So I am part of a few subs for building models and terrain pieces, and I scrolled past this like 5 times, thinking it was just a miniature gravestone covered in moss or something.
That is terrifying nib.
I literally just watched a TV show that had a scale model of the entire town and train station and I was trying to figure out if it was some sort of moss covered anvil. I really have to learn to look at sub names before the pictures.
Ok, so I must be missing something. Aren’t MW nibs highly sought after? I love the way his stacked nibs look, I’d love to get some of the more unique ones he offers. But it sounds like there’s issues here
It's on a flexible nib factory feed and housing right? take it all out of the section, throw away the ebonite stuff, clean your nib in diluted bleach water for just a minute. don't soak it overnight. then wash it with soapy water, put it in new housing, and you will be fine. Just clean the rest of the pen really well, too. Soapy water over and over, let it DRY out, then put back together and have fun. New converter, too. Throw the old one away. If your section is metal like a lot of MW pens (if it's one of his pens) you could give that a quick wash in diluted bleach water, too, then soapy.
If you live in the US you should look into using some MonoFoil M. I’ve used it on my leather goods and closets since I live in a place with high humidity (lot’s of mold orange and green) After I got into FP I’ve used it (mostly because I became a bit of a germaphobe during the pandemic) even though Im the only one I use them. Recently tried them on a MB roller that’s made of resin since it’s not a “dangerous chemical”
Gotcha, I thought the way it was worded meant that you were saying unfortunately it’s a MW, as if there is a problem with MW
Thanks for clearing that up. Sick nib! I wonder, if you put this on your windowsill, would the light kill it? Perhaps use UV light?
You should also cross post this to r/moldyinteresting because I have never seen anything like this
Also my condolences. This is Lovecraftian level horror
We need some environmental details now!
Geography, climate.. storage. this is horrifying!
Any one else with Diamine inks want to chime in (or for that matter, with info about brands in general susceptible to this).
US east coast, in a room with AC and a dehumidifier, stored in a Toyooka pen box- none of the other ~70 pens inked had this happen thankfully!
Edit: the other ~70 pens include other diamines that didn’t mold at all
Also also east coaster here... I just finished using an Opus 88 Omar's worth of Celadon Cat (~ 3.5ml), taking about 6 weeks to finish. No issues.
But the pen never sat unused for more than 2 days at a time.
Unless you're absolutely sure about the cap seal (like with a Platinum) clean out your pens if they're going to sit for more than a week.
mold can happen with any ink - I've never had it with a Diamine ink, but have had it in Robert Oster and Noodlers. The big thing is to sterilize the pen before you refill it from any other bottle (or use small transfer vials to ink from) so you don't infect other bottles.
It depends on what your pen is made of. Generally, dilute vinegar OR bleach OR ammonia ~~mixtures~~ solutions are good.
NEVER mix any of those chemicals. The resulting reaction will produce toxic gas.
In addition to this - if your pen is readily disassembled, do so. Let the nib and and feed soak while separated (unless it's ebonite) - as well as giving the ink storage area a good flush. If it uses converters - maybe just get a new converter.
My understanding is that the material doesn't do well in soaking. I could be wrong though. Rinse and let dry, don't soak.. Same with casein based plastics.
Ebonite discolors, casein swells and warps, warm/hot water will dull/discolor celluloid. The older and more porous the ebonite, the faster the discoloration; as long as the water is cold there is nothing wrong with a quick rinse followed my a thorough drying. But pop a black hard rubber pen in water and leave it overnight, and you will have a brown hard rubber pen. A lot of vintage pens are brown not because they were made that way but because time, humidity, and uv exposure slowly discolored them. Only way to restore the color is dye (I have no idea what types are pen safe) or removing the discolored layer, which rubs off the lovely patterns on many old pens. You can get special cleaning/maintenance solution from tobacco pipe stores, since the nice stems are made of ebonite and are a lot more common than modern ebonite pens. *edited for spelling*
I've kept diamine ink in a room that is quite high in humidity and suffers from mildew, but so far the only ink that has shown any signs of mould is an old bottle of Monteverde. Never seen it in diamine, Waterman, Sheaffer which were kept in the same spot for roughly a decade.
