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How Do You Saturate A Feed After Installing A Cartridge...?


tinta

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I'm quite new to using international cartridges,...in fact, all cartridges.

 

My first kick at the cartridge can was with Sailor carts. They come with clear instructions that say to plug the cart firmly into the section to break the seal, then squeeze (& pump) the cartridge till some ink starts filling the feed combs under the nib. Then you should be ready to write.

 

With an international cartridge, you press the cart firmly on the feed's nipple till you feel the little ball (seal) break through, then you firmly seat the cartridge. This is the easy part.

 

But, how do you saturate the inner comb structure of the feed enough for ink to flow to the nib? :unsure:

 

I have read some posts that say to squeeze the cart (like what Sailor advises), others say that squeezing a cartridge is not a good practice.

If your pen's section starts out clean & completely dry, what methods do you use to saturate your feed so that you can write?

 

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

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I use cartridges seldom, so I will be interested in the advice from more experienced users. That said, I usually squeeze the cartridge, as described. Another method I like in theory, although I have yet to try it, is to install the cartridge, then dip the nib in water and scribble until the ink is flowing well. The water encourages the ink to flow by capillary action. I don't fully understand the physics of this, but it works.

 

David

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You can shake the pen, forcing the ink moving toward the nib, will take some time to saturate the feed.

Also you can rest the pen nib down on a paper tissue...

On both method will take up to a minute or more, depending on the feed size and ink propriety.

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Mostly, if I use a cartridge, it's in a pen that was previously filled using a converter, but which I want to refill on the fly. In that case, the feed is going to have some ink in it still. I don't worry too much about mixing most of the inks that I use in this way; it's not like I'm going to be mixing Bay State Blue with Sailor Jentle Doyou.

 

If I am putting a cartridge in a "dry" pen, then in my case it will probably be a situation where I don't need to use the pen right away, and can leave the pen lying flat until the ink works its way down naturally. Sometimes it helps to leave the pen nib down, checking on it periodically. In many cases this works fine, but in a couple it led to a cap full of ink. The different ways pens react to the position they're left in is something you learn from experience with your own pens.

 

I've had mixed results with squeezing cartridges. Sometimes it works, but sometimes I've had a drop of ink drip off the end, and the feed still hasn't been saturated.

 

Mostly these days I avoid using cartridges.

"So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."

 

- Benjamin Franklin

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You could leave it nib down for an hour or two... and let gravity and maybe capillary action do the work for you.

 

Or you could gently squeeze the cartridge. Cheaper cartridges can split if you stress the plastic too much (squeeze too often, too hard).

 

I usually use a converter.

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You could leave it nib down for an hour or two... and let gravity and maybe capillary action do the work for you.

 

Or you could gently squeeze the cartridge. Cheaper cartridges can split if you stress the plastic too much (squeeze too often, too hard).

 

I usually use a converter.

 

I don't cart much either, but I recently wanted to test drive a new arrival, had a cart within arms reach, & pretty much went this route. Popped the cart in, gave a gentle squeeze, then left it capped nib down for a couple of hours.

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I use no cartridges at all. Sometimes an older pen with cap breather holes will dry out. I dip it in water, as discussed above. However, despite a dry nib and feed this situation is arguably different from the case described, where everything is dry below the cartridge.

X

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According to this page about starting with a fresh cartridge and feed, the quickest way is:

 

 

 

squeeze plus 5 shakes and 2 minutes rest

 

The website is by Pen Engineer, who posts on here too. He's an ex-Lamy (I think) engineer.

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I put the Cartridge in then shake the pen like I would to expel water after a flushing. takes 10 seconds and pen is ready to write with. This method has never failed me yet.

 

David

For so long as one hundred men remain alive,we shall never under any conditions submit to the

domination of the English. It is not for glory or riches or honours that we fight, but only for liberty, which

no good man will consent to lose but with his life.

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Every time I shake a pen, I find a fresh location where there is ink.

 

 

ETA: too tired for grammar

Edited by praxim

X

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I insert the cartridge, give it a squeeze or 2 , then use a paper towel to coax the ink into the tip by rubbing it on the breather hole side. Usually takes a few seconds and boom! Ready to write.

