Filling A Piston Filler And Getting The Last Bit Of Ink Out Of The Bottle

[flashylightsmeow]

Hi everyone, I was wondering how much of the nib is supposed to be immersed in ink when filling up a piston filler (specifically a pelikan)

And! how on earth do you get the last bit of ink out of the bottle? Do you pour it into a new bottle or...what!?

 

thanks!

[SteveE]

Typically the manufacturers' instructions tell us to immerse the nib completely in ink - including the first quarter inch or so of the plastic "gripping" section. This is to ensure that the filler takes up only ink - no air. There are some here who will say that they use pens with removable nib assemblies (like Pelikans - their nibs screw out) and they fill the barrel of the pen with a syringe. I would not recommend doing that. If the pen was designed to be filled that way, the manufacturer would say so.

 

If I cannot immerse the nib and part of the section into the ink, I pour off the remaining ink into another bottle of the same kind of ink. If I do not have any more of the ink, I would probably pour it into the "generic dregs" bottle that sits near my pen work area. This bottle contains the remains of all the nearly empty bottles I've had recently. If you do mix inks, be careful to stay away from some of the "novelty" colors like the candy-apple reds, etc., as they are known to be bad to mix with other types of ink. With most blacks, blues and blue-blacks, mixing is pretty low risk. Of course, if there is just a tiny bit left, often I'll just toss it. Ink is relatively cheap, so why worry so much about it.

[mmkoenecke]

If you have a small container (such as a sample vial), you can pour the remaining ink into that and fill from there. Otherwise, topping off a new bottle of the same ink works too. When I'm trying to get the last out of a bottle/vial, I use a syringe to fill up a cartridge so I can really get all of the ink.

[jar]

Ink is cheap.

[bugmd]

Suck the ink up with a syringe and needle, unscrew the nib and fill that baby up.

[Felix1]

If you have a small container (such as a sample vial), you can pour the remaining ink into that and fill from there. Otherwise, topping off a new bottle of the same ink works too. When I'm trying to get the last out of a bottle/vial, I use a syringe to fill up a cartridge so I can really get all of the ink.

 

 

Yep, that's what I do too.

 

If it's an ink I really like, I'll already have a second bottle and I just top off the new bottle with what's left from the old one.

 

Otherwise (assuming it's pleasing enough that I want to use the entire bottle), I transfer via syringe to a cartridge or sometimes into a Visconti Traveling Ink Pot:

 

http://www.gad.net/B...ink-pot-review/

[de_pen_dent]

Visconti Traveling Inkwell. Perfect for that, as well as filling on the go, when you dont want to carry an entire bottle of ink. Pricey but well worth it.

[wrath186]

I would use a syringe to get the last bit of ink. I can understand that ink is relatively cheap, but what if you have a rare color, say Montblanc Racing Green? I could see wanting to use up every last bit. Syringes can be found just about anywhere. Goulet pens has them cheap.

 

I can't see how using a syringe to fill a piston pen could hurt it as long as you're not pushing ink past the rubber piston seal and that you are able to take apart the nib secion with minimial fuss.

 

Hope this helps.

[Frank C]

I have only ever finished off about 10 bottles of ink. (I have many more than that.) So when a bottle gets low, I open another of the same ink. When the second bottle is about half full, I pour the first bottle into it. Problem solved. The only inks I have ever done this with are my everyday users at work. I tend to try new inks often.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Typically the manufacturers' instructions tell us to immerse the nib completely in ink - including the first quarter inch or so of the plastic "gripping" section. This is to ensure that the filler takes up only ink - no air. There are some here who will say that they use pens with removable nib assemblies (like Pelikans - their nibs screw out) and they fill the barrel of the pen with a syringe. I would not recommend doing that. If the pen was designed to be filled that way, the manufacturer would say so.

Not necessarily. The pen manufacturers aren't going to think of everything, and they have no great interest in putting out literature that explores all the possibilities of using their products.

 

In fact using a syringe to refill a pen that can be refilled that way is an excellent idea.

 

Putting the last of the ink into a narrower bottle or vial so as to be able to refill is a good idea too.

 

Ink is cheap.

For some folks that is true. For some of us that is unfortunately not the case .

[pmn]

You might want to consider one of those snorkel Sheaffers

[sirksael]

The last bottle of Asa-gao I purchased cost me something in the order of 40+ euros. That is not cheap.

[dickydotcom]

Ink is cheap.

 

Compared with what?

 

I have a bottle of Parker Quink on my desk. It cost £4.95 and contains 57ml

I make that over £86 a litre. Probably the most expensive liquid I buy.

 

I second the use of a syringe to fill a cart. Use every last drop.

Personally I don't put old ink into the new bottle just in case there is any contaminant in the old one.

 

Dick D

[whitelily]

 

Personally I don't put old ink into the new bottle just in case there is any contaminant in the old one.

 

Dick D

 

+1

 

I think a syringe is the way to go if you want to use every last drop of the ink.

Edited March 28, 2013 by whitelily

[imadeadend]

Is nobody going to recommend the feed saturation method? Don't bother buying an extra bottle just to get the remaining ink out...

 

Just let the feed sit as far into the ink as possible (even if it's only a couple of mm) for a few seconds so it soaks up the ink, then pull the piston back a little bit to suck that soaked up ink into the pen. Repeat until you've got all the ink out of the bottle.

[bugmd]

Ink is cheap.

 

 

I think that ink may be inexpensive in the great scheme of things but at well over $200 a gallon, Pelikan 4001 on the 'bay for 1,000ml @ ~60.00 (lowest priced brand name ink that I am aware of), I would not call it cheap. And yes, I go through a lot of ink, I typically write about 40 full pages a day.

[jar]

Ink is cheap.

 

 

I think that ink may be inexpensive in the great scheme of things but at well over $200 a gallon, Pelikan 4001 on the 'bay for 1,000ml @ ~60.00 (lowest priced brand name ink that I am aware of), I would not call it cheap. And yes, I go through a lot of ink, I typically write about 40 full pages a day.

 

Sorry but even at 40 full pages a day how much ink will you use in a lifetime?

 

What is the lifetime value of the little bit of ink that might get left in a bottle?

 

So far no one has ever convinced me that the last little bit of ink is worth the effort folk go to, but of course, they are free to continue.

[wastelanded]

Ink is cheap.

 

 

I think that ink may be inexpensive in the great scheme of things but at well over $200 a gallon, Pelikan 4001 on the 'bay for 1,000ml @ ~60.00 (lowest priced brand name ink that I am aware of), I would not call it cheap. And yes, I go through a lot of ink, I typically write about 40 full pages a day.

 

That's expensive for Pelikan. At the place I get stuff from in Germany it's about $33 a litre, including shipping. And that, indeed, is cheap for good ink.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Buy a Snorkel for the last drop use.

[JDR]

Anybody use an inkjet printer? Ink for that runs about $5,000.00 USD per gallon! Fountain pen ink is cheap.

Edited March 29, 2013 by JDR