New Year's Resolutions, let’s just all forget those and do something with this winter time to improve our lives. Pen & Knife maintenance is a nice thing to give your year a great start, it is cheap and fun to play with your toys.
Our knives get the most abuse throughout the year, so if you are a P.O.P. (pen-only person), jump down the page.
First things first, clear out a space to make a little mess, get some good light and if you have a magnifying glass, loupe, or zoom setting on your phone camera have that ready to go.
Supplies:
Knife cleaning solution (we like Carbon Honey), at least some dish soap and water.
Old toothbrush (great excuse to swap to a new one anyway)
Toothpicks (not old ones please) wood is best, plastic ok but no metal ones
Sunshine cloth (brand name for a jeweler cleaning cloth)
Old rags, paper towels, or something like that
Knife oil (gun oil is ok also, but a very light oil of some kind)
Quality bits and SHORT driver handle
Cleaning is first because it allows you to LOOK at your knife, get all that crap out of the screws (that is what the toothpicks are for), and feel the action or see any knicks/chips in your blade edge. Too often we use the snot out of our tools without really looking at them.
Once you have dug out all the junk in the screw heads (use that magnifying glass or phone camera to make sure) then you can start with a bit that you KNOW is too large and work down until you have the tightest fit. Way too often we get in a rush and grab what we THINK is the right size without double and triple checking, and then a screw is striped.
Your goal is to apply just enough pressure to see if the screw is loose. You are NOT trying to tighten it more, you are making sure it is not loose. If you can move it, then your goal is German Torque Spec (Gutentite)....ok that is my bad joke for the article.
Some companies like Machinewise will give you a torque spec (3mn) others apply factory thread locker (that is another in-depth article on the use of thread locker) and others just slap a knife together. No matter what was done at the factory a screw needs tension (think of it as a spring) to hold. Too much tension and it stretches, breaks, or the head/threads strip.
If your knife is a folder with a pocket clip now is the time to adjust it if needed. Having your knife fall out of a pocket and get lost shortly after your winter maintenance is not the story you want to tell. If you are not comfortable bending metal or dealing with tiny screws just give us a shout.
Sharpening can be a fun and therapeutic way to enjoy your knives or a frustrating and bloody way to ruin them and your digits. If you don’t sharpen your own knives then find a place that sharpens like Penchetta and wait until AFTER to finish with your winter maintenance. The reason is because sharpening creates dust and the fresh oil can trap and hold which makes all your other work a waste.
Speaking of oil, you use too much, but we all do so blanket forgiveness. The goal is to get the oil down into the places where two bits of metal contact each other. We are dealing with engines or gearboxes. These are flat pieces or small bearings that only need a thin film of lightweight oil (not thick grease). Think guns, not gears.
Lastly, wipe off your knife with a clean cloth or paper towel and then use a Sunshine or jeweler's cloth to bring that beauty out and remind you why you bought each knife in the first place.
In the future, we can go into care of different materials used for handles. The correct oils for bearings vs bushings. Total knife teardown and thread locker. But at least you got your year off to a great start with a bit of collection care.
Pens
Even a titanium machined pen can be damaged by a child who cross-threads it. Pens take more care in maintenance than knives, so go slow, stay relaxed and make time your friend not your enemy.
Gather your collection, clear a space that can handle getting wet (best if you can work near a sink) and let’s have fun rediscovering all these cool pens you own.
Supplies:
A few shallow containers for pen soaking
A gallon of distilled water
A small bottle of UNSCENTED household ammonia
A small bottle of dish soap
Sunshine cloth or jeweler cleaning cloth
Magnifying glass, jeweler loupe, cell phone camera that can zoom
Small bit of rubber or silicone (like used for opening jars, a bit of shelf liner or old bicycle inner tube, anything that will give you grip on slippery plastic)
Small syringe with a blunt needle
Bulb for cleaning a baby’s ears/nose or large plastic syringe for giving liquid medications
Paper towels, tissues, or toilet paper
If you mainly own rollerballs or ballpoints then you have 2 steps, put in a fresh refill and then wipe down the pen with Sunshine cloth. The Fountain Pen People get to make a mess so sit back and giggle at them.
Start by going to a sink and washing out all the ink from your pens that you are going to clean. If you want to keep a couple ready to go please set them far aside so as not to mix them during the cleaning process.
Most fountain pen inks are water soluble and safe down the sink. Just make sure NOT to stain your pretty white sink with Baystate blue. The safest thing is to use a plastic bowl to capture the pure ink, and then dilute it with tap water before pouring it down the drain.
If you have a piston filler pen, first drive out all the ink and then fill a cup or bowl with water and enjoy the process of filling the pen and then emptying it over and over until clear. Vac fillers, same slow and steady party for you. Some piston and vac pens can be taken down for deep cleaning but if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Remove any converter from the pen and use the small syringe with a blunt needle to clean out old ink. Make sure to move the plunger up and down a few times and put the needle far into the converter to keep it from just spraying water.
Once you think you have a pen clean take a small bit of tissue/toilet paper and hold the nib. You will likely still get color. If a lot then use the bulb or big syringe to flush water through the front section. If faint then move on.
If gentle flushing doesn’t seem to help, let that front section soak in distilled water while you clean the next pen then come back to it. Repeat as needed.
Pen flush is ONLY if water doesn’t seem to flow through a pen well. If it was a great writer before cleaning then plain water is enough. Use distilled water to flush out the Pen flush.
Once a pen is clean, use your magnifying glass to look at the nib end. Are the tines aligned? Is the nib centered on the feed? Adjust if you are comfortable, research and learn if you are not, or give us a shout at Penchetta.
Now is the time to grab the Sunshine or jeweler's cloth and give the pen a nice massage. Clean up the dirt and oils from use and see it shine again.
Lastly, fill with ink, I normally work from lighter colors to darker ones after cleaning as the ink will be slightly diluted with water anyway.
In the future, we can talk nib work, vintage pens, and more now that you have a clean collection to enjoy.