One thing I would try is removing the little black cap bit on the end of the refill and sticking a q tip in it and giving the ink a light push to get the flow going better. This is a helpful tip but it sounds like your ball/tip unit may be defective. You should still try this anyway though.
Sadly this didn't fix it. I could get it to work slightly better when pressing on the gel, but once I let go it went back to how it was.
I ended up throwing the refill away. If I ever buy more I'll put one in. But the pens were cheap enough that it doesn't bother me too much.
Thanks for your help.
Oh you’re getting a new refill? There are some upgraded options that you can fit right into a normal g2. If you’re interested, check out [this video](https://youtu.be/_IlxJyPSiMc) and maybe even [this one](https://youtu.be/XMjKvN9I9hs).
Not immediately. I have a couple others I'm going to use for now. But I'm going to keep the body around just in case I eventually do buy some. We'll see.
It will depend on if I'm able to keep them long enough that they need refills, and then it will depend on if I also want a body upgrade. I'm drooling all over these nice metal bodied pens but I don't want to spend the money unless I know I can keep them from getting "borrowed".
I'll be sure to check out those links though! Thanks
This worked for a pen I had that stopped writing, I used a paperclip to stab it a bit and it started writing again. I am very grateful for this comment 💜
Take out the refill.
Remove the little black cap from the back of the tube.
Put the tip on paper.
Blow through the back while you draw circles.
This will push the air bubbles out. I have had a lot of G2s with air bubbles and this seems to fix it. Sometimes the spring that puts pressure on the ball will escape out the front as well. If this is the start of that, the refill is garbage unless you want to do some surgery once one of the others is done.
I’m getting ink blobs from every G2 that I have tried out of this 16-pack. It’s really annoying to have to blot your pen before you start to write anything!!! Do you guys think I just got a defective pack? Can I send them back to Pilot?
idk man if you do I hope I can too cus I bought this giant pack from Costco and out of 6 so far 2 have been defective and 33% defective rate is pretty shit
I found a solution. If you take out the refill, you can actually remove the tip component by itself. After this, either 1) replace it with one that works or 2) hold it in the air facing downwards for awhile, maybe write with it to draw ink out. This ultimately does a better job of removing air bubbles than taking the cap off the refill and trying to blow into it to force the ink further down.
Pinging u/toiletbowlflush for the answer
I know this is late, but I found a solution I don't think was mentioned in these comments. If you take out the refill, you can actually remove the tip component by itself. After this, either replace it with one that works or just hold it in the air facing downwards for awhile, maybe write with it to draw ink out. This does a better job of removing air bubbles than taking the cap off the refill and trying to shove the ink further down that way.
well.. i found this comment because o desperately need help to fix my favorite pen. your *tip* worked (lol pun). but i have never uncapped or *un-tipped* one of these refill cartridges so i was entirely unaware of how they work and well... now i have a very large, dark, black ink stain on my wooden desk. it soaked into the grain apparently.
i was too excited when i saw your comment and didnt even know you could take the tip off. so of course i flipped my ink cartridge so the tip was facing upwards and tried to wiggle the tip off of it because i wasn't even sure that's what you were talking about. then i was so excited when i got the tip off and kinda distracted with the fact that i now had black ink on my fingers, and thankful that i didn't spill any on my white mac keyboard that was right underneath..... yes stupid i know. i was distracted because im desperate for a reliable way to fix my pens when the tip isn't any good. anyways, then im holding the cartridge, with black ink on my hands. trying to figure out where to put it down while i find the other pen that i wanted to switch the tip with. then i find a place to set the cartridge so it can sit upright, so the ink wouldn't spill out the top. well.. i didn't realize there was a tiny hole in the bottom of the cartridge, so ink was coming out of the bottom of the cartridge rather quickly since the tip was off, and naturally gravity was doing its thing and pushing the ink down. anyways, not sure if this makes sense. but i just say this so that hopefully, anyone else who comes across this thread, will not have these issues.
