Sonnet Ink Evaporation Fix

[mdkendall]

I have a nice Parker Sonnet that sits on my desk at home. I use it for jotting notes, signing things, etc. It's typically used several times a week, but for no more than a sentence or two at a time. A problem is that ink tends to be consumed by evaporation much faster than I use it for writing. If I fill it and then don't use it much, the ink will be gone within a couple of weeks. Which is tedious, since that means it is often empty when I reach for it.

 

The problem seems to be vent holes in the end of the cap, around the jewel. I have heard that such holes are a European Union requirement, intended to prevent small children suffocating if they swallow the cap. I don't know if that's true. Regardless, I don't own any small European children so I resolved to block the holes.

 

There are actually two holes: one in a ring around the cap jewel, the other is a rectangular hole up under the very top of the clip. I blocked both using Dow Corning 3140 RTV silicone. I expect household silicone ("bathroom sealant") would work just as well.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8461966145_d91a78ab8a_n.jpg

Sonnet Cap by Matthew Kendall, on Flickr

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8246/8463065620_24d21afd5d_n.jpg

Sonnet Cap by Matthew Kendall, on Flickr

 

It works pretty well. Three weeks after filling (and having written just a few notes in the meantime) the ink is still two thirds full.

 

I hope this helps anyone else having the same problem.

[sexauerw]

I took a slighty different approach. I used a long thin brush to apply some shellac to the inside of the cap end, being careful not to get any on the sides of the cap, especially where the inner cap seals against the section. I had the same result as you did, the evaporation problem is nearly eliminated.

 

I'm told that the problem is actually that many of the earlier Sonnets were made with a process where the rivet that attaches the inner cap was installed so that it cracked the inner cap, causing the evaporation problem. This has reportedly been corrected in the newer production pens. What is supposed to happen is that the section sealing against the inner cap closes off the path between the nib and the vent holes so that there is no evaporation. But the crack in the inner cap defeats this design and connects the nib directly to the vent holes.

[Fizzlesticks]

I have a Sonnet from the early 90's. After having this issue for many years, I dripped melted candle wax into the cap a year or so ago. Seems to be working fine now. I figured wax would be less permanent.

[Kublai Khan]

I had a similar problem with a rather new Sonnet. However, it looks to me like it may not be the pen, but the ink itself that is to blame. The Diamine Asa Blue I originally had, evaporated very quickly- a full converter would be empty in about a week with no writing done. A different ink now has hardly evaporated at all - it's been four days.

[senzen]

Fizzlesticks wax solution works perfectly! Not the most aesthetically pleasing job on my part, and for those worried about it, air can still get through from the other opening under the clip... Finally Yama Guri and Verdigris look like their original selves, and not almost black after 24 hours! Really stoked about this, particularly after my utter failure with a Kaweco Sport and Waterman Laureat. Advice most appreciated from this thread and others.

 

 

[pajaro]

I quit using the converter in my Sonnet with the medium italic nib. I put in a cartridge, and the thing quit drying out. It writes now without all the re-wetting drills. When the ink ran out I syringed some Sailor ink into the cartridge, and it still works without drying out from night to next morning. I should have tried this a long time ago. There are probably still cap issues. I do not understand why a cartridge would allow the pen to work better than a converter would.

[mitto]

The Sonnet would remain a mystery for ever as far as its functionality is concerned.

 

Beautiful pen, though.

[tamiya]

My Frontier dries out faster than Sonnet; haven't got a matched pair of either so cannot experiment.

 

Next time they come out if hibernation, I might try running them on Lamy cartridges.

[mitto]

I have decided I would never ever use any of my Sonnets except one and that is my Sonnet Firedance that is totally free of all the 'Sonnet Ailments'.

[pajaro]

Fizzlesticks wax solution works perfectly! Not the most aesthetically pleasing job on my part, and for those worried about it, air can still get through from the other opening under the clip... Finally Yama Guri and Verdigris look like their original selves, and not almost black after 24 hours! Really stoked about this, particularly after my utter failure with a Kaweco Sport and Waterman Laureat. Advice most appreciated from this thread and others.

 

 

 

I have several Waterman Laureats. They all go dry from day to day with converters. I put a Waterman cartridge in one Laureat II with an extra fine nib, and it has written every day I have tried it. Same story with a Carene with an extra fine nib. This is confounding. Cartridges were never my first choice to use, but they seem to be worth a try.

[Ron Z]

I suppose it works, but not very attractive. The problem is not the vents on the outside of the cap - they're there for a reason, one being so that ink is not pulled out of the nib as you take the cap off. The air from the vents goes around the outside of the inner cap, not into the inner cap where the nib is.

Sonnet pens have had the problem of nibs drying out since the beginning, The problem is that the end of the inner cap cracks when the cap is assembled, and the crack lets air to get into the cap. The usual fix is to drizzle some epoxy down in the end of the cap, then letting it cure over night with the open end up.

[senzen]

My two Sonnets haven't failed since I did this, I'm really happy, aesthetics be damned!

[pajaro]

My two Sonnets haven't failed since I did this, I'm really happy, aesthetics be damned!

 

How did you apply the epoxy? The epoxy I have used seems pretty thick. Is it enough to coat the inside of the inner cap?

[Chemremman]

I have a Sonnet from the early 90's. After having this issue for many years, I dripped melted candle wax into the cap a year or so ago. Seems to be working fine now. I figured wax would be less permanent.

Yes, did the same with mine a few years ago, worked a treat and still does.

[Chemremman]

 

Edited August 5, 2017 by Chemremman

[Chrissy]

I've applied some epoxy inside and outside and when I remove the cap I don't pull ink out of the nib.

[AlexLeGrande]

I did the epoxy trick, then had to scrape some out of the cap so that the nib was not pressing up against the cap. "I've got blisters on me fingers!"

[pajaro]

Great. I'll relax my search for a skeet machine that would throw Sonnets up. I have about 25 or so Sonnets plus some Insignias that work the same and have interchanging nibs and sections with Sonnets.

[Chrissy]

I've taken a very poor picture of my Sonnet cap but hopefully you can see how I used the epoxy resin that I coloured with black powder pigment. I also dripped some inside. Just for the full effect. My cap now holds water where it didn't before.

 

[senzen]

 

How did you apply the epoxy? The epoxy I have used seems pretty thick. Is it enough to coat the inside of the inner cap?

 

Epoxy? I used candle wax... Light candle, pour a drop of wax, done.