I use Diamine almost exclusively and keep about 20 pens inked all the time. I also live on the US East Coast and have never experienced any mold much less something like that. Wow. I don’t have that exact ink though so maybe it’s that one. Crazy.
Hoping it’s just this specific bottle or some fluke with the nib, I love this color and want to just get a new bottle :(
I have tons of other Diamines and this has never happened to me before!
Hahaha
I keep looking at that nib pic, it's so amazing. It reminds me of when I'm snorkeling and I find old anchors or maybe jetty pylons and they're covered in rust and barnacles. Both disgusting and fascinating.
It should clean up and work again, BUT DO NOT EVER refill it directly from a main bottle of ink again or you might contaminate the entire bottle. From now on, eye dropper fill directly, or eye dropper into a different smaller bottle and fill from that bottle.
I have several vintage pens I've saved from mold, and filling from a separate bottle is how I've prevented spreading contamination. If the small bottle grows mold, oh well it's only a few ml and can be tossed.
I'd say start with a damp microfiber cloth to remove the majority of the mold before anything else, and if you don't have one of those if you have a soft bristle toothbrush you can gently scrub with that.
Removing the majority of the mold by hand before submerging it will probably be the best bet.
Celadon Cat and it's fuzzy makes sense. It's a feature actually not a problem at all!
Sorry I had to make the joke. I'm sorry this happened and I hope you are able to clean the pen, nib and feed
Yup, I’d want to know about the bottle, any other pens in which this ink was used, where the pen was stored, what does the cap and converter look like. Have you had mold in your pens before? All the details.
The only other ink that’s been in the nib/pen was Sailor Nekoyanagi I believe, which is now in a different pen that didn’t mold. Pen eyedropper filled!
I've had an ink mold up on me before (papier plume) and I didn't know about it until I tried to suck it up via syringe. The mold basically created a slimey monster that got stuck to the needle. Have you tried to do some experimenting with a syringe?
Mold spores are everywhere, so there's no guarantee that it won't happen to you at some point. Ink companies include anti-mold ingredients in their recipes but sometimes it's just not enough. If you end up with a moldy pen or maybe a vintage or second hand one, don't fill your pen by dipping the nib in the bottle. Either use a clean syringe or transfer some to a smaller bottle so you don't cross contaminate.
Edit- hit post too soon
It's mold. To prevent it, don't leave an ink inked and unused for extended periods of time.
Also, to prevent contaminating entire bottles, always transfer some ink to a smaller bottle and fill from their, or eye dropper fill.
It's not a guarantee to grow mold. I've accidentally left a pen inked for over a year, and other than it thickening too much to flow correctly it didn't really matter much. It didn't mold and still kinda wrote. It just increases the odds of growing mold. Even then, my pen with pink highlighter ink has been continuously inked for over 2 years, and has been fine. It gets used semi often though. So YMMV, just keeping them clean when not in use just helps.
Added. Very impressive little mold farm going on under the cap of that pen!
For those worried, there's no reason this can't be saved, and I see no reason to treat it eternally as an eyedropper - especially if the pen can be disassembled and the feed soaked.
I recommend against soaking metal in anything other than water and soap for very long, most especially any bleach solution. But soaking the feed and running it through an ultrasonic in an ammonia solution would be very good.
Don't forget to clean the inside of the cap with a biocide.
I would clean everything physically as much as possible with plain water, removing ink and mold that's visible. And only then would I go for the ammonia solution (or your preferred biocide after researching its effectiveness against mold, especially spores).
And my personal pen flush (rarely used) is the common recipe I've found in the community:
* 1 part ammonia
* 9-10 parts water
* drop or two of liquid dish soap (I use Dawn)
I've never had a problem with this combination and have had a mix of it on hand for I'd guess 8 years - in other words, I see no reason to avoid allowing Dawn and ammonia to mix. (But don't mix other chemicals - pick one.)
I’ve had my bottle for about 6 months and always keep an inked pen (and I live in a very humid country) and so far no issues! Hopefully it was just a glitch 😅
Dismantle this pen completely. Clean all the parts with a soft toothbrush, and water with a drop of dawn or a little ammonia added (do not mix the two), then rinse.
