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Refill Pilot Varsity?


Libertas

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They can be filled from the back... it is a bit trickier and a bit more messy.... but you get a load of ink in it.

First pop off the back cap gently....

There is a barrier between the dead space and where the ink supply was... I took a drill just a bit smaller than the inside diameter of the barrel and drilled out the barrier... you can actually do this hand holding the drill bit since the barrier is thin.

I used a bulb syringe to flush out any remaining ink.

I then fillled the barrel with water to test it.... this is where I found out that if you are not careful it can get real messy.... because the barrel is not airtight at this point... the water started to drip slowly out of the nib/feed.  At least I found this out without using ink...  :doh:  :doh:

You need to use a long nose plastic pipette to fill the barrel... you want to get past the section you drilled and fill from the bottom up... for some reason if you try to just drop ink from the back end, you end up with an air lock at the area you drilled and you don't get a good fill.

You also want to wrap the nib area with a napkin/paper towel to catch any drips.

Fill the barrel and quickly pop the bottom cap back in place....

The pen wrote beautifully after that...

I placed the pen nib up in a cup with paper towel on the bottom to test for leaks and left it there for a week...no leaks...

As I said, this can be a messy undertaking, but you get a fantastic amount of ink in the pen and don't have to disturb the nib/feed assembly.

Someone, said it could not be done when I first read it... but being the thick headed Irishman I am, I decided to see for myself.

Well, I'm joining in on this conversation a little late, but I've been away from FPN.

 

I have a Pilot Varsity and it was completely out of ink when I got it. I was able to remove the one piece nib/feed assembly by force majeure and I cleaned out the barrel.

 

So I'm wondering what ink to try with it. I'm also wondering how many times I can remove and replace the nib/feed assembly before the plastic deforms and lets ink leak around the feed.

 

It looks like it could be a useful pen. I have to figure out what ink mixture I'm willing to risk in it and how much. I don't know if I should take a plunge and fill it to its limit with ink the first time, on the theory that I'll get a finite number of refills before it fails and I should maximize its use, or if I should put in only a small amount of ink in case the thing doesn't work in the first place?

 

Oh, the travails of salvaged, cheap pens and the inks that love them!

 

Soon to be a major motion picture. :D

On a sacred quest for the perfect blue ink mixture!

ink stained wretch filling inkwell

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I was thinking of asking this very same question and this older thread pops up. Very good timing. Now I know what to do when the Varsity I have runs dry. Thanks everyone.

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Hi,

 

I would recommend just pulling out the nib end of the pen. If you drill the end cap off, you have to be careful because...

Some of our buddies often think to convert a cardridge filler into an eye dropper. They make the corpus inktight with silikon grease and fill in a large mass of ink. The idea doesn`t work very long if these guys think a little about the physics, they had to learn at school:

1.) the pressure to the feed is too high when the fp is full, p=rho*g*h

2.) the pressure to the feed is too high when the fp is nearly empty, the air in the barrel extends 1/273 per Kelvin, for example if you warm it up with your hands. (Gay- Lussac`s law)

 

If you want a similar pen, but refillable, look in my signature. I don't sell that, but Jet pens and Ujuku do. :) I like mine a lot. It is quite short, but remember, you were warned!

 

Dillon

Edited by Dillo

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

Will someone with the name of "Jay" who emailed me through the email system provide me an email address? There was no email address provided, so I can't write back.

Dillon

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If you want a similar pen, but refillable, look in my signature. I don't sell that, but Jet pens and Ujuku do. :) I like mine a lot. It is quite short, but remember, you were warned!

Are those some special, little, proprietary cartridges those pens use?

 

The link you give is in Japanese, which neither my browser nor I can read. Can you give a link to someplace that'll give more info in English?

 

Thanks.

 

And I agree about how to refill a Varsity. When I decide on an ink I'll be doing that.

On a sacred quest for the perfect blue ink mixture!

ink stained wretch filling inkwell

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  • 1 year later...
The end cap is just a color indicator and a barrel plug. When removed you can look half way down the barrel and see the top of the ink chamber. Half of the barrel is nothing but dead space. No way to fill from that end. I popped the cap back on and began working on the nib end.

This seems to be contradictory to the fact that OldGriz has filled them from the back.

 

Could you give us an idea of how you did it?

 

thanks :)

They can be filled from the back... it is a bit trickier and a bit more messy.... but you get a load of ink in it.

First pop off the back cap gently....

There is a barrier between the dead space and where the ink supply was... I took a drill just a bit smaller than the inside diameter of the barrel and drilled out the barrier... you can actually do this hand holding the drill bit since the barrier is thin.

I used a bulb syringe to flush out any remaining ink.

