Demonstrator Vs. Opaque

[kl005]

Hello everyone, I'd like to seek your advice.

 

I have a few pens, most of which are demonstrator/clear models, while some are not. For the non-clear models, they are cartridge/converter type pens, so I can unscrew the body to check the remaining ink levels in the converter.I should also mention that I have a fear of running out of ink while not having an ink source readily available.

 

Here's the dilemma: I have very much fallen in love with the Stealth Conid Bulkfiller (https://www.conidpen.com/shop/r-bcb-bb-ft-st/), and am planning on getting one sometime this year. However, due to its construction, there is no way of easily telling how much ink is left in the pen, or how full a fill was obtained. I understand that there is an ink window, which I don't really have experience with.

 

So, I have the following questions:

How do you determine your ink levels in opaque pens?

How do you get over the fear of running out of ink?

 

Thank you!

[SpecTP]

Hello everyone, I'd like to seek your advice.

 

I have a few pens, most of which are demonstrator/clear models, while some are not. For the non-clear models, they are cartridge/converter type pens, so I can unscrew the body to check the remaining ink levels in the converter.I should also mention that I have a fear of running out of ink while not having an ink source readily available.

 

Here's the dilemma: I have very much fallen in love with the Stealth Conid Bulkfiller (https://www.conidpen.com/shop/r-bcb-bb-ft-st/), and am planning on getting one sometime this year. However, due to its construction, there is no way of easily telling how much ink is left in the pen, or how full a fill was obtained. I understand that there is an ink window, which I don't really have experience with.

 

So, I have the following questions:

How do you determine your ink levels in opaque pens?

How do you get over the fear of running out of ink?

 

Thank you!

 

The ink window is sufficient to indicate the relative fill capacity of the ink. As to fear of running out of ink, carry a second pen.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I have the following questions:

How do you determine your ink levels in opaque pens?

How do you get over the fear of running out of ink?

 

Thank you!

 

Some of the pens I use have transparent converters, and I just take the barrel off if I want to check. But of course that doesn't apply to the Conid. And I use pens with built in filling systems too.

 

I don't fear running out of ink. The obvious answer if you're going to be doing a lot of writing is to bring at least one spare pen.

 

I do have one pen with an ink window, a Lamy 2000, and have found that it actually is a useful early warning system. When the ink first sinks below it, I probably have two pages left, or maybe a little more (which still means I should have either a spare pen or an ink bottle). You'd have to work out from experience how much writing you have left when the Conid shows low levels. But many pens have a surprising amount of writing in them even when they seem to be dry. Feeds can hold more ink that you'd expect.

[ridiculopathy]

It turns out I only have one non-C/C opaque fountain pen...a Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl. I hold the pen nib up and slowly twist the piston until I can see the shine of ink welling up in the feed to gauge how much ink is left.

 

Like the others have said, I don't worry about running out of ink by carrying more than one pen with me.

[KLscribbler]

1. How to determine ink levels in opaque pens - by experience. Once you've used a particular pen for a while, you start getting a sense of approximately how long it can write before you'll need to refill.

 

Also, many pens show subtle "symptoms" when they are almost, but not yet completely, out of ink. Some pens will have drier inkflow (i.e. less inkflow than usual) when they are close to empty. On the other hand, many pens with massive ink capacity, e.g. some eyedropper pens, will have a greater than normal amount of inkflow when almost empty, due to the expansion of a larger air volume inside the pen barrel as the pen heats up from the body heat of your hand.

 

With experience using each of your particular pens, you start picking up on these signs and symptoms, and thus get clued-in on when each pen might need refilling.

 

2. How to overcome the fear of running out of ink - always have a backup pen on hand. This was something I learned quickly when in secondary school, after running out of ink in the middle of long class essays a few times. As long as you have two pens on hand, and provided you have a decent amount of discipline in making sure those two are topped up as necessary, it's highly unlikely you'll ever run dry.

 

Also, I imagine at least some of your pens take cartridges. It doesn't hurt to keep a couple of spare cartridges around in your bag or pen case.

 

And lastly, regarding ink windows - the vast majority of them are more than sufficient for you to check the actual ink level in the pen. Probably the trickiest commonly-encountered ink window is the Lamy 2000 one, because it is so narrow and somewhat frosted... but with a bit of practice, one eventually learns how to read the ink level in a 2000 quickly.

[sidthecat]

The pen generally lets me know when it’s out of ink. If you’re angsty about it, get a couple of Nalgene ink sample bottles...enough for several fills and way cheaper than those Visconti bottles.

