Sonnet Drying Out Problem

[PeterR-C]

I have a number of 1994 Sonnets, which I love. But they tend to dry out overnight, and in some cases an ink cartridge only a couple of weeks old and hardly used has evaporated almost completely. It seems this is a problem lots of people have had. I have read various ideas for solutions on the FPN, and this request is to ask which solution is best. Am I right that it is due to the ventilation holes in the end of the cap being too large?

 

I have seen the suggestion that dripping candle wax into the inside of the cap can seal the holes. This seems straightforward but I do a fair amount of work in tropical climates and I'm a bit worried about the wax melting. Liquid epoxy has been suggested but wouldn't this be irreversible? Or does that not matter? Or would shellac do the trick?

 

If anyone has experience of these or any other methods, please enlighten me!

[Ted F]

I read your thread and was quite surprised about your experience. I too have a number of Sonnets and have never experienced the problem that you are having. Mine range from 1993 to 2014.

[pajaro]

I have Sonnets made from the early 1990s to about 2007. Every last one dried out overnight or sooner. I have been solving this in some cases by popping off the cap jewel, dripping some five minute set time epoxy into the recess where the cap jewel sits and reinserting the cap jewel with the prong going into the hole. This has worked on the five Sonnets I did it to. It is probably going to be difficult to impossible to reverse this. This is why I am taking my time about doing the rest of the Sonnets. I want to use the five longer term to see how this holds up.

[mana]

Re: drying problems. IIRC that it is due to a faulty inner cap design which has led some of them to crack and thus lose the ability to seal the nib properly. The airholes actually run around and outside of the inner cap. I did manage to mitigate that problem in part by a liberal application of hot candle wax. Not pretty though and you have to make sure that none of that candle wax goes inside the inner cap (I for one do not fancy cleaning the nib of that).

[senzen]

I keep my two Sonnets in boxes, even when I write with them I put them back if not using them immediately. Pajaro's solution seems the right one, I would just be weary of mangling the cap jewels: I am talking about my own clumsiness, not their physical properties.

[ngekomo]

I think you should try non permanent method first such as wax

wax can be removed with hot water, hot water will melt wax and wax will float

 

maybe try put a roll of paper in the cap and drop a few candle wax, it would land directly to the center of the cap right around the rivet (or whatever round hole thing in there)

[senzen]

I think you should try non permanent method first such as wax

wax can be removed with hot water, hot water will melt wax and wax will float

 

maybe try put a roll of paper in the cap and drop a few candle wax, it would land directly to the center of the cap right around the rivet (or whatever round hole thing in there)

 

I did that, didn't help much, there's a hole under the clip, where it meets the crown...

[PeterR-C]

Thanks to you all for your comments. I'll have a go with ngekomo's wax idea first, but for a long-term solution I'm inclined to try Pajaro's 5 minute epoxy solution. If it works, I won't be wanting to remove the cap jewel again, so I don't mind it being permanent.

 

But like Pseudo88 I am uncertain how to remove the cap jewel without marking it, I haven't tried this before. What's the best way to do it?

[hari317]

I have had good results with the wax technique. I took a small glass beaker, chopped a medium sized wax candle into it and placed this beaker in the centre of a shallow pan filled with water. Heat the pan over an electric heater. the wax will melt nicely and become liquid. quickly dip just the clip jewel end of the cap into the molten wax, dwell for 3-5seconds and withdraw. Wipe clean the excess wax with a clean cotton rag. Run the rag under the clip as well to wipe away excess wax.

 

Do the suction test to check air-tightness. in fact do this before the wax treatment too, you will know if the wax was useful.

[pajaro]

Thanks to you all for your comments. I'll have a go with ngekomo's wax idea first, but for a long-term solution I'm inclined to try Pajaro's 5 minute epoxy solution. If it works, I won't be wanting to remove the cap jewel again, so I don't mind it being permanent.

 

But like Pseudo88 I am uncertain how to remove the cap jewel without marking it, I haven't tried this before. What's the best way to do it?

