I'm A Piston Snob! Who Else?

[Sach]

I'm a self confessed piston snob! Don't mind power fillers, or any other filling system so long as it's not a c/c!

 

That was until I recently acquired two new Japanese pens, both of which are c/c are work great.

 

Are we really being fair with our snobbery against the humble cartridge converter?

Edited May 15, 2014 by Sach

[Faisel]

Generally, I avoid pens that are not either c/c fillers or eye droppers.

 

I am conscious that pens with internal pistons will usually not be repairable by me if the piston fails. Further, the costs of repairing the piston (assuming it can be fixed) could be significant.

 

A c/c filler has few moving parts. If the converter breaks I can usually replace it with ease. It also allows me the convenience of using cartridges. I can't be bothered with the faff of refilling from a bottle when on the move.

 

I love the large capacity of ED fillers and also the lack of mechanical moving parts that might need replacement.

 

I do own several pens that use pistons, levers or are vacuum fill but I don't really understand the overwhelming preference for piston fillers amongst members of our community.

[Flounder]

You should report which ever maniac is responsible for this outrage to the police. They won't mind your snobbishness, it's their job to lock these people up

In the short term, I recommend a good umbrella.

[Joker4Eva]

Generally, I avoid pens that are not either c/c fillers or eye droppers.

 

I am conscious that pens with internal pistons will usually not be repairable by me if the piston fails. Further, the costs of repairing the piston (assuming it can be fixed) could be significant.

 

A c/c filler has few moving parts. If the converter breaks I can usually replace it with ease. It also allows me the convenience of using cartridges. I can't be bothered with the faff of refilling from a bottle when on the move.

 

I love the large capacity of ED fillers and also the lack of mechanical moving parts that might need replacement.

 

I do own several pens that use pistons, levers or are vacuum fill but I don't really understand the overwhelming preference for piston fillers amongst members of our community.

 

The reason why I like piston fillers so much is because they're durable. They've been Pelikans that've existed for more than a century, and their pistons are still working perfectly, which speaks of how dependable such a filling mechanism is.

The fact that converters CAN break is what irks me. A fountain pen should be a writing instrument that can withstand the passage of time, and the fact that converter seals can loosen up after cycles of removing and reinserting them that makes me pick the piston mechanism over a converter any day. The fact that I only use bottled inks makes that choice even easier.

I personally find ED fillers not as refined as those which have a filling mechanism. True, they have a larger ink capacity, and have zero chances of their filling mechanism failing (since they don't have one), but the fact that that manufacturer wasn't able to create a filling mechanism reliable enough to fit into a fountain pen speaks a little about how much confidence they have in their engineering skills.

[alexander_k]

Even though I have a preference for piston fillers for their larger capacity, I have to admit that converters can be irritatingly limited only with very broad nibs. Eyedroppers are fine but most have the unfortunate tendency to burp.

[Bo Bo Olson]

A cork that is kept inked will last 70-80 years. A cork that sat in the back of a desk drawer a generation can be iffy.

 

Piston pens, especially Pelikan, if greased with silicon grease every 3 years...will last until your grand children are old enough to use it.

If it needs a repair, that is once in a life time.

MB is the same.

 

Cheaper second tier can get older faster. I have some that are doing just fine after only 60 years.

 

But to worry about any new or near new Piston pen is a waste of time....unless your name is Plierfingers.

 

 

I forgot to mention, I live in Germany the home of the piston pen, and use the cheap German Ebay instead of the expensive American Ebay for piston pens.

The German pirates see you coming, selling you a Geha school pen for $85 in the US when those pens go if you have any patience for €12 plus postage.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[kidde]

My preference is for pens that work! C/C gives a quick, easy, low capacity refill. ED require something to transfer the ink, but man they hold a lot. Sac pens (lever, squeeze, touch down, et al) fill pretty easy and many hold a good supply of ink. Pistons fill easy, hold more ink, and seldom break down.

So my choice is one that works, and if it is a piston it's even better.

Paul

[orfew]

I have piston fillers, button fillers, and c/c pens. I use them all, I like them all. After all, they are all pens. That's all.

