Pilot Elite 95S Starting Issues

August 6, 2018

I bought a Elite 95S from Amazon Japan with a forwarding service just over 6 months ago (so returns are possible but going to be very awkward)

As far as I can remember, it worked nicely when I got it. But I stupidly forgot about the pen for a number of months and the ink completely dried out. After many rinse throughs and then leaving it for 5 minutes with some pen cleaner in it, I rinsed it and left it to dry. After that, I inked it up again and noticed on downstrokes it wouldn't start some of the time.

I tried some different inks and the problem isn't always so bad, but it's still there.

I've never tried any kind of repairs and I'm not really sure where to start with this. Should I invest in an ultrasonic cleaner and give that a go? Go straight into trying to smooth it out with micro-mesh pads? Send it off to someone for repair (costly, I presume)

On a side note, I recently got a Decimo. Both pens are an EF, but the Decimo is noticeably finer than the Elite.

Here are both on some cheapish paper with the same ink - is this normal?

Just to clarify, the bottom example is the Elite! So as you can see, it's still flowing well, it just has a hard time starting on upstrokes for some reason (similar to symptoms of baby's bottom). I'm just concerned that my Decimo is a bit finer than it should be, or the Elite is thicker than it should be? These are both EF from the same company, afterall

Edited August 6, 2018 by Petch

August 6, 2018

If it worked well for you when you first bought it, then there should be no problem with the pen. Micromesh shouldn't be necessary, from what you described. As a matter of fact, I never had to micromesh any Pilot pen, even the EF are smooth enough for me.

An ultrasonic cleaner is certainly helpful. I do not own a Pilot Elite so I am not sure how the feed and section looks like.

Older vintage Pilot Elites have a sponge somewhere near the nib? I am not sure about the current models.

August 6, 2018

If it worked well for you when you first bought it, then there should be no problem with the pen. Micromesh shouldn't be necessary, from what you described. As a matter of fact, I never had to micromesh any Pilot pen, even the EF are smooth enough for me.

An ultrasonic cleaner is certainly helpful. I do not own a Pilot Elite so I am not sure how the feed and section looks like.

Older vintage Pilot Elites have a sponge somewhere near the nib? I am not sure about the current models.

Do you have any recommendations for an ultra sonic cleaner? I don't want to break the bank, but I also don't want something that's going to add scratches or break after 20 uses

August 6, 2018

Having an E95s myself I can say that sometimes there is surprisingly often still ink in the feed even though you think it might be flushed perfectly. So before you go & buy an u-s-cleaner my recommendation would be to just fill a cartridge with lukewarm water and stand the pen nib down on a soaking cloth / handkerchief. Repeat. Repeat. [...] (You only have to look for it every once in a while and refill the cartridge/converter with water. The pen will clean itself.)

--> You might see much more coloured water than you'd have thought!

When the cloth stays white the pen should be working again.

August 6, 2018

Having an E95s myself I can say that sometimes there is surprisingly often still ink in the feed even though you think it might be flushed perfectly. So before you go & buy an u-s-cleaner my recommendation would be to just fill a cartridge with lukewarm water and stand the pen nib down on a soaking cloth / handkerchief. Repeat. Repeat. [...] (You only have to look for it every once in a while and refill the cartridge/converter with water. The pen will clean itself.)

--> You might see much more coloured water than you'd have thought!

When the cloth stays white the pen should be working again.

I did flush it through until there was no more coloured water, but I never tried warm water. I'll give that a go

August 6, 2018

The trick is not the flushing but the slow soaking through the feed (as if it was writing).

August 6, 2018

Do you have any recommendations for an ultra sonic cleaner? I don't want to break the bank, but I also don't want something that's going to add scratches or break after 20 uses

I am sorry I cannot be of any help on Ultrasonic cleaners as I do not reside in the UK, EU or US and I am not sure what is offered/available in each market. You might want do a search on this forum, I am pretty sure ultrasonic cleaners have been discussed before

August 8, 2018

+1 for slow soaking - soak a couple of hours at least, or over night in ordinary cold tap water.

Also, if you still have the same kind of ink, try soaking the nib in a small vial of the ink for a couple hours or overnight. Inks have ingredients that dissolve dried ink. This may or may not work if you use a different kind of ink.

September 7, 2018

Do you have any recommendations for an ultra sonic cleaner?

I bought one (branded ‘GT Sonic’) on eBay two months ago. Metal chassis, with water temperature control (up to 90°C, I think, although I usually leave my temperature target set to 37°C) and variable timer settings. Cost me all of A$68.39 delivered. I bought a cheap ABS plastic basket that just fits inside the stainless steel tank, to use instead of the metal wire basket that came with the ultrasonic cleaner, because I'd be wary of abrasions damaging the components of my pens. Now I can easily leave disassembled pens to soak in warm water overnight, then activate the ultrasonic vibrations for three or so minutes to remove most of whatever may have clogged or congealed around the feed or nib. Even my fiancée, who normally just shakes her head at my whimsical purchases and frivolous spending, thinks it was a great buy after the fact (because she normally gives me her pens to clean, ha!)

That said, there has been instances where after soaking, shaking and then flushing with a rubber bulb, there is still residual dye coming out faintly when I try to dry nibs by resting them at an angle against a paper towel.

September 7, 2018

I don't think you said how you flushed your pen out. An inexpensive rubber bulb syringe works perfectly, gently forcing water through the pen much better than rinsing under a tap (a pharmacy has these). These types of inlaid nibs can still hold a lot of ink after the rinse water comes out clean.

Good suggestions in the posts above.

I would soak the grip section in pen flush overnight in a plastic bottle then flush with a bulb syringe using tepid water. Never use hot water on a pen.

I have an ultrasonic cleaner, but have only needed it on old vintage pens that have been dry for years and newer pens that were difficult to clean out because they had been unused for a couple of years. Never needed it on any modern Pilot pens at all, even when their feed had gotten dry. However, an ultrasonic cleaner does speed things up.

Most of the time I use my ultrasonic cleaner to clean eyeglasses. It gets all the oil and buildup out of all the microscopic crevices quickly (90 seconds). Great for metal watch bands too.

My E95S has sat for several months capped without drying out. It will write instantly after 3 months, maybe more.

You cannot compare nib widths between manufacturers, and even between pen models. I think my Pilot E95S M nib is wider than my Pilot Vanishing Point M nibs. There is a little variation even between nibs on the same pen models.

Edited September 7, 2018 by graystranger

September 7, 2018

Never needed it on any modern Pilot pens at all, even when their feed had gotten dry.

I was astounded by how much colour came out of the section of my EDC Pilot Vanishing Point when I stuck it into my ultrasonic cleaner, given the pen has never leaked a speck of ink on anything to my recollection.