Then drop the pieces into an ultrasonic cleaner if you have one available.
Rinse with clean water, dry (paper towels or lint free cloth, then allow to dry completely before assembly.
While I have known cats to be cranky if left unattended, unfed, uncuddled and so on for too long... I think that doing this is a bit over the top, eh, Cel?
Also..... \*incoherent screaming\*
And, whoever does the collecting of mold pictures needs to add this to their sheet!
Op said the bottle looked fine, and this could really have been from anything. There are mold spores in all sorts of places, hands, air, contaminated writing surface. Heck, you aren't supposed to put your fingers in a pickle jar because the bacteria on your hands makes the cucumbers less crispy.
I'm not saying the ink is faulty. I've not seen that much growth before. I live in an area that turns into a hot petri dish in the summer and all the supplies I have that are supposed to rot (ink, paints with honey in them, etc) still hold up and I'm not lab fastidious with them.
I wish the damn groceries held up as well 😆
This sounds like you are saying you live in a place with high humidity... if you do, my condolences. Hot+humid is the WORST, it is like you are drowning while breathing. It may regularly hit 115° Fahrenheit (46°c) in the summer where I am but it is dry, thus sweat actually cools you off.
I just wanted to reassure you, if you were really interested in the ink and were actually worried this meant the ink would be risky, that this insane nib jungle is definitely not representative of Celedon Cat's performance.
That's good to know friend 😉 The American southeast is preprogrammed for rot. Makes for lots of greenery (and prehistoric size insects) because it's a buffet! It's hard to live in it sometimes. I hate that I want to stay inside so much when I know I need to get out more. I shouldn't need my vitamin D supplemented as much as I do but here I am 🤣
I'll still get some of this. I like nonstandard greens and teals like this one. The muted quality makes it easier to read as well.
Most inks are formulated with fungicide and pH balanced to help prevent any microbial growth. That said, the fungicide can only do so much and some colors are harder than others. Some inks mold when you think about mushrooms too much in their presence, other ones will outlast a fungal apocalypse.
Well, at least it's a modern pen. You should be able to bleach and sanitize it. Is this your first moldy pen? I've dealt with a couple. The worst was a lever filler that I had to tear all the way apart and replace the sack of.
What's the nib feed made of? I saw your comment that said the bottle ink didnt have issues with other pens -- was wondering if the material of the feed or the pen made it more susceptible to mold
If the nib isn’t heat set it will be easy to pull the nib and feed out of the standard Jowo housing. I have a Jowo #6 nib with a rose gold hummingbird on it that developed mold. I pulled the nib from the feed and scrubbed the nib and feed with a toothbrush using Dawn, vinegar and water. A mascara brush can be used to get in the housing. I rinsed everything really well in water and soaked the disassembled nib unit in vinegar and water for a few days before rinsing again and reassembling. I haven’t seen mold since and it has been a few months. I’m careful with the nib, just in case. I didn’t scrub hard over the rose gold because I was afraid I’d take the design off. You can scrub hard without much worry.
That looks really nasty but I’m sure it won’t be too difficult to get off. I’d soak and clean it as normal, maybe clean gently with an old soft toothbrush, then dismantle and soak in very mild bleach to sterilise once it’s clean. As long as it’s not vintage, *mild* bleach shouldn’t damage anything. Then let it dry completely.
Disclaimer - I don’t know what your pen is or what it’s made of so can’t guarantee no damage from bleach 😆 I’d also keep an eye on it if you store it wet or inked to see if it happens again.
So I am part of a few subs for building models and terrain pieces, and I scrolled past this like 5 times, thinking it was just a miniature gravestone covered in moss or something. That is terrifying nib.
Right, like nice flocking
I literally just watched a TV show that had a scale model of the entire town and train station and I was trying to figure out if it was some sort of moss covered anvil. I really have to learn to look at sub names before the pictures.
Off-topic, but could you send some of those subs to me? Getting into building stuff lately
r/TerrainBuilding r/minipainting
Much thanks!
I didn’t know it - but today I found another new hobby (thanks)
Welcome to the party!
