Ink directly into the barrel

[juon]

Limited by the small capacity of Sailor 1911 c/c I courageously decided to

remove the converter and fill a huge volume of ink directly into the

barrel. (at least 6 times the volume of the converter).

 

It worked perfectly and for two weeks now I have this pen in

daily use. No bleeding, nothing!

 

Is filling the barrel explicitely discouraged?

Did I commit a sin by filling ink directly into the barrel?

[Shangas]

Absolutely not. That's how the earliest fountain pens worked! Fill and enjoy!

[Beechwood]

Absolutely not. That's how the earliest fountain pens worked! Fill and enjoy!

 

 

Does anyone else do this? With other brands of pen?

[Immoteus]

Yes and no. It is possible to convert a 1911 into an Eyedropper, but there are metal parts inside that might rust after prolonged use.

Edited April 22, 2008 by Immoteus

[fatehbajwa]

Limited by the small capacity of Sailor 1911 c/c I courageously decided to

remove the converter and fill a huge volume of ink directly into the

barrel. (at least 6 times the volume of the converter).

 

It worked perfectly and for two weeks now I have this pen in

daily use. No bleeding, nothing!

 

Is filling the barrel explicitely discouraged?

Did I commit a sin by filling ink directly into the barrel?

 

 

Hi Juon,

 

Please do keep everyone updated on the pens behaviour in the coming future.

I am a die hard ED filler fan.

Very interesting and adds one more pen to my list of ED conversiona.

[Excoriar]

I am also interested in knowing whether silver corrodes with ink as I want to turn my Yard O Led into a ED.

[ANM]

I would not let ink come in prolonged contact with sterling silver.

[thefsb]

I've been wondering is this is the way to deal with the ink supply needed by a Naginata Cross Emperor nib in a KoP. I want one of those very much but a wee converter seems daft in that pen. Perhaps they don't expect people to actually use it.

[juon]

Very interesting and adds one more pen to my list of ED conversiona.

 

Would you mind to share your ' list of ED conversiona' with us?

[Shangas]

As I understand it, he has a large number of Sheaffer school fountain pens, which would make excellent candidates for ED conversion. Having used them as a kid I wouldn't doubt that they're great

 

But I would love to see what else he has

[juon]

Summary so far

 

A Sailor 1911 Color/Zoom fullsize pen was inked by eyedropper

directly into the barrel.

- ink was PR Chocolate

- ink volume 3.5ml (instead of 0.9ml of converter)

- three weeks of normal daily use (no spaceflights,

but carrying in jacket, bag, etc.)

 

My observations:

- flow perfect

- no bleeding, no leaks

- no visual corrosion on the (golden or gold-plated) section part

that was in constant contact with the ink

 

I like this pen very much for outdoor sketching and just

need the volume. From now on I'll will use its barrel as

ink reservoir as a standard operating procedure.

 

Warnings: These observations are preliminary and probably not

valid for any other pen/ink combination. Some members correctly

pointed out, that metal (silver) parts can corrode when in

prolonged contact with aggressive inks.

Also leaking may occur when the barrel/section joint is not tight.

 

Thanks for your replies!

 

[fatehbajwa]

Seems like Shangas has been following my collection closely! :roflmho:

I do have lots os Sheaffer NNS FP's(maybe a hundred).

Besides those I have also converted the following into ED fillers.

 

Danitrio Tosca Ebonite

CS Dandy Nebula

Taccia Staccato

Sheaffer Award

Vintage CS(dont know the name)

Parker 51 Demi(Guys dont get mad)

Lots of Sheaffer School Pens

Sailor 1911 (thats the latest)

 

Cant recall more at this time.

 

Regards.

 

As I understand it, he has a large number of Sheaffer school fountain pens, which would make excellent candidates for ED conversion. Having used them as a kid I wouldn't doubt that they're great

 

But I would love to see what else he has

 

[juon]

Corrosion issues with KingOfPen/Aurora Black

 

 

After 14 Days of abusing a KingOfPen as Eyedropper

with Aurora Black, small traces off corrosion begin to

show up on the inner brass parts of the section.

 

I wonder if there are tables on corrosivness of the

different inks?

 

The KOP is a wonderful pen - but with its immense ink flow

the converter is empty just after a few courageous strokes!

[JJBlanche]

I believe that reds and browns are among the more aggressive, whereas blues and blue-blacks are the safest. I've heard waterman blue black is safe, but I don't think I'd eyedrop a pen that wasn't designed for it, unless everything was well plated in gold.

[orpheus]

If you ever find it leaking (or just to be on the safe side), you might want to grease the threads where the section screws into the barrel with silicone grease. I got a small container of it for a few dollars at a scuba diving shop. Works like a charm.

 

Keep us posted!

 

BTW, I loooooved how my Sailor 1911 wrote. I was so sad to sell it; the nib was just wonderful. Unfortunately, it didn't really fit my hand. Perhaps I should try the smaller version...

[metropolitan]

I have wondered about this, too, since the booklet that came with m Namiki Falcon shows ink being dripped into the body of the pen.

Haven't gotten up my courage to try it yet, but may mostly because it seems to have the smallest ink reservoir of any pen I have.

 

Has anyone specifically tried the Falcon? Would corrosion be possible in a pen that looks to be entirely plastic inside?

 

Oh, and isn't Noodler's pH-neutral?

[Songwind]

Noodler's non-Baystate inks are supposed to be pH neutral. However, that doesn't mean that other aspects of the ink couldn't react with the metal of your pen and cause corrosion. In fact, there is an article on their site about Noodler's and aluminum.

 

All-plastic pens are generally the best choice for eyedroppers.

[Kelly G]

Another option to increase the capacity of a c/c pen that you worry about the eyedropper conversion: the squeeze conversion. You build a squeeze bulb converter by:

1. cutting off a cartridge, leaving ~ 1/4" protruding from the section. This serves as a sac nipple.

2. rough up the surface of the 1/4" cart protrusion with a nail file or other abrasive. This aids in holding the sac securely.

3. size the proper sac - I've found most c/c pens will hold a size 20 sac with no problem. You want to make sure the sac isn't tight against the barrel - just as with any sac replacement.

4. cut the sac to the proper length

5. cement the sac to the cart sac nipple with shellac.

6. let it dry for several hours - over night works for me. It doesn't hurt to coat the outside of the sac with talcum powder so you have less chance of twisting the sac as you replace the barrel.

7. test for leaks with a water fill and then ink it up by simply inserting the nib/feed into your ink bottle and squeezing the sac with your fingers.

 

This isn't the most elegant of conversions, but it works. The sac will hold a lot more ink than the cart or converter and my pens tend to act better with a sac rather than the c/c. I suspect that is due to less surface tension restricting the ink flow - but that's a guess.

 

 

 

[JDlugosz]

I am also interested in knowing whether silver corrodes with ink as I want to turn my Yard O Led into a ED.

 

Use Noodler's PH-neutral ink. He has something on that on his web site.

[Pete]

You might be able to coat the areas in the pen that are prone to corrosion with shellac, a metal primer, or something along those lines. I think shellac would flake off metal, though. Maybe even a little petroleum jelly, silicone grease, or wax would work-- but I'm not sure if they would interact with the ink or not. Maybe rubber or contact cement would work after drying properly.

 

This is all just speculation, obviously, I'm sure that there may be flaws in my cunning plan.