Tips & Tricks: Restarting an ink cartridge

I was cruising along yesterday writing with a blue Uni-Ball Signo DX 0.38mm when I decided to switch over to black ink.  I reached for the hacked Pilot G-2 with a Mont-Blanc refill that I keep on my desk at work, but no ink was coming out of the tip.  Dry as the Sahara.  I scribbled around with it for a while and got a partial ink flow, but nothing like it should be.  This made me wonder what the best way was to get an ink cartridge to flow again?  I've heard of taking a match to it, or maybe wetting it a little and scribbling - do you have any secrets to resurrect a pen that you know still has life left?

There are some good suggestions on this wikiHow page:  How to restart a dry ballpoint pen.  I forgot about trying to write on an eraser.  Maybe that is my next move.

Posted on February 5, 2009 .