Ink rolls for the Blickensderfer dry out, they also did so a century ago

Old, original rolls for the Blickensderfer typewriter will still contain plenty of colorant, but be completely dry - and the typewriter will not print. Online sources mention these can be revived with WD40 - though the mix of many different (mineral?) oils would give me pause to do so. Some of the heavier fractions of WD40 tend to set into a hard 'tar-like' consistency. The lighter fractions will however be effective in making a roll functional (until they evaporate), if of course the roll is still cylindrical and not worn down in the middle.

(Looking at old typewriter ribbon ink ingredient lists, reviving an old roll might be best attempted with castor-oil, neatsfoot oil or poppyseed oil. One or a mix of these was likely used as the original carrier for the pigment on these ink rolls.)

An alternative is of course to make new ink rolls from cylindrical felt and modern stamping pad ink. However, modern water-based stamp inks dry out rather quickly too. When typing on a Blick, a new roll needs to be fitted regularly. Or of course replenished with another drop or two of ink to soak into the roll.

Maintaining proper inking of a roll on the Blick is not a new challenge. It seems that maintaining a proper inked and clearly printing ink roll was also a concern a century ago when the Blick was 'current'. For faint printing; "a dried pad can be revived by allowing a few drops of Blickenderfer Pad Reviver to soak into it":

In the very extensive user manual for the Blickensderfer 7 and 8 typewriters published by the London Blick company, the price-list mentions a bottle of reviving liquid! For sixpence per bottle:

Very curious if any of these bottles survived - and if the contents could then be determined! (Equally curious what's included in the Re-inking outfit at 2/6.)

This manual also contains a very insightful section on 'Faults' of the machine - the manivaried ways that the Blickensderfer may be giving less than satisfactory results. Reading these it reveals that many of the issues encountered today were also experienced in 1913. (And probably right from 1897 - the text samples suggest that this booklet was originally written in 1897, this being the expanded 8th edition of 1913.)

With care and attention, my No. 7 gives reasonable output. Now having read these instruction, it may actually be that the machine is already performing close to 'when-new' levels :-)

Instructions For Using The Blick Typewriters No. 7 & 8 Models - available on The Archive.