Pen refills drying out

[Jamie]

I have some pens that have been around for a long time. Some have capped ends that should be good forever but I just tried a AS Baron that's a year or two old and the rollerball is froze up. It's a Schmidt, I think, and didn't come capped. How long will these unused refills keep? Is there a way to prolong life in these refills? Is there a way to free up the dried up refill? Why don't they all come with that plastic ball sealing the tip?

 

[TellicoTurning]

try the old hot water trick.. the ink around the ball may have just dried, not the entire tube... dip it in hot water for a few seconds and then try it... you may have to dip and try a few times to get it started..... I used to have this problem with my printer ink refils... every time I changed the cartridge I spent 45 minutes getting the ink to flow... and back in my youth, before they perfected the inks, ball points used to have this problems..

 

[Ligget]

I learned the hard way too, I keep the inks out now until I am showing it to someone!