Tweaking a Pilot Varsity (aka V-Pen aka V4)

[inkysmudges]

(Just so we're all on the same page with this we're talking about the disposable Pilot Varsity pen which usually runs about US$2-ish. It's also known as the V-Pen (Asia, Europe) and the V4 (UK?). From what I've seen there all exactly the same pen, just repackaged with a different wrapper on the barrel/inkwell of the pen. FWIW I order mine directly from Japan for about US$1.70, normally you can only get them in a Medium nib but from Japan I can order Fine as well.)

 

This subject got started in another thread but we've kicked it around a few times so I thought it might be best to move it to it's own thread. Here's how it began:

 

The Pilot Varsity is refillable? How? I gave one to my daughter and I figured it would have to be tossed when it's empty. If I can get more ink into it, that would be very cool.

 

Very simple to refill, all you need is a paper towel and a pair of pliers.

 

1) First thing is to look at the how the nib/feeder assembly sits in the barrel/inkwell of the pen. Notice how the feeder sits about 1 mm below the lip of the barrel. That's how it should look again when you're done.

 

2) The nib/feeder of the Varsity is basically like a cork shoved into the barrel of the pen. You want to pull out the cork. It helps to wrap the nib/feeder in paper towel first to avoid any ink splatter. Some folks say you can just yank the thing out with your fingers but I find that some of them are in there pretty snugly so I recommend the pliers as a way to get a good grip on it. Place the jaws of the pliers so that one jaw comes to rest on the flat of the nib, back near the barrel and the other rests on the plastic underbelly of the nib mount. Squeeze the pliers firm enough to get a good grip but not like you're trying to crush the thing. Don't worry, it's pretty tough and you're not likely to screw anything up if you make a mistake. Pull out: there'll be and initial pop! when the nib/feeder assembly comes loose and starts to slide out and a second, louder POP! as the nib/feeder assembly comes free of the barrel. Watch that second POP! because that's when you're likely to spatter ink around.

 

3) Refill the barrel with the ink of your choice, but DON'T refill past the first ring around the barrel (you'll see it if you look closely, it's the "stop line" against which the cap snaps against when you cap the pen). If you over-fill it you'll shoot ink all over the place when you do the next step.

 

4) Last step: replace the cork. It's just the reverse of Step 2. A small snap! as the nib/feeder re-enters the barrel and a louder SNAP! as it comes to rest in it's final position. You'll know it's all the way in when you hear that second, louder "SNAP!". It should now be sitting just where it was when you started in Step 1. You're done!

 

I know this doesn't matter to most people but the Varsity uses a very unusual feed system for the ink ... and the bottom line is that it can use all kinds of inks that regular fountain pens would choke on. For instance I use all sorts of art and calligraphy inks that are normally only usable in technical pens and/or dip pens. It's pretty cool to have a cheapo pen that writes with the darkest, richest India ink that man ever invented, and all for $2!

 

Final note and word of warning: if you'll look closely at the nib you'll see that it slides off the feeder, much like a Lamy nib slides off on an ABC/Smile/Safari/Vista/Al-Star. BE CAREFUL if you decide to take that nib off (which you don't have to do in order to refill the barrel): underneath is a fiber feeder that literally pipes the ink in from the barrel and the tip of that feeder is VERY delicate. It's quite easy to bump it when you're removing and/or replacing the nib and if you do whack it there's a good chance of damaging or ruining your pen.

 

Good luck! It's easy and quick once you get the hang of it. I've done it a dozen times or more and never had a problem, except once when I pulled the nib off the feeder and damaged that delicate fiber feeder.

 

Late addition:

In my experience parallel jaw pliers are the best for this particular task, especially the smooth jawed ones. Since the jaws are parallel you don't need to apply very much pressure at all, and since there's no teeth on the jaws you never mark the metal or plastic surfaces. Works for me!

 

Edited August 4, 2007 by inkysmudges

[inkysmudges]

(Sorry to move this over here but we were kind of hijacking the Hero Pens thread so I thought it might be best to start our own thread.)

 

Do you know what that fiber feeeder is made of? I ask because I have a Varsity that I some day plan to refill and I'm hoping that the fiber isn't cellulose since I plan to use some sort of Noodler's waterproof ink in it.