 

To remove the cap jewel I used the blade of a pen knife size Swiss Army knife to slide the blade under the jewel and turn it sideways, which flipped the jewel right out without harming. You could always use something else that is thin, firm and less sharp.

[Ron Z]

The cap vent goes through the top of the cap, and around the outside of the inner cap. You want to preserve this if possible so that ink is not pulled out of the feed as you take the cap off.

 

The nib dries out because the inner cap often cracks at the top end when riveted, allowing air into the inner cap. If you look down into the inner cap with a focused LED light, you often see cracks in the end of the inner cap. We repair this by dropping epoxy down in the end of the inner cap to seal cracks.. This fixes the air leak without sealing off the cap vent.

[pajaro]

Thanks for clarifying that.

[PeterR-C]

Many thanks for these replies. I'll give both the wax and the epoxy methods a go - I've looked down the caps with an LED and sure enough there are cracks in the small circular part right at the end. I'll report back with an update...

[PeterR-C]

And a follow-up question: I'm not sure what is meant by epoxy. In Britain what is sold as epoxy is glue that comes in two tubes that have to be squeezed and mixed. This produces a goo that is far too sticky to be dropped. Superglue comes in liquid form, is that what I should be using?

[torstar]

I have a number of 1994 Sonnets, which I love. But they tend to dry out overnight, and in some cases an ink cartridge only a couple of weeks old and hardly used has evaporated almost completely. It seems this is a problem lots of people have had. I have read various ideas for solutions on the FPN, and this request is to ask which solution is best. Am I right that it is due to the ventilation holes in the end of the cap being too large?

 

I have seen the suggestion that dripping candle wax into the inside of the cap can seal the holes. This seems straightforward but I do a fair amount of work in tropical climates and I'm a bit worried about the wax melting. Liquid epoxy has been suggested but wouldn't this be irreversible? Or does that not matter? Or would shellac do the trick?

 

If anyone has experience of these or any other methods, please enlighten me!

 

There wasn't one, sent it back a few times before realizing it was a complete lemon, and Parker wasn't going to do a thing to help out.

 

It made a lovely dart off the concrete wall a few times.

[Ron Z]

Two part epoxy is what you want. Alradite in the UK? Never superglue. You will need a long stick to get it into the end of the cap. Even a 5 minute epoxy tends to be "self leveling" when left on a horizontal surface. Mix it well and quickly get it into the cap end, and keep the cap upright until it sets. You don't need a big glob of it!

 

 

 

 

There wasn't one, sent it back a few times before realizing it was a complete lemon, and Parker wasn't going to do a thing to help out.

 

That was the reissue of the Parker 51. The barrels on the early runs were made too thin, and cracked quite easily. Not one of. the best pens made by Parker..

[PeterR-C]

Thanks Ron, that's really helpful. Araldite is indeed everywhere. I'll get it done and report back.

[torstar]

Two part epoxy is what you want. Alradite in the UK? Never superglue. You will need a long stick to get it into the end of the cap. Even a 5 minute epoxy tends to be "self leveling" when left on a horizontal surface. Mix it well and quickly get it into the cap end, and keep the cap upright until it sets. You don't need a big glob of it!

 

 

 

 

 

That was the reissue of the Parker 51. The barrels on the early runs were made too thin, and cracked quite easily. Not one of. the best pens made by Parker..

 

no, that was the Sonnet Cisele (SP) a pen costing $300 USD and it was a lemon and they told us we could all basically (bleep) off and die.

[Ron Z]

 

 

no, that was the Sonnet Cisele (SP) a pen costing $300 USD and it was a lemon and they told us we could all basically (bleep) off and die.

 

IIRC, they weren't especially helpful with the modern 51 either. People are still chasing replacement barrels and nibs. The best solution I've heard was to use the new cap on a vintage pen.

[mariom]

This seems to have been an ongoing problem for a long time. I've had one Sonnet over the years - nice pen to look at, but prone to drying out and a problematic starter when it wasn't dry. Couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

 

I really do fail to see why some people have such a fascination with what appears to be a poorly designed and engineered pen.

Edited July 4, 2019 by mariom