Lamy Vista eyedropper conversion

[ZeissIkon]

Part of the reason for the misunderstanding is that I have been thinking something on the lines of being able to fill the pen with injection needle from the end. If you have ever gotten shots (vaccination) you may have noticed how the "stuff" is in a little glass bottle that is used to fill the syringe. There is some sort of plastic/rubber/silicone membrane covering the opening of the bottle. One can stick the needle through it and fill the syringe and yet the bottle doesnt leak after the needle is pulled off.

 

The major weak point of using this method to fill a pen is that pressurizing the pen by injecting the ink would force air and/or ink out of the feed as you fill -- meaning that every time you fill your fountain pen, it lives up to the "fountain" part of its name. Beyond that, the rubber plugs in drug vials don't have a very long life -- longer than the medicine inside the bottle, generally, but they harden and then crumble when the bottle gets a few years old, and replacing one on a pen every 4-5 years would be worse than replacing the sacs in lever fillers every couple decades.

[tanesiir]

The major weak point of using this method to fill a pen is that pressurizing the pen by injecting the ink would force air and/or ink out of the feed as you fill -- meaning that every time you fill your fountain pen, it lives up to the "fountain" part of its name. Beyond that, the rubber plugs in drug vials don't have a very long life -- longer than the medicine inside the bottle, generally, but they harden and then crumble when the bottle gets a few years old, and replacing one on a pen every 4-5 years would be worse than replacing the sacs in lever fillers every couple decades.

 

I was thinking it would happen this way:

 

1) take 10 ml syringe

2) suck in ink as much as is needed 0.5-2 ml.

3) push the needle in the pen

4) turn the pen upside down and suck in with the syringe until the nib section empties itself into the ink reservoir

5) keep the pen upside down and then push the ink in.. only air should come out through the nib.

 

Rubber bad, yes, maybe silicone plug of some sorts.

Edited September 28, 2009 by tanesiir

[professionaldilettante]

AH HA! so my late night genius does work... maybe not completely novel, but unlike everyone who just puts grease on it, I see that it works. Thanks for verifying~!

[ZeissIkon]

The major weak point of using this method to fill a pen is that pressurizing the pen by injecting the ink would force air and/or ink out of the feed as you fill -- meaning that every time you fill your fountain pen, it lives up to the "fountain" part of its name. Beyond that, the rubber plugs in drug vials don't have a very long life -- longer than the medicine inside the bottle, generally, but they harden and then crumble when the bottle gets a few years old, and replacing one on a pen every 4-5 years would be worse than replacing the sacs in lever fillers every couple decades.

 

I was thinking it would happen this way:

 

1) take 10 ml syringe

2) suck in ink as much as is needed 0.5-2 ml.

3) push the needle in the pen

4) turn the pen upside down and suck in with the syringe until the nib section empties itself into the ink reservoir

5) keep the pen upside down and then push the ink in.. only air should come out through the nib.

 

Rubber bad, yes, maybe silicone plug of some sorts.

 

I think I'd rather deal with an eyedropper -- if only to avoid having to have a sharp hypodermic around where I fill my pens.

[tanesiir]

I think I'd rather deal with an eyedropper -- if only to avoid having to have a sharp hypodermic around where I fill my pens.

 

So, you don't own any F and XF nibs then? Just kidding

 

I am sure after the initial hole is made unsharpened needle would go through the cap just fine.

 

I like Siv's original idea of the conversion. I just wonder if the silicone grease won't be a bigger mess in a long run than just fitting in a converter and filling the pen in the old fashioned way. I dont suffer from OCD but I do like things going clean and neat. I am not sure if avoiding mess was part of Siv's pre-mission plan.

Edited September 29, 2009 by tanesiir

[Siv]

I am not sure if avoiding mess was part of Siv's pre-mission plan.

Hehe... I didn't really think about avoiding mess but it's basically an all plastic pen so even if it does get a bit messy (which will happen when the grease and ink start to mix) a quick wipe and wash and you're back to new. I have a few more eyedropper pens and as they are opaque, you don't notice or care about the mess. For me the functionality of the huge ink capacity far outweighs the potential mess which can easily be cleaned anyway.

[professionaldilettante]

Failed experimant... So I plugged the holes at the end of the body, and what not, and it seems that the ink is leaking out of the nib. Not as much as before, but not as well behaved as with a converter. I think i'll convert back to the converter.

[ZeissIkon]

If the ink is leaking out of the nib, that means the barrel isn't airtight. Look for incomplete seals of the holes at the end of the body as the cause.

[brothersoulshine]

Part of the reason for the misunderstanding is that I have been thinking something on the lines of being able to fill the pen with injection needle from the end. If you have ever gotten shots (vaccination) you may have noticed how the "stuff" is in a little glass bottle that is used to fill the syringe. There is some sort of plastic/rubber/silicone membrane covering the opening of the bottle. One can stick the needle through it and fill the syringe and yet the bottle doesnt leak after the needle is pulled off.

