Ink For Gel Pen Refills

[weemeng]

I've always been curious to see if the ink in those thick fat Pilot Gel pen refills can be refilled. Reading the patents and articles about gel pens/ink, I learnt that the the viscosity of the ink was important.

 

Trying all sorts of different inks, the results were not very good. It flowed too much as the viscosity was very low. When left for a few days in the open, it writes well for a while then the flow of ink increases.

 

Later I tried mixing ink with the thick gels found in hand sanitizers to increase the viscosity of the ink. It seemed to work for a while, then bubbles started to form in the ink tube. This was due to the evaporation of alcohol. Once the bubble goes into the nib assembly, the refill stop the functioning until the air bubble is forced out (face nib upwards, stick a syringe in the back of the tube, apply +ve pressure, at the same time write upside down).

 

The latest concoction I tried is water soluble glue (the non-toxic cheap clear ones used by kids) with ink in the ratio 3:7. 3 drops of glue, 7 drops of ink. Stir thoroughly before injecting it into the refill tube. If the grease seal is broken, just clean it out and use vaseline as a substitute. I've also read that Gum Arabic has been used to increase viscosity of liquids but I can't get my hands on it.

 

Inks tried successfully with the 3:7 ratio is Quink blue, chinese writing black fluid, Pelikan 4001 green.

 

Once these batch of refills finish, I'm going to try using white PVA glue to see if I can make the ink more water resistant. PVA glue becomes water resistant when it dries.

 

Enjoy

weemeng

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Yes, people were trying to invent ballpoint pens for a very long time before it was finally done successfully. Part of the problem was that thin liquid inks went right around the ball and leaked out. Getting the viscosity right took quite a number of decades, once a ball could be reliably inserted into a socket and be made to rotate.

 

I've read that during the ballpoint pen patent wars of the early 1950s the Biro brothers, who'd really invented the practical ballpoint pen, were suing an American knock off company when the Biro's lawyers left off the part about the grease plug in back of the oil based ink at the end of the refill. This blew their patent fight and allowed others to sell ballpoint pens all they liked.

 

Little details.

 

Good luck on your interesting experiments.

[CarlosCaligrafia]

I've also read that Gum Arabic has been used to increase viscosity of liquids but I can't get my hands on it.

 

http://www.dickblick.com/watercolor/mediums/adhesivesbindersandgumarabic/details/

 

Love your experiment... go on please.

[weemeng]

Worn out Pilot G2 refill with Pelikan 4001 ink that has too little thickening agent. Ink is leaking pass the ball tip on its own accord by the force of gravity alone.

 

http://leewm.freeshell.org/penstuff/pilot-refill-leak.jpg