[A Smug Dill]

How do you determine your ink levels in opaque pens?

The vast majority of my pens use converters, so as you said, unscrewing the section from the barrel will let you see how much ink remains. Translating the apparent level of remaining ink into some measure of pages of writing (or writing time) is a different matter.

 

The Aurora 88 and Optima variants that I have all have ink windows, and in any case, they're designed to hold a small amount of reserve that becomes available for use when the piston knob is extended, supposedly sufficient for several pages' worth of writing. The Pelikan M600 Vibrant Orange and PenBBS 309 'Cloud' are translucent, and the amount of ink remaining can be discerned just by looking at the barrel.

 

I should also mention that I have a (1.) fear of running out of ink while (2.) not having an ink source readily available.

...snip...

How do you get over the fear of running out of ink?

Firstly, I'll assume you want to write with a fountain pen (or that particular fountain pen). It's OK to be denied what you want, it's not the end of the world, but just a setback you'd have to accept and get around. Making sure you always get what you want is not any part of addressing the 'fear' you described.

 

I don't get the fear of running out of ink. Back when I was at university, of course every student is advised to bring multiple pens into the examination hall with him or her, in case one or even two of them stop functioning abruptly, and of course it is critical that the user can continue to put words on paper in the face of that. I find it interesting that you don't refer to your fear as being of the pen just quitting on you for any reason outside of being depleted of ink.

 

Let's not assume you will or should always get what you want, but look at what you can do in the alternative. It's OK for 'reality' to smack you in the face from time to time and deny you your preferred writing experience and/or outcome.

 

So what is the true nature of that fear? And how would you like to 'get over' it by taking practical measures to eliminate the triggers as much as possible, or by making psychological adjustments on your part?

 

Practical measures could be:

• (i) Determining the full ink capacity of your fountain pen of choice, and (ii) confirming whether a fresh and full fill would sustain and fulfil your requirements, for a single writing session or occasion, when you don't have an ink source readily available, then (iii) ensuring you fill your pen fully, before removing yourself from an ink source (e.g. heading out), on each occasion on which you expect to have to write with that pen; or
• Bring an ink source (bottle or 'spare' cartridges, whichever works for your pen) with you on each occasion on which you expect to have to write with that pen.

Thus, you would be trading effort and (possibly) inconvenience for freedom from that fear. Nobody said it'd be 'free' or effortless.

 

Psychological measures, on the other hand, warrants exploration of:

• How did you 'get over' (or never developed) a fear of a pen malfunctioning on you, for other reasons than running out of ink, so that it would stop writing mid-session?

If you don't 'fear' a pen malfunctioning on you mid-session because you have faith/confidence, on the basis of track record or statistics, that it won't, then the above would reasonably and sufficiently address that 'fear' at a 'price'.

 

If you don't 'fear' it because you can write with another pen (that you bring with you, or borrow from someone else in the room), even if that isn't what you prefer to do, then you can apply the same treatment to the 'fear' of running out of ink, no matter what it does to your ego and/or perceived convenience and comfort.

Edited March 2, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[Jerome Tarshis]

I haven't been in school for decades, nor have I been employed in an office for a long time now, but:

 

When I was going to school or to work, I carried one fountain pen filled every morning, plus one ballpoint pen to use as a backup if the fountain pen ran out of ink. My fountain pen almost never ran out of ink, but at least I knew I could continue writing if it did.

 

It is also true that when I was going to school or to work, the school or the office tended to have ink bottles available if anyone needed to refill a pen. In elementary school our desks had inkwells filled with ink when we began writing in ink.

 

That was a long time ago. Today it shouldn't be any trouble to keep a bottle of ink in one's desk. For those who don't have office jobs, greater resourcefulness may be needed, of course. But I've gotten through life without worrying that I might run out of ink. Now that I've become a pen hobbyist, I can easily carry two or three fountain pens and worry about feeling pretentious.

[Karmachanic]

As mentioned earlier, pay attention to the ink window. Once you see light at the top of the window check how long/many pages 'til empty? Do this once and you're set.

Edited March 1, 2019 by Karmachanic

[PAKMAN]

Many ink windows are small and you really have to hold the pen on it's side to see how much ink is really in the pen. A spare non fountain pen is always an option for the fear of running out of ink.

[mallymal1]

Top up your main pen, on a regular basis...and carry multiple pens.

