Defibrillation - The Minimum You Do To Restart A Stopped Pen

[Chouffleur]

I am using my fountain pens daily but for shorter amounts of time. Rather than doing the sane thing and keeping fewer of them inked, I still have four or five inked up. You never know when you *need* to write in green/blue/red/black. As a result of my diminished writing schedule I am often faced with a perfectly good pen, full of ink, that won't start.

 

I have been simply dipping the nib in water to get the ink flow going again. That was a practice I observed at a Big Apple Pen Club meeting where someone dunked the nib in whatever was handy. She used wine, tea, or whatever she was drinking. I just keep a small dish of water on my desk and use that.

 

Is there something less I can do to kickstart a fountain pen? My way works but wastes a bit of ink and causes a diluted color for the first few letters.

[A Smug Dill]

If ink is dried or condensed on the nib and feed, then the first few letters or words will come out a different colour no matter what (unless you're using a blacker-than-black ink). You can try pushing ink from the reservoir into the feed by driving the piston (in the barrel for a piston-filler, or in the converter for a c/c-filled pen), and hope that the moisture/solvents in the ink will dissolve any dried specks or clogging in the feed; but that probably won't be as quick as wetting the nib (and feed) with water.

 

If the cap of your pen does not provide an effective seal against ink evaporation when the pen is capped and unused for several days (or weeks), then ink is 'wasted' anyway through the loss of volume, irrespective of whether you observe it gets clogged or hard starts. I'll go ahead and assume that, for most users, use of a pen as a writing instrument takes priority over attachment to a particular pen; so the way to combat the situation is to only keep better pens (with regard to cap seal effectiveness) inked up in spite of low use frequency. Whether that means using a $5 Platinum Preppy or $500 Platinum #3776 Century Jupiter Ebonite is up to individual preferences. Sailor and gold-nibbed Pilot c/c-filled fountain pens (with the exception of the Capless product family), as well as Pelikan and Aurora piston-fillers, have consistently proven to be very good for that, too.

[Marioferu]

Try soak a napkin in water, envelop the nib until you note it is stained with ink. It takes more time but the color of the ink is more consistent after one or two lines of writing than submerge the ink in water.

[sandy101]

Spit. If using a cartridge pen - remove the cartridge and blow through the feed - don't do this over your new shag pile carpet, or if you are wearing a new suit.

 

Dipping in a bottle of ink works as well as water, if you have the same colour handy.

 

If you're using a convertor - give the convertor a small turn to force ink into the feed.

Edited August 6, 2020 by sandy101

[Karmachanic]

Minimum? Open wide insert and slowly exhale couple of times.

[silverlifter]

I've always licked my finger then ran the nib across it.

[PAKMAN]

First thing I try is a little thermometer flick over the trash can.

[Intensity]

I use a Kuretake water brush. Swipe some water over the top of the nib, and underside between the nib and the feed as needed; use a paper towel to dab the brush afterwards. Works perfectly.

[Marcwithac]

My variation: I run the nib under the faucet for a second or so. Then draw lines on scrap paper until the ink is no longer diluted.

[Mysterious Mose]

I use a Kuretake water brush. Swipe some water over the top of the nib, and underside between the nib and the feed as needed; use a paper towel to dab the brush afterwards. Works perfectly.

 

A Kuretake water brush. Another product to add to my art supplies.

[Intensity]

 

A Kuretake water brush. Another product to add to my art supplies.

 

They are so good though, I have a set that I use daily for sketching with fountain pens on the margins of my writing.

[sandy101]

Pick up another pen -

 

- or buy a new one.

Edited August 7, 2020 by sandy101

[kestrel]

Dip the tines and very tip of the feed in whatever liquid I have handy.

 

On my desk is a micropipet (aka serological pipet) filled with distilled water. One tiny drop of water in the gap between the nib and feed about even with the breather hole does the trick.

 

If no liquid is handy touch the tip of the nib to the tip of my tongue.

[vicpen123]

I've always licked my finger then ran the nib across it.

This worked also with technical drafting pens. The tips of my left hand thumb and forefinger were black for years.

 

Another tradition ruined by CAD.

[dumaresq]

A little eyedrop bottle filled with water sits on my desk. Apply one drop to underside of nib as needed.

[Savit]

I do a few gentle flicks; if it still doesn't start, moisten the nib with water..

[sajiskumar]

A little eyedrop bottle filled with water sits on my desk. Apply one drop to underside of nib as needed.

I use the same technique. But one drop in the breather hole.

[Arkanabar]

I've never tried heavy breathing, but I can see why it'd work; I use breath to fog my glasses for cleaning. I've used spit on thumb and/or napkin, which I'd then brush the point against to moisten it. (I dislike the idea of putting something with as many contaminants as saliva into a feed or nib.) I've dribbled a drop of water from a faucet, a wet paper towel or a disposable bulb pipette onto the feed. And I've dunked into souffle or medicine cups with perhaps 3-5mm of water in the bottom. And finally, I've tapped the point of a dried-up pen against a writing surface; usually, I drop the pen, point first, from a height of 2 to 3cm, onto a pad of paper or notebook.

[Karmachanic]

I drop the pen, point first, from a height of 2 to 3cm, onto a pad of paper or notebook.

 

Capped, one would hope.

[Arkanabar]

Nope. My softest nibs are on my Pelikan M2xx and a MontBlanc 72 that I use very little. These can handle the force that a pen as light as 20g or less (I don't post much either) will accumulate when dropped a distance about equal to a single finger-joint, onto a pad or stack of paper. My hand is still around the pen as it falls, to ensure it goes straight down onto the point. And most of my nibs are nails, if stubbed.