Refilling Cartridges

[juanjo]

It was suggested to me as a temporary hack for my Sheaffer, but I thought it would also be nice for some pens for which I do not have adapters (Tachikawa, etc)

 

I have a couple of questions, though.

• How "safe" is this in terms of ink spills, etc.
• Does the cartridge wear off after some time?
• Can I refill several cartridges and carry them with me? I suppose they will leak, am I wrong?

 

[brg5658]

In my experience, it will get you by for a while, but eventually the "seal" will not hold. I have no problem refilling an empty cartridge 3-4 even half a dozen times. I wouldn't recommend for "indefinite" use.

 

I'm not sure how you would seal refill cartridges to carry with you. I wouldn't try that just because I know I'd personally make a huge mess.

[mooshi]

Back in the day, I would refill spare cartridges and then add a smidgen of hot glue to the opening to seal it.

 

Hot glue makes for a good seal but also pops off easily for quick use.

[mr dodo]

I second the hot glue method: or if you don't have access to that, superglue and cellophane works if you're very careful to not leave any gaps. And as mentioned before, they don't last for ever - maybe 5 refills, but then they don't stick to the pen so well, which could lead to spills and leaks.

[ac12]

I use refilled ink cartridges for pens that I don't have a converter or don't want to use a converter.

The seal on the cartridge will eventually wear out. You will feel it as it get loose or easy to slide on the nipple, and that is when to change to a new cartridge.

 

An interesting alternative is to make a bulb filler out of an empty cartridge.

1. put the cartridge in the pen
2. mark the depth that the cartridge goes into the section,
3. put a #18 or 20 ink sac into the barrel of the pen. The size of the ink sac should give you a snug fit on the cartridge.
4. put the section next to the barrel and note how far down the end of the section reaches. This is where you will cut the ink sac.
5. remove the cartridge from the section, and the ink sac from the barrel
6. cut the cartridge about 5 to 10mm back of the line. this is where you will cement the ink sac
7. cement an ink sac onto the back of the cartridge, using sac cement/shellac. The line you marked is how far to put the cement and ink sac.

To use you just squeeze the sac to expel the air, let go to suck in the ink.

[cattar]

I refill cartridges on all my cartridge/converter pens. It's convenient.

 

Have refilled cartridges 6-10 times. Look for wicking around the cartridge/feed connection and replace the cartridge when that happens

Have sealed cartridges with hot wax (rather than hot glue) for travel and carried them without leaking (and had them in a ziploc just in case.)

 

The ink sac conversion above is slick.

[Sasha Royale]

Eventually, the plastic will stretch and the seal will loosen. Then, replace the cartridge. "Surface tension" , at the open end of the cartridge, will not allow ink to leak. The weight of the column of ink, inside the plastic tube, is not heavy enough to BREAK the surface tension bubble.

 

In your fountain pen, the feed shaft/probe/nipple is inserted into the cartridge to break the surface tension. Hence, the ink flows. Eventually, ink will evaporate from the the "open" cartridge.

 

I used a Parker 45 fountain pen through college. I carried new and refilled cartridges in an ALTOIDS mint candy tin, with folded paper to prevent rattling. The candy tin traveled in my book bag, for the day. I don't recall cartridge leakage, during the four and one-half years of university.

 

TRY it for yourself: Wrap a refilled cartridge in paper and carry it in a candy tin, or Tic Tac mint container. At the end of the day, Did it leak ?

Edited August 20, 2015 by Sasha Royale

[bureaudirect]

+1

 

you can refill the cartridge couple of times and it will be OK - I do that for my pocket custom pen...simply because squeeze converter is very difficult to cleaning.

 

I do seal open cartridges with MT Tape and put it in the zip-lock bag, it works for a while

 

Mishka

[Chrissy]

I refill cartridges, and have some little pointed rubber bungs to fit in the ends that a kind FPNer once sent me. I wish I could get some more as they work really well. Apparently they come in several different sizes.

 

I don't have any hot glue though

[juanjo]

Thanks for all the hints. Really useful ideas here!

[tamiya]

 

• Can I refill several cartridges and carry them with me? I suppose they will leak, am I wrong?

I refill carts but I'd never dare carry around a filled unsealed cart, nor even dare leaving one standing around the desk - except for short while whilst it's pen is being washed.

 

If needed I'd rather carry bulk ink around in a squeezy plastic bottle with needle tip and refill that 1 cart as needed; doesn't take much longer than swapping carts - especially if you've gotta undo any DIY resealing effort before pushing it on.

[cattar]

Agree with Sasha Royale that cartridges won't spill, sealing prevents evaporation.

I push my cartridge onto the pen, just like I do with a new cartridge.

The nipple pushes aside the glue/wax, just like it pushes aside the plastic tab on a new cartridge.

 

 

Gotta spell the name.

Edited August 21, 2015 by cattar

[Paddler]

I seal cartridges by stretching a wide rubber band over the cartridge end-to-end. They don't leak.

 

To tell when a cartridge is worn out, look at the hole in the end. When the edge of the hole begins to crack, throw the cartridge away.

[Arkanabar]

I have to ask how long a 5USD pack of international carts last, with refilling, compared to a 5USD converter? I mean, now that I no longer use converters for pen cleaning -- I have gotten hold of a bulb syringe. And given that you can find bags of 50 international carts for 10 USD from ipenstore on Amazon....

[mr dodo]

I have to ask how long a 5USD pack of international carts last, with refilling, compared to a 5USD converter? I mean, now that I no longer use converters for pen cleaning -- I have gotten hold of a bulb syringe. And given that you can find bags of 50 international carts for 10 USD from ipenstore on Amazon....

 

You could argue either way: for some people a single converter could last a lifetime, but some types break more easily. Also, there's the throwing out of cartridges with cracks. In the short term, cartridges are cheaper for sure, but over a couple of years, I reckon converters take the lead.

(Edit): Doing the maths, you get 2 5$ converters for 10$, and 50 cartridges for the same. If a converter lasts 5 years, that's 10 years of refilling for the 10$. 50 cartridges, each of which can be refilled (lets say) 8 times gives you 400 fills. So it's just a question of whether your 400 fills would last you 10 years. That's a very rough guess with tonnes of assumptions.

Edited August 22, 2015 by mr dodo

[C-town]

You can easily refill cartridges using a blunt tip syringe. I do it often. For me, it's one of the cleanest and most contained ways to fill a pen. You don't even have to wipe the nib!

The cartridge will eventually wear out after being taken of and put back on the post in the pen. It will wear even faster if you squeeze to charge the feed.

It would be difficult to fill them and carry them with you unless you have some sort of method for revealing the cartridges. Other than that, I would take some new ones with you in case you run out.