Clear Cap Twsbi Eco

[mostlyutalitarian]

Hi. I'm new to fountain pens and never used one which is all clear. I love the look of the clear Eco, but I'm not sure about the cap. The current pen I have is a Pilot MR, as a gift. The cap of that is sometimes dirty with ink and difficult to clean. I assume a lot of it is to do with the click cap and not twist though. How is the clear cap of the Eco? Does it get ink in it too so I'd need to clean it a lot? and how do I clean it? Thanks!

[HoosierGeek]

I have three clear TWSBIs, a 580AL, a Vac Mini, and the clear Eco. So I'll give you my thoughts on the caps.

 

I have found that they don't tend to get much ink inside, probably because they screw on instead of snapping on as you have noted, but if they do cleaning is fairly simple. All you do is just put a little water inside the cap, put your thumb over the end, and give it a good shake. Dump out the water. Repeat until water is clear. Allow to air dry or use a cotton swab to dry the cap.

 

If you are using a more stubborn ink, you can use a few drops of dishwashing soap in your water. For even more stubborn stains, you can use a very diluted ammonia or bleach solution, and maybe use cotton swabs to help scrub out the ink. However, that is a function of what ink you use. I use Waterman, Iroshizuku, J. Herbin, Diamine, and some Noodler's inks and have had to use nothing more than water for cleaning.

 

If you need to remove the plastic insert inside the cap for cleaning, I've found the best way is to take a pencil and use the eraser end - put it inside the cap and angle slightly just inside the plastic insert so that you are pushing against the insert, and then pull down. The insert just fits by friction and will slide out. Wash and dry it, then put it back inside the cap. Use the pencil eraser to push it back into place.

Edited September 18, 2016 by HoosierGeek

[mostlyutalitarian]

I have three clear TWSBIs, a 580AL, a Vac Mini, and the clear Eco. So I'll give you my thoughts on the caps.

 

I have found that they don't tend to get much ink inside, probably because they screw on instead of snapping on as you have noted, but if they do cleaning is fairly simple. All you do is just put a little water inside the cap, put your thumb over the end, and give it a good shake. Dump out the water. Repeat until water is clear. Allow to air dry or use a cotton swab to dry the cap.

 

If you are using a more stubborn ink, you can use a few drops of dishwashing soap in your water. For even more stubborn stains, you can use a very diluted ammonia or bleach solution, and maybe use cotton swabs to help scrub out the ink. However, that is a function of what ink you use. I use Waterman, Iroshizuku, J. Herbin, Diamine, and some Noodler's inks and have had to use nothing more than water for cleaning.

 

If you need to remove the plastic insert inside the cap for cleaning, I've found the best way is to take a pencil and use the eraser end - put it inside the cap and angle slightly just inside the plastic insert so that you are pushing against the insert, and then pull down. The insert just fits by friction and will slide out. Wash and dry it, then put it back inside the cap. Use the pencil eraser to push it back into place.

Thanks for the great detail, this makes me quite comfortable going for a clear Eco now. I will most likely be using carbon nano pigmented inks in the pen, like Kiwa-guro or Sei-boku.