Ed333
December 23rd, 2013, 03:56 PM
I posted this over on the 'other' forum, really a maintenance rather than a repair question, but interested to see what folks have to say, I tend to worry overtime.
Background, I started looking for a birthyear pen, found a 1940 Parker Striped Duofold, and the rest is very predictable...I now have a late '30s to late '40s spread, year by year, of Duofolds and Vacumatics. I have inked all of them, written some with some of them, more with others, and then (from various readings) became concerned that I should not leave them with ink in them for protracted periods, especially if not being used. (But I wonder, in the old days, did people flush their pens, or just keep refilling them?)
Anyway, I just spent half an hour flushing a striped duofold, which had started to skip, which made me think it was running dry, and maybe I should clean it. I was surprised at how much ink I pumped out of it, and then really surprised at the persistence of (watered down) ink color. I have no idea how many times i filled it with cold tap water and then pumped it all out and then did it all over again. I started giving it 3-4 stiff thermometer shakes before pressing the pump after filling, and that seemed to help accelerate the process, but after half an hour I was still getting perceptible color. The ink was Diamine Umber. Is that just the way it goes with these vacumatic Parkers? Do I need to persist until I get absolutely clear water? And do I leave the cap off for a day or so to let it 'dry' inside?
Finally , should I just use one of my modern pens for correspondence, and save the old Parkers for just visual appreciation? That doesn't sound right...
And should I limit how many I have filled with ink at one time? I don't want to damage any of them, they have all been restored.
Thanks in advance, and Happy Holidays to all !
Ed
Background, I started looking for a birthyear pen, found a 1940 Parker Striped Duofold, and the rest is very predictable...I now have a late '30s to late '40s spread, year by year, of Duofolds and Vacumatics. I have inked all of them, written some with some of them, more with others, and then (from various readings) became concerned that I should not leave them with ink in them for protracted periods, especially if not being used. (But I wonder, in the old days, did people flush their pens, or just keep refilling them?)
Anyway, I just spent half an hour flushing a striped duofold, which had started to skip, which made me think it was running dry, and maybe I should clean it. I was surprised at how much ink I pumped out of it, and then really surprised at the persistence of (watered down) ink color. I have no idea how many times i filled it with cold tap water and then pumped it all out and then did it all over again. I started giving it 3-4 stiff thermometer shakes before pressing the pump after filling, and that seemed to help accelerate the process, but after half an hour I was still getting perceptible color. The ink was Diamine Umber. Is that just the way it goes with these vacumatic Parkers? Do I need to persist until I get absolutely clear water? And do I leave the cap off for a day or so to let it 'dry' inside?
Finally , should I just use one of my modern pens for correspondence, and save the old Parkers for just visual appreciation? That doesn't sound right...
And should I limit how many I have filled with ink at one time? I don't want to damage any of them, they have all been restored.
Thanks in advance, and Happy Holidays to all !
Ed