Converter Or Re-Use Cartridge?

[penxade]

I very much like bottled inks, more so than keep replacing cartridges.

 

That said, I am not fully satisfied with the ink capacity of the converters of certain pens e.g. modern parker standard, compared to a parker long cartridge. I know that some pens like Pilot Metropolitan has similar volume of capacity between its converter and cartridge but so far I have heard so many complaints about the converter that I think even if I do buy it, I'll only use the converter for cleaning purposes.

 

Is there anything wrong or flawed with re-using the same cartridge with a blunt syringe plus a ink bottle? Will the cartridge wear out at the opening if I keep doing it?

[Notgatherox]

Nothing is wrong, just know that the cartridge will eventually wear out. I'll say it'll be good if you can get above 5 uses for one cartridge.

 

 

~Epic

[rwilsonedn]

A lot of us reuse cartridges in just that way. In principle, yes, the cartridge will eventually wear at the opening. But unless you are particularly violent in inserting the nipple into the cartridge, I think you would get many, many uses from a single cartridge. I have never seen one wear to the point that it became loose or leaks. But I've not reused a single cartridge more than a few times, so I don't really know.

In any case, if you start out with a box of cartridges, and just toss a cartridge when it feels loose or you see that it has cracked, you should have a several years' supply. I suppose if you were really thrifty, you could even repair them.

ron

[penxade]

Nothing is wrong, just know that the cartridge will eventually wear out. I'll say it'll be good if you can get above 5 uses for one cartridge.

 

 

~Epic

 

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[View from the Loft]

Yes, eventually the cartridge will give up and no longer be snug on the nipple in the pen.

 

Personally, I don't find the capacity of a convertor to be too much of an issue. For a really long writing session, as long as my hand isn't giving me grief in the morning (an old injury), I will use a lever fill pen as I find they have a better ink capacity, or a piston fill or aerometric P51.

 

On a normal day, yes I will write a convertor dry - but I like broad italic nibs and wet flow, so it's not surprising that I go through ink,but even then I will get around 6 A4 pages of solid writing out of a fill.

 

I now have the luxury of keeping a bottle of ink in my desk so can refill when necessary, but it's not very often. Refilling every evening at home does the trick (and got me all through school, even exams when you actually wrote essay answers).

 

Personally, I'd give the convertor a go.

[penxade]

A lot of us reuse cartridges in just that way. In principle, yes, the cartridge will eventually wear at the opening. But unless you are particularly violent in inserting the nipple into the cartridge, I think you would get many, many uses from a single cartridge. I have never seen one wear to the point that it became loose or leaks. But I've not reused a single cartridge more than a few times, so I don't really know.

In any case, if you start out with a box of cartridges, and just toss a cartridge when it feels loose or you see that it has cracked, you should have a several years' supply. I suppose if you were really thrifty, you could even repair them.

ron

 

Thanks.

[KBeezie]

I do not have a problem with the Con-50 converter of pilot, also the Con-50 holds a little less than the cartridges for Pilot ( up to 0.9ml if you syringe fill a cartridge as opposed to 0.5-0.6 or so with the converter, not counting what may be retained in the feed during filling).

 

Generally speaking with Pilot I prefer to syringe fill a cartridge, higher capacity, easier to see what's left, and due to the wide opening of the cartridge much easier to flush out than standard international cartridges. Also the pilot carts seem to be a little more sturdy (ie: last longer with re-use, won't wear out as fast as the nipple on a standard international cartridge.)

 

It also depends on the pen I'm using. The Pilot Long Murex I have won't take a con-50, but will take the con-20 or the cartridges, but I prefer the cartridges to the con-20. Or the Pilot Vanishing point which does work with the Con-50, but since the intake nozzle on the nib unit is so high up, it can be kind tedious to fill in that manner, that some would just fill the converter directly and push it in, and if I were going to do that anyways I would just prefer to syringe fill a cartridge (plus the cart+cart protector cap in the VP is a pretty surefire way to know you got it seated all the way in).

 

The Con-20 (similar to that squeeze converter that came with the metropolitan), has about the same capacity as a cartridge when filled completely. It's the con-50 that has less capacity. The Con-70 like in my Pilot Metal Falcon can hold up to 1.0, but it won't fit in a Metropolitan (and there are some people who complain about being able to flush it).

 

I'm curious to know what some of the 'complaints' are regarding Pilot converters.

 

PS: On the standard international side, you're looking at about 0.4ml in a standard cartridge, to around 0.4-0.6 for the converters depending on the specific converter. Or around 1.3 to 1.4ml for those large waterman cartridges.