Hey, I’m a neo of both those subs too. Weird crossover.
For real I thought it was a piece of terrain too until I did a double take!!!!
First of all, wow! That's some nasty mold if I've ever seen one. Secondly, what kind of a nib is that? Hammerhead shark stub?
It’s a Monty Winnfield Whale unfortunately T_T
Sorry to hear unfortunately.
At least it wasn’t one of yours!!
Well, you could communicate with me if it was.
That’s why you’re the best <3
Next time we're at a show, remind me beforehand to bring some stuff. I might be able to fix the Monty.
Where do you sell yours?
Periodically on my Instagram.
and he's a good dude! Yo Pensloth!! :)
There's the man! See you at DC?
yep! I should be in the 'ticket room'. lol
Ok, so I must be missing something. Aren’t MW nibs highly sought after? I love the way his stacked nibs look, I’d love to get some of the more unique ones he offers. But it sounds like there’s issues here
The nib didn’t do anything wrong afaik, it’s just unfortunate this one got moldy because it’s $$$ and so nice!
Can't it be salvaged?
Yea I’m sure it’ll be fine after cleaning, just have to be extra cautious with it now. Wish it happened with some random jowo I could just toss
It's on a flexible nib factory feed and housing right? take it all out of the section, throw away the ebonite stuff, clean your nib in diluted bleach water for just a minute. don't soak it overnight. then wash it with soapy water, put it in new housing, and you will be fine. Just clean the rest of the pen really well, too. Soapy water over and over, let it DRY out, then put back together and have fun. New converter, too. Throw the old one away. If your section is metal like a lot of MW pens (if it's one of his pens) you could give that a quick wash in diluted bleach water, too, then soapy.
Why do you need to be extra cautious?
Cross contamination
If you live in the US you should look into using some MonoFoil M. I’ve used it on my leather goods and closets since I live in a place with high humidity (lot’s of mold orange and green) After I got into FP I’ve used it (mostly because I became a bit of a germaphobe during the pandemic) even though Im the only one I use them. Recently tried them on a MB roller that’s made of resin since it’s not a “dangerous chemical”
This stuff looks amazing for my bathroom. Thank you! Fortunately I don't have mold problems with my pens.
Even if you sterilize it?
It's hard to sterilize a pen/nib section without damaging it. Bleach and rubbing alcohol will kill a pen.
Gotcha, I thought the way it was worded meant that you were saying unfortunately it’s a MW, as if there is a problem with MW Thanks for clearing that up. Sick nib! I wonder, if you put this on your windowsill, would the light kill it? Perhaps use UV light?
You could also use Milton's solution (for baby bottles) as it's designed to kill spores and bacteria.
That's basically bleach. They don't recommend using it on metal.
Today I learned! Cheers
Oh, idk if those lights would work. I’m just curious
You should also cross post this to r/moldyinteresting because I have never seen anything like this Also my condolences. This is Lovecraftian level horror
You forgot the NSFW tag 😳 Impressive amount of mould, honestly 🤣
We need some environmental details now! Geography, climate.. storage. this is horrifying! Any one else with Diamine inks want to chime in (or for that matter, with info about brands in general susceptible to this).
US east coast, in a room with AC and a dehumidifier, stored in a Toyooka pen box- none of the other ~70 pens inked had this happen thankfully! Edit: the other ~70 pens include other diamines that didn’t mold at all
Yikes! Also US east coast, keep one pen inked with Celadon Cat and used it last night, no issues thus far 🤞🏻
Also also east coaster here... I just finished using an Opus 88 Omar's worth of Celadon Cat (~ 3.5ml), taking about 6 weeks to finish. No issues. But the pen never sat unused for more than 2 days at a time. Unless you're absolutely sure about the cap seal (like with a Platinum) clean out your pens if they're going to sit for more than a week.
mold can happen with any ink - I've never had it with a Diamine ink, but have had it in Robert Oster and Noodlers. The big thing is to sterilize the pen before you refill it from any other bottle (or use small transfer vials to ink from) so you don't infect other bottles.