 

Hope you get your Conid.

[tinta]

My Sailor C/C pens tend to flow more freely just before their converters are empty. Not a hard & fast rule, but most of the time.

 

At home my ink stash is on hand. But when traveling about, I carry a cartridge pen & a spare cart just in case I run out. My latest Kaweco Special FP can fit two international short cartridges, back-to-back. The spare cart is in the pen.

Edited March 1, 2019 by tinta

[Runnin_Ute]

Most of my pens are either cc, piston with an ink window or have some translucency to them. As others have noted, a second pen is often a good idea.

 

Right now I have two piston filler pens with translucent barrels (Pelikan 140 and M400 White Tortoise), three with ink windows (M200'S- Brown Marbled, Blue Marbled and Cognac), a demo and three cc pens. Oh and a P51 Vacumatic. I have run out with it unexpectedly and didn't have a second pen handy. My bad.

 

Actually my M200 Cognac is technically a demo, but it is pretty opaque and I have other pens that are easier to tell ink level.

[CS388]

As PAKMAN points out, ink windows can be at their most useful if you hold the pen horizontally to check the amount of ink, especially to check how full you've filled your pen.

 

As for opaque pens - well, I still never know when they'll run out on me. I usually get a few warning signs - a skip, or ink becoming thinner and drier, but I can often be taken by surprise.

 

I'm such a FP'er these days, that I always have a full spare pen, which I'd rather use than fill up in 'public'.

 

Enjoy.

[Maccabeus]

My current EDC pens are a Ranga 3C and an ASA Genius. As KLscribbler said, you develop a feel for when your pens are in need of a refill. With the Ranga, I just count on topping it off once a week whether it needs it or not. Since the Genius only holds 3ml, I might check it mid-week or just live dangerously and wait for the ink flow to change.

[BaronWulfraed]

Not mentioned is... pointing the nib at the sky and actuating the fill mechanism slowly to get an idea of how far it moves before ink begins to pool at the base of the nib.

 

Of course, if one is going to that effort to estimate fill level, one might as well then invert the pen into a bottle of ink and fill it full.

[Driften]

Having an ink window is normally good enough. It's when the pen is opaque and doesn't have any sort of ink window where its a bigger guess.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Humidity or 'ink mist' is normal behind a piston......one don't see that in a translucent pen.

 

Most folks with a clear demonstrator wants to take the pen apart to clean up the humidity drops or the ink mist.....................and certain pens are not made to yank apart, like a vintage Geha Demonstrator, or a 400 Pelikan demonstrator. The 800 can be taken apart and cleaned weekly......or daily.

 

A translucent pen will show you the guts well enough.....with out the urge to tear the pen apart because of normal humidity or a mist of ink.

 

If one wants a demonstrator buy Twsbi pens which are made to be torn apart.

[kl005]

Thank you everyone for the constructive comments and advice! I guess I will have to get to know my pen better if and when I get it.

 

 

I'd like to address this in greater detail:

 

Psychological measures, on the other hand, warrants exploration of:

• How did you 'get over' (or never developed) a fear of a pen malfunctioning on you, for other reasons than running out of ink, so that it would stop writing mid-session?

If you don't 'fear' a pen malfunctioning on you mid-session because you have faith/confidence, on the basis of track record or statistics, that it won't, then the above would reasonably and sufficiently address that 'fear' – at a 'price'.

If you don't 'fear' it because you can write with another pen (that you bring with you, or borrow from someone else in the room), even if that isn't what you prefer to do, then you can apply the same treatment to the 'fear' of running out of ink, no matter what it does to your ego and/or perceived convenience and comfort.

 

 

I guess I've never had a pen die on me at a critical time, so I never really developed that fear. All my pen mishaps happened in relatively safe environments where i was able to dismantle the pen and wash out the parts at my leisure. I've also never had catastrophic failures, like springing the nib or having the body break, so I guess that I'm fortunate in that regard.

 

In addition to being conscientious about my pens' ink levels and refilling them, I will probably keep my trusty Pilot G1 as a backup, just in case.

 

Thank you all!

[Bo Bo Olson]

It appears to me, from your comments of always cleaning your pen....dissembling to do so!!!

 

Is well over drawn.

 

That one can and does change ink colors with out dissembling a pen as 'normal'.

Running water though it one way or the other....

 

Always or often dissembling a pen to clean it means you are over doing it. Either from misunderstanding how and why to clean a pen to change ink, or having some neatness problem.