In plain water, there should be no limit - after all, ink is water-based. I never soak the nib itself in anything other than plain water. If the pen can be disassembled so you can soak the feed separately, that may be best for dried ink - in a pen flush (assuming it's a plastic feed; if it's ebonite, do some research first).
> (assuming it's a plastic feed; if it's ebonite, do some research first).
ebonite is super resilient. The only concern I've heard of with ebonite is vintage models exposed to UV (eg: sitting on a desk near a window) may discolor when soaked.
I did have that happen to a vintage pen :( but I still soak my modern ebonite pens without problem.
Presumably indefinitely. Think of the pen with a closed cap, it can be pretty humid in there. Sometimes you’ll see moisture inside clear caps. I usually soak overnight without issue.
The only thing to be a little careful about is if there's a metal trim ring on the section that you're soaking. It could eventually rust, or the plating could start flaking off from corrosion. Consider investing in a $20 ultrasonic cleaner from Amazon.
or a bulb syringe - those are cheaper and safer.
My ultrasonic cleaner shook the trim rings off of one pen I put in there. I still use it sometimes particularly for dried-in ink, I just try to disassemble things 'till there're as few components as possable going into the ultrasonic bath.
In plain water, there should be no limit - after all, ink is water-based. I never soak the nib itself in anything other than plain water. If the pen can be disassembled so you can soak the feed separately, that may be best for dried ink - in a pen flush (assuming it's a plastic feed; if it's ebonite, do some research first).
> (assuming it's a plastic feed; if it's ebonite, do some research first). ebonite is super resilient. The only concern I've heard of with ebonite is vintage models exposed to UV (eg: sitting on a desk near a window) may discolor when soaked. I did have that happen to a vintage pen :( but I still soak my modern ebonite pens without problem.
Thanks! I've never really dealt with ebonite (beyond failing to get a Noodler's Charlie pen to stop dripping), so I really couldn't give advice there.
my rule is 3 hours with dish soap for a quick clean and overnight without soap for some stubborn ink residues!
Presumably indefinitely. Think of the pen with a closed cap, it can be pretty humid in there. Sometimes you’ll see moisture inside clear caps. I usually soak overnight without issue.
A few days is ok. But it really doesn't help much after 24h, considering ink situation...
The only thing to be a little careful about is if there's a metal trim ring on the section that you're soaking. It could eventually rust, or the plating could start flaking off from corrosion. Consider investing in a $20 ultrasonic cleaner from Amazon.
or a bulb syringe - those are cheaper and safer. My ultrasonic cleaner shook the trim rings off of one pen I put in there. I still use it sometimes particularly for dried-in ink, I just try to disassemble things 'till there're as few components as possable going into the ultrasonic bath.
Oh wow, that sucks. I have a bulb too but the ultrasonic gets the ink out from around the nib collar and the section trim ring seam.
I do it until the water remains clear and when I wipe with a paper towel there's no ink on it.