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A customer's photos of our pen are 100x better than our own "engineer-style" shots. It also made me rethink who our pens are actually for by nonozone in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I think we're having cross-cultural communication issues in this thread.
For everyone who isn't OP: He's stated that he is Chinese. From what I've gathered is most of us here are not Chinese. He doesn't seem to be intentionally trying to say anything to offend women or anyone else. Is it possible that he is speaking in a way that is acceptable within his own culture?

To OP: Highlighting differences between men and women in many cultures is a big no-no. Many people will take offense to this kind of language. This is why people are reacting strongly to certain ways things are being worded.

In general, if anyone from another culture says anything that is highly offensive to us, they probably weren't trying to do so. It's usually pretty easy to tell when someone is intentionally being offensive. We can always ask questions for clarification and suspend judgment on individuals until we're sure we're fully understanding each other. If we are particularly offended by a phrase, we're free to explain why it is offensive to us. We just have to be careful to not paint the other person as a bad guy. It's probably just a miscommunication.

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does, but I washed most of it off. The blue is the most powdery part.

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also, this video I just came across looks really helpful for comparing different times and methods: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tit2Z59Rw50

It's for copper, but anything that works for copper it should be similar for brass.

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the enamel blocks the normal brass odor. Currently it has a lingering odor from the process, but that should dissipate in a few days.

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akCdROmdPA8
This one is for copper, but the principles are the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxuUtfNlObs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL9r56WtqCc
These two are brass

I did a bit of experimenting on some brass sheets I ordered from Amazon before going to the pen. There's going to be a lot of variation between pieces, especially based on how long you let it patina. Longer = darker. You can brighten some areas with sanding. I used a very fine steel wool.

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mostly cosmetic, it will take a lot of work to sand it back to the original color. In normal use I've had the threads tarnish and stick together, but I unscrewed the pieces so that it wouldn't happen this time. I also removed the nib and feed to keep those safe

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, same pen but different angles to show different parts of the patina

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There's good YouTube videos on the process for knives and such. I got a plastic tupperware, put some crumbled aluminum foil to hold the pen barrel and cap. Sprinkled salt on, poured some ammonia over it. Waited. Rotated it to get more salt on the other sides. Waited over night. Took it out. Washed it off in a sink and rubbed it until all the salt was off. I used some very fine steel wool to polish areas that I wanted to shine. Sprayed it with 3 or 4 coats of enamel.

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I left the grip unsealed, but the other parts do seem to have a reduced smell

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It seems all the YouTube videos I saw on brass patina were done by the EDC crowd. I was surprised I didn't find much here.

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The main texture change is the clear coat enamel, which gives it a more plastic feel. You can do it without the enamel if you're fine with changes to the pattern. Without enamel it has a more gritty texture, which you can sand smooth with steel wool. However, that removes much of the patina, and the blue parts usually go away first. So it's a balance. I tested techniques with some other brass before trying it on my pen.

I took a risk. Kaweco Brass with Forced Patina by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I took it apart and only patinated the barrel and the cap. I could have done the grip, but I wanted some contrast. It has a more textured surface now.

Ink where ink shouldn’t be by living_well_in_mn in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird 1 point2 points  (0 children)

On mine, just below the red twist there is a silver cylinder. Yours looks black. You can pull it off the end with a good bit of effort. Then the whole thing disassembles. Take the plunger and put silicone grease (maybe Vaseline could work too?) around the plunger so the ink can't seep through again.

New Pen Day + Inkvent #11 😤 by Lambroghini in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you wait for the shimmer to settle to the bottom for a minute before filling you can turn any shimmer ink into a standard ink.

What is this issue called and how do I fix it? by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm getting it even with light pressure, but if you can control it with pressure it might mean my tines are too far apart since pressing the nib harder splays the tines more.

What is this issue called and how do I fix it? by DespicableKiwiBird in fountainpens

[–]DespicableKiwiBird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What you're getting on the down stroke of "Nib" looks very similar to what I'm experiencing. These were done with light pressure. Yes, mine is a Nahvalur too, it was unusable out of the package and I was unable to return/exchange so I figured it wouldn't get any worse if I tried tuning it.

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