I can fill up a VP convertor entirely with pipette thingy I got fro kcat earlier for filling the ink exchange containers. The trouble is when I push the filled convertor into the nib assembly and things get messy.

Maybe I shouldn't be filling it all the way. Would leaving a third of the convertor unfilled, extending the plunger until some ink is present on the feed, and then sticking the nib into the ink bottle as though it were a piston filler be a good idea?

Another thing I've noticed happen is the pen running dry. When I open the case, I see that the back half of the convertor is full but the front empty. The ink doesn't want to cross over into the smaller diameter section. Is there some trick I'm missing?

Thanks.

Stephen

You shouldn't fill the converter all the way. There needs to be a little bit of air in the ink chamber for the ink to flow properly. As ink comes out of your nib, air goes back into the ink chamber.

As for ink being too clingy inside the converter, many people rinse out the converter with dishwashing liquid to get rid of some chemicals left behind in the plastic molding process. This helps the ink to flow better. VPs are normally pretty dry writers though, so it may not change the writing experience.

The VP is a great pen, but IMHO the converter is not so great. The press bar converter seems to be slightly more effective than the normal twist converter, but to get the best out of the VP I've found it necessary to use cartridges. Certainly, my VP writes like a different pen (great ink flow and smoothness) when it has a cartridge in it.

Thanks, Sciopod. I emptied out a Namiki blue cartridge and filled with Diamine royal blue. So far so good. Since the diameter of the cartridge is the same throughout, I wouldn't expect to have the stopping problem I saw earlier.

Thanks.

Stephen