Odd Tool

I came across an odd pen tool and I'm not sure how to use it, if it
is any good and when it was made.
Its' a small steel tube about 2 inches long, not quite a quarter inch
in diameter. The center inch or so is cut away and the tube is filled
with steel wires crimped in place so that both ends of the wires are
enclosed. Stamped on the tube are the words "PEN NIB CLEANER"
but no manufacturer. I can't tell if you should poke the nib into the
wires or drag it across the wires. Anyone know anyting about this
item?
Thanks
Ed

On Sep 4, 12:47 am, radarman10 wrote:
I came across an odd pen tool and I'm not sure how to use it, if it
is any good and when it was made.
Its' a small steel tube about 2 inches long, not quite a quarter inch
in diameter. The center inch or so is cut away and the tube is filled
with steel wires crimped in place so that both ends of the wires are
enclosed. Stamped on the tube are the words "PEN NIB CLEANER"
but no manufacturer. I can't tell if you should poke the nib into the
wires or drag it across the wires. Anyone know anyting about this
item?
Thanks
Ed

It sounds a little like a metal version of the rubber ink "wick" in an
Esterbrook Dip-Less inkwell. My wild guess is that you poke a nib
into it before writing in order to wick off excess ink, and rinse it
out later. (That would make it the reverse of the Esterbrook thingy,
which pulls ink out of the base reservoir and makes it available for
the pen to pick up.)

Brian
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