How do you get a fountain pen to work again?

[jessi1980]

I have a metal, French-made Parker Sonnet that I bought in Japan a few years ago. As of late, the fountain pen refuses to write if I don't use it all the time. With my many Parker Vector pens and my Lamy, it's usually enough to give the pen a good shake to get it going, but it's almost like the capillaries (or whatever it is that brings the ink to the nib) are stuck. How do I get this pen to work again?

thank you

[Jon Szanto]

I don't know this pen in detail, but I believe it to be a cartidge or convertor fountain pen. General pen hygiene principles should do the trick:

- Remove the section (the gripping part that leads to the nib) from the barrel by unscrewing.
- Remove the cartridge or converter that has been holding the ink for the pen, should be by just pulling it out.
- Rinse the nib out in running water, getting as much ink flushed off as possible.
- Soak the section and nib in a glass containing tap water (or distilled, if you are really fussy) and maybe a small amount of ammonia (gotten at any pharmacy). If you aren't in a rush, let it soak overnight.
- When done soaking, flush the section/nib in running water again. One of the best things also is to use a rubber bulb commonly made for flushing out your ears. You can fill it with water, stick it tightly in the back of the section (where the cartridge would go) and flush the water through the nib. The extra force really cleans it out well.
- Dry the pen off with paper towel or soft cloth; you can re-assemble the barrel and place it, point down, in a small glass with absorbent materials in the bottom to wick out any water in the nib and feed.
- Put a new cartrdige in and you should be good to go!

Or, you could just watch this video:

[I like mango pudding]

That is the video I used to help me clean out my pens. I didn't want to or couldn't remove the nib and feed without fear of breaking it, so I used the bulb flush method. At first, I rinsed it out with the converter about 30 or 40 times, but I got frustrated in doing it again and again. I got the bulb a week later and flushed the last bits of ink from the pen.

Brian's video is very convincing.

[KrazyIvan]

If it has been a long while since a flush, I would leave the section soaking for a while to loosen the dried ink. If you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner, that also helps.

[spotted and speckled]

I have one of those pens. It's pretty fussy. Soak the section overnight & shake it out really, really good. Or, follow the video!

[AndyT]

...shake it out really, really good.

That's excellent advice: soak it, wrap it in kitchen paper and then make like you're shaking down a thermometer. It's amazing what comes out. To take it even further, there's the improvised centrifuge method!

[jbb]

I have one of those pens. It's pretty fussy. Soak the section overnight & shake it out really, really good. Or, follow the video!

My Parker Sonnet is very fussy too.

[ac12]

I agree with the other, the first step should be a GOOD cleaning of the pen, so you know that you have a clean pen.
I use the bulb syringe to force clean the ink channels.
On top of that I would also SOAK the nib/section in water overnight, to disolve the ink from the feed. It is amazing what comes out even after a good flushing. Then give it a flush with the bulb syringe. Then wrap the nib/feed with paper towel or toilet tissue to draw out the ink and water from the feed storage.
Keep doing the flush soak and flush until the ink no longer comes out.

Also what ink are you using? Some inks will dry up and clog a pen faster than others if not use for a while.
I use Waterman blue ink in my Sonnet, and so far no problems.
If a pen has been idle for a long time and does not want to start, a "quick" dip (in and immediately out) in water is enough to soften the dried ink in the nib/feed and things are quickly back to normal.

[I like mango pudding]

...shake it out really, really good.

That's excellent advice: soak it, wrap it in kitchen paper and then make like you're shaking down a thermometer. It's amazing what comes out. To take it even further, there's the improvised centrifuge method!

hahh that's neat. I'd just as well tie my pen on a piece of string and start twirling it around in circles.

[Jon Szanto]

hahh that's neat. I'd just as well tie my pen on a piece of string and start twirling it around in circles.

Uh huh. You better pray that neither you or the string lets go, because a pen becomes a dart in a nanosecond, and things get ugly fast. Salad spinners are much safer!