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lisantica
January 4th, 2014, 08:13 AM
I have purchased a couple of user pens for learning how to clean fountain pens, nibs, etc.

A few "tools" I use so far are:

Soft microfiber cloth
Q-Tip
Little stick pin found in my swiss army knife
40X loupe
Zebra headband flashlight
Ruler
Pads of Tomoe River, Rhodia or similar for testing the nib and how it writes
Pen cases to store pens
Home-made sonic cleaner

What are yours?

SteveE
January 16th, 2014, 11:52 AM
That 40X loupe might be too strong. Many of us use 10X to 15X and do just fine. Heck, if the sun is out, 40X might start a fire!

I also have some generic repair stuff around the bench:
Recycled dental picks for removing ossified sacs and clearing feed channels
Pen cleaning solution such as JB's Pen Flush, Koh-i-noor Rapidoeze, etc.
Thin brass shim stock for flossing nib splits
Spare sacs
Orange shellac (for sac cement)
Rubber shelf liner (to use as grippy stuff)
Mylar smoothing film (for the finishing touch on nibs)
Sac spreader
Spare converters
Spare nibs

You get the point: We never have everything. Start small and as you need things, add them. I keep most of my pen maintenance tools in a plastic tool box in my office at work. Out of sight so they don't "walk away" but near at hand in case I need to work on something.

Jeph
January 16th, 2014, 12:45 PM
... We never have everything. Start small and as you need things, add them. I keep most of my pen maintenance tools in a plastic tool box in my office at work. Out of sight so they don't "walk away" but near at hand in case I need to work on something.

I have overflowed my second plastic tool box and I am still trying to figure out what I need.

The most important thing in your toolbox is PATIENCE.

SteveE
January 20th, 2014, 02:34 PM
Jeph - PATIENCE? I went to several shops around Chicago, and none of them had any to sell to me. So I have very little patience with which to work. Besides, there just wasn't any room for any of that in my toolbox once I started accumulating other tools.

Just kidding!

Patience is something some are blessed with and the rest of us have to learn to repair our own mistakes.

You make a very important point.

Jeph
January 20th, 2014, 03:59 PM
SteveE, I am not sure what part of Chicago you are in, but I bought my first vintage pen(s) at the Volo antique mall. The selection was pretty pitiful, but I did get a nice Sheaffer Craftsman vac there. It has been over 6 months now so they might have restocked.

I am also now to the point where I am ordering custom tools made. The loupe (10x), cotton rags, plastic containers for soaking, toothbrush, test tube brush, tattoo needle brushes and a nice small diamter rod get the most use. And I also found that the custom picks sold by Richard Binder always get used and my not insignificant selection of my own picks and probes lay mostly unused. The only time that I do use them I am mostly doing something wrong. And I have finally used up my first Sunshine polishing cloth but it took a LONG time. Don't worry though, I have more! Plus all the basics like shellac, pure talc, extra sacs, heat gun, section pliers, gripping squares and the angled alligator pliers are handy. There is a lot more but it starts to get into specialty stuff quickly. Oh, and good light. How could I forget that? A well lit work area, plus a desk light, plus a flashlight, plus a small diameter bore light. And a padded work surface. I have some toolbox non-skid liner covered by an old sweatshirt that gets covered by paper towels. Oh yeah paper towels. You need a dumptruck full of those. Oh, and...

welch
January 21st, 2014, 02:56 PM
SteveE covered most of the tools I use, so, just for emphasis:

- the small diameter flashlight is a big must-have. Once you get the section off, the barrel always has amazing stories to tell. (Got mine from Pendemonium. I think Sam says their cats love to bat at the light)

- I find that two pairs of section pliars are handy. I get more leverage.

- a hair dryer is about right for loosening sections and for melting shellac (which usually holds a P51 hood). I've tried a heat gun, after watching Pendleton Brown elegantly wave a pen through a blast of hot air and, zingo, a 51 hood unscrewed like magic. Discovered, however, that you need a LOT of practice to avoid over-heating a hood or a section. Managed to obliterate an Esterbrook, which is hard to do. Softened the bottom of a 51 hood, which amused Tom Mullane when he saw my "handiwork". Only good use: someone had glued a Wearever section to the barrel. Working very carefully ("patience") I persuaded the glue to give-way, in a puff of smoke.

- Richard Binder wears a lighted magnifying glass, something like a dermetologist would wear. You can see a picture of Richard in working gear on Brian Gray's Edison website...Philadelphia show. Very helpful when you need a third or fourth hand for a flashlight.

lisantica
January 23rd, 2014, 04:34 AM
Thank you all, I enjoyed reading your comments.
I now have a few things on my buy list for maintenance & cleaning.

Massaya
February 9th, 2014, 04:19 PM
Although I haven't been at it very long, I have quite a few tools, however storing them, together with storing spare parts has been the most important. I now have some 1oz and 2oz tobacco tins for spares (they sell new ones on e-bay) and my son has just kindly bought me a lovely artists box with two tiers. The bottom holds bits and pieces and the top the tools. So I am really well covered. I recommend both.

Lbravo
February 11th, 2014, 02:24 AM
How do you build a sonic cleaner?

SteveE
February 11th, 2014, 06:50 AM
How do you build a sonic cleaner?

An ultrasonic cleaner really isn't the sort of thing most can build for themselves. It is far more economical to buy them, unless you have a precision workshop and a good bit of electronic knowledge. Even if you have all that, it would probably cost more to build than buy one, as they cost less than many modest pens. I think mine was about $30-40, but I got it over 30 years ago.

Wile E Coyote
February 20th, 2014, 07:18 PM
How do you build a sonic cleaner?

Put a cup of water in front of a speaker. For ultrasonic see Steve E's post.