No ink from cartridge pen

[NotTheStig]

This seems to happen whatever fountain pen I buy. After a while, and probably always after replacing a cartridge, the new cartridge is successfully seated and pierced but no ink comes out. Squeezing the cartridge hard while still in the pen results in a blob of ink falling from below the nib. Is this a common and easily solvable problem? My pens are always looked after and their nibs don't have pressure exerted on them above that which you would reasonably expect!

 

[antdad]

I doubt you can insert a cartridge without trapping some air, I usually try and get a converter for my favorite pens which seems to eliminate this problem.

 

[hunnymonster]

Don't remember ever having an issue like that other than where there's dried up ink crud in the nib and/or feeder from the reservoir (in your case cartridge, in antdad's case converter) - I think air being trapped is probably a red herring since there's always some air in the system and there has to be (unless it's an old style rubber bladder filler) for the ink to be able to flow (otherwise you'd create a partial vacuum in the cartridge/filler and no ink could flow).

Try a decent flush with cold/tepid water - maybe even soak it for an hour or two - see what wonders you unearth in doing so maybe?

 

[NotTheStig]

Thanks. I have tried again after having left it a bit over twenty four hours and it is fine now? But next time it happens I will give it a soak - thanks,

 

[missingskin]

Thanks. I have tried again after having left it a bit over twenty four hours and it is fine now? But next time it happens I will give it a soak - thanks,

Easy way is to dip the nib and feed into a glass of warm water, use your old cartridge as a pump at 1st to shift the crud out of the feed/nib. Change the water then leave it to soak in clean water for a few hours, drain the water and line the bottom of the glass with tissue paper and put the pen in nib on the tissue and the tissue will draw out the remaining liquid.

I do this every time I empty my pen as mine is an old bladder type Vacumatic and if you leave the thing full it clogs up.

 

[NotTheStig]

Thanks again for more advice.
Well yesterday it started doing it again - the ink just dried up after working fine since I last posted otherwise. With the ink about half full I noticed that as I moved the pen around the ink seemed to slosh around quite easily. I wonder if the ink is too thin (although I would have thought it would come out more freely, not less). No idea. Anyway, I thought I may as well ditch the cartridge (which is one of the longer ones, in black, which came with a cheap set I bought probably five years ago) and use the standard smaller blue ink cartidges. Seems to be working just fine now. Fingers Cross-ed!