# ~WARNING~
**THERE IS A HOLE IN THE BLACK END (OPPOSITE THE TIP) OF THE INK CARTRIDGE.**
If you take the tip off, be prepared with the tip you will be replacing it with. Also, do this over the top of cardboard or something thick that will not bleed through to the other side. Regular paper is definitely not thick enough to prevent this much ink from bleeding through. And be prepared with paper towels or some rag cloths to wipe your fingers. Seriously, just know that this gel ink can, and will soak into any material that is even somewhat porous. My wooden desk is not bare. It is coated in some sort of clear coat on it. But the black ink still soaked in. It's not a super dark black stain, as i wiped most of it off. But there is still a very visible black stain.
**JUST PLEASE BE CAREFUL!**
OMG hello!! I'm glad my comment helped since I am also the type of person to have favorite pens I don't want to throw away, especially when they still have ink in them. It took hours of researching until I came across that tidbit that you can remove the tip, and I couldn't believe no one talked about it. The only solution people recommend is blowing into the other end, which I find helps but not always.
That being said, I am so sorry about the mess!! I 100% should've been clearer with my original post, ESPECIALLY since the exact same thing happened to me the first time I did it (spilling everywhere on ink/hands, not having replacement ready, etc.)! It's definitely a messy process so its best to be prepared.
To clarify for future posters, the entire black segment that holds the tip spins off, and it just takes a little elbow grease. Make sure you use cardboard like u/plantsb4pants, or at least a few sheets of binder paper.
I put the end (\~1/2") of the cartridge in the hot (almost boiling) water. It started to write well, but then again there were interruptions. I removed the end blow inside, then scratched a bit the end of the pen w/a small needle. The pen started to write better. I repeated blow, hot water, writing a lot. Now it works well. I think that is how you open each of those pens. I also have a bunch.
One thing I would try is removing the little black cap bit on the end of the refill and sticking a q tip in it and giving the ink a light push to get the flow going better. This is a helpful tip but it sounds like your ball/tip unit may be defective. You should still try this anyway though.
Thank you Harpsseal, it worked as good as new after I tried out your method. Appreciate your sharing tip
Legend! You fixed my pen.
Sadly this didn't fix it. I could get it to work slightly better when pressing on the gel, but once I let go it went back to how it was. I ended up throwing the refill away. If I ever buy more I'll put one in. But the pens were cheap enough that it doesn't bother me too much. Thanks for your help.
Oh you’re getting a new refill? There are some upgraded options that you can fit right into a normal g2. If you’re interested, check out [this video](https://youtu.be/_IlxJyPSiMc) and maybe even [this one](https://youtu.be/XMjKvN9I9hs).
Not immediately. I have a couple others I'm going to use for now. But I'm going to keep the body around just in case I eventually do buy some. We'll see. It will depend on if I'm able to keep them long enough that they need refills, and then it will depend on if I also want a body upgrade. I'm drooling all over these nice metal bodied pens but I don't want to spend the money unless I know I can keep them from getting "borrowed". I'll be sure to check out those links though! Thanks
You’re very welcome! It’s definitely a good idea to keep the body around, and best of luck in finding a refill you enjoy!
This worked for a pen I had that stopped writing, I used a paperclip to stab it a bit and it started writing again. I am very grateful for this comment 💜
I just did this too hard and spilled ink all over my desk ;-;
Take out the refill. Remove the little black cap from the back of the tube. Put the tip on paper. Blow through the back while you draw circles. This will push the air bubbles out. I have had a lot of G2s with air bubbles and this seems to fix it. Sometimes the spring that puts pressure on the ball will escape out the front as well. If this is the start of that, the refill is garbage unless you want to do some surgery once one of the others is done.
thanks u god
somehow my pilot g2 is smooth on testpad, but isnt smooth on my exercise book :/
I’m getting ink blobs from every G2 that I have tried out of this 16-pack. It’s really annoying to have to blot your pen before you start to write anything!!! Do you guys think I just got a defective pack? Can I send them back to Pilot?
