How to fix a cheap ballpoint pen

June 26, 2005 7:33 AM

What's the best way to get air pockets out of a ballpoint pen? It's a lot harder now that the fool things are completely sealed. Sure, I could get a new $.05 pen, but it irks me to no end.
posted by DonnieSticks to technology (3 comments total)

Do you have a lighter? Spark it up, and hold the writing end of the pen (the metal, ballpoint part) in the flame for a little bit. The air pockets will move away from the heat. It's a neat trick and it extends the life of a cheap pen.
posted by Jon-o at 9:23 AM on June 26, 2005

centrifuge?
posted by crunchland at 10:11 AM on June 26, 2005

You don't. The effort to fix a pen like that almost certainly exceeds the value of the pen itself.

If you don't like the waste of disposable pens, get a cheap fountain pen with a converter (Shafer used to have one for under $10, but you had to get the converter separately), and some ink. I've had the same bottle of ink for two years, and it is not even half empty yet.
posted by b1tr0t at 2:20 PM on June 26, 2005