Parker Pen Clogging

[Reng]

First of all, please forgive me if I am incorrect in posting my question here.  I am new to this site and don't really know how to navigate around. 

Here's my question:

My friend gave me a nice Parker Pen.  It was clogged with red ink (cartridge attached with some ink still inside.  I soaked it and got it going, but it clogged again within a day.  Tried this several times.  I ordered new cartridges, took out the old red one and inserted a new cartridge.  It worked , but after a day or two of non use, it became clogged again.  I soaked the pen (nib and above it, 1 1/2" in water for 24 hours.  It then started writing again, but became clogged again after one or two days unused.  I have a old Pelikan 120 that I use and it never has an issue, always works, even if left unused for quite a while.  Can anyone suggest a 'cure' for this?  The pen is pretty nice, has a nice heft and feel to it.  I would like to be able to use it, but not if it's going to be stuck every 2 days.  Thanks for any help. 

[OCArt]

Did you add a drop or two of Dawn dish soap to the water? Sometimes a pen needs to be soaked for days and force flushed with a rubber bulb to finally clear the dried ink out.

 

Please tell us the model and we might be able to offer more help.

[jchch1950]

Which Pen do you have? Red ink sometimes can clog any pen. Long baths can be helpful, if not do you have practice taking out the nibs? When it writes does the colour of the ink look contaminated by the red ink?

[Sailor Kenshin]

An ultrasonic cleaner might work wonders.  

[welch]

- Flush the pen...plain water from a faucet

 

- Get a converter. The in-out of a converter fill will help keep ink flowing. Use a cartridge only as backup, for that day you are away from your desk and, suddenly, your pen runs dry. Otherwise, use the converter. As OCArt suggests, try a few drops of Dawn dish soap in a dish of water, taking in the water and pushing it out again. Maybe refill your pen every morning, using the same ink bottle, of course. The pen will always start full, and it will assure you that nothing clogs it. 

 

- Sailor Kenshin is right: an ultrasonic cleaner will clean out nearly anything. It might be too expensive -- about $30 -- to be used just once

 

- Ko-i-Noor's Rapido-eze is about $8 in the small jar, and you probably don't need more than a small amount. 

[inkstainedruth]

2 hours ago, welch said:

- Flush the pen...plain water from a faucet

Not necessarily.  It depends entirely on where people live, and how "hard" the water is (i.e., the mineral content).  

I use distilled water (bought by the gallon in my local grocery store, but that might not be an option for the OP either) because I see the buildup of minerals on my faucet, and there is NO WAY I want that clogging up a feed or a converter or piston.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Reng]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.  I just put the Parker into a another container of water and added a couple of drops of Dawn dish soap.  I cannot tell what model of pen this is.  Where do I look?  See picture I attached.  The idea of a converter sounds good too. 

[Checklist]

That's an IM from somewhere in the 2010-15 timeframe.  (That's when I got mine.)  The model isn't to be found anywhere on the pen, so no worries about missing it.

 

I second getting a Parker converter to flush out any old, stubborn ink or dish soap.  As a rule of thumb, if you're clogged, you'll need more than a soak to get clean again, at least in a reasonable amount of time.  A bulb syringe with the tip cut off will do the same in less time, but good luck using the pen with that installed.

 

Edited to add: did you take off the section and nib and submerge them completely when you soaked it?  If not, you'll need to.

Edited May 18 by Checklist
Adding question.

[Reng]

P.S. I do see some red ink residue. 

I do not know how to remove the nib.  Thank you. 

[Reng]

Oh, my friend who gave me the Parker, also gave me a converter, so I could try that.  I think I'll soak it for a good 24+ hours in the water with dish soap, then remove the cartrdige and put on the converter.  Should I fill the converter with water, or water and a drop of Dawn, and try and clean it out that way?  Or should I use a bulb 'syringe' (like the kind you use for cleaning wax out of one's ears) and try and force water through the nib.  I appreciate any advice.  Thanks again to all who have responded. 

[Reng]

Thank you 'Checklist' for the info. 

Question for anyone: how do you safely take the nib off.  I don't want to break the pen.  Thanks. 

[OCArt]

Either way would work but the bulb syringe will put a lot more water through and quickly. I cut the "snout" off of my baby syringe so that a pen's nib section just tightly fits inside.

 

3 hours ago, Reng said:

Should I fill the converter with water, or water and a drop of Dawn, and try and clean it out that way?  Or should I use a bulb 'syringe' (like the kind you use for cleaning wax out of one's ears) and try and force water through the nib.

 

[Olya]

You write "became clogged again after one or two days unused". Modern Parkers are well known for their terrible cap seals. This isn't uncommon, unfortunately.

 

If there is ink residue from dried ink, that can take a long time to dislodge and go away.

[welch]

On 5/18/2024 at 2:16 AM, Reng said:

Thank you 'Checklist' for the info. 

Question for anyone: how do you safely take the nib off.  I don't want to break the pen.  Thanks. 

 

Don't. That is overkill, and I don't know the IM fountain pen. Parker's Sonnet has a swappable nib -- it unscrews -- but if the IM has a fixed-in-place nib then be satisfied with unscrewing the section from the grip&nib for a cleaning.

 

Try using the converter to draw and expel water you have softened with that drop of Dawn. 

 

 

 

 

[Beechwood]

The Parker IM is a friction fit nib and feed, it could/should just pull straight out but I agree with Welch, persevere with the flushing.

 

Has the pen been filled with drawing ink in the past?