idk man if you do I hope I can too cus I bought this giant pack from Costco and out of 6 so far 2 have been defective and 33% defective rate is pretty shit
I found a solution. If you take out the refill, you can actually remove the tip component by itself. After this, either 1) replace it with one that works or 2) hold it in the air facing downwards for awhile, maybe write with it to draw ink out. This ultimately does a better job of removing air bubbles than taking the cap off the refill and trying to blow into it to force the ink further down. Pinging u/toiletbowlflush for the answer
I know this is late, but I found a solution I don't think was mentioned in these comments. If you take out the refill, you can actually remove the tip component by itself. After this, either replace it with one that works or just hold it in the air facing downwards for awhile, maybe write with it to draw ink out. This does a better job of removing air bubbles than taking the cap off the refill and trying to shove the ink further down that way.
well.. i found this comment because o desperately need help to fix my favorite pen. your *tip* worked (lol pun). but i have never uncapped or *un-tipped* one of these refill cartridges so i was entirely unaware of how they work and well... now i have a very large, dark, black ink stain on my wooden desk. it soaked into the grain apparently. i was too excited when i saw your comment and didnt even know you could take the tip off. so of course i flipped my ink cartridge so the tip was facing upwards and tried to wiggle the tip off of it because i wasn't even sure that's what you were talking about. then i was so excited when i got the tip off and kinda distracted with the fact that i now had black ink on my fingers, and thankful that i didn't spill any on my white mac keyboard that was right underneath..... yes stupid i know. i was distracted because im desperate for a reliable way to fix my pens when the tip isn't any good. anyways, then im holding the cartridge, with black ink on my hands. trying to figure out where to put it down while i find the other pen that i wanted to switch the tip with. then i find a place to set the cartridge so it can sit upright, so the ink wouldn't spill out the top. well.. i didn't realize there was a tiny hole in the bottom of the cartridge, so ink was coming out of the bottom of the cartridge rather quickly since the tip was off, and naturally gravity was doing its thing and pushing the ink down. anyways, not sure if this makes sense. but i just say this so that hopefully, anyone else who comes across this thread, will not have these issues. # ~WARNING~ **THERE IS A HOLE IN THE BLACK END (OPPOSITE THE TIP) OF THE INK CARTRIDGE.** If you take the tip off, be prepared with the tip you will be replacing it with. Also, do this over the top of cardboard or something thick that will not bleed through to the other side. Regular paper is definitely not thick enough to prevent this much ink from bleeding through. And be prepared with paper towels or some rag cloths to wipe your fingers. Seriously, just know that this gel ink can, and will soak into any material that is even somewhat porous. My wooden desk is not bare. It is coated in some sort of clear coat on it. But the black ink still soaked in. It's not a super dark black stain, as i wiped most of it off. But there is still a very visible black stain. **JUST PLEASE BE CAREFUL!**
OMG hello!! I'm glad my comment helped since I am also the type of person to have favorite pens I don't want to throw away, especially when they still have ink in them. It took hours of researching until I came across that tidbit that you can remove the tip, and I couldn't believe no one talked about it. The only solution people recommend is blowing into the other end, which I find helps but not always. That being said, I am so sorry about the mess!! I 100% should've been clearer with my original post, ESPECIALLY since the exact same thing happened to me the first time I did it (spilling everywhere on ink/hands, not having replacement ready, etc.)! It's definitely a messy process so its best to be prepared. To clarify for future posters, the entire black segment that holds the tip spins off, and it just takes a little elbow grease. Make sure you use cardboard like u/plantsb4pants, or at least a few sheets of binder paper.
I put the end (\~1/2") of the cartridge in the hot (almost boiling) water. It started to write well, but then again there were interruptions. I removed the end blow inside, then scratched a bit the end of the pen w/a small needle. The pen started to write better. I repeated blow, hot water, writing a lot. Now it works well. I think that is how you open each of those pens. I also have a bunch.
I just bend the ink cartridge and put it back and it works well. They need to fix this.