Is There Supposed To Be Something Loose In My Pilot Con-50 Converter?

[eharriett]

Just got a replacement nib unit for my daily work carry, my Pilot VP (I love it as a daily work pen, btw). When I got the pen originally, I also got a con-20 aero converter to go along with it because of the ink capacity, so I never paid much attention to the 50 it came with. Shoved it in the box and forgot about it. When I got the replacement nib today, I looked a bit more carefully and saw there was a little grayish plug just rattling around in the converter. I looked back at the old one and saw the same thing. Is this in all Con-50 converters, or just the VP's? Does it serve a purpose? Do I need to try and extract it? Seems like having something solid and loose in an ink converter could become a problem.

[LizEF]

Yes, that's normal and comes in all CON-50s. It's to break surface tension on the ink to help it flow better. No, don't extract it - it's no problem. In the newer CON-40s, there are ball bearings and a little cage to keep them inside. They make less noise, but the converter itself doesn't seem to work as well.

[eharriett]

That is a relief! Thank you.