 

Ok, no clue as to what the fiber feeder under the Varsity's nib is actually made of but I know from personal experience that several Noodler's inks work very well in the Varsity, including:

Noodler's "Bullet Proof" Black

Noodler's Fox Red

Noodler's El Lawrence

Noodler's Polar Black

Noodler's Polar Blue

Noodler's SwishMix Nile Ebony

 

The truth is that I've yet to find an ink that doesn't work in the Varsity pens. My experience is that a few of the art and/or calligraphy inks need a little "help" -- I add a minuscule amount of bio dish soap -- but that's fairly rare. India inks in particular generally work fine in them ( I wouldn't have guessed that !!).

 

In fact the only ink that has been a little odd in the Varsity is Diamine Registrar's Ink, which is one of those iron gall inks. It permanently stained the fiber feeder a deep blue. Other than that it worked okay.

 

I've tried many other inks in the Varsity. If anyone cares to hear the gory details feel free to ask.

 

[FrankB]

All I can add is my opinion that these little pens are as useful as they are cheap. I keep several lying about for tough jobs where I do not want to risk a good FP (like in my workshop). I have refilled mine with Herbin inks to good effect. I will have to try some Noodler's inks.

[Bill D]

I've used Noodler's Gulfstream Blue (from a waterproof ink from Swisher's) with very good results in a Pilot Varsity.

 

Bill

 

 

(Sorry to move this over here but we were kind of hijacking the Hero Pens thread so I thought it might be best to start our own thread.)

 

Do you know what that fiber feeeder is made of? I ask because I have a Varsity that I some day plan to refill and I'm hoping that the fiber isn't cellulose since I plan to use some sort of Noodler's waterproof ink in it.

 

Ok, no clue as to what the fiber feeder under the Varsity's nib is actually made of but I know from personal experience that several Noodler's inks work very well in the Varsity, including:

Noodler's "Bullet Proof" Black

Noodler's Fox Red

Noodler's El Lawrence

Noodler's Polar Black

Noodler's Polar Blue

Noodler's SwishMix Nile Ebony

 

The truth is that I've yet to find an ink that doesn't work in the Varsity pens. My experience is that a few of the art and/or calligraphy inks need a little "help" -- I add a minuscule amount of bio dish soap -- but that's fairly rare. India inks in particular generally work fine in them ( I wouldn't have guessed that !!).

 

In fact the only ink that has been a little odd in the Varsity is Diamine Registrar's Ink, which is one of those iron gall inks. It permanently stained the fiber feeder a deep blue. Other than that it worked okay.

 

I've tried many other inks in the Varsity. If anyone cares to hear the gory details feel free to ask.

 

[Univer]

An enthusiastic "Thank You" to inkysmudges for the splendidly detailed, tremendously helpful instructions.

 

I acquired some NOS Waterman's Blue-Black a while ago, and while I knew, intellectually, that the ink was still good, I was having a hard time deciding which pen to turn into a test subject. (The fact that it's Blue-Black gave me pause; I'm not sure whether this is an iron gall ink.)

 

Armed with a printout of the original post, I gathered my tools and had my Varsity refilled in under five minutes. It's now happily scribbling away, loaded with sixty-year-old ink, and performing beautifully.

 

As an aside: this old Waterman's isn't quite a "writes blue, dries black" ink, but it's definitely darker, and truer to its name, than the current-production Waterman Blue-Black (which dries to an odd teal in many of my pens).

 

Once again: thanks a million!

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

[inkysmudges]

Thank you Jon, I'm glad you found the instructions worked well for you (took a couple re-writes to get it right).

 

Using that old ink sounds pretty cool. I've got a 1950s bottle of Superchrome on the way that I think I'll do the same with. For some reason it hadn't even occurred to me to use it in a Varsity, I thought I'd just have to put it in the shelf and admire the pretty bottle. Thanks for that.

[Univer]

Thank you Jon, I'm glad you found the instructions worked well for you (took a couple re-writes to get it right).

 

Using that old ink sounds pretty cool. I've got a 1950s bottle of Superchrome on the way that I think I'll do the same with. For some reason it hadn't even occurred to me to use it in a Varsity, I thought I'd just have to put it in the shelf and admire the pretty bottle. Thanks for that.

 

You're more than welcome. I'm delighted to think that the suggestion of trying vintage ink was of interest - I'm glad to reciprocate, in a small way, your kindness in detailing the refilling procedure. I used to write instruction manuals for a living, long ago, so I have a very realistic idea of the amount of work involved.

 

The Varsity seems to love the old Waterman ink; if anything, it seems to write better than it did with the original Pilot ink. If you think of it, I'd love to know how your Superchrome experiment goes.

