Here are 10 suggestions that might help to improve the performance of a dry-writing fountain pen or to get the ink flowing in a new fountain pen that skips or doesn’t want to start:
1) Sometimes fountain pens will come from the manufacturer with an oily film on the feed or the nib. Or, perhaps there is some dried ink or sediment blocking the pen’s feed. To make sure this isn’t a problem it would be good to try and safely clean the pens. Here are some suggestions on how to do this:
Fountain Pen Cleaning Solution
2) If you think the problem could be dried ink residue and a good soaking in a cleaning solution doesn’t help, taking it to a fountain pen dealer for an ultrasound cleaning may help.
3) Be sure that the ink cartridge is firmly attached to the pen. Once in awhile we find some writers haven’t pushed hard enough to puncture the ink cartridge to start the flow of ink.
4) Temporarily store the pen with the nib pointing downwards to encourage the feed to fill with ink. Then try it again after waiting for awhile.
5) Dipping the nib in water for several seconds can also encourage the flow of ink.
6) Add a drop of water to the ink in the cartridge or the converter. Sometimes this helps.
7) Experiment with different types of ink. Noodler’s Ink suggests giving their Eel Ink a try.
8) InkSafe ink additive from Tryphon Enterprises is known to be helpful. One of its purposes is to improve ink flow in dry-writing pens. We haven’t tried it ourselves yet.
9) If you are using a converter you could try using cartridges or a different brand of converter instead. Sometimes the ink sticks to the sides of the converter and this causes ink flow problems.
10) If the above suggestions do not help, it might be worth it to send your pen in for professional fountain pen repair. Having the nib adjusted (tines realigned, slit widened or narrowed etc) or having the nib replaced could solve the problem. Use caution if trying this yourself because you could damage your pen!
We hope this helps. Does anyone else have some tips they would like to share? We welcome your comments!
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Wonderful post, thanks! I could have done with this yesterday as I much of my time trying to wrestle the ink out of cheap FP I picked up in a clearance sale. Trust me to find your post the day after; typical me! 🙂
Another thing to try is to use a different kind of high quality paper to see if the paper is the problem.
Thank you for the useful compilation of tips! 🙂
You can also run the nib under water to clean out any residue, then using a soft tissue gently wipe the nib to get the ink to start flowing.
I have just received my new Aurora Ipsilon italic from you and I am surprised at how poorly it performs with regard to ink flow. I practically need to beg it to start and should I lift nib to cross a T or dot an I it is dry again.
I have flushed and filled and flushed again. It works like a charm after the attention for a moment than back to its stubborn ways.
I have never had such a disappointing out of the box experience with a pen before. It is frustrating.
I may need to send it in for service, or to a nib specialist. Either way, it is a pity that a brand new item requires treatment and further expense in order to be useful.
They don’t make them like they used to.
Hi Rick,
Sorry to hear about the problem with your Aurora pen. It sounds like it really needs the attention of a nibmeister! Aurora has a warranty for this pen so we encourage you to contact the trained professionals in their service dept. You can use this link: https://secure.kenroindustries.com/Step2.aspx?bid=3
If you’re not comfortable contacting them directly, email us a detailed description of the problem and we’ll contact them for you. info@shopwritersbloc.com
I hope you can get this problem worked out! Italic nib pens can really add some style to handwriting when they are performing properly.
I’ve run some aurora ink through it and there is an improvement. Still a slow starter but I will assume that much of this comes from my technique. Broad italics are stubborn even in an experienced hand. The Aurora nib has zero flex to it so the sweetspot is small.
I do want to thank you for your response and for the the super fast shipping. Your company is an example of what good service in the online world should be.