 

The major weak point of using this method to fill a pen is that pressurizing the pen by injecting the ink would force air and/or ink out of the feed as you fill -- meaning that every time you fill your fountain pen, it lives up to the "fountain" part of its name. Beyond that, the rubber plugs in drug vials don't have a very long life -- longer than the medicine inside the bottle, generally, but they harden and then crumble when the bottle gets a few years old, and replacing one on a pen every 4-5 years would be worse than replacing the sacs in lever fillers every couple decades.

 

I'm a nurse so I do speak from experience. It's very easy to inject a substance into a bottle with a rubber cap without significantly increasing the pressure inside. You do it by sticking the needle through the membrane and withdrawing air from the bottle into the syringe; turning the whole arrangement upside down then allows you to inject the liquid from the syringe into the bottle.

 

As for a suitable material, I guess whatever they use in implanted port catheters would be a good starting point.

[Siv]

Failed experimant... So I plugged the holes at the end of the body, and what not, and it seems that the ink is leaking out of the nib. Not as much as before, but not as well behaved as with a converter. I think i'll convert back to the converter.

 

You have to be liberal with the grease on the threads. If not, air will get in and cause the pen to drip.

 

Have a look at this thread:

[Hennypenny]

I just used aquarium sealant, which is clear and water-proof, to seal the end of the roller ball barrel. I squished a pea-sized blob of sealant onto the end of the barrel (on the outside), used a little knife to push it into the indentations, and then leveled it off flush with the barrel end using the knife blade. It's a very tidy-looking job so far, and the sealant is clear, like the barrel. I have to let it cure for 24 hours. HP

[koa]

I just used aquarium sealant, which is clear and water-proof, to seal the end of the roller ball barrel. I squished a pea-sized blob of sealant onto the end of the barrel (on the outside), used a little knife to push it into the indentations, and then leveled it off flush with the barrel end using the knife blade. It's a very tidy-looking job so far, and the sealant is clear, like the barrel. I have to let it cure for 24 hours. HP

I used the E6000 Industrial Strength Medium Viscosity Clear Multipurpose Adhesive with Self-leveling Formula!! Applied to the outside of the rollerball barrel, and then trimmed flush when it set. Never had any problems with drips. And I know what that is like, my Wality piston filler did that on a regular basis before I replaced the plunger.

 

Trying to insert a picture of my Lamy eyedropper, and failing!!

[brothersoulshine]

Trying to insert a picture of my Lamy eyedropper, and failing!!

 

I'm very, very tempted to make a vista eyedropper.

 

But really, would you take one to work and walk around all day with it in your shirt pocket?

 

Are they reliable enough?

[Hennypenny]

 

I'm very, very tempted to make a vista eyedropper.

 

But really, would you take one to work and walk around all day with it in your shirt pocket?

 

Are they reliable enough?

 

I don't think I'll put it in my pen wrap and carry it around ... at least until I carry it around in the plastic tube that LAMY sent the barrel in for several days. THat'll be a good test and if it leaks in there, no harm done.

 

Given the ultimate price (pen plus barrel), it's a pen you could leave at work without worrying about it.

 

It's just kinda fun trying to McGyver the thing!!!!!!!!! HP

[brothersoulshine]

I walk all day at work, writing in lots of different places. I have been known to have my pen run out of ink, even with a fresh filling first thing. A vista eyedropper would be well cool, but I'd have to be 100% sure it wasn't going to leak its contents onto me!

[koa]

Carried mine in a penroll in my bag, occasionally in my pocket. Never had any problems from either end. But then, I tend to live dangerously!http://www2.hawaii.edu/~stroble/Lamy_eyedropper.jpg

Edited October 10, 2009 by koa

[Skribb]

Koa, what ink do you have in the vista? It seems to be a dark green based on the image but I'm not sure if the image is misleading at all. If it is a dark green, be it Zhivago, British Racing Green, Forest Green, ________ Green?

[koa]

Well, now it has tanzanite it the converter, but back when it was an eyedropper (and it will be again!) and this picture was taken it was filled with my own mix of Noodler's Heart of Darkness and PR Sherwood Green, sort of the "Sherwood Heart of Green Darkness" I always have a least one pen loaded with it.

[rookieboyliu]

Koa, what ink do you have in the vista? It seems to be a dark green based on the image but I'm not sure if the image is misleading at all. If it is a dark green, be it Zhivago, British Racing Green, Forest Green, ________ Green?

 

Cross out Forest green. I have Forest Green, and it's definitely a more saturated and darker green than the one shown.

[Hennypenny]

OK, my barrel sealant cured overnight, so I loaded the pen with Caran d'Ache Storm. All is well! This was fun and makes a great ED!! HP