corrosion on nib holder

[mick]

I've just noticed my personal Statesman FP has very tiny spots of what looks like corrosion on the Rhodium section that holds the nib. None anywhere else, finial, clip and CB all look just like the day I made it. I know CSUSA will probably make this good but my question is WHY? I'm just throwing an idea out here but is it possible that the ink I was using had something corrosive in it as it's only where the plating was inside the cap. The pen sits on my desk and isn't used on a daily basis so the cap stays on for long periods of time.
If this is the case do I need to clean the pen out if it's going to be left unused for awhile. BTW it was Mont Blanc ink.
I've never seen this addressed so I was just wondering.

 

[Chuck Key]

What did you use to make the barrels?

Chuckie

 

[wdcav1952]

Mick,

A bit of good reading on pH of various inks can be found here:

http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/ink/ink-and-ph-levels.htm

 

[Firefyter-emt]

Does it look something like this?

 

[mrcook4570]

Was it Mont Blanc blue-black? If so, it is acidic.

 

[Johnathan]

I've had a few pens that have done that, contacdt Craft Supply and they will replace it. If it's something I'm doing, someone let me know, I have seen this on pens that have never been inked before so it must be something else too.

 

[randyrls]

Originally posted by Johnathan

I've had a few pens that have done that, contacdt Craft Supply and they will replace it. If it's something I'm doing, someone let me know, I have seen this on pens that have never been inked before so it must be something else too.

Sometimes CA will "outgas" and produce what looks like corrosion. It occurs most often on the nib that is inside the cap. That concentrates the fumes. Remove the nib from the tube and wipe gently with denatured alcohol or acetone.

after installing the fittings, I usually leave my pens apart for a few days with no refill or ink in them.

 

[bjackman]

I know of one somewhat high profile poster on some of the FP specific board/sites who refuses to buy any FP that might have a metal or plated trim ring at the nib end of the section. His claim is that ALL of these trim rings will eventually have corrosion problems, no matter what ink is used.
He's quite adamant about it.

 

[marionquill]

I've had several of the classic american fountain pens from woodcraft turn green around the gold portion on the front section. One had no ink, and never had ink, another had ink that I left in there and didn't use...it was a "junk" pen since I messed it up. I had another style do the same thing, the European style fountain pen from woodcraft and that was one I used every day...it developed a green mess around the gold on the front section. I was so upset that I swore off buying them because it would really bother me to have a client bring one back for that reason. I assumed it was because they're cheaper, low end pen kits. Seeing that it happens on the higher end pen kits further motivates me to develop a kitless fountain pen. I don't like the threads so am working hard to figure out a good snap fit. So far, I've got the front section to barrel down, just have to figure out how to get the cap to work and still look nice..........until then, I think I'll just buy kits that don't have metal on the front section.

 

[mick]

Originally posted by Firefyter-emt

Does it look something like this?

Lee, it's exactly like that.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

I hate to say it, but for me this seems to be a common problem. In my collection, I have two Jr. Statesmans and a Gent. The are all like this. The two Jr. Statesmans were just replaced by CSUSA (as seen here in a post) but these kits did it faster and worse! What is sad is that I have a chrome Slimline that bangs around inside my cliboard all day long and the CHROME is still perfect.

I don't know why they do it, maybe it's just me... However, I am not alone in this problem and it appears they have not fixed the problem. Personaly, I think the platings are getting cheaper due to the cost to make the pens. Maybe they should switch to chrome or even better stainless steel.

PS, I know I could just get the kit replaced, but to be honest.. I am sick and tired of doing it.

 

[burl128]

I didn't became a member till now because my poor english, but this topic forced me.
I have at moment 12 rhodium pens(statesman,emperor,lotus...)
and they all have that problem, not only on nib holder but all over. I didn't notice this before as i had only few of them and i would sell them in month or two. As i started to stock more i had some of them 3-6months and then i noticed it.Longer i had pen it was worst. It is coming out with hard hand buffing but onece started it will come back.Didn't mention i kept them in pen pouches (for those who think that they react with acids in leather or whatever, aren't pouches intended for pens?)

OK what i know abouth rhodium is that is resistent to acids.
Good quality rhodium plating should be betwen 0.5 and 1.5 microns,thicker than that would be brittle because of its hardness, it can be thicker but then have to be treated to release the stress. Problems with corrosion rising throu rhodium pores will ocur on platings 0.1 microns or less.

My conclusion is that maybe plating on them is not less then 0.1 micron because it needed few months for spots to occur but it is not very much thicker!!!

Frustrated!!!!!

 

[rlharding]

burl128 - Please don't hesitate to post. Your English is totally understandable - more than some English speaking people on the forum

 

[Dan_F]

Does this happen to rollerballs too?