I then fillled the barrel with water to test it.... this is where I found out that if you are not careful it can get real messy.... because the barrel is not airtight at this point... the water started to drip slowly out of the nib/feed. At least I found this out without using ink... :doh: :doh:

You need to use a long nose plastic pipette to fill the barrel... you want to get past the section you drilled and fill from the bottom up... for some reason if you try to just drop ink from the back end, you end up with an air lock at the area you drilled and you don't get a good fill.

You also want to wrap the nib area with a napkin/paper towel to catch any drips.

Fill the barrel and quickly pop the bottom cap back in place....

The pen wrote beautifully after that...

I placed the pen nib up in a cup with paper towel on the bottom to test for leaks and left it there for a week...no leaks...

As I said, this can be a messy undertaking, but you get a fantastic amount of ink in the pen and don't have to disturb the nib/feed assembly.

Someone, said it could not be done when I first read it... but being the thick headed Irishman I am, I decided to see for myself.

 

I'm going to pull this up from the past and add a minor detail... the rear plug/cap on my current/recent V-pen has a hole in it. (sneaky Pilot) So I did the next thing, I mixed up a little JB weld and plugged the hole in the rear cap. That was left to cure while I drilled out the barrier and flushed the ink remnants out of the whole pen. Its now waiting for my shipment of Noodlers polar inks. :)

 

RAPT

Pens:Sailor Mini, Pelikan Grand Place, Stipula Ventidue with Ti Stub nib, Pelikan M605 with Binder Cursive Italic, Stipula Ventidue with Ti M nib, Vintage Pilot Semi-flex, Lamy Vista, Pilot Prera

For Sale:

Saving for: Edison Pearl

In my dreams: Nakaya Piccolo, custom colour/pattern

In transit:

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Interesting that these threads come up every few months. I just filled one of my Vpens (us Canucks don't get Varsity's) with Noodlers FPN Galileo Manuscript brown. Writes like a dream.

 

Of course I ground the nib into an Arabic Italic that is smooth and expressive. :)

 

Cheers,

Sean

PenRx is no longer in business.

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I'm going to pull this up from the past and add a minor detail... the rear plug/cap on my current/recent V-pen has a hole in it. (sneaky Pilot) So I did the next thing, I mixed up a little JB weld and plugged the hole in the rear cap. That was left to cure while I drilled out the barrier and flushed the ink remnants out of the whole pen. Its now waiting for my shipment of Noodlers polar inks. :)

 

I pulled the 'blind cap' and drilled the barrier out. I drilled and tapped the holes for 6-32tpi. I glued the blind caps in place, filed them with ink and then screwed stainless Allen plugs in the end with a touch of silicone grease. I can now refill with a syringe.

 

Ron

 

"Adventure is just bad planning." -- Roald Amundsen

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I was going to try to refill one of these pens up but when I wrote with it and compared it to my current fountain pen I decided against it. My fountain pens write better IMO.

 

 

 

 

Mame

(My name is explained in my profile:) )

 

Pens I got: Pelikan M200 & M605; Pilot Cavalier, Lamy Al-Star Graphite, Pelikan Pelikano Black, Pelikan Future, Hero M61, Waterman Phileas, Lamy 2000

Pens I want: Pelikan M805, Pelikan Majesty

Stuff on the way: Diamine Prussian Blue

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I was going to try to refill one of these pens up but when I wrote with it and compared it to my current fountain pen I decided against it. My fountain pens write better IMO.

 

 

 

 

Mame

And so they should ;)

 

Cheers,

Sean

PenRx is no longer in business.

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I'm going to pull this up from the past and add a minor detail... the rear plug/cap on my current/recent V-pen has a hole in it. (sneaky Pilot) So I did the next thing, I mixed up a little JB weld and plugged the hole in the rear cap. That was left to cure while I drilled out the barrier and flushed the ink remnants out of the whole pen. Its now waiting for my shipment of Noodlers polar inks. :)

 

I pulled the 'blind cap' and drilled the barrier out. I drilled and tapped the holes for 6-32tpi. I glued the blind caps in place, filed them with ink and then screwed stainless Allen plugs in the end with a touch of silicone grease. I can now refill with a syringe.

 

Ron

We need pics!

RAPT

Pens:Sailor Mini, Pelikan Grand Place, Stipula Ventidue with Ti Stub nib, Pelikan M605 with Binder Cursive Italic, Stipula Ventidue with Ti M nib, Vintage Pilot Semi-flex, Lamy Vista, Pilot Prera

For Sale:

Saving for: Edison Pearl

In my dreams: Nakaya Piccolo, custom colour/pattern

In transit:

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think the point of the Varsity (Vpen) is that it's directed at people who wouldn't normally buy fountain pens. It's marketed as 'no messing with ink' and disposable, like the ball points and roller balls that most normal people are used to (yes, I know those can be refilled, but let's face it, the non-pen crazy bulk of the population simply throws a pen out when done).

 

I mean, step back a little, look at this thread, extraordinary measures to refill a disposeable pen - I mean, even if you love the nib - they're $3 - buy a new one.