 

Thanks again!

 

Cheers,

 

jon

Edited July 28, 2007 by Univer

[Catsmelt]

Thank you Jon, I'm glad you found the instructions worked well for you (took a couple re-writes to get it right).

 

Using that old ink sounds pretty cool. I've got a 1950s bottle of Superchrome on the way that I think I'll do the same with. For some reason it hadn't even occurred to me to use it in a Varsity, I thought I'd just have to put it in the shelf and admire the pretty bottle. Thanks for that.

 

I don't know why I never thought about this! I've got some blue-black superchrome that I've been treating like kryptonite ("Must.Have...Can't.Use...Look.Away"). I guess we'll have to check if there's been an ink review on this stuff and fill the gap if not.

 

Report back, and let's compare notes...

[inkysmudges]

Just for giggles I thought folks might like to see the range of inks that I've tested in the Varsity, in addition to the aforementioned Noodler's inks. I've included a few words of commentary on each so you'll have an idea what you can expect:

 

Blot's Iron Gall Ink - fair. it works, but barely. ink has a lot of sediment which I'm guessing clogs the fiber feeder. (waterproof)

Diamine Registrar's Ink - fair, but not great. the ink seems to flow sparingly leaving the nib a bit scratchy. (waterproof)

Dr. Ph Martin's Bombay Black - very good! this can be a quite difficult ink to use but it works fine here. (waterproof)

Talens "Ecoline" Deep Gray - good. average flow and colour richness. (NOT waterproof)

Higgins "Eternal" Permanent Black Ink - good. ink flow is average, shades quite a bit. (NOT waterproof)

Lefranc & Bourgeois "Nan King" Intense India Ink - very good. good ink flow, deep rich colour. (waterproof)

Lefranc & Bourgeois "Nan King" Sepia - very good. very good ink flow, good colour. (waterproof)

Pilot "Drawing" Ink - good. ink tends to flow sparingly but still usable. (semi waterproof)

Pilot "Security" Ink - good. ink tends to flow sparingly but still quite usable. (VERY waterproof)

Pelikan Drawing Ink - fair. this is one ink that needs help (a bit of soap) after which it flows nicely. (waterproof)

Platinum Carbon Ink - perfect! no problems at all and it flows thick, wet, and very black. my #2 ink. (waterproof)

Sailor "Kiwagura" Ink - magnificent! thick, wet, and VERY VERY black. my #1 ink these days. (VERY waterproof)

 

I thought it might be worth mentioning that I find the Varsity rather sensitive to the "lubricating" qualities of the ink. In other words how the nib feels on the paper tends to vary quite a bit depending on the ink in use.

 

Some inks make the Varsity nibs glide like glass across the page (Platinum Carbon Ink, Sailor "Kiwagura" Ink, Dr. Ph Martin's Bombay Black) while others seem to provide no "slide" at all and leave the nib feeling a bit scratchy on the page (Blot's Iron Gall Ink, Diamine Registrar's Ink, Pilot "Drawing" Ink, etc). Most of the others fall somewhere in between. Of the Noodler's inks I find that the good old "Bullet Proof" Black works best.

Edited July 29, 2007 by inkysmudges

[antigone]

Thanks for the instructions! I'll try india ink in the next of my varsities that becomes empty.

 

Looking at the fact that these pens write so very reliably and without any skipping, I wonder why no "regular" fountain pens have this piece of fiber in their feed? Obviously it is the secret to perfect ink flow.

[inkysmudges]

Looking at the fact that these pens write so very reliably and without any skipping, I wonder why no "regular" fountain pens have this piece of fiber in their feed?

 

My guess is that at least one of the reasons is that it's not a "permanent" solution to the ink flow issue. From what I've seen of the fiber feeder I can easily see that if an ink sat in it for a while and dried out in the fiber then the pen would be toast. In the Varsity at least there's no obvious way to remove and/or clean the fiber without damaging it so it's kind of a one shot thing.

 

The other thing is that I'll bet the fiber is susceptible to more than a few solvents and/or cleaners. I know from experience that it can take a good deal of effort to flush all of the (noticeable) ink out of the fiber so if the fiber got saturated with some kind of cleaning fluid or whatever you might never get it all out. That of course would impair the pen's performance ... etc etc.

 

Just a couple guesses, fwiw.

 

[Stephen-I-am]

Wow, being able to use drawing inks opens up a whole new can of world! I was just googling Higgins Fadeproof Artists Ink. I think it would be nice to have a pen or two filled with one of these inks.