Dan

 

[Dan_F]

Perhaps it would be a good idea to send a link to this thread to CSUSA. I doubt if Daycom would give us a second thought, but I would think CSUSA would be interested in how their top of the line pens are holding up.

Dan

 

[mick]

Dan, I've never had it happen to a rollerball and I've got a Jr Statesman I carry all the time. I'm thinking as several others have mentioned the the ink is the culprit.
I also wonder if any of the "scrapbooking" type inks which claim to be archival or acid free would work in a FP?

 

[Firefyter-emt]

Dan, The one in the above photo was a replacement for another pen that had the same problem. I personaly mailed it back to CSUSA to have it inspected to find out why it was doing that. To date, I have not recieved a reply as to why it did that.

I will say that CSUSA is very good backing thier product, but I am not as concerned about backing problems, I don't want them in the first place.

 

[Rudy Vey]

After the first discussion on this topic, I immersed some Ti Gold clips as well as a rhodium cap from a Retro in half diluted Hydrochloric Acid (17.5%). The Ti Gold came off very fast, the Rhodium did not show any visible change. At the moment I cannot show the pictures since I am in Argentina, but will do so when I come back home end of next week. I wonder if ink would do any damage....

 

[Dan_F]

Originally posted by mick

Dan, I've never had it happen to a rollerball and I've got a Jr Statesman I carry all the time. I'm thinking as several others have mentioned the the ink is the culprit.
I also wonder if any of the "scrapbooking" type inks which claim to be archival or acid free would work in a FP?

I wonder is this might be caused by the increased humidity of the capped fountain pen environment, rather than the type of ink, contact with which one would think would be confined to the portions nearest the nib itself?

Lee---I agree about fixing the problem rather than dealing with a solution. I would think that CS would feel the same, particularly with their top of the line models. Such things can't be good for the collective reputation of kit oriented pen makers.

Dan

 

[Firefyter-emt]

You Dan, that is right along the lines I was thinking. Even more so where these pens do not use an "inner cap" to seat the section against to seal the nib it self. I know that I see visiable condensation on my vintage pens that I never seemed to notice on my kit pens.

It is a shame because for looks and size I love the Jr.Statesman kit, although I wish it had a better styled section than the straight metal section. I wish they would work in a Churchill like section.

 

[burl128]

Thank you Ruth but i have to admit that i had help.
From all info i have the problem is in thin plating.
Moisture(or else)is effecting finish only because of that,so corrosion is rising from micro pores due to thin plating.
Proper plating shouldnt be effected by things like that for long time. I was keeping my pens in pen pouches and corroson is on all parts, rollerballs or fountains no difference.
Maybe current price of rhodium effected thikness or should i better say thinness of plating (over $9000 per troy ounce).

 

[ericatcraft]

I just wanted to let you all know what Craft Supplies has done regarding the pitting on some of our pens. We contacted our supplier when this issue popped up some months ago and here is what we have learned regarding the problem and how the problem has been fixed.

First off, our supplier believes, and our records of complaints received corroborate this, that the problem was with a few batches of pens that were plated some time ago and all current inventory is free of defects. We have gone through our inventory and removed all pens that had pitting issues.

We were told that they believe the problem was due to parts not getting cleaned sufficiently before the plating process. They have done several things to ensure that pitting is no longer an issue:

1. They addressed the issue with the cleaning step and have improved this step to ensure all parts are cleaned sufficiently. Sorry I don't have specifics, I was just told they improved the cleaning process.
2. They are now triple coating all parts in nickel before the final plating (rhodium, etc.) - this ensures a more even coating and prevents pitting.
3. Our supplier has added an extra quality control step to check for defects and pitting before any pens are shipped to us.

We also check all pen shipments as they arrive for quality and correctness.

We take our customer satisfaction guarantee very seriously on all of our pens, if anyone has ANY problem with a pen purchased from Craft Supplies USA please call us (1-800-551-8876) and you will get an immediate, hassle-free replacement with no questions asked. We are confident that the replacements you receive will have no pitting issues.

 

[Dan_F]

Eric---THANK YOU!!! Not only for taking care of the problem, but for letting us know about it. I was beginning to feel uneasy after stocking up on some up on some of these kits. It's also good to know that you are a member here. I have had nothing but good experiences with your company.

Dan

 

[Firefyter-emt]

Eric, thank you for the work you guys put into seeing what was the problem. I will give you call or e-mail about those 2 kits that I have now that was sent the last time.

 

[mick]

Eric, I just called customer service about the problem. They were great! Gonna have a replacement out to me tomorrow.......now that's service!

 

[Jim15]

Thanks for the response Eric.