 

Aren't we just a little bit crazed? Yes. And I can't wait for one of mine to dry up so I can try it ;-)

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Crazed??? Us???

 

No really the reason I'm doing it is so I can have decent "permanent" ink in a very inexpensive pen I don't mind handing to someone else who may abuse it, but is still a fountain pen, so is way better than the other options when it comes to writing.

 

The ink them is very water soluble. It takes less than 5 minutes to wash out of paper with tap water so its not really suitable for anything remotely likely to get wet.

 

Almost emptied my second one!!! :D

 

 

RAPT

Pens:Sailor Mini, Pelikan Grand Place, Stipula Ventidue with Ti Stub nib, Pelikan M605 with Binder Cursive Italic, Stipula Ventidue with Ti M nib, Vintage Pilot Semi-flex, Lamy Vista, Pilot Prera

For Sale:

Saving for: Edison Pearl

In my dreams: Nakaya Piccolo, custom colour/pattern

In transit:

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Interesting that these threads come up every few months. I just filled one of my Vpens (us Canucks don't get Varsity's) with Noodlers FPN Galileo Manuscript brown. Writes like a dream.

 

Of course I ground the nib into an Arabic Italic that is smooth and expressive. :)

 

Cheers,

Sean

Oh, who sells Vpens around here? After all the comments talking about how well they write, I'd like to try them!

 

And yeah, I'll be one of the people just waiting for mine to empty so I can try refilling. :P

 

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer, (1820-1903) British author, economist, philosopher.

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png

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Last time I saw them they were at Office Depot, but that was a while ago and I have been re-using the two that I purchased before that all along.

 

You can get them on ebay easily enough. I was thinking of getting a few and using them to practice nib grinding on.

 

Cheers,

Sean

PenRx is no longer in business.

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Staples here carries them as well. In a blister pack hanging on the wall

RAPT

Pens:Sailor Mini, Pelikan Grand Place, Stipula Ventidue with Ti Stub nib, Pelikan M605 with Binder Cursive Italic, Stipula Ventidue with Ti M nib, Vintage Pilot Semi-flex, Lamy Vista, Pilot Prera

For Sale:

Saving for: Edison Pearl

In my dreams: Nakaya Piccolo, custom colour/pattern

In transit:

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Last time I saw them they were at Office Depot, but that was a while ago and I have been re-using the two that I purchased before that all along.

 

You can get them on ebay easily enough. I was thinking of getting a few and using them to practice nib grinding on.

 

Cheers,

Sean

Oh, that's a good idea! I'll have to see what I can find.

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer, (1820-1903) British author, economist, philosopher.

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png

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A seven-pack of different-colored Varsities can be had through ArtSuppliesOnline for about $18. Their price for a single Varsity is $2.60. I haven't bought from them.

 

I got the seven pack from PenCity, but I don't see it there any more.

 

 

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A seven-pack of different-colored Varsities can be had through ArtSuppliesOnline for about $18. Their price for a single Varsity is $2.60. I haven't bought from them.

 

I got the seven pack from PenCity, but I don't see it there any more.

Yeah, I just ordered that seven pack from an ebay seller. Even with shipping it's under $20 US. Soon I can play. :D

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer, (1820-1903) British author, economist, philosopher.

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png

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I think the point of the Varsity (Vpen) is that it's directed at people who wouldn't normally buy fountain pens. It's marketed as 'no messing with ink' and disposable, like the ball points and roller balls that most normal people are used to (yes, I know those can be refilled, but let's face it, the non-pen crazy bulk of the population simply throws a pen out when done).

 

I mean, step back a little, look at this thread, extraordinary measures to refill a disposeable pen - I mean, even if you love the nib - they're $3 - buy a new one.

 

Aren't we just a little bit crazed? Yes. And I can't wait for one of mine to dry up so I can try it ;-)

 

I don't think that many extraordinary measures have actually been taken. More mental energy has been devoted to this.

 

To that point, old Varsities are perfectly good pens they just lack ink. Finding a way to reuse varsities is

a more legitimate way of being "green" then many other ways. ( For example did you know that styrofoam is now actually more green then paper? )

 

I think the ability to reuse fountain pens is one of the big "unstated" reasons for using them. How many use a syringe to refill their cartridges rather then throw them away?

 

 

 

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hamadryad11 I just checked at the local Staples here in Waterloo last night and they have the Vpen for $4.92. That seems to be a bit more than I remember paying for them, but if you have some on the way from ebay then you are probably already ahead of the game.

 

I should have made sure that you got a chance to try the one I had with me at the breakfast, sorry about that.

 

For the price these are reasonable pens and for my purposes great for trying new grinds. Refilling these is so easy and they do take a bucket load of ink, everyone should have one AFAIAC.

 

Cheers,

Sean

PenRx is no longer in business.

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