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Pilot Converters


haywoody

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This thread prompted me to go digging through my pens to look for different versions of Pilot's converters. I found a bunch and I thought this information might be useful...

 

post-8178-1213389196_thumb.jpg

 

1. Modern Pilot ink cartridge - these have been available since the early 70's and fit almost any pen from that time forward.

 

2. "Old" CON-20 - squeeze converter with long black plastic connector, the body is a bit wider than the cartridge toward the press-bar so this one can have issues fitting in some small-bodied pens

 

3. "Middle-aged" CON-20 - squeeze converter with short white plastic connector, same size as #2

 

4. "Middle-aged" tapered CON-20 - squeeze converter with short white plastic connector, tapered toward the press bar to fit more pens, same size as modern CON-20

 

5. "Middle-aged" oversized CON-20 - squeeze converter with white short plastic connector, extra long version with approximately 15% greater capacity

 

6. Modern CON-20 - squeeze converter with blue plastic connector, common and currently available

 

7. CON-50 - twist / piston converter, currently available

 

8. CON-70 - monster pump converter, currently available but seems to only fit some larger modern Pilot pens

 

9. W-spares ink cartridge - made during the mid-to-late 60's, small capacity. The idea was that you could keep a spare in the barrel and change to the reserve if you ran out.

 

10. W-spares cartridges with coupler - this little metal gadget let you connect two W-spares cartridges to keep the extra from rattling around inside your pen

 

11. Old CON-W - squeeze converter with black plastic connector, made to fit pens compatible with W-spares cartridges

 

12. Modern CON-W - squeeze converter with blue plastic connector, fits W-spares pens and seems to still be available if you look hard enough

 

I am not sure of the model numbers for the older converters. Feel free to add or correct if you have additional information. I know there is a mini converter and maybe cartridges out there that fit the small pens like the Birdie and Penko.... and maybe others.

 

It would be nice to create a compatibility chart but I am not even sure where to begin.

 

/Woody

 

 

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Posted Images

Thanks for posting this reference, Woody. Here's another one that came with my Pilot Ecrino. It's the top one in the pic, next to a current CON-20 for comparison. It's simply the sac with a metal band looped around it. Simple and cheap, and works fine. I have no idea what the model number is etc.

 

http://homepage.mac.com/hdougmatsuoka/images/pen/converter.jpg

 

Doug

Edited by HDoug
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This is great!

Fool: One who subverts convention or orthodoxy or varies from social conformity in order to reveal spiritual or moral truth.

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Great reference info here, Woody -- thanks a lot for going to the trouble (I'm glad I prompted you ;) ). This is very useful to have, as it is easy to forget Pilot converter specifics. Saved and stowed for future reference. I think it's a good candidate for a sticky.

 

~Gary

[MYU's Pen Review Corner] | "The Common Ground" -- Jeffrey Small

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Nice! There was also a Con-20 that was made in Korea. It had a dark blue sac. I have the shell and sac here, but the blue plastic connector on all of mine were broken.

 

Dillon

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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  • 5 years later...

Hi Woody, nice resource. I am 5 years late, but I think it will still help if I am add some pics of the hoop style squeeze converters that Pilot used to supply with the Birdie, Superior and other entry level models.

 

http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/PilotConverters/IMG_8808.jpg

 

http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/PilotConverters/IMG_8809.jpg

 

http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/PilotConverters/IMG_8810.jpg

 

The Pliglass sacs are from my birdie of 1980s.

 

Best

Hari

Edited by hari317

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

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Nice!

The Con 70 I think is one of the biggest converters among all pen brands, the only competition would be piston fillers. A pretty neat idea.

In a world where there are no eyes the sun would not be light, and in a world where there were no soft skins rocks would not be hard, nor in a world where there were no muscles would they be heavy. Existence is relationship and you're smack in the middle of it.

- Alan Watts

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Great converter collection....thanks for sharing it!

 

Will add one to the mix.....the push button CON-70 (?) that came with my Namiki Yukari Royale...

