Why Do Pens Run Dry With Plenty Of Ink Still In Them?

[AJ50]

I have a few pens that go dry and stop working giving the impression that they've run out of ink. When I check there's plenty of ink in the pen so why should it stop working? Any suggestions?

[Ghost Plane]

Physics.

 

Okay, now you've had the short answer, check for air leaks, ink viscosity, and feed blockages. Usually in that order. Hand oil on absorbent paper can also give that effect.

[Tasmith]

My MB 146 was always drying out. To fix this I put a tiny piece of tape over the hole (under the clip) in the cap. Hasn't run dry since.

[Russ]

Baby bottom can also contribute. As vacuum builds in the reservoir, lost flow reveals a fault in tipping shape. As GP noted, this is but one possibility.

[CS388]

If it's not putting ink on your fingers: a good and thorough-flush out would be my first port of call.

Could clear out old ink, clogging the feed channels.

 

Good luck.

Let us know how you get on

[graystranger]

You do not say if the pens stops writing after being capped for a while or if it stops while writing. If the problem occurs after the pen has been sitting capped for a while (hours, days, weeks) then the problem may be the pen's cap. The nibs/feeds on some pens will dry out while they are capped due to the cap not sealing very tight. The water in the ink just evaporates through the leaky cap, letting the nib and feed dry out while there is still plenty of ink in the reservoir.

 

My worst pens for drying out like this have caps that do not seal well. There are openings around the clip penetrations that leak air, finials that do not seal, etc. You can put your lips around the cap opening and suck a slight vacuum, letting the cap "grab" your lip. If it does not hold a vacuum it may be leaky enough to let the nib dry out.

 

My best pens for the nibs not drying out are: all my TWSBI pens, my Platinum 3776 Century, and my Lamy 2000. The Platinum Preppies, Plaisir, Cool, and Balance are quite good and can stay capped for several weeks at a time without any start problem.

 

I have fixed this in several pens by sealing the leaks carefully.

[ac12]

What pen(s), filling mechanism, and ink.

Need more description of the specific pen and writing condition.

Edited September 5, 2017 by ac12

[pajaro]

Hard water causing crud deposits blocking ink path? What would you do if this were the issue. CLR?

[amberleadavis]

I am glad you all respond with such thoughful answers. I was convinced that some pens just hate me.....and let's not forget that they might. BECAUSE I use super saturated inks that when left in the pen too long can cause the feed to block while ink is still in the pen.

[pajaro]

I think a lot of modern C/C pens have issues caused by imperfect design. Saturated inks and hard water used in flushing might add something. Air leaks in caps are another possibility.

[Bluey]

As you're also in the UK, we can rule out the dull drizzly and dreary climate as a factor. As there is zilch info to go on, I would hazard a guess that some issues are causes by holes in caps (you probably have a few Parkers?) which you can check by blowing down them ensuring that the seal is airtight, and hearing them go "phweeeeeeeee!"

 

Another culprit is air bubbles in converters that have not been properly flushed.

 

I don't have any issues with pens drying out and I only use cartridges and 1 converter.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Bluey

[Tasmith]

 

My worst pens for drying out like this have caps that do not seal well. There are openings around the clip penetrations that leak air, finials that do not seal, etc. You can put your lips around the cap opening and suck a slight vacuum, letting the cap "grab" your lip. If it does not hold a vacuum it may be leaky enough to let the nib dry out.

 

I have fixed this in several pens by sealing the leaks carefully.

My Pelikan M-200s write first time every time, so I was very disappointed when the MB-146 would not write.

 

I compared the caps for air tightness by gently blowing into them. The Pelikans were completely air tight, while with the MB-146 I could hear air leaking as I blew. Plugged the cap hole with tape and blew again, no leaking. Has written perfectly ever since.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Tasmith

[JFB]

How come so many older pens actually have vent holes in their caps and don't dry out but newer pens must be airtight? I've noticed with cheaper Chinese pens some models seem to stay wet-Jinhao 992 while others Baoer and Hero seem to always dry out some even after only a few hours of non-use capped. My Esterbrooks are always ready to go even after days sitting in a drawer.

 

Pax,

John

[siamackz]

Baby bottom can also contribute. As vacuum builds in the reservoir, lost flow reveals a fault in tipping shape. As GP noted, this is but one possibility.

this would cause skipping or hard starts, no? Would like it make the pen go dry after writing fine for some time? I am presuming the OP means that the pen writes fine for a while then goes dry

[siamackz]

Physics.

 

Okay, now you've had the short answer, check for air leaks, ink viscosity, and feed blockages. Usually in that order. Hand oil on absorbent paper can also give that effect.

interesting that you suggest air leak. Wouldn't that cause ink to drop out the nib instead? That is what I always thought. Please do explain, I am curious. Thanks

[siamackz]

More info is needed, as other members have requested. But, to take a shot in the dark here, I am presuming that the pen writes fine for a little while and then stops. If this is true, I wonder how wet the pen writes. I've expericed that with pens that are too wet, more wet than intended, the feed can't keep up with the ink flow. So the pen writes super wet and wonderful for half a page, then experices ink starvation because the feed runs out of the reserve ink collected in its grooves, and it runs dry. In my pens, this happened because the nib slit between tines was too wide. It needed to be closed a little. If you take a .002 brass shim and try to pass it through the slit, it should pass with little resistance. If it passes with no resistance, the slit is too wide.

[Ghost Plane]

interesting that you suggest air leak. Wouldn't that cause ink to drop out the nib instead? That is what I always thought. Please do explain, I am curious. Thanks

Depends on the location. Some converters are infamous for leaks that cause air bubbles within that block flow to the nipple due to surface tension. Never underestimate surface tension in ink. It is the reason for springs or balls in some converters or the dish soap on a toothpick touched to ink acts as a surfactant trick. Some nibs simply dry out while capped, which is why people apply tape or glue to breather holes. Sometimes cracks in the section stop the ink there or cause section leaks before the ink can reach the feed. Cartridges are infamous for the surface tension issue (Cross proprietary in a Century I once owned springs immediately to mind).

[Bluey]

Some converters are infamous for leaks that cause air bubbles within that block flow to the nipple due to surface tension. Never underestimate surface tension in ink. It is the reason for springs or balls in some converters or the dish soap on a toothpick touched to ink acts as a surfactant trick. Some nibs simply dry out while capped, which is why people apply tape or glue to breather holes. Sometimes cracks in the section stop the ink there or cause section leaks before the ink can reach the feed. Cartridges are infamous for the surface tension issue (Cross proprietary in a Century I once owned springs immediately to mind).

For me, this is another reason why I choose Japanese pens. The opening nozzle to the converter is wide whereas most other converters (Lamy, standard, Pelikan, Waterman etc) are narrow.

The wide opening means the pen is far less susceptible to flow issues and surface tension in the cartridge or converter.

 

I found cartridges were always less susceptible rather than more to surface tension(and this is part of the reason why I almost exclusively use them now), not least because they tend to be used only once. It may well be that cartridges already have some sort of anti-sticking-stuff in the ink that converters lack.

 

It's interesting about this drying out issue that people speak of. Apart from a Lamy and a Hero 100(due specifically to the breather hole) I have yet to experience it. I would think it's partly the breather hole(I don't have any pens with a breather hole) and partly the humidity(lack of) in your climate for those affected.

Edited September 15, 2017 by Bluey

[DavidDecorator1]

There's a lot of good solutions here I've always wondered this myself. I'very always been thinking it might be particles in the ink getting stuck in the feed but the airlock is even more plausible.