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Problems With Converter


GillianV

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Hello, I just bought a converter after always using cartridges but I have some issues.

When I just got ink in it, there wasn't comming any out, so I made the piston go in a bit further, but then ink splashed out, when I had found the right balance, it still skipped some pieces of a line and I saw that it was clogging up paper fiber.

Is there anyway to fix this?

Thanks in advance :)

 

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They can be sensitive.

 

I usually remove the convertor and put ink in it directly with syringe, if the pen has a great flow through the nib then I fill through the nib. Or I put the convertor into the ink supply directly, often I get a bit on my fingers....

 

One trick for filling through the nib is to turn the convertor and wait a few seconds each time, that may get a more full experience for you.

 

As well it's practical to turn the convertor a few times slowly to send a few drops back into the ink supply to ensure a better air pocket.

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I always fill with the converter inside the pen, through the nib, unless it isn't possible, say when there is only a tiny amount left in a sample vial. The tip about getting rid of a couple of drops back into the bottle if the converter is full is a good tip. :)

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I have found that cartridges, factory filled or refilled with a syringe, work much better than converters in Parker, Sheaffer, Lamy and Waterman pens. I don't know why. Air leaks in converters? I just know what I have been seeing after using cartridges in several pens that were hard starters with converters.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Some pens just don't work happily with a convertor, for various reasons over my 30 years...

 

I like convertor pens and I like piston fillers as well, no major hierarchy for my interests.

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yeah it's weird, I have alot of parker pens but decided to buy a cheap one which came with a converter from china, got it for €2.5 and it's not bad for the money, idk why I prefer it over the 'good' ones maybe the weight

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I have found converters made locally by local pen companies with little crystal balls in them. These are international standard size but the ball is removable. I take out the ball from these and put it in Parker. Sheaffer and other proprietary converters and the surface tension issue is resolved in most cases.

Edited by mitto

Khan M. Ilyas

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Might be I am getting it wrong but FOA converter are supposed to be seated into the pen fully engaged thus sealing the mating nipple and opening. If one do not seat it tight and all the way in one risk leakage and flow issues.

 

I al most always fill my converter through the nib as this force the air in between out and saturate the feed at the same time taking away one major factor flow would develop problem

 

Skipping can develop when there is simply air gap in between the ink reservoir and the end of the nib and this can be alleviated by saturating these area by putting the pen in a horizontal position that get the ink into interim

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Hello, I just bought a converter after always using cartridges but I have some issues.

When I just got ink in it, there wasn't comming any out, so I made the piston go in a bit further, but then ink splashed out, when I had found the right balance, it still skipped some pieces of a line and I saw that it was clogging up paper fiber.

Is there anyway to fix this?

Thanks in advance :)

 

 

What is clogged up with paper fibers; the nib or the converter?

It should be the nib, not the converter.

 

What ink are you using?

If the ink is a dry ink like Pelikan, or a highly staturated ink, it could/would slow down the ink flow, possibly causing skipping or no ink to flow.

 

When ink does not flow, hold the pen nib down, open the pen and look at the converter.

Is the ink stuck in the back of the converter with an air bubble at the front?

If so, then that is a surface tension problem.

My fix is to put a stainless steel ball into the converter. The SS ball has the mass/weight to drop through the ink and break the surface tension. The plastic balls in some converter is just for show, it is too light to fall through the ink.

Not all converters can be opened, I have never been able to open a Parker screw converter or a Sheaffer converter.

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