Edited May 14, 2015 by KBeezie

[Paddler]

You can usually refill the cartridge many times. Before refilling it each time, check the opening in the end. If you see it beginning to crack, throw the cartridge away.

[penxade]

Yes, eventually the cartridge will give up and no longer be snug on the nipple in the pen.

 

Personally, I don't find the capacity of a convertor to be too much of an issue. For a really long writing session, as long as my hand isn't giving me grief in the morning (an old injury), I will use a lever fill pen as I find they have a better ink capacity, or a piston fill or aerometric P51.

 

On a normal day, yes I will write a convertor dry - but I like broad italic nibs and wet flow, so it's not surprising that I go through ink,but even then I will get around 6 A4 pages of solid writing out of a fill.

 

I now have the luxury of keeping a bottle of ink in my desk so can refill when necessary, but it's not very often. Refilling every evening at home does the trick (and got me all through school, even exams when you actually wrote essay answers).

 

Personally, I'd give the convertor a go.

 

Cheers. I see, I'll definitely use a converter then. Thanks for the answer. How's your hand recovering?

[torstar]

You can usually refill the cartridge many times. Before refilling it each time, check the opening in the end. If you see it beginning to crack, throw the cartridge away.

 

Good point. There will be other red flags quickly ensuing if you miss that one.

 

And always go to the pharmacist and tell them you would like real syringes for your fountain pen hobby. They've always obliged me with a handful to take home.

[penxade]

I do not have a problem with the Con-50 converter of pilot, also the Con-50 holds a little less than the cartridges for Pilot ( up to 0.9ml if you syringe fill a cartridge as opposed to 0.5-0.6 or so with the converter, not counting what may be retained in the feed during filling).

 

Generally speaking with Pilot I prefer to syringe fill a cartridge, higher capacity, easier to see what's left, and due to the wide opening of the cartridge much easier to flush out than standard international cartridges. Also the pilot carts seem to be a little more sturdy (ie: last longer with re-use, won't wear out as fast as the nipple on a standard international cartridge.)

 

It also depends on the pen I'm using. The Pilot Long Murex I have won't take a con-50, but will take the con-20 or the cartridges, but I prefer the cartridges to the con-20. Or the Pilot Vanishing point which does work with the Con-50, but since the intake nozzle on the nib unit is so high up, it can be kind tedious to fill in that manner, that some would just fill the converter directly and push it in, and if I were going to do that anyways I would just prefer to syringe fill a cartridge (plus the cart+cart protector cap in the VP is a pretty surefire way to know you got it seated all the way in).

 

The Con-20 (similar to that squeeze converter that came with the metropolitan), has about the same capacity as a cartridge when filled completely. It's the con-50 that has less capacity. The Con-70 like in my Pilot Metal Falcon can hold up to 1.0, but it won't fit in a Metropolitan (and there are some people who complain about being able to flush it).

 

I'm curious to know what some of the 'complaints' are regarding Pilot converters.

 

PS: On the standard international side, you're looking at about 0.4ml in a standard cartridge, to around 0.4-0.6 for the converters depending on the specific converter. Or around 1.3 to 1.4ml for those large waterman cartridges.

 

Cheers

[ac12]

I use both the Pilot Con20 and Con50. I found nothing wrong with the squeeze Con20. Yes it is not as fancy as the screw piston Con50, but in exchange, it holds more ink, and its cheaper (because it comes with the pen).

 

As was mentioned, syringe filling a cartridge is the way to get the max capacity fill.

The screw piston converter looses about half the length of the converter to the screw mechanism. And that lost length = less ink capacity. This is one reason why the squeeze converter Con20 is better than the screw converter Con50.

 

Now for my comment about converter capacity.

For me, this is really a "non-issue." IF you carry 2 pens, like I did in college, when pen #1 runs out of ink, you switch to pen #2. Then between classes, you put in a new ink cartridge. IMHO, one should always carry a spare pen, in school or work situations. Besides running out of ink, your pen could simply fink out on you, for various reasons. And if you are really paranoid about running out of ink, carry a 3rd pen. BTW, I used an old US Parker F nib (similar to a Lamy XF or XXF nib), so my pen was stingy with the ink.

[fpconvert]

I very much like bottled inks, more so than keep replacing cartridges.

 

That said, I am not fully satisfied with the ink capacity of the converters of certain pens e.g. modern parker standard, compared to a parker long cartridge. I know that some pens like Pilot Metropolitan has similar volume of capacity between its converter and cartridge but so far I have heard so many complaints about the converter that I think even if I do buy it, I'll only use the converter for cleaning purposes.