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I think post #8 makes most sense, I don't believe too much in squeezing: it increases the presure and it helps in wetting the internal surfaces, so that's good. But if you release the pressure you get some suction, the only advantage remaining is the wetted track the ink has to follow. So wetting the nib helps for the last part, wetting the whole feed? Fine, but if done with water a temporary ink dilution effect occurs, resulting in a lighter writing for some time. In fact it all comes to capillary forces

Edited by El Gordo

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I'm quite new to using international cartridges,...in fact, all cartridges.

 

My first kick at the cartridge can was with Sailor carts. They come with clear instructions that say to plug the cart firmly into the section to break the seal, then squeeze (& pump) the cartridge till some ink starts filling the feed combs under the nib. Then you should be ready to write.

 

With an international cartridge, you press the cart firmly on the feed's nipple till you feel the little ball (seal) break through, then you firmly seat the cartridge. This is the easy part.

 

But, how do you saturate the inner comb structure of the feed enough for ink to flow to the nib? :unsure:

 

I have read some posts that say to squeeze the cart (like what Sailor advises), others say that squeezing a cartridge is not a good practice.

If your pen's section starts out clean & completely dry, what methods do you use to saturate your feed so that you can write?

 

Leave it closed, nib-down, for a while. Or dip in ink and write until the feed saturates.

 

Squeezing is just asking for a busted cart.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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I do not squeeze cartridges, particularly the International Standard or Parker Standard. If the pen is dry and has not been used for awhile I first run some water through until it drips from the nib, then put the cartridge in and wrap a paper towel around the nib and feed to draw out the water. When you get ink on the towel instead of water you should be good to go.

 

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I've never found squeezing an international cartridge to be helpful in saturating the feed. I generally quarter a kleenex, cover the nib, and swing the pen. I check every swing, and when there is ink, I can write. I didn't use to check every swing, and ended up with a bit of a mess on a throw rug.

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One data point: I found squeezing ineffective and feared what swinging the pen might do to my surroundings. So I used either the @zwack nib-down-for-two-hours method or the @Sailor Kenshin dip-in-ink-and-write-until-the-feed-saturates method if I'm in a hurry to use the pen. Added bonus to option #2 - watching the color change.

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One data point: I found squeezing ineffective and feared what swinging the pen might do to my surroundings. So I used either the @zwack nib-down-for-two-hours method or the @Sailor Kenshin dip-in-ink-and-write-until-the-feed-saturates method if I'm in a hurry to use the pen. Added bonus to option #2 - watching the color change.

 

Ahhhh! I used to LIVE for that. :)

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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Hi,

 

I rarely start a dry pen from a cartridge, and am reluctant to put much of a squeeze (more that a cuddle) on anything but a Sheaffer cartridge, but...

 

S1 1st Attempt : I pierce the cartridge in the pen, then remove it, and ever so gently coax ink from the cartridge onto the pen's feed comb closest to the mount, then onto the pen's nib+feed, then re-insert the cartridge on the section nipple. With Good Fortune enough ink has migrated to initiate capillary action. Yet there's this ...

 

I've use the 'dip it in water' method described above, which [partially] floods the feed+collector, then write-out the water until what comes from the nib is good to go.

 

The application of physical energy, such as shaking does work, but I prefer a gentle approach: take your pen hula dancing . :)

 

Perhaps a combo of those methods will suit various pens and situations - on to the Realm of Nuances!

 

Bye,

S1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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What I do is hard to explain in words but I will do my best.

 

After inserting the cartridge and reassembling the pen, I firmly grasp the pen in my right hand like I am going to write with it. Then I hit the bottom of my right hand onto the palm of my left hand being careful not to hit the pen on anything. Usually within 3 or 4 firm hits of my hands the pen is writing. I hope this makes sense.

 

It's like a good firm shake but I think the quick stopping motion of the shake forces a fair amount of ink into the feed.

 

I do not advise doing this if you do not think you can hang on to the pen.

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I use the same Jar's technique , put the nib below the flow of the water faucet and then put a piece of toilet paper below the nib until the ink comes out, then I leave the pen upside down a couple of hours.

For me the best saturation I get is after 5~7 days I inked a pen.

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