Only Half Filling Ink Converter

[Elskn]

Hi everyone,

 

This might seem a silly question, but we never learned about ink converters in school, we always had to use cartridges.

So I was wondering, do I need to fill the converter all the way, or can I just fill it up a for little bit? Id love to switch between different colours of ink without having to waist an entire cartridge/converter full of ink but Im worried that there would be excess air or something.

 

Thanks!

[JefferyS]

When it fills half way up, you can take the pen (or converter) up out of the ink, and gently tap it while pointed upward. This should move the ink to the back of the converter. Then expel the air that is in the top of the converter, and repeat the refill method.

[Elskn]

That is very helpful, thank you so much!

[CraigR]

I often partially fill converters and have done so for many years. Having a good number of pens, I sometimes just don't want to use a pen long enough to empty a full converter. The idea of returning unused ink to the bottle does not appeal to me and I hate to waste ink by flushing unused ink from the converter.

 

Elskn, I notice that you have 2 posts so far and may be new to the forum. Welcome!

Edited June 22, 2018 by CraigR

[amberleadavis]

Yes, welcome to FPN and you can fill smaller amounts - Cyber6 does this a lot so that she can really test her inks.

[Arkanabar]

There is no requirement to completely top up your converter as full as it can go. A number of us like to do so, but that hardly means you have to like it too.

 

eta: so if you don't want to fully fill, what I'd do is draw in two or three turns of the knob, and holding the pen point-down over the ink, fill the converter the rest of the way with air. This should draw excess ink from the feed into the converter.

Edited June 21, 2018 by Arkanabar

[lapis]

I almost never fill a converter up full. Especially when it's a brand new ink (to me). If I don't like it, it saves me and my pen time in washing and also saves ink to be chucked out before I save it for another day or another friend. I only fill up a conv 100% when I know the ink by heart and love the heck out of it. E.g. for my standard red (Diamine Poppy). I always have a pen filled with that as my pen for "corrections".

[Elskn]

Thank you so much everyone for the advice and the kind welcomes! You've cleared my mind from worries.

[Charles Skinner]

I fill the converter, and then let some out, perhaps about a 1/3 of what is in it. I have always been told that this is good because it forces some of the air out, making it a "better writer." Just me, poor earthen vessel that I am!

 

C. S.

[RayMan]

Yes, I generally only fill my converter partially.

[minddance]

A convertor will normally not fill completely unless you take the convertor out from the pen and fill it individually, i.e. dip part of the convertor into the ink bottle and fill instead of dipping the nib.

[torstar]

It's thinking too much...

[lgsoltek]

Yes it's totally okay to fill a converter half-full. I often do that, so I can finish a fill faster and switch into a different ink.

 

If it's an eye-dropper, filling it only half-full could result in ink burping out of the pen, because there is too much air in the barrel and the air expands easily with the warmth of your hand. But a converter is different from an eye-dropper. First it's too small in size. A half-filled converter doesn't contain as much air. Secondly, the converter is not in direct contact with your palm. There's also the outer barrel. So I don't think your body temperature will cause the ink in a converter to burp out.

[alexwi]

Hi,

 

I've used MInddance's technique (fill the converter directly from the bottle) when I wanted to ensure that the converter's as filled as possible.

 

Filling the mounted converter half-way, then turning the pen nib up and expelling the air from the converter can result in an air bubble forming around the nib, and those have a tendency to burst, so make sure you're not wearing white when you do this.

 

alex

[PAKMAN]

I like to change pens and inks more often so I too only partially fill my converters.

[Amory]

Is it half empty

Or

Is it half full

[alexwi]

Is it half empty

Or

Is it half full

 

Or maybe the converter's too big. Have you considered this third possibility?

[Amory]

No one has mentioned the importance of shaking bottle before adding ink to pen

[sansenri]

I often partially fill converters and have done so for many years. Having a good number of pens, I sometimes just don't want to use a pen long enough to empty a full converter. The idea of returning unused ink to the bottle does not appeal to me and I hate to waste ink by flushing unused ink from the converter.

 

Elskn, I notice that you have 2 posts so far and may be new to the forum. Welcome!

 

I often do the same thing. Fill the convert only partially, sometimes less than half and bring more pens with me. It sound silly but is a way to change pen often, and as CraigR said, not return unused ink to the bottles (nothing worse that this to potentially contaminate your ink with bacteria/moulds, or waste ink, which I also hate doing). Other times I fill the converters to the top, when I know I will need the full up (such as when travelling).

I half fill piston fillers too when I will not need the whole reservoir (piston fillers can hold more than CC). What I don't usually half fill is eyedropper pens, to avoid burping problems...

[Mulrich]

A convertor will normally not fill completely unless you take the convertor out from the pen and fill it individually, i.e. dip part of the convertor into the ink bottle and fill instead of dipping the nib.

 

I'll also directly fill the converter when using a particularly annoying/shallow ink bottle (here's looking at you Sailor).