 

Is there anything wrong or flawed with re-using the same cartridge with a blunt syringe plus a ink bottle? Will the cartridge wear out at the opening if I keep doing it?

One of my bone pickers is the way convertors leak at the junction where the nib connects to the convertor. When I started collection fountain pens I just purchased the ones I thought were visually appealling but to my dismay I have since learnt that their are many many types of convertors and qualities.

 

My Cross fp with the screw in orange convertor and the Lamy Al-star convertors NEVER leak. I've spoken to a few long time die hards on here claiming it never happens to them. I am so put off by the lack of quality of some of the convertor attachments that I now only purchase piston type filling fountain pens. I will only acquire this type of fountain pen to add to my further collection. My Sheafer 300's series have since gone into the rubbage heap. Ive changed the convertor many many times on this nib assemblies and they still leak.

 

My favourite pen of all time. The PILOT CUSTOM HERITAGE 92 with a piston filling mechanism and white gold nib. THe ink volume is quite large and this clear demonstrator is one of the most reliable fp's in my collection.

[ac12]

I have 3 Sheaffer converters that failed. All 3 have cracked seals in the front which leak ink. GRRRRRR

I'm about ready to switch to syringe filling my Sheaffer cartridges.

 

None of my other converters has given me problems.

 

But my wife has gone through 2 converters on her Waterman, #1 had a crack in the plastic cylinder, #2 had a front seal failure. She is on converter #3.

[Charles Rice]

I have some pens (some of my Sheaffers) that work better with re-filled cartridges.

 

Why worry about a blunt syringe needle? You have to be un-coordinated to stick yourself. And a blunt needle will put your eye out, too.

[KBeezie]

And a blunt needle will put your eye out, too.

As will a nib.

[Sasha Royale]

Injection syringes tend to be smaller. Syringes for aspiration (Did I get it right ?)

tend to be larger. Get the big ones.

 

I re-use cartridges routinely. Longevity varies. Eventually, the cartridge mouth

stretches enough for the seal to fail. (It leaks.) The lightweight, International

cartridges can be re-used several times. LAMY and Parker cartridges seem to

tolerate a dozen "off-and-ons". You can feel the cartridge getting loose.

 

By the way, nothing prevents stabbing oneself with a "blunted" needle, and it

bleeds more. Sharp needles are not more dangerous. They ARE better teachers.

If you can get medical syringes, a 20-gauge needle is sturdier. A larger capacity

syringe, 3+ ml , is more useful. Pre-measure to avoid a mess. Short cartridges

accept approx. 0.5 ml. Long cartridges accept 1.0 -1.2 ml.

 

Injecting a forceful stream of water into the cartridge will "blast" out old ink.

Inserting the needle deep into the cartridge and injecting a stream of air will

blow out residual water.

 

Rubber gloves are a good idea.

[inkstainedruth]

I used to refill cartridges (I had Parker c/c pens to start with, and the cartridges are proprietary). I have even considered keeping a few empties around fill if I was going away on a long trip, since carts are easier to tote around than bottles or even sample vials). But I find that the advantage of refilling cartridges, and their larger capacity, is negated somewhat by the fact that that if you want to use a different color from what was originally in them, flushing them is a major PITA.

If you do want to go that route though, I have found that 100% silicone caulking works great to reseal the openings: it's relatively inexpensive for a large tube at a hardware store, seals the opening while still staying relatively ply-able (and therefore easy to remove later), and -- most importantly -- since it's 100% silicone it won't damage your pen.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[KBeezie]

The opening of the cartridge with caulk? wouldn't just be just as inexpensive or cheaper to grab another 6-pack of pilot carts and empty one out?

[graystranger]

The opening in Pilot cartridges is large enough to use an inexpensive pipette for refilling. I refilled a single Pilot cartridge for several years without any cracking or loosening. I may still be using the same one now, several years later, I don't remember ever having to throw one away.

 

You should not squeeze a converter to force ink into a dry nib as it can crack the converter. Some can't take the squeeze.

 

I know I refilled Sheaffer cartridges many times before they got too loose to seal. I started refilling cartridges back in the 90's when I returned to fountain pens. I did it because it is much cheaper and a bottle of ink is equal to a lot of cartridges. The cost is on the order of 10 times more for cartridges than for bottled ink. Plus you have far more color and ink type choices if you refill.

 

I do use a couple of converters, but most of my pens are inked with refilled cartridges. Yes, I have bought cartridges on sale to empty them for refilling.

 

I have not lost a Pilot cartridge yet through multiple refilling. I would expect most any cartridge could be refilled 25 times and most likely much more.

 

If the cartridge gets too loose or cracks, you should feel it when you seat it in the pen.