As many of you know, I really enjoy using my TWSBI GOs for sketching with my fountain pen inks. I typically keep a dozen or more GOs filled with a variety of colors. Sometime this year, I had about 15 pens filled with shimmering inks at one time. Many of my favorite inks would stay in my pens until I nearly run out of ink. This would range from a week to several months.
I recently pulled out my GOs and noticed some crustiness around the feed and section. It may have been two weeks or more since I’ve last used them as I have been busy with my watercolor hobby. It was a reminder that it was time to clean my pens and prep them for my next inky color rotations for the new year.
After I cleaned my GOs by pumping water in and out of the body, I could still see remnants of shimmering particles in the feed. I knew I had to do some major cleaning.
I Googled “how to remove TWSBI GO/Eco nibs” and found a YouTube video. The video stressed about being careful when pulling the nib and feed out as the feed could be easily damaged.
While using my rubber grip, I carefully placed my fingers on the nib’s shoulders and pulled out my nib and feed from the section/body. I made sure not to apply too much pressure while grabbing the nib and feed.
Once I separated the nib from the feed, I could see the shimmering remnants left on the back side of my nib and all over the feed.
There’s also remnants of shimmer on the front side of my nib where the nib meets the section.
To get into the nooks and crannies of my feed, I used an extra soft toothbrush (child size) to remove the shimmering particles. I dipped both brush and feed into some water and and gently brushed in and out of the feed’s teeth. It took a few dips into the water to finally get the feed clean.
Here’s what my clean feed looks like and the shimmering remnants left on my towel and brush.
It’s easy to put the nib back onto the feed. The feed has a slight cutout where the nib slides over and stops into position. It’s easy to slide the nib and feed into the section. There might be some slight twisting involved with the nib/feed as there is a small protruding tab inside the section. With the GO’s clear section it’s easy to see when the nib and feed is situated in place.
Since I was on a roll, I went ahead and grabbed a bunch of empty GOs from my cleaning bin and pulled out the nibs and feed and gave them a good clean. Now my artsy pens are ready for my next color rotation.
I highly recommend watching one or two videos on how to remove and replace the nib and feed on your TWSBI GOs/ECOs. I ran across one video that showed what a damaged feed looked like. Just remember to pull the nib/feed out by grabbing the shoulders of the nib and pull it straight out of the section.
Pen: TWSBI Go with stub 1.1 nib
Toothbrush: Oral B Child size with extra soft bristles
SusieG Studio 