How To Fix A Clogged Gel Pen
HOW-TO GUIDE

How To Fix A Clogged Gel Pen?

How To Fix A Clogged Gel Pen

The technological advancement has changed almost every aspect of our lives. Gone are the days when humans do things manually. The computers and the internet are both influential in how we deal with daily chores.

For instance, in terms of communication, computers and the internet are complimentary media that make the world smaller. We can now call our loved one from the opposite part of the world, we can conduct a corporate conference, or we can make a quick research on the web.

These things are only a handful of things that we are enjoying right now. But still, there are things that remain in their classic nature. Primarily because they cannot be easily replaced no matter how advanced technological development is.

There are still many things that ought to be done manually. One good example of this is writing using pen and paper. Long handwriting is proven scientifically that it brings more benefits than typing. It activates the brain making the brain more active and sharper. In other words, longhand writing is more beneficial in many ways than using a computer.

However, like computers and other gadgets, pens may cause some problems though. Some pens especially the gel pens would clog making them useless sometimes.

Gel pens, like other pens, rely on the flow of ink to make a necessary mark on the paper. But what if the ink does not flow smoothly? Can you still finish your important writing assignment?

Absolutely, yes. You just need to know some tips on how to handle the problems. The key here is understanding how a gel pen works.

In this post, we will share with you some of the tips on how you can handle the situation in times when your gel pen doesn’t work. Following these tips will give you confidence and assurance to finish your long handwriting task.

How to fix a clogged gel pen?

As mentioned, if you know how a gel pen works, you will easily spot the problem and fix it. Like any type of pens, the ink itself could cause clogging sometimes. If the ink hardened right at the tip of the pen, it will more likely cause an obstruction.

Here are the steps you can use to prevent clogging from happening or fix the problem whenever it occurs.

1. When a gel pen stops working, something must wrong at the tip. So the first thing you can do is cleaning the tip using cloth or paper. The soft fabric is the best. But if you can’t find one, a wooden surface will do. Gently rub the tip of the pen on the wooden surface. But do not overdo it. It could also damage the nib and the whole ink mechanism.

2. If doing the first step does not work, it indicates that the problem is not on the tip. The hardened ink inside the nib must have been causing the problem. This cannot be easily resolved by rubbing the tip of the pen.

One of the best things you can do is to heat up the nib a little bit. If you have a lighter, you can use it to heat up the nib. This will help the clogged ink to melt and loosen up the ink passage. But do not overheat it. Too much heat may destroy the pen itself.

3. If you are in a classroom or an office where you don’t have any access to fire or any heating device, your best option would be to rub the tip of the pen on a scratch paper or cardboard. Apply enough force on the pen so that the nib itself touches the paper but it does not make any hole on the paper surface. The constant rubbing creates friction between the surface and the nib which in turn heats up the nib. This process will help liquefy the hardened ink.

4. If you don’t have a heating device and paper or any surface where you can rub the tip of your gel pen, you can use your shoe sole. The result will be the same.

5. If the previous tips did not work, then you may need another remedy. This time you can try the nail polish remover. This chemical will help melt the clogged ink inside the nib of the pen.

Use an ink dropper to put a sufficient amount of nail clean remover enough to melt the hardened ink. This technique, however, may be messy depending on how you carefully apply the procedure.

6. If the five techniques did not work, your last resort would be to pull off the metal tip of the pen and use a needle or a guitar string to insert through the inking mechanism of the pen. This will ultimately eliminate clogged ink. But make sure that you tilt the pen on the opposite side allowing the ink to flow away from the tip you’re working on.

After you’ve retrieved the hardened ink or anything that causes the clogging, you can now re-join the metal tip and push it back to the ink reservoir. You just need to be extra careful during the whole procedure. The ink could easily spill in your hand or any surface.

How to prevent gel pens from clogging?

There are things that could cause the clogging problem. Basically, in most cases, there are two things that could cause you problems with your gel pens. One is the temperature where you store or keep your pen. And the second one is the way you store it.

Before you get wrinkled on your forehead searching the ways on how to fix a clogged gel pen, you need to make things right.

First, make sure that you don’t leave your pen in a hot space. High room temperature will more likely to liquefy the ink making it goes off the reservoir.

Secondly, keep the gel pen stored in an even position. This will prevent the ink from concentrating on one side which will probably result in clogging.

We hope that these tips on how to fix a clogged gel pen will help you solve your problem. These tips are proven effective. The techniques had helped us so many times when we encounter the same problem. We hope that these tips will help you too.

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