Parker Cartridges In A Cx-100

[Ipno Tizer]

Hi All.

 

I've noticed several posts regarding cartridges that fit Esterbrook pens, so I think my recent experience with Parker cartridges may interest one or two people.

 

I've had an Esterbrook CX-100 for the best part of a year. Firstly I tried using a modified international standard cartridge which fitted reasonably but went on at a funny angle. Then I fitted a Lamy, which would go on but screwing the section back into the barrel drove the cartridge neck down into the body and caused the cartridge to split.

 

So I just put some silicone grease round the barrel threads and ran it as an eyedropper. This is fine as long as the pen didn't run too low on ink otherwise it tended to blot.

 

But I've recently bought some washable Parker Quink short cartridges and they fit decently without being too long for the barrel. The cartridge won't go on completely but does fit well enough to be secure and goes on reasonably straight. (That being said, I still have silicone round the threads to be in the safe side). As for the contents of the cartridge... ah well.

 

Of all the cartridges I've tried with this pen, these seem to me to be the best. It will be interesting to see if this holds true for Esterbrook cartridge pens in general.

 

Chris B.

[Vegret]

I've discovered that Platinum cartridges work pretty well in my Esterbrook CX-100 cartridge pen.

No mods at all need to be made to the cartridge, although I do like to drop a spacer of some sort (I cut a little plug of eraser material from a mechanical pencil) into the bottom of the barrel before inserting the cartridge. Otherwise, most of the time when you need to remove the cartridge, it separates from the section and stays put in the barrel.

I have an easy way to get it out (a deck screw, threaded into the hole in the cartridge, and pulled out of the barrel at a slight angle works great; wrap some tape around the top threads of the deck screw to protect the inside of the pen barrel from scratches), but most of the time this isn't necessary if I put the spacer in the bottom of the barrel.

Hope this helps someone use their Estie "School Pen," as they are great writers. Mine came with the un-numbered nib stamped "Esterbrook Medium," and it is awesome. It's more like a Fine, and can easily write upside-down as an extra-fine.