I own several pens with squeeze converters (including two 51's) but I seem not to get the pens properly filled. That means I am either a fool or the system sucks. In other words: what am I doing wrong here?

What I do: I immerse the nib in the ink, press/squeeze the bar 4 times firmly, wait for 10 seconds (still in the ink), take it out and wipe the nib. To check the amount of ink I have squeezed the bar again, outside the bottle, until all ink is out. The ink is completely out in like two squeezes....

Thing is, that is supposed to happen. The system does not suck!!! It is my favorite converter type. And, do you pause for, like, a few seconds after every squeeze? I do that, and my Parker 51 takes in the ink very well.

It sucks plenty... of ink! Your description is not clear, so like the last respondant, I must ask: squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, pause, OR squeeze, pause, squeeze, pause, etc? The latter is the way to go. In the 51, of course, it's not a converter, it's a fixed filler. There is some chance the little tube inside has been filled with crud and isn't drawing too well. With a removable converter, as on a 45, since there's no tube to conduct the ink up inside, a couple of squeezes will do all the ink it can manage, but that's usually enough for a day or two of scribble.

...and just to check, I've done as you do with the 51 I just loaded this morning. Empty in two, yes, but that was twenty drops of ink, which is more than most of my lever-fills can manage, and a lot more than my modern piston-converters. You're doing it right, you're just being misled by the results.

Of course the filling-system sucks. That's what it's supposed to DO!! !!

The correct method for filling such a converter is:

1. Immerse nib in ink.

Squeeze once. Count to five.
Squeeze twice. Count to five.
Squeeze a third time. Count to five.
Squeeze a fourth time. Count to five. Hold.

By now, there should be no more ink bubbles in the bottle. If there are, keep squeezing. Only one or two more times (using method above). And the pen should be full. The pen is full when there are no more bubbles.

Remove pen from bottle, cap bottle, wipe down pen, reassemble and write!



I agree with this. Just because it takes a long time to fill does not mean that it takes a long time to empty. A full aerometric pen can be completely juiced of it's ink after just two or three squeezes. But here's where I must ask you something.

When you empty the ink-sac by squeezing it, the ink will come out in drops. How many drops are coming out?

If the sac is TRULY FULL, then they should come out one after the other in quick succession. blopblopblopblopblop...until the tank is empty. Or sometimes, in a sort of inky waterfall.

If the sac is not full, then the ink will come out slower, more reluctantly and you're less likely to get the ink rushing out. Being able to empty the pen in two squeezes doesn't mean squat. What counts is how much ink comes out of the pen.

If you're not sure, then think of it this way. (I don't suggest you do this, it'll create a hell of a lot of mess, but for argument's sake)...

Empty the pen over a sheet of paper. Count the drops that splatter out. There should be quite a few if the pen is full. Look at the mess on the page. If there's a huge mess, the pen is DEFINITELY FULL. And all the ink you see in front of you, is enough to write a LOT of words. You'd be surprised how far a single drop of ink can go.

According to Frank Dubiel in DA BOOK, a fully-loaded Parker 51 aero (with medium nib) should write about 4500 words before it needs a refill. If my calculations are correct, that's nine pages of writing.

Thanks I am trying.!

Oh, and just so you know - A Parker '51' doesn't have a CONVERTER. It has an aerometric filler-system. A Parker '45' has an aerometric converter. The difference is that a filling-system is inbuilt. A converter may be removed and replaced without hassle.

Thanks for rectifying my misunderstandings. I will remember, as I have been corrected twice, that a Parker 51 Aerometric has an Aerometric filling system and not a squeeze converter.