Request For Help With Jammed Parker Jotter Pencil

[Mercian]

Hi all,

after I posted only yesterday about how I use my Parker Jotter pencil as an ‘out of office’/‘site visit’ tool because it is robust, it has today developed a problem.

It is ‘jammed’

 

The lead that is currently in its mouth/tip/jaws has worn down. No surprises there.

The surprise/problem is that, while there are several new/spare leads inside the pencil’s body, no more lead is coming out of the pencil.
I have pressed the button on top of the pencil a huge number of times, holding its mouth/tip/jaws downwards, but no new lead is feeding through its actuator mechanism

The actuator mechanism is making the same sound that it always has done, so I don’t think that the mechanism has broken.

 

Having had no success using the conventional means of feeding the next lead, I removed them all except for one and repeatedly pushed the pencil’s actuator button again. That didn’t work either.

I then tried to feed a new lead in to the mouth/tip/jaws directly (i.e. backwards, from the outside towards the inside) but have not been able to push the remnants of the previous lead back up in to the body of the pencil.

Although I am male, I even resorted to digging out the instruction leaflet that came with the pencil and actually read it

The leaflet only shows how to load new leads in to the top of the pencil.

 

I do not have any pins or needles that are fine enough that I could push them up through the pencil’s mouth/tip/jaws to force the old lead out.

 

So, do any of you out in FPN-land have any suggestions for how I can get the next lead to feed in to the pencil?
If so, my thanks in advance for your answers.
Cheers,
M.

 

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I am in no sense an expert on this sort of thing.

 

But some of my pencils from other brands (Pentel if I recall correctly) include very thin but stiff pieces of wire that could be used for clearing this sort of jam. They may have actually been included with spare erasers or leads, not sure. I have some in my parts box, but have been lucky in not needing to use them. Is there anything you have around that you could cannibalize for something like that? I'm thinking maybe even a single strand unwound from a bit of steel cable.

 

It might be a good idea to wait and give other members a chance to chime in with "don't listen to him, do this instead". Just an idea.

[usk15]

Pilot MS-10 is a set of erasers and needles 0.3 and 0.5

 

https://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-MS-10-Mechanical-Pencil-Eraser-Refill-Set-of-5/pd/1490

 

 

or Pilot GMS-K, same thing:

 

https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/PL01080/pilot-gms-k-eraser-refill

 

 

I have bought MS-10 just for the needles.

Edited September 8, 2020 by usk15

[Mercian]

Thank you both

 

I am now thinking that I need to buy a set of Pilot’s eraser refills (just to get the de-jamming/cleaning needles).

 

For me, the least-expensive option (at time of posting) is to buy them from ‘theonlinepencompany’ - here.

 

£0.45, instead of £2.02

And (as Silly as this action self-evidently is) I’m going to be adding at least another £19.55 worth of items to my order, so that I don’t have to pay £2.50 for postage on an item that costs only £0.45

 

ETA: I view the purchase of these needles as an investment, in that I may well need them again in future - and not only for this Parker Jotter pencil, but also for my rotring Visu pencils.

Edited September 8, 2020 by Mercian

[Zookie]

Straighten the end of a paperclip,and use it to grind the broken lead out. I've done it like that for years, and as yet, no casualties 😎

[amacksco]

sounds like the push top button version of propelling pencil. The activation is via a one way clutch mechanism where the tip part grips the lead and the push clutch pushes the lead down but releases on the up stroke. 

The main issue I have experienced was water tea or other fluid getting into the tip and messing the clutch and retaining washer. Not to mention causing all the spare leads to clump together.

 

I confirm you need the specific needle for the diameter of lead being used (normal is 0.5mm). The blunt end should be used to push the remnants out of the feed mechanism.

 

You can try back feeding a lead but there is a good chance it will snap off and then you will have another jam to fix.

 

Having cleared the jam the next thing you need to do is clean the mechanism. I used dilute washing up liquid liquid then flushed it out with warm tap water. then a vigorous shake while wrapped in kitchen towel. then stand it tip pointing upwards in a warm not hot body temp environment for several days 

 

[BigBlot]

On 9/8/2020 at 7:37 PM, Zookie said:

Straighten the end of a paperclip,and use it to grind the broken lead out. I've done it like that for years, and as yet, no casualties 😎

OTOH, a paperclip wire is too large a diameter for a 0.5mm pencil (assuming the Jotter in question is like a Jotter mechanical pencil I have). A quick test shows that a standard gem clip straight from my gem clip holder has wire too thick to go into the end of a 0.7mm pencil.

 

A few years ago I bought some mechanical pencil erasers that came with one or two cleaning wires just for this wires. In time past, a little wire used to be stuck into the bottom of an eraser of 0.5mm drafting pens, but as time rolled on, they seem to have disappeared from at least the cheaper models.

 

FWIW, in a pinch I've carefully used a refill lead for this purpose, with mixed results, That's why I bought the erasers with cleaning wires.

[BigBlot]

On 9/8/2020 at 3:55 PM, usk15 said:

Pilot MS-10 is a set of erasers and needles 0.3 and 0.5

 

https://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-MS-10-Mechanical-Pencil-Eraser-Refill-Set-of-5/pd/1490

 

 

or Pilot GMS-K, same thing:

 

https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/PL01080/pilot-gms-k-eraser-refill

 

 

I have bought MS-10 just for the needles.

Followed the link. The Pilot MS-10 is what I bought, just for those cleaning wires.

[Zookie]

Good luck! I hope you're successful 😎

[Mercian]

I can confirm that my purchase of the Pilot 'Birdie' GMS-K set of 5 eraser refills and 2 de-jamming needles (in 0.3mm and 0.5mm diameters) enabled me to solve the problem that I had with my Jotter MP 👍

[flatline]

Yay!