[chris.hale]

As I only use bottled ink I do prefer a piston filler. I don't mind lower-priced pens being c/c, but there is an undefined price point above which I'm disappointed if there isn't an integrated filling system.

[chad.trent]

If it has a nice nib and feels good in my hand, I don't care how it fills.

[BrandonA]

Filling mechanism doesn't bother me. It happens that all but one of my LE pens are piston. My daily writer at work (Starwalker) though takes cartridges.

[ethernautrix]

I prefer c/c for the convenience of carrying cartridges and the ease of cleaning between inkings. I like Pelikan and other piston-fillers with screw-out nibs, cos those are very easy to clean, too.

 

As for snobbishness - that's anyone's prerogative. Anyone's negative opinion about a filling system is irrelevant. You don't like [filling system]? Great. Don't use it. If you (universal you) think it makes you a somehow superior person--hold on, hahahahaha, wait, wait, hahahahaha... hahahahahahahahaha... hehehe -- yeah, if you need that, well, okay. Bully for you.

 

It's just pens.

[ArchiMark]

As others have said, piston fillers are good, but so are lever fillers, and c/c too.....

 

As long as ink gets to the nib properly, I don't care much as to which filling type it is.....

 

I'm mostly concerned about the nib, ie, how well it writes, and the pen design and quality.....

 

[novarider]

I thought I was the same way but C/C fillers are much easier to clean. Especially if you purchase on of these. Remove the white piece, fill with water, place over the end of the section and squeeze the water out through the section/nib/feed. The more I use C/C pens the more I like them.

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062742

[PrintersDevil]

I have several piston fill pens and the reason I preferred them was because I could rinse/clean them more thoroughly.

Moving the ink back and forth through the nib gave it positive cleaning action and that is the main reason why I didn't care for converters.

However, I did see a great video on Goulet Pens that showed how to use a bulb syringe to clean out a nib section of a converter type of pen.

My wife has several converter type pens and some tend to leak where the converter fits into the nib section however.

Also the piston fills seem to have larger ink capacity.

The converter wastes a lot of space in the barrel that could other wise be devoted to storing ink.

[parnesh]

I have a preference for internal filling systems and piston in particular. I would say I used to be a snob and I have more piston fillers than anything else. However I realise that I may miss out on a lot of good pens if I remained a snob so I am less so now.

[brunico]

It's true that a piston is more elegant in the sense of making more effective use of the space in the barrel, but - for me - they're just cooler, not better in actual use. And I agree that it's nice to have something a bit cool if you're paying a fair whack for it.

 

I sometimes read posts and wonder how I managed to survive through school and college with just C/C pens and steel nibs, and what are disparagingly called nails at that, on paper far worse than copy paper. Perhaps a lot of piston snobbery comes unintentionally from people who are new to fountain pens and who, carried away by their enthusiasm for all the gorgeously expensive resins and beautiful nib designs and high-quality engineering, don't realise that most fountain pens in the world are perfectly ordinary, perfectly decent, and just like the C/C ones I used to translate Molière into Ancient Greek verse and prove Fermat's Last Theorem...

[blINK]

I like the c/c but typically only use the converter or a refilled cartridge because I prefer to pick my own ink. Sometimes, if a pen holds TOO much ink, I get bored with the color. As long as the pen writes, I'm happy!

Edited May 15, 2014 by blINK

[abritdownunder]

I prefer pen with internal filling systems and have avoided c/c pens. But since I bought an Edison Collier, with a c/c, I've decided that they may not be such a terrible thing. I love the Edison, the c/c works really well, a good, generous, amount of ink and it's easy to use. I've got piston fillers, power fillers, vacuum fillers, and from now on I won't discount a pen because it has a c/c filler.

[Horseknitter]

Can't say that I espouse snobbery for any particular filling mechanism and own representatives from all categories.

 

But what gives me pause about internal filling systems is this: they are pretty particular about having a deep well from which to draw ink. My Pelikans don't like filling from those Goulet vials that are only filled 1/3 of capacity. And God-forbid that I should try to finish off the last quarter of a bottle of ink with an internal filling system - that requires syringes and makes a royal mess.

 

Internal filling systems give me pause.....but I buy them too

 

 

Edited for a misspellation.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Horseknitter