Erasing Fountain Pen Writing

[elliott44]

Is there a way to erase a mistake when writing with a fountain pen? I have used white out but it's sloppy and hard to write over.

[stevlight]

Nibs.com has Platinum's Fluid Ink Eraser--about half way down the page--I have been wanting to try this for months now --just have not ordered it.

 

If you get it please post your comments and pics so I and others can see how it works.

[JMX]

Back in school we all used Pelikan's Tintenkiller (Ink Eraser). Works with Pelikan Royal Blue and (to some degree with) similar inks.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ink_eraser

 

The chemistry behind it:

 

http://www.chemieunterricht.de/dc2/tip/09_03.htm

 

Sorry, the text is German, but the formulas should suffice.

 

 

[yachtsilverswan]

Back in the day, ink was "erased" with an ink scraper: a scalpel-like device used to scrape away the top layer of paper and the ink with it.

[Scintillation]

I wonder, does this stuff work with Noodler's bulletproof?

[jBeckett]

I use correction tape, works the same as correction fluid (brand name: white-out, liquid paper, etc) but without the mess.

[UltraMagnus]

acetone apparently works... maybe bleach?

[Jerome Tarshis]

Not to labor the obvious, but the OP asked about erasing, and there is such a thing as an ink eraser. I used them for years. They are more vigorous in their action than the familiar pencil eraser. Where the pencil eraser was typically made of a red rubber, the ink eraser was a gray rubber.

 

Now that I no longer use a pen to write arrays of figures in an office, meant to be read by people who were paying me a salary, I no longer care about erasing. I strike through my errors. But, as indicated above, there are all kinds of instrumentalities used in schools and offices where appearances count.

[milkb0at]

At school we all had ink erasers. It was a cheap plastic pen with a white chisel nib at one end that would do the actual erasing and a felt-tip pen at the other end to write over the correction (since obviously you can't re-write over the area with the chemical on the paper).

 

I don't know what chemical it used, but it worked pretty well as long as you had the right ink. Quink Washable Blue erased very easily but I think Permanent Blue didn't erase at all.

[Shangas]

Liquid white-out is more trouble than it's worth. It crumbles and gets into the feed and blocks the nib...Don't use it.

 

Someone up above mentioned using a parchment scraper...

 

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a215/Fruffles/Writing%20Box/WritingBox5.jpg

 

I have an antique parchment scraper amongst my collection and while I can assure you that it does work very well, you would need fairly thick paper to get any decent results out of using it.

 

(ink scraper is the spear-shaped knife with the ivory handle on the extreme right).

Edited February 21, 2011 by Shangas

[Bo Bo Olson]

White out...is dabbed on lightly, not painted on, like you want to hide rust.

 

Welcome to the old days. :roflmho:

 

I think the tape idea is good.

Edited February 21, 2011 by Bo Bo Olson

[Romagno]

... maybe bleach?

 

Back in the day when I was a schoolboy, we used "Ink Eradicator" - it came in a small bottle with a glass dip rod attached to the cap (like an iodine or merthiolate bottle).

 

It smelled just like chlorine bleach, which, I think is what it was, except diluted so that it was water-clear and not yellowish the way chlorine bleach is when it comes out of the bottle.

 

If you're prone to experimentation, try a 10% solution of bleach as a starter; apply to the error with a toothpick and see if it works. I would use as dilute a solution as possible, since residual bleach that dries on the paper may bleach overwriting with wet ink. Also, the bleach may affect the sizing of the paper, and the overwritten letters may feather. Be sure to allow the bleached area to dry thoroughly before overwriting.

 

Good luck.

[welch]

... maybe bleach?

 

Back in the day when I was a schoolboy, we used "Ink Eradicator" - it came in a small bottle with a glass dip rod attached to the cap (like an iodine or merthiolate bottle).

 

It smelled just like chlorine bleach, which, I think is what it was, except diluted so that it was water-clear and not yellowish the way chlorine bleach is when it comes out of the bottle.

 

If you're prone to experimentation, try a 10% solution of bleach as a starter; apply to the error with a toothpick and see if it works. I would use as dilute a solution as possible, since residual bleach that dries on the paper may bleach overwriting with wet ink. Also, the bleach may affect the sizing of the paper, and the overwritten letters may feather. Be sure to allow the bleached area to dry thoroughly before overwriting.

 

Good luck.

 

We had the same. Worked perfectly...just let the paper dry after eradication, of course.

[Flounder]

Funny you should mention it - I bought a Morrison's (UK supermarket) own brand fountain pen (79 shiny pence as I recall) a while back and it included a double ended felt pen. One end said 'eraser', the other said something else I can't remember.