One of our dear fans and walk-in customers - Karen, asked if she could share her list of items that she uses in her Pen Toolbox with our readers here. She had recently rekindled her love of fountain pens and dove in headfirst into the fountain pen frenzy.
Here is what she uses to fill, maintenance and use with her writing instruments.
- Silicone Grease
- Q-Tips
- Paper Towels
- Blotting Paper
- Rubber gripper sheeting (dollar store)
- Nib smoothing Sheets or Sticks
- Jeweler's Loupe (10x, 20x or 30x)
- Heavy Steel Needle Nose Tweezers
- Ear Syringe
- O-Rings / Washers
- Nib Tin (storage for extra nibs, Altoids container works well)
- Eyedropper (for filling & mixing inks)
- Ink Sample Vials (for traveling & mixing inks)
- Brass Nib Shim (for cleaning between tines)
- Simichrome Polish (for cleaning and shining nibs, also removes ink stains)
- X-Acto Knife
- Replacement rollerball tips
- Ink Syringe Kit
- Ultrasonic Jewelery Cleaner
- Phone #'s and Websites of some pen experts
- Bag of Silica Gel packets (sucks out excess water)
My pen tool kit contains: a polishing cloth, Simichrome polish, Restoration Wax, Moleskine notebook (to document repair details), 15X loupe,
ReplyDeletepill container (to hold spare parts), gripper cloth, pure silicone
grease, a long-handled screwdriver, a mini
Maglite, section pliers (a/k/a sparkplug puller), replacement pen sacs & O-rings, dental picks, Q-tips, tweezers, a small barrel brush, a sac spreader, shellac, pure talc (to dust newly installed sacs--to prevent them from adhering to the barrel wall), X-acto knife, an Arkansas stone (for initial nib grinding), Micromesh and/or nail polishing sticks (the kind with 3 types of surfaces--for nib smoothing; note: do not use an emery board!), a mini hammer and a knock-out block (both used to remove feeds).
Thanks, Tom, for letting me have a voice, and most especially because you posted it on my birthday! What a nice gift. Most of my tools are for maintenance as opposed to repair, but I hope to keep learning. By the way, what's in YOUR pen toolbox, eh?
ReplyDeletegreat list of pen tools!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, Karen! Happy Birthday! I will address my pen toolbox at a later date. Although, I think you may be disappointed since I don't have nearly as many tools!
ReplyDelete-Tom