Syringes, O Rings, Silicon Grease - & Ink On My Fingers

[DianaMurray]

Hi Guys,

 

I intro'd myself about a month ago and since then have been exploring the wonderful world of fountain pens (on the discount side). My question is at the end of my little narrative.

 

I ordered a converter for a Pilot Preppy - not sure what it's called, it's the type that you turn a little screw and it theoretically fills up (but didn't all the way....). Then I got the bright idea that I could reuse a cartridge if I filled it up with a syringe - and discovered that other people had beaten me to the punch, but never mind, ordered the syringes and got to it.

 

I would advise anyone who is new to this to put on a pair of plastic gloves (the kind they put in hair coloring kits) for your first few tries. Because ink has a way of squirting, and dribbling, and dropping in places where there are air bubbles and other obstructions our eyes can't see.

 

My first attempt at filling a cartridge was simultaneously hilarious & abysmal. I accidentally dropped ink on a bureau drawer top (luckily covered in plastic for just such occurrences), and got the ink on my hands, because I didn't anticipate that you really do have to forcefully insert the syringe into the hole in the cartridge. And there was an air bubble in the cartridge.

 

Do this over a sink. Wear gloves.

 

That adventure over, I wondered why you can't just dispense with cartridges & converters and put ink into the barrel of the darn pen, and discovered....you can. Duh, others have figured out this amazing technological feat, so I did some looking on the 'net, and saw two approaches: one with the O-ring, one without.

 

What is the purpose of the O-ring? I get the purpose of the silicone grease, which is easily obtainable in a hardware store, but the tiny little O-ring? Not so easily obtainable, and which may vary in size according to the pen? Why does one need this?

Edited April 16, 2016 by Dianamoon

[ISW_Kaputnik]

...What is the purpose of the O-ring? I get the purpose of the silicone grease, which is easily obtainable in a hardware store, but the tiny little O-ring? Not so easily obtainable, and which may vary in size according to the pen? Why does one need this?

 

You probably don't need an O-ring for most eyedropper conversions. It has been suggested for the Platinum Preppy on the assumption that ink might tend to creep along the threads even with silicone grease, because the threads are coarser than with other pens. I don't know if this is actually true, but that's the idea.

 

You can get an assortment pack of small O-rings at most hardware stores for very little, and probably one or two will be the right size. Goulet Pens sells a four pack of "Preppy" O-rings for $2. Not worth the postage of ordering separately, obviously.

Edited April 16, 2016 by ISW_Kaputnik

[DrDebG]

Love your discussion. Yes, I remember my first try at filling a converter with a syringe. Ink everywhere! Just a quick technique suggestion: make sure that you have a "needle" with your syringe. I use the big, blunt end kind used for filling copier ink. Anyway, insert the needle all the way to the bottom of the converter or cartridge and very slowly fill it. It will eliminate some of the bubbles. If you go to fast you will capture bubbles.

 

And when you are filling the pen directly from the bottle, with the converter installed, of course, you may have to twist the end of the converter, fill it once, then dispense back into the bottle, then fill again, in order to get a full converter. Just make sure that you have thoroughly cleaned your pen and converter in order to not contaminate your ink bottle.

 

As to your question, are you trying to convert a Preppy to an eyedropper? If you are just going to use the converter in your pen, you shouldn't need an O-ring or silicone. If it is the properly sized converter, it should just fit into the nib section.

 

As ISW-Kaputnik said, check out Goulet Pens. They also have a great resources and videos for you to watch. I believe they even have a video on how to make your pen into an eyedropper.

 

Good luck!

[gzp]

The o ring is just an extra precaution, similar to your suggestion of wearing gloves. Not absolutely necessary but helps to avoid potential mess.

[DianaMurray]

As to your question, are you trying to convert a Preppy to an eyedropper? If you are just going to use the converter in your pen, you shouldn't need an O-ring or silicone. If it is the properly sized converter, it should just fit into the nib section.

 

 

I may not have made myself clear. I am speaking solely about using the barrel as the ink well, and dispensing with the converters & cartridges entirely. And I'm referring to any pen, not just a Preppy, although I suppose that if I were dealing with an expensive fountain pen, the cartridge/converter is a precaution against getting something valuable messed up with ink. I can see that. But that's not my problem - yet.

 

I'm not unhappy with cartridges and with converters. I just think, why use them if I don't have to?

 

PS my hands are almost clean - I just have that grade school ink in the corner of my thumbnail look. My finger looks 12. The rest of me does not.

Edited April 16, 2016 by Dianamoon

[DianaMurray]

Ink everywhere! Just a quick technique suggestion: make sure that you have a "needle" with your syringe. I use the big, blunt end kind used for filling copier ink. Anyway, insert the needle all the way to the bottom of the converter or cartridge and very slowly fill it. It will eliminate some of the bubbles. If you go to fast you will capture bubbles.

 

Thank you for these suggestions.

 

Yes, I bought a six-pack of copier ink syringes with the needles. I do think that probably the Goulet 2-pack is better, because the needles are shorter. These needs are pretty darned long, but this is what I got, and I'll learn to handle them.

 

Gosh, this is so much fun. Now I have to buy more Preppy's and fill them up with the ink samples I ordered from Goulet.

 

And use a different pen for each sentence I write, because I can't figure out which ink I like best!!

 

I'm going nuts, as you can tell.

[DaveT]

Not all pens can use the barrel of the pen as the ink well. If parts of the barrel or nib section are metal it is not wise to fill these pens in this manner.

 

Some inks will stain the plastic barrel.

