Fountain Pen Storage - Dos and Don'ts.

[agentdaffy007]

I heard about that as well. Are all MB leather cases vegetable tanned?

[inkstainedruth]

On 8/27/2021 at 6:32 PM, FountainNewbie said:

Thanks Seoulseeker, Thott... I didn't know about the effects of leather on the plating. 

 

I didn't either.  

At the moment, mine are mostly stored in inexpensive non-leather cases, but I keep the cases unzipped so there's air circulating.  I don't have a huge number of celluloid pens, but I do have some.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[JakobS]

On 8/23/2021 at 12:08 PM, Paul-in-SF said:

For those who don't know (like me before I looked it up) "MicroChamber Paper ... contains dispersed molecular traps that remove and neutralize acids, pollutants and the harmful by-products of deterioration. Also eliminates odors such as smoke, mold, and mildew." 

 

Since this stuff is made to remedy deterioration of paper products, it might not be strong enough to handle the off-gassing from deteriorating celluloid. But it (probably) couldn't hurt, for any pens that aren't visibly deteriorating. For anything with visible deterioration or crystallization, I think the common wisdom is to just keep them in the open air and away from any other celluloid pens. 

To clarify, MicroChamber paper was made to help preserve many different items, not just paper, the company that makes it, also makes MicroChamber storage boxes for film (celluloid, and glass plate), photographs, records, tapes, CD’s, paintings, hats, clothing etc. It also isn’t made solely for capturing deterioration by products but for room and air pollution that these items can be exposed to as well. At least on their older technical info part of their webpage, Conservation Resources described how the paper would be able to absorb the air pollution concentration from a thousand years of New York City air, before reaching your preserved item even if the concentration was to increase significantly. Unfortunately, this description was not moved over to their new website. It has the ability to capture off gassing from pens….

 

I also do not recommend, leather, or felt, or any long term enclosure really. It’s good to have air circulate around your collection, as so many different plastics deteriorate that may not be immediately obvious, and the damage can not be readily repaired or slowed once begun….

[seoulseeker]

On 8/28/2021 at 7:32 AM, FountainNewbie said:

Thanks Seoulseeker, Thott... I didn't know about the effects of leather on the plating. 

 

Seoulseeker, you mentioned the plating tarnished somehow quickly. Could you please let me know about how long it took for you to notice it (years, months, weeks?). I'll keep a close inspection on my pens to see if any change.

 

Mine have been for about 5 months but I haven't notice any tarnishing (not yet). Worth mentioning the pens are waxed... maybe it protects them a bit more?

 

Within months