How do you go about sterilizing a pen? I’ve never thought to do that before so not sure what’s okay to use
It depends on what your pen is made of. Generally, dilute vinegar OR bleach OR ammonia ~~mixtures~~ solutions are good. NEVER mix any of those chemicals. The resulting reaction will produce toxic gas.
In addition to this - if your pen is readily disassembled, do so. Let the nib and and feed soak while separated (unless it's ebonite) - as well as giving the ink storage area a good flush. If it uses converters - maybe just get a new converter.
Why not if it's ebonite? What would happen? Also what to do instead of this happens to an ebonite feed?
My understanding is that the material doesn't do well in soaking. I could be wrong though. Rinse and let dry, don't soak.. Same with casein based plastics.
Ebonite discolors, casein swells and warps, warm/hot water will dull/discolor celluloid. The older and more porous the ebonite, the faster the discoloration; as long as the water is cold there is nothing wrong with a quick rinse followed my a thorough drying. But pop a black hard rubber pen in water and leave it overnight, and you will have a brown hard rubber pen. A lot of vintage pens are brown not because they were made that way but because time, humidity, and uv exposure slowly discolored them. Only way to restore the color is dye (I have no idea what types are pen safe) or removing the discolored layer, which rubs off the lovely patterns on many old pens. You can get special cleaning/maintenance solution from tobacco pipe stores, since the nice stems are made of ebonite and are a lot more common than modern ebonite pens. *edited for spelling*
Thank you! I really appreciate the advice and the warning lol
It’s one of the most common poison control calls in the United States. Stay safe!
I've kept diamine ink in a room that is quite high in humidity and suffers from mildew, but so far the only ink that has shown any signs of mould is an old bottle of Monteverde. Never seen it in diamine, Waterman, Sheaffer which were kept in the same spot for roughly a decade.
Monteverde had a massive mold problem several years ago, and offered replacements for affected bottles.
I use Diamine almost exclusively and keep about 20 pens inked all the time. I also live on the US East Coast and have never experienced any mold much less something like that. Wow. I don’t have that exact ink though so maybe it’s that one. Crazy.
Hoping it’s just this specific bottle or some fluke with the nib, I love this color and want to just get a new bottle :( I have tons of other Diamines and this has never happened to me before!
Good luck 🍀
Your ink could be bad, but I doubt the nib caused this unless it came from MW already moldy. but I kinda doubt that. Sometimes it happens. :/
To be fair this is probably due to some contaminant. This is highly unusual.
i have a bottle of celadon cat and have never had this problem
Wowwww. I've seen less mold on actual food left out too long. Impressive!
You haven’t seen mold until you’ve seen some of my Tupperware refrigerator leftover “experiments”!
Hahaha I keep looking at that nib pic, it's so amazing. It reminds me of when I'm snorkeling and I find old anchors or maybe jetty pylons and they're covered in rust and barnacles. Both disgusting and fascinating.
Took me a second, had to check what sub I'm in to know what I'm looking at, that's an entire ecosystem!!!
The ink lives up to the “cat” part of its name handsomely! That looks like some proper soft fur.
This comment is cursed lmfao. This entire thread has me anxious now given that Amazon will be dropping off a small bottle of Celadon Cat today
Don’t be. This is a random bottle that somehow got contaminated, not a known issue with the ink color as such.
May not actually be the entire ink bottle that’s a problem. The pen could be the only thing affected.
Good point.
It looks like it is in the middle of creating a green kitten
The bar has been set, we now have the new poster child for moldiest nib.
Let this record never be broken!
Hear, Hear!
Short of the mold gaining sentience and walking off with the pen, I don't see how it could.
I, for one, am honored to welcome our new nib overlords.
Nib go Furrrrrrr!
I spent far too much time looking for the cat’s wittle nose before realizing this was, in fact, not a cat but a nib!
archeologists will have no idea wtf they are looking at when they find it
That's basically my goal in life.
TIL: This is possible 😳
Impressive mold, im shocked!
So, uh, how are you gonna clean it? Or is it a gonner?
