Tips To Improve Ink Flow a Dry Writing Fountain Pen
Here are some suggestions that might help to improve the performance of a dry fountain pen or to get the ink flowing in a new fountain pen that doesn't want to start:
1) Sometimes fountain pens will come from the manufacturer with an oily film on the feed or the nib. Or, perhaps there is some dried ink or sediment blocking the pen's feed. To make sure this isn't a problem it would be good to try and safely clean the pens. Here are some suggestions on how to do this:
http://blog.shopwritersbloc.com/fountain_pens/fountain_pen_cleaning_solution.html
2) If you think the problem could be dried ink residue and a good soaking in a cleaning solution doesn't help, taking it to a fountain pen dealer for an ultrasound cleaning may help.
3) Be sure that the ink cartridge is firmly attached to the pen. Once in awhile we find some writers haven't pushed hard enough to puncture the ink cartridge to start the flow of ink.
4) Temporarily store the pen with the nib pointing downwards to encourage the feed to fill with ink. Then try it again after waiting for awhile.
5) Dipping the nib in water for several seconds can also encourage the flow of ink.
6) Add a drop of water to the ink in the cartridge or the converter. Sometimes this helps.
7) Experiment with different types of ink. Noodler's Ink suggests giving their Eel Ink a try.
8) InkSafe ink additive from Tryphon Enterprises is known to be helpful. One of its purposes is to improve ink flow in dry-writing pens. We haven't tried it ourselves yet.
9) If you are using a converter you could try using cartridges or a different brand of converter instead. Sometimes the ink sticks to the sides of the converter and this causes ink flow problems.
10) If the above suggestions do not help, it might be worth it to send your pen in for professional fountain pen repair. Having the nib adjusted (tines realigned, slit widened or narrowed etc) or having the nib replaced could solve the problem. Use caution if trying this yourself because you could damage your pen!
We hope this helps. Does anyone else have some tips they would like to share? We welcome your comments!
1) Sometimes fountain pens will come from the manufacturer with an oily film on the feed or the nib. Or, perhaps there is some dried ink or sediment blocking the pen's feed. To make sure this isn't a problem it would be good to try and safely clean the pens. Here are some suggestions on how to do this:
http://blog.shopwritersbloc.com/fountain_pens/fountain_pen_cleaning_solution.html
2) If you think the problem could be dried ink residue and a good soaking in a cleaning solution doesn't help, taking it to a fountain pen dealer for an ultrasound cleaning may help.
3) Be sure that the ink cartridge is firmly attached to the pen. Once in awhile we find some writers haven't pushed hard enough to puncture the ink cartridge to start the flow of ink.
4) Temporarily store the pen with the nib pointing downwards to encourage the feed to fill with ink. Then try it again after waiting for awhile.
5) Dipping the nib in water for several seconds can also encourage the flow of ink.
6) Add a drop of water to the ink in the cartridge or the converter. Sometimes this helps.
7) Experiment with different types of ink. Noodler's Ink suggests giving their Eel Ink a try.
8) InkSafe ink additive from Tryphon Enterprises is known to be helpful. One of its purposes is to improve ink flow in dry-writing pens. We haven't tried it ourselves yet.
9) If you are using a converter you could try using cartridges or a different brand of converter instead. Sometimes the ink sticks to the sides of the converter and this causes ink flow problems.
10) If the above suggestions do not help, it might be worth it to send your pen in for professional fountain pen repair. Having the nib adjusted (tines realigned, slit widened or narrowed etc) or having the nib replaced could solve the problem. Use caution if trying this yourself because you could damage your pen!
We hope this helps. Does anyone else have some tips they would like to share? We welcome your comments!
Comments
Wonderful post, thanks! I could have done with this yesterday as I much of my time trying to wrestle the ink out of cheap FP I picked up in a clearance sale. Trust me to find your post the day after; typical me! :)
Posted by: Sam | July 8, 2009 01:58 AM
Another thing to try is to use a different kind of high quality paper to see if the paper is the problem.
Posted by: Cheryl | July 21, 2009 08:13 AM
Thank you for the useful compilation of tips! :)
Posted by: Ruby | October 3, 2009 07:39 AM
You can also run the nib under water to clean out any residue, then using a soft tissue gently wipe the nib to get the ink to start flowing.
Posted by: Holly | June 11, 2010 07:23 PM