my nibs clean and tidy.

I use wet tissue paper - not soggy wet, just moistened with water - and wipe towards the tip. I always get them clean, and if there is creep, I use a bit of carnauba wax.

[Sasha Royale]

Between #3 and #4, draw in air to replace the three drops. This removes excess ink from the feed.

I wipe the pen, whenever I dip it into the bottle. It keeps my fingers clean. I don't wipe

1. Parker 45. I fill the cartridge with a syringe.

2. Parker 61: The filler is teflon.

3. TWSBI: It fills from a TWSBI bottle, and the nib never goes into the ink.

 

I wipe the section very clean. I wipethe nib enough to prevent a drip.

Edited November 19, 2013 by Sasha Royale

[jdivitto]

I always wipe the nib and even make sure there isn't a lot of ink on the feed. I hate the idea of a rogue drop landing on a carpet, table, lap, or other undesirable place. The feed has channels that are meant to hold the ink and I've not seen any ill effects of my quick dab of paper towel.