 

I'm sure there are other reasons not to do this as well.

[mhpr262]

I have three Diplomat Excellence As which already come come from the factory with an O-ring installed below the thread. Most likely this is just meant as a precaution against a cartridge or converter that has been shaken loose inside the barrel and is making a mess, but you could probably use them as an eyedropper without modfications. I have no intention of trying out myself however, because I can't warm to the idea of messing up the insides of my nice pens with ink. Plus I rather like the ritual of filling my empty cartrdges and converters with a syringe. Sometimes I only fill them halfway so I get to do it more often.

[DianaMurray]

"Plus I rather like the ritual of filling my empty cartrdges and converters with a syringe. Sometimes I only fill them halfway so I get to do it more often."

 

I can see that.

 

But for some people filling & refilling would be

[DianaMurray]

Not all pens can use the barrel of the pen as the ink well. If parts of the barrel or nib section are metal it is not wise to fill these pens in this manner.

 

Some inks will stain the plastic barrel.

 

I'm sure there are other reasons not to do this as well.

 

Oh definitely. When I get that $32K pen that keeps popping up on my ad feed, I will certainly use cartridges, or a converter.

 

Messing up that pen would surely be pennywise, pound foolish.

[Runnin_Ute]

Some materials (metal) pens don't work as eyedroppers. Plus there are other drawbacks as well.

[ac12]

Few tips.

- Get a baking tray, the one with raised sides all around, and line it with paper towels. This will help to contain any spills.

- Get something STURDY and STABLE to hold the ink cartridge as you fill it.

- Depending on the shape of the ink bottle, get something STABLE to hold it, to prevent knocking it over and creating a MESS. The tall Noodler's bottles are especially easy to knock over.

- Position the ink bottle behind the cartridge, so that you do not reach over the ink bottle as you fill the cartridge. This reduces the chance of knocking the ink bottle over.

- Open the ink bottle just before you are ready to load the cartridge, and close the ink bottle ASAP after you fill the cartridge. This is the minimizes the time that the source of the potentially largest spill is open.

 

- I use a plastic tub to wash my pens in. Then I pour the inky water into the toilet and IMMEDIATELY flush the toilet. This is to minimize the chances of staining the porcelain sink. Better if you have a stainless steel sink that you can work in.

 

gud luk

Edited April 16, 2016 by ac12

[Piper 987]

I ordered a converter for a Pilot Preppy - not sure what it's called, it's the type that you turn a little screw and it theoretically fills up (but didn't all the way....).

 

It used to annoy me that converters didn't fill completely until I figured the reason. There is some air in the feed ahead of the converter and this air is going to be sucked up into the converter before ink is taken up.

 

So I started to take the converter by itself and put it in an ink bottle, drawing up only ink. There's still air in the feed so I would put the converter in place and then push the piston down while the tip of the pen was in the ink bottle, displacing the air into the ink bottle. No more air in the feed. Finally, draw ink back up and the converter would be full and the pen ready to go with ink already in the feed.

 

It only takes a few extra seconds and it's satisfying to see the converter completely full of ink. Now that you mention it, yes, my wife does say I'm OCD. Why do you ask?

Edited April 16, 2016 by Piper 987

[Sasha Royale]

Gloves are a good idea. Inject ink s-l-o-w-l-y into the cartridge. It avoids dramatic events.

Another addition -- I bought a plastic tray from the dollar store. It is clean, and things don't roll away.

[Zookie]

I converted a cartridge pen to a bulb filler once. That was fun!

Works nicely!!

[Recoil Rob]

My experience with Platinum Preppies..

 

I bought three for everyday use, purchased the silicone grease and O rings from Goulet and filled them up with an eyedropper.

 

All three blobbed. Meaning, about 30 seconds after I started to use them the heat from my hand heated and expanded the ink. I suspect that in the confines of the rigid pen body it had no where to go but out the tip and ... blob.

 

I switched to using and refilling cartridges or using a converter, problem solved. Perhaps the space between the pen body and the cartridge or converter insulated the ink from the heat of my hand or they allowed for expansion. Either way, problem solved.

 

Also, to refill cartridges I use a plastic syringe that was used for a prescribed cream and insert the plastic tube from an air can (Dust Off) in the end. Fits right into the cartridge end.

 

Edited April 17, 2016 by Recoil Rob

[aeba]

Slightly another style for refilling catridges. You could try palming the cartridge in one hand and guide needle on the syring with thumb and index finger of the same hand.

 

One day when you are cleaning out long cartridges, and especially Parker long cartridges, you may find out that those long 40mm (1½") needles are actually pretty nice.

[dcwaites]

Hi Guys,

 

...

 

Do this over a sink. Wear gloves.

 

...

 

There is only one problem with wearing gloves. You will never be able to participate in this forum.

[DianaMurray]

 

There is only one problem with wearing gloves. You will never be able to participate in this forum.

 

Is there a more emphatic way of writing LOL?

[Sailor Kenshin]

I may not have made myself clear. I am speaking solely about using the barrel as the ink well, and dispensing with the converters & cartridges entirely. And I'm referring to any pen, not just a Preppy, although I suppose that if I were dealing with an expensive fountain pen, the cartridge/converter is a precaution against getting something valuable messed up with ink. I can see that. But that's not my problem - yet.

 

I'm not unhappy with cartridges and with converters. I just think, why use them if I don't have to?

 

PS my hands are almost clean - I just have that grade school ink in the corner of my thumbnail look. My finger looks 12. The rest of me does not.

I still have a teal thumbnail-corner, ten days later.