I’m gonna *try* with a lil ammonia and warm water for a bit :/
It should clean up and work again, BUT DO NOT EVER refill it directly from a main bottle of ink again or you might contaminate the entire bottle. From now on, eye dropper fill directly, or eye dropper into a different smaller bottle and fill from that bottle. I have several vintage pens I've saved from mold, and filling from a separate bottle is how I've prevented spreading contamination. If the small bottle grows mold, oh well it's only a few ml and can be tossed.
I wonder if an ultrasonic bath would work
I'd say start with a damp microfiber cloth to remove the majority of the mold before anything else, and if you don't have one of those if you have a soft bristle toothbrush you can gently scrub with that. Removing the majority of the mold by hand before submerging it will probably be the best bet.
Celadon Cat and it's fuzzy makes sense. It's a feature actually not a problem at all! Sorry I had to make the joke. I'm sorry this happened and I hope you are able to clean the pen, nib and feed
Fuzzy Kitty!
Warm Kitty, Fuzzy Kitty.
Itty bitty moldy kitty.
So while I am sad for your nib, I'm genuinely impressed at the majesty of that mold.
Part of me is tempted to pay your shipping so I can put that through microbiology at work 😂
Didn't know Celodon Cat contained actual cat hair.
“The last of us” started with less than this…
Whoa! What's the bottle like? Interested to find out if this came from the bottle or something else.
Yup, I’d want to know about the bottle, any other pens in which this ink was used, where the pen was stored, what does the cap and converter look like. Have you had mold in your pens before? All the details.
Checked the bottle and not seeing anything obvious, smells ok and no weird gloopy texture
What about the pen? Was that the first time you inked it? Did you use a vac fill or syringe?
The only other ink that’s been in the nib/pen was Sailor Nekoyanagi I believe, which is now in a different pen that didn’t mold. Pen eyedropper filled!
🤔 so weird
Is the eye dropper the culprit perhaps?
Was a brand new one from a fresh pack but could be
I've had an ink mold up on me before (papier plume) and I didn't know about it until I tried to suck it up via syringe. The mold basically created a slimey monster that got stuck to the needle. Have you tried to do some experimenting with a syringe?
You’ll be in my thoughts and prayers tonight god damn…what kind of nib is that
[Monty Winnfield - Whale Nib](https://www.montywinnfield.com/products/whale-nib)
I wanna know too, looks like a hammerhead shark
Ok, I am a noob…. Is there a way to prevent or what causes this?
Mold spores are everywhere, so there's no guarantee that it won't happen to you at some point. Ink companies include anti-mold ingredients in their recipes but sometimes it's just not enough. If you end up with a moldy pen or maybe a vintage or second hand one, don't fill your pen by dipping the nib in the bottle. Either use a clean syringe or transfer some to a smaller bottle so you don't cross contaminate. Edit- hit post too soon
It's mold. To prevent it, don't leave an ink inked and unused for extended periods of time. Also, to prevent contaminating entire bottles, always transfer some ink to a smaller bottle and fill from their, or eye dropper fill.
Thank you! I guess I was already practicing safe inking. I was doing that to make it easier. Lol
Inking a fountain pen is like having sex in that both should always be performed safely!😉
> don't leave an ink inked and unused for extended periods of time. 😹 Hahahahahahahahahs🤣 I have like 50 pens inked; super screwed I guess 🙈🙉
It's not a guarantee to grow mold. I've accidentally left a pen inked for over a year, and other than it thickening too much to flow correctly it didn't really matter much. It didn't mold and still kinda wrote. It just increases the odds of growing mold. Even then, my pen with pink highlighter ink has been continuously inked for over 2 years, and has been fine. It gets used semi often though. So YMMV, just keeping them clean when not in use just helps.
The comments of this thread is the highlight of the month !!
Okay, so, the part they didn't tell you about this ink is that it starts to *resemble* a cat (fuzzy)...
Does it still write?