 

Maybe we need another thread to discuss drawing inks...

 

Stephen

[Stephen-I-am]

I've put up a pilot varsity ink review and a waterproof test in the ink review forum.

 

Stephen

[antigone]

My guess is that at least one of the reasons is that it's not a "permanent" solution to the ink flow issue. From what I've seen of the fiber feeder I can easily see that if an ink sat in it for a while and dried out in the fiber then the pen would be toast. In the Varsity at least there's no obvious way to remove and/or clean the fiber without damaging it so it's kind of a one shot thing.

 

The other thing is that I'll bet the fiber is susceptible to more than a few solvents and/or cleaners. I know from experience that it can take a good deal of effort to flush all of the (noticeable) ink out of the fiber so if the fiber got saturated with some kind of cleaning fluid or whatever you might never get it all out. That of course would impair the pen's performance ... etc etc.

 

 

You're right, I hadn't thought of that... but still! *stamps foot*

I wish all my pens had such an ink flow

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Just for giggles I thought folks might like to see the range of inks that I've tested in the Varsity, in addition to the aforementioned Noodler's inks. I've included a few words of commentary on each so you'll have an idea what you can expect:

....

Of the Noodler's inks I find that the good old "Bullet Proof" Black works best.

Wow, thanks for that ink rundown on the Pilot Varsity. I may be slapping some Noodler's Black into the empty Varsity I have soon. I wouldn't worry about losing the pen. The ink in it would be worth more than the pen!

[Bibliophage]

I've done the same, but I think I'll throw in some extra instructions (when I take it apart next time, I'll take photos).

 

Don't use regular pliers. Use bent-nose needlenose plliers. That allows you to pinch the very bottom of the feed and nib assembly gently, and then just rock the pliers back against the top of the pen barrel itself.

 

Once it's out, flush thoroughly with water - when it runs clear, put it in an ultrasonic cleaner for a couple of minutes, or just soak it overnight. The tip seems to be stainless steel so you can use ammonia without a problem, but plain water worked fine for me.

 

I'm currently using Stratitec Magenta inkjet printer refill ink in my purple-marked Pilot. It runs a MUCH wetter line than the inks that come standard, but periodically, I find that I don't get full flow for about a quarter of an inch. (mostly when I've sat for a minute or so, thinking. )

 

Yes, these pens seem to write with anything. I may end up buying a few bags of them next time they're on E-Bay, just to keep around and label with ink colours.

 

Oh - treat them just like an eyedropper pen. Make sure you don't overfill the barrel, and when you've gotten it most of the way in, wait a second.

 

Then, when you think you've got it in, pause, and think. - you probably haven't. You've probably gotten the feed top flush with the barrel end, which means you have about 1/8 of an inch to go. Get a set of very long needle-nose pliers (that's what I used, so that I could get a straight push on both sides of the nib without touching the nib or barrel), and give it a shove. It should POP and seat into place.

 

I don't think I'll be able to get more than a half dozen refills out of it before the friction seals start to go - I guess I could then start putting in silicone grease, but what's the point? For $3-5, you just toss it and get another one.

 

[tuxedobay]

Nothing to do with refilling, but when I order supplies online from Colorado Pen, they throw in a Varsity for free, plus, if the order is over $38.00, freight is free also. No biggie, but if you have to order anyway . . .

 

Ken

[inkysmudges]

... Don't use regular pliers. Use bent-nose needlenose plliers. That allows you to pinch the very bottom of the feed and nib assembly gently, and then just rock the pliers back against the top of the pen barrel itself.

 

In my experience parallel jaw pliers are the best for this particular task, especially the smooth jawed ones. Since the jaws are parallel you don't need to apply very much pressure at all, and since there's no teeth on the jaws you never mark the metal or plastic surfaces. Works for me!

 

 

(come to think of it, this sounds like a worthwhile thing to add this to the original post.)

Edited August 4, 2007 by inkysmudges

[Bibliophage]

By using the bent nose, I didn't have to use much pressure at all. The leverage against the barrel end was enough to break the friction lock, then it slid out relatively easily. If I'd grabbed with parallel pliers, I would have had to use 100% muscle force.

 

I wasn't worried about marks on the nib, frankly. It's a disposable fountain pen, and it won't last forever

 

[funzoneplanet]

Guess I will have to now strongly consider buying at least 1 Pilot Varsity fp, now that I know that there is a way to refill them.