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Favorite Filling Mechanism?


calvin_0

Favorite Filling Mechanism?  

138 members have voted

  1. 1. What Is everyone's favorite filling mechanism for fountain pen?



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Personally I feel a C/C is the most practical for use at work because I like the fallback of just slipping a new cartridge into the pen.

 

Outside of that? I'm quite fond of my Pelikan Level because I think it's very clever and practical: it has a very large ink capacity without the associated issues that eyedroppers can suffer from, and it's very quick, easy and clean to refill. Plus I believe it's airplane-safe (at least if you close off the valve to the nib or make sure that the smaller reservoir has no air before flying). Also it's a very unique system.

 

I don't have a vac filler yet, but I'm waiting for one in the post. I think it's arguably one of the best filling systems for a demonstrator because the ink fills almost the whole body, rather than just half the body in a piston filler. Of course an eyedropper has even less to distract from the ink, but it's less interesting and can have problems with air pressure that a vac filler can avoid thanks to the front seal.

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Plunge fill. My preferred purchase though is piston fill because there are few plunge fillers made with modern feeds.

 

Among piston fill, I prefer integrated systems over modular, despite the fact that in the latter case one can if needed substitute a cartridge for the converter.

 

I also prefer the pen to offer ink level visibility, no disassembly involved.

X

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I'm not fussy with filler mechanisms. Anything but sac though.

I rarely use my sac fillers nowadays. Pain to clean out :unsure: and the pesky things rot :mellow:

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I prefer vacuum fillers or cartridge/converters. I prefer vacuum fillers for their large ink capacity without messing with an eyedropper. I prefer cartridge/converters for pens where I change inks often.

Currently inked:

- Pilot Custom 743 <M> with Pilot Black

- Pelikan M120 Iconic Blue <B> with Pilot Blue

- Lamy Studio All Black <M> with Pilot Blue-Black

YouTube fountain pen reviews: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2qU4nlAfdZpQrSakktBMGg/videos

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I like the Star Trek filler, where you just beam the ink into the pen. Although persuading the time travel people to send you one can be difficult.

 

Other than that, I suppose that I prefer built in piston fillers. But I have other pens that I like with other mechanisms, and in fact, I rather enjoy owning a variety of them. I can think of ten different types of filler that I have. And if you broke down one of those, C/C fillers, into different types of mechanism for the converter, I can think of four types that I have, so that would be a total of thirteen overall.

 

But everything else being equal, which it rarely is, I'd say built in piston filler.

"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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Piston filler I guess, since it is the one with least drawbacks.

 

Converter has a drawback of ink capacity, eyedropper isn't the easiest to fill up, some Vacs has that extra step of unscrewing the blind.

The fact that you can get a piston filler at a relatively cheap price just made it easier choice if you want to account that factor.

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Easier to say what I don't like:

  • Cartridges - seems like a waste. (I'm never in a situation where the convenience is needed.)
  • Eyedropper - because all my attempts have led to blurping, so I've given up. (Might be because I'm at high altitude and in a desert.)
  • Sac - can't see a thing, harder to clean, blah blah.

For what I like, predictably enough, it depends. ;)

  • Piston - I like the "all in one"-ness and the look - both the mechanical "see piston" and the ink sloshing (mine is an Eco).
  • Vacuum - ditto the piston, plus it's kinda cool when the ink whooshes in - the act of filling this pen is more enjoyable than filling a piston. This one is also a demonstrator.
  • Converter - these are certainly convenient and worry-free (if it breaks, just get a new one; easy to clean). I don't like that they don't hold much ink, but that's not really a problem most of the time.

Unknown

  • I don't have any other filling mechanisms. I'm intrigued by the TWSBI Go enough that I will be buying one - it's kind of a cross between vacuum and piston. And there's something similar that I may buy, for curiosity's sake (not in this demonstrator version, but it gives the idea): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CT15WWL/ (chrisrap52 has a video showing both the sac and the piston versions of this - it's the piston version I'm interested in)
  • Other - if I knew of other filling mechanisms, I might be curious enough to try them - if it didn't cost too much to do so. :)
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Plunger (vacuum) filler, then piston filler. Once properly restored with the right materials, these pens hold a ton of ink, and keep working like the proverbial Energizer Bunny. Piston fillers can be fussy to repair, especially with cork.

 

At the bottom of the list are the Sheaffer snorkels. I know that some people like them, but they are a time consuming pain to restore.

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I'm not fussy with filler mechanisms. Anything but sac though.

 

I rarely use my sac fillers nowadays. Pain to clean out :unsure: and the pesky things rot :mellow:

 

 

Not if they use a Pli-glass sac!! LOL.

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I like piston fillers but at their prices I would be limited to fewer pens, and more importantly, inks. I don't mind converters as long as they work, even when they hold tiny amounts of ink, like Sailor's. Don't use any of the other methods.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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Eyedropper. Never an issue with having a deep enough bottle, nothing to break, holds as much ink as possible for the pen's size, dependable IF the pen and feed are properly designed, simple clean-up.

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."

Oscar Wilde

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For testing inks and nibs - piston converter, short fill.

For pens inked and occasionaly used- piston converter

For pen/ink combinations that I know I'll use for a while - Bulkfiller and/or ED.

For travel - Bulkfiller/ED with shut-off valve.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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