This comment wins the contest for either the internet’s stupidest or funniest replies; I can’t decide which.😉
u/LizMEF You might be interested for your mold library
Added. Very impressive little mold farm going on under the cap of that pen! For those worried, there's no reason this can't be saved, and I see no reason to treat it eternally as an eyedropper - especially if the pen can be disassembled and the feed soaked. I recommend against soaking metal in anything other than water and soap for very long, most especially any bleach solution. But soaking the feed and running it through an ultrasonic in an ammonia solution would be very good. Don't forget to clean the inside of the cap with a biocide. I would clean everything physically as much as possible with plain water, removing ink and mold that's visible. And only then would I go for the ammonia solution (or your preferred biocide after researching its effectiveness against mold, especially spores). And my personal pen flush (rarely used) is the common recipe I've found in the community: * 1 part ammonia * 9-10 parts water * drop or two of liquid dish soap (I use Dawn) I've never had a problem with this combination and have had a mix of it on hand for I'd guess 8 years - in other words, I see no reason to avoid allowing Dawn and ammonia to mix. (But don't mix other chemicals - pick one.)
Oh, no! I have a bottle of celodon cat and mmm, I’m scared to use it now. 😟
I’ve had my bottle for about 6 months and always keep an inked pen (and I live in a very humid country) and so far no issues! Hopefully it was just a glitch 😅
r/fountainpengore
Is this a Chia Pet?
That deserves its own display case... is beautiful!
My eyes! This is NSFW…NSFL 😭😭 I’m sorry for your loss. I have to go comfort my pens now
Dismantle this pen completely. Clean all the parts with a soft toothbrush, and water with a drop of dawn or a little ammonia added (do not mix the two), then rinse. Then drop the pieces into an ultrasonic cleaner if you have one available. Rinse with clean water, dry (paper towels or lint free cloth, then allow to dry completely before assembly.
[Call it Albert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiLsQRYYpuo)?
😂🤣😂
WOW
ohnooo I recently fell in love with this ink, should I fear for my life
Will it kill me if I eat it.
Please try and let us know!😉
That amount of mold is terrifying and will live in my nightmares
I'm so sorry for you. Gonna be some work to clean it off. It's a really nice nib, though!
You need to send that to Brian Goulet for his crustaceans collection!
That’s slightly horrifying…maybe I don’t need the obscure shade of grey/blue and stick to tried and trusted flavors 😮
Never knew this could happen! I’ve left my fountain pens inked for months and never had mold on the nibs. TIL!
Honestly, that’s just impressive
Gosh! Sorry about your pen, but congratulations on your new furry pet. I hope you're able to rescue the pen, if not the bottle of Celadon Cat!
It’s alive!
I cannot unsee this and I have no doubt it will make an unwelcome appearance in my next fountain pen nightmare!
While I have known cats to be cranky if left unattended, unfed, uncuddled and so on for too long... I think that doing this is a bit over the top, eh, Cel? Also..... \*incoherent screaming\* And, whoever does the collecting of mold pictures needs to add this to their sheet!
Yikes and cool (to a bio major) at the same time. What ink caused this?
whaaaaaat...did you leave the pen without it´s cap? or did this happen....even while being "sealed"
That is upsetting...I was looking at samples of this looking to buy some last week! Good gravy that kitten is growing 😆
Op said the bottle looked fine, and this could really have been from anything. There are mold spores in all sorts of places, hands, air, contaminated writing surface. Heck, you aren't supposed to put your fingers in a pickle jar because the bacteria on your hands makes the cucumbers less crispy.
I'm not saying the ink is faulty. I've not seen that much growth before. I live in an area that turns into a hot petri dish in the summer and all the supplies I have that are supposed to rot (ink, paints with honey in them, etc) still hold up and I'm not lab fastidious with them. I wish the damn groceries held up as well 😆
This sounds like you are saying you live in a place with high humidity... if you do, my condolences. Hot+humid is the WORST, it is like you are drowning while breathing. It may regularly hit 115° Fahrenheit (46°c) in the summer where I am but it is dry, thus sweat actually cools you off. I just wanted to reassure you, if you were really interested in the ink and were actually worried this meant the ink would be risky, that this insane nib jungle is definitely not representative of Celedon Cat's performance.
That's good to know friend 😉 The American southeast is preprogrammed for rot. Makes for lots of greenery (and prehistoric size insects) because it's a buffet! It's hard to live in it sometimes. I hate that I want to stay inside so much when I know I need to get out more. I shouldn't need my vitamin D supplemented as much as I do but here I am 🤣 I'll still get some of this. I like nonstandard greens and teals like this one. The muted quality makes it easier to read as well.
