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Fixing a ballpoint pen

If your ball point pen is dead, it's usually because the ink has dried above the ball and locked the ball in place. If this happens, some things you can try to revive your ballpoint pen are:

1 - Tap your pen repeatedly on a hard surface to try and jar the ball loose.

2 - Spray window cleaner on your finger and rub the ball of the pen with the window cleaner. This should loosen up a stuck ball. Get the ball good and damp and then scribble vigorously on a piece of paper to work it in. If your pen is not out of ink, this will almost always fix it.
Rating: 77% positive, 9 total Votes
Categories: repair frugal writing
Added: on Feb 25, 2008 at 9:53 am
Added By: an anonymous user
Searches: pen ball repair frugal writing

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This totally works! My daughter got a special feather pen with a stationary kit and was very disappointed when it did not work. We scribbled and scribbled. Finally, I looked on-line and found this tip. It did the trick and I have a very happy daughter! :)
– Added by an anonymous user on Jun 09, 2008 at 10:16 am
I also found that if you heat up the ball via friction by holding the tip at about a 30 degree angle against a non-shiny plastic surface like the covering of a binder and move it back and forth rapidly for about 10-15 seconds, it will melt the dried ink enough to be able to write again (you should also be able to give yourself/an unsuspecting individual a tiny burn, which feels like a bad static shock--don't worry it doesn't leave any marks : )
– Added by an anonymous user on Feb 06, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Used Windex. Did not work. Try using a hair dryer to heat the tip of the ball pen. It did not work either.
– Added by an anonymous user on Jul 29, 2009 at 6:11 pm
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