 

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/ArchiMark/P1050792_zps0d6bbf54.jpg

FP Addict & Pretty Nice Guy

 

 

 

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Hi,

 

The I also have the Pilot Con-20 with the hoop, white tip, and blue sac just like the one in Hari's post. It came with a long Pilot Elite with a steel nib made in the 80's. The pen came from Japan. I think the fit and finish is actually quite nice. Pilot's Con-20 converters are quite well finished compared to many other press-bar converters I have seen.

 

Dillon

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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  • 6 years later...

Coming to this thread way late, obviously, but I am looking for some help from all those knowledgable about Pilot converters.

I won a Pilot Cavalier, solid color metal body in red, on eBay and it came with a weird tapered converter with no metal or plastic hardware. I took it off, as it was clogged with old ink residue. I discovered that the barrel was flexible clear plastic with parallel ridges or grooves … and the ridges/grooves were split in two places. No holding ink, here.

No wonder the pen was up for auction.

I took it apart, rinsed out the old ink (easier done due to the splits) and saw there was a black plastic disc at the closed end, sitting askew. This allowed me to fish it out with a bent paperclip. I suspect it is friction fit as far down the tapered end it can go, adding some solidity to the somewhat flimsy and flexible plastic bladder.

Now I'm trying to find a replacement for it because, other than the splits, it seems to be a nice little reservoir: it fits tightly over the back end of the feed, holds a good deal of ink (as it's a little longer than a Pilot cartridge) and it's a clear plastic uncovered by a case or hardware, so you can see how much ink you've got left.

Barring finding out what it's called and getting a replacement, I suppose I can pave over the cracks with thin strips of Sugru and hope the converter doesn't wear out at the junction of Sugru and plastic … but perhaps it's better if I try finding a replacement first.

Here are pictures of the converter/bladder, including one with a ruler for scale:
49927286702_a6dc3cc303.jpg 49926988886_43a7fe7b5f.jpg 49926988846_fb38a8281a.jpg 49926469608_0df9d1c7e7.jpg 49927285867_f35a7685cf.jpg 49926988186_7c5c615546.jpg

Were it not for the flexibility of the object itself, I would have thought it was merely a Pilot proprietary ink cartridge. It's not like any of the proprietary ink cartridges I have, however. Perhaps the Cavalier uses a different style of proprietary ink cartridge? This pen was advertised as a "vintage" pen on eBay, but I discounted that right quick as it is still available at jetpens and amazon. I just wanted to get it because the price was potentially lower than it would have been at retail, depending on the final bid, and as luck would have it, mine was.

At the present, I'll just pop a modern/current-day proprietary ink cartridge on it so I can use it. It's a nice slender pen, perfect for my small hands.

Still, I would like to know what this converter or cartridge (or whatever you call it) is so that, armed with the proper name for it, I can look for replacements online.

Does anyone here have any ideas what this might be? Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to read this.

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Off-hand -- I consider it just a converter that may have been stored in close proximity to some sort of plasticizing agent that changed the composition of the original plastic.

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Off-hand -- I consider it just a converter that may have been stored in close proximity to some sort of plasticizing agent that changed the composition of the original plastic.

Thank you for that, BaronWulfraed. Would you happen to know what brand of converter this might be?

Edited by taimdala
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From the pictures it looks like a Pilot cartridge. I think the giveaway though is the little plastic disc that was in there: that's how Pilot seals them. When you jam the cartridge into place the back end of the section forces that disc to pivot 90 degrees, letting ink out. You can find occasional posts by people syringe filing their empty carts and working the disc back into place to reseal them.

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That is definitely a standard Pilot cartridge that was originally filled with black ink. The black ink usually colors the plastic of the cartridges yellow. You would need a converter for your pen-a CON-40.

 

Dillon

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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The Con-50 has been replaced with the Con-40 now...its ink capacity is woeful, it never properly fills and the little metal balls inside it rattle :wallbash:

The Con-70 has been replaced with Con-70N which has a little metal cylinder around the central spindle rod.

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