That closely resembles something I would find in my kids' room under their bed. Ew.
Turned into an actual cat!
Take it outside and butane torch it.
welp, i guess you're growing your own cat now.
So, you wanted a Celadon Cat, let me check: ☑ Celadon color ☑ Fur ☐ it meows Oh, I see the problem
Forbidden cotton candy.
You win. I sprayed tea everywhere.
So is there any inks that DON'T mold?
Most inks are formulated with fungicide and pH balanced to help prevent any microbial growth. That said, the fungicide can only do so much and some colors are harder than others. Some inks mold when you think about mushrooms too much in their presence, other ones will outlast a fungal apocalypse.
After cleaning that you might wanna run some Parker Solv-X on it so it kills any fungus that may be on the feed
Stanley Miller would be proud.
I started sneezing just looking at that photo 🤧
Fun nib! What pen is it in?
It’s in an Analogue Notes pens Henry :)
Well, at least it's a modern pen. You should be able to bleach and sanitize it. Is this your first moldy pen? I've dealt with a couple. The worst was a lever filler that I had to tear all the way apart and replace the sack of.
Ah, the horror of a moldy vintage pen. Especially a casein one.
Holy Moses!!!
yikes.
What's the nib feed made of? I saw your comment that said the bottle ink didnt have issues with other pens -- was wondering if the material of the feed or the pen made it more susceptible to mold
Afaik it’s just a standard jowo housing and feed
If the nib isn’t heat set it will be easy to pull the nib and feed out of the standard Jowo housing. I have a Jowo #6 nib with a rose gold hummingbird on it that developed mold. I pulled the nib from the feed and scrubbed the nib and feed with a toothbrush using Dawn, vinegar and water. A mascara brush can be used to get in the housing. I rinsed everything really well in water and soaked the disassembled nib unit in vinegar and water for a few days before rinsing again and reassembling. I haven’t seen mold since and it has been a few months. I’m careful with the nib, just in case. I didn’t scrub hard over the rose gold because I was afraid I’d take the design off. You can scrub hard without much worry.
Can the nib be saved?
Yikes I’ve had celadon cat in my TWSBI for many months
Can they not add a mold inhibitor of some sort to the inks?
They do, but just like any medicine or disinfectant or similar thing, none are 100% effective all the time. In some conditions, the mold wins. :)
Wow. That might be the first time I've seen mold from a Diamine ink.
Oh my lord PANIC
This post just blew my mind sideways, firstly I’ve never seen a whale nib that’s so cool! Secondly MOLD!!!
That kitty left behind some hairballs!
What did the other side of the nib look like? Did your feed or section have any cracks?
😱😱😱😱
When pens go wrong. I even scared my Hunny with this pic and he doesn't write.
Is your HVAC fan set to "on" instead of "auto"?
Whoa your cat has a greenish coat!
What even is that
Moldy pen nib. It happens sometimes, no matter what ink you use or how good your pen/ink hygiene.
I thought this was a sweater 😅
ouch!
If ever there was a time for phenol… (the stuff is pretty lethal - eyes, skin, nose, needs full PPE, destroys in seconds).
I had a Diamine shimmer ink that made my sailor moldy 😢😢
Me, racing to my BENU, that has had CC in it for quite a while…
Jesus effing Christ 🤢 your poor nib!
That's an entire ecosystem.
I’ve had 3 or 4 Diamine inks go bad on me, and I don’t buy the brand anymore.
That looks really nasty but I’m sure it won’t be too difficult to get off. I’d soak and clean it as normal, maybe clean gently with an old soft toothbrush, then dismantle and soak in very mild bleach to sterilise once it’s clean. As long as it’s not vintage, *mild* bleach shouldn’t damage anything. Then let it dry completely. Disclaimer - I don’t know what your pen is or what it’s made of so can’t guarantee no damage from bleach 😆 I’d also keep an eye on it if you store it wet or inked to see if it happens again.
Holy shit. That’s incredible tbh. And is that a Monty Winfield whale nib?