If you're an architecture, design or fine-arts student, you might find this post particularly helpful. Although I'm not sure how many colleges (if at all) still recommend using Rotring pens; because I see everybody running after digital world of softwares now.
Anyway! So it is jury time.. Rotring pens have been taken out of the drawers. Sheet is set, so is the mood, but your Rotring Pen JUST wont agree to work! which is because last semester you were waiting for the exams to get over SO BAD that the thought of cleaning your pens before storing them in the box for another 4 months just didn't cross your mind. and now you don't want to get bankrupt to be able to buy the whole set again. What to do?
Instead of getting irritated, soaking the pen in hot water and re-filling the ink a gazillion times in hope that your blocked pen would start working again miraculously, you could follow these steps and enjoy a smooooth time working for submissions!
Take it into bits as shown above. The black butt bit that connects to the cartridge can be unscrewed with a knife or a flat head screwdriver, incase you're too scared of knives.
Then remove the inner nib with tweezers, or just pull it with your long manicured nails. :P
Carefully and extremely gently, wipe off any stuck ink from the nib inner (the needle like bit). A steady hand required.
After rinsing in hot water and scrubbing with a toothbrush and hot soapy water, blow into the main outer nib (after carefully extracting the outer nib with tweezers) as hard as possible to dislodge stuck in the nib.
Then very carefully put inner nib into outer nib slowly and gently finding the hole in the centre.
Add the other bits.
Load up the cartridge and lock and load. If all's gone to plan, the ink should flow!
If you find it useful, do let me know! :) Good luck for your submissions!
Anyway! So it is jury time.. Rotring pens have been taken out of the drawers. Sheet is set, so is the mood, but your Rotring Pen JUST wont agree to work! which is because last semester you were waiting for the exams to get over SO BAD that the thought of cleaning your pens before storing them in the box for another 4 months just didn't cross your mind. and now you don't want to get bankrupt to be able to buy the whole set again. What to do?
Instead of getting irritated, soaking the pen in hot water and re-filling the ink a gazillion times in hope that your blocked pen would start working again miraculously, you could follow these steps and enjoy a smooooth time working for submissions!
Take it into bits as shown above. The black butt bit that connects to the cartridge can be unscrewed with a knife or a flat head screwdriver, incase you're too scared of knives.
 |
| View of butt of inner nib. Use tweezers to carefully remove for cleaning |
Then remove the inner nib with tweezers, or just pull it with your long manicured nails. :P
 |
| The inner nib |
Carefully and extremely gently, wipe off any stuck ink from the nib inner (the needle like bit). A steady hand required.
After rinsing in hot water and scrubbing with a toothbrush and hot soapy water, blow into the main outer nib (after carefully extracting the outer nib with tweezers) as hard as possible to dislodge stuck in the nib.
Then very carefully put inner nib into outer nib slowly and gently finding the hole in the centre.
Add the other bits.
Load up the cartridge and lock and load. If all's gone to plan, the ink should flow!
If you find it useful, do let me know! :) Good luck for your submissions!
heyy. how often should it be cleaned?
ReplyDeleteRemoving the needle part of the nib on anything smaller than 0.5mm is very risky, the chances of being able to reinsert it into the nib outer are very slim, even for those with a very steady hand. rOtring do not recommend removing the inner from any pen, but with care it can be done with the larger nib sizes. For smaller ones long soaking in isopropyl alcohol (preferably with additional ultrasonic action) without removal of the nib needle is the only safe way in my experience. I have restored many dozens of these pens, some that had been abandoned for 25+ years so speak from experience....
ReplyDeleteyour post fills me with hope! I have a bunch of rotring isographs from 15 years back, all hopelessly clogged...i guess that does tell a lot about my level of care :P
DeleteCant wait to try your method! Would be great if you could tell me the process in more detail! Thanks a ton!!
may i ask, what kind of isopropyl achocol you have used for this?
DeleteFrom which company should I use the isopropyle alcohol from?
DeleteHappiness within! I took apart the 0.20 pen and it goes back together fine. I took it apart 2 times, to show the wife and kids as well.
DeleteThe nib jumped out almost on its own, wasn't expecting it. But be *more* careful than you think you should be when inserting it, and it will find it's place after a minute or two of fiddling.
For people who want to try with isopropyl alcohol:
* Isopropyl alcohol is isopropyl alcohol. No matter what company makes it, it's the same chemistry - it's called isopropyl alcohol. Concetrations usually differ.
I soaked my pen 48 hours in alcohol and it didn't do much. Not a single amount of ink was further loosened. I think water is a solvent good enough.
So: don't mess with finding your alcohol, warm water works well. Take the nib out and be very very gentle when putting it back in. (Imagine how gentle you would be, when you have to touch someone's eye. Be that gentle. I don't know why you'd want to touch someone's eye though!)
thanks a lot parul. your technique helped me repair a 5 year old rotring 0.5 isograph pen
ReplyDeleteI cannot remove the black part
ReplyDeleteThank you for this most detailed account to bring my .25 isograph back to life as i had already hopelessly tried exactly what you described with soap and water 3 times over 5 days. I am happy to have my .25 back in working order!! Just in time for the middle of mer-may drawing!! You rock! 😁✌️
ReplyDeleteThanks for this guide. Did not realise that the pen came apart that much. A considerable help.
ReplyDeleteThanx a lot I resurrected my 0.2 rotring god bless u 🙏🙏
ReplyDeleteThank you for this from an old hand who should have known better than to leave it congealing!
ReplyDelete