Tips On Drying Converters After Flushing

[arcadeflow]

Since I started using a bulb syringe, I can flush my pens much quicker. But I still have to wait for the nib section and the converter to dry before I can set up my pen for filling.

 

How do you guys deal with the water drops that stay in converters, specially those drops behind the piston? If I lay them out in the open for 24 hours does it usually dry them nicely? My CON-50 is still sealed and I don't want to disassemble it for quicker drying. Should I just ignore the drops and fill the pen?

 

I dry my Pilot sac converters (the semi-CON-20 type) with a twisted piece of paper towel inserted to the end when I'm in a rush, but those piston types seem trickier.

[stevesurf]

Our water is pretty hard here in Phoenix, so I try to be careful with ink bottle contamination. If I have an ink already decanted in a traveling inkwell, I get the pen as dry as possible but tend not to worry about the remaining water drops. If I'm filling directly from the ink bottle, I just screw and unscrew the converter a few times. Brian Goulet has a great little trick for getting more ink in your converter or piston style pen, but most of us without a demonstrator will be guessing and if you're like me, you'll have fingers of Kon-peki

 

http://youtu.be/yA6MCi86kd0

 

http://youtu.be/yA6MCi86kd0

Edited September 25, 2014 by stevesurf

[Sasha Royale]

I flush with a rubber ear bulb -- water, then suds, then water, then AIR. The air expels residual water.

I wrap the converter in a paper, then shake it like a medical thermometer.

 

Is a "bulb syringe" the thing I call an eyedropper ?

[Dr.Grace]

bulb syringe = rubber ear bulb

 

An eyedropper's bulb (AKA Pasteur pipet bulb) is much smaller.

[arcadeflow]

My CON-50 converter still has some water behind the piston, I can't blow air into it, unless I break the seal to disassemble it. I usually let it drying for days before using, but I've been testing inks and flushing and I wondered if there is any trick to dry them up fast.

[ac12]

I do as Sasha said, wrap the front of the converter with tissue paper, then whip it like the nurses used to do with mercury thermometers. That gets enough of the water out.

[arcadeflow]

I do as Sasha said, wrap the front of the converter with tissue paper, then whip it like the nurses used to do with mercury thermometers. That gets enough of the water out.

 

So do you leave the water behind the piston?

[Sasha Royale]

 

So do you leave the water behind the piston?

 

I don't think there should be water behind the piston. It indicates a worn seal. Time for a new converter.

[ac12]

 

 

So do you leave the water behind the piston?

 

Unless you submerged the converter under water to get water into the back of the converter, as Sasha said, you should NOT have water behind the piston.

[ajoffe]

I don't bother waiting for any water droplets in the converter to dry. I'm not worried about a small amount of water getting into my inks. In the past, however, I have twisted the end of a tissue and inserted it in the converter to absorb any droplets adhering to the sides.

[arcadeflow]

I don't bother waiting for any water droplets in the converter to dry. I'm not worried about a small amount of water getting into my inks. In the past, however, I have twisted the end of a tissue and inserted it in the converter to absorb any droplets adhering to the sides.

 

I see, I am only worried that keeping water in the back of the converter can rust the metal parts of the pen over time.

 

 

 

Unless you submerged the converter under water to get water into the back of the converter, as Sasha said, you should NOT have water behind the piston.

 

Yes, I submerge to clean, it is a recently purchased converter. It is a CON-50 with a metal agitator, I worry that ink stays inside the agitator if I don't submerge it a bit. I guess I will have to be patient and let it dry.

[dothgrin]

I shake it out and promptly fill it with ink without worrying about full dry. Sometimes I will leave it upside down in a Dixie cup for an evening, but that is only because I do not deal with hard water. If I still lived in Phoenix, I probably would have a cup of filtered water ready to go.