Is your Uniball Pen not working?
Being caught in such a situation can be frustrating especially if you already have fallen in love with your pen.
You cannot just throw it away because of the sentimental value that is attached to your writing tool. It might be a birthday present from someone close to you.
So, is there any way to revive your Uniball Pen that does not work anymore?
We are here to tell you that things aren’t too late for your favorite pen. There are simple and quick ways you can fix your Uniball Pen.
Due to frustrations, many people tried different things just to revive their pens that stop working. This may include you. But not all of those techniques really work.
The key to success in reviving your Uniball Pen is understanding the mechanism behind it. Any problem can be easily solved if you have a clear idea of what might have caused the problem.
Having said this, the first thing you need to do before fixing your pen is understanding the very cause. In this case, you need to understand how the Uniball Pen works.
Uniball Pens are like any ballpoint pens that have a rolling ball at the tip. As the ball rolls on the paper, the ink starts to flow on the surface. With consistent ink flow, the pen gives continuous markings.
The common cause as to why Uniball Pen stops working is the dried ink at the tip of the pen. The hardened ink constrains the ball from rolling freely. As a result, the ink could not consistently flow on the paper.
Needless to say, the dried ink stops the Uniball Pen from working. Fortunately, there are simple ways you can do to dislodge the dried ink that clogs at the tip.
Here’s what you can do if you’re Uniball Pen is not working:
1. Use steam from a boiling water
Inks are usually water or oil-based. Cold temperature triggers the solidification process resulting in the ink at the tip of a Uniball Pen dries quickly.
If low temperature hardens the ink, you can reverse the process. Heat the ink or the whole pen to soften the ink.
Doing this requires a few of your household materials. If you can boil water in a kettle. As soon as the white smoke starts coming up, hold the nib in steam for a few seconds. The heat from the steam will help dislodge the blocking dried ink.
2. Heat up the nib with fire
The other alternative is heating up the nib with fire. This is a quicker technique. You can use your lighter to heat the nib for a few seconds.
The amount of heat from a lighter will quickly melt the dried ink at the tip. But you should be careful not to roast the whole nib. Too much heat will melt not only the dried ink but also the barrel of your pen.
So be mindful. Intermittently check whether or not the ball at tip starts rolling. If it does, then stop the heating. Your pen must be working.
3. Blow the cartridge
All pens have one thing in common; an ink hole. This is where the ink flows down to the tip. In minor issues, such as the air gap inside the ink hole, you can apply the air pressure through it by blowing.
It works perfectly well if you pull the nib off from the barrel. The air pressure will easily flow through the hole thus pushing the ink to the tip.
Once the air gap disappears, reattach the nib to the barrel. If the air gap had caused the problem, your Uniball Pen should be working after applying this technique.
4. Drop alcohol on the tip
Alcohol contains a nonpolar solvent that dissolves the dried ink quickly. This is one of the best alternatives you employ to revive your Uniball Pen.
Drop a small amount of alcohol on the tip of the pen and wait for several minutes in order for the alcohol to take effect on the dried ink.
After a while, scribble the pen on a piece of paper and see if it is already working. Then occasionally shake the pen or tap it on the edge of a table. This will help the ink to reach the tip. Repeat the process until the pen starts to write again.
5. Use the nib of an empty refill as a replacement
For years, we have been experiencing many pen problems. And we can honestly tell you that sometimes, none of the techniques (even those techniques we included here) work.
There are times when we were not able to fix our pens. If this situation strikes you, your best option will be to change the nib of your non-working pen.
This technique applies only if the pen has an intact amount of ink. Thus, throwing it can be a waste especially if you are a frugal person.
What you can do is find an old cartridge of the same pen brand. This ensures that the replacement perfectly fits with the new barrel. Then, take the old nib to replace the current nib that stops working.
This process can be messy though. Be careful as you pull the nib because the ink could go off. The best way to do this is using a washbasin. This lowers the possibility of making a mess.
The techniques we shared in this post do not follow a certain order. This means that there is no better way to revive your Uniball Pen that is not working.
The only thing you need to remember is to identify the causes of the problem. Once you figured out what is stopping your Uniball Pen from working, it is easy to pick the techniques available in this post.
Creativity is the key to productivity. If you are creative enough, you will mostly find a better way of solving problems and challenges in life.
We hope that this short and simple article will help you revive your Uniball Pen. For more information related to this, feel free to look around.
