Broken Ribs

[spuriousgeorge]

Hi, everyone!

 

I recently switched from buying new Namiki cartridges to refilling old ones. The transition has gone great, except that the cartridges have little ribs running along their length, and once in a while those ribs spring a leak. Anyone know of a remedy?

 

Thanks ever so much.

Edited January 23, 2020 by spuriousgeorge

[welch]

Try a converter.

 

A cartridge is not designed to be pulled off and refilled. The idea, going way back to about 1960 with Parker's 45, was that the owner would buy cartridge after cartridge. That was based on the razor-blade economics: we, said companies like Gillette, sell you a razor on the cheap, and we make a profit by selling packs of razor blades on and on and on.

 

(The cartridge was also intended to compete with ballpoints, which were sold as the no-mess advance over the fountain pen.)

 

The converter lets you refill from a bottle without having to remove the converter -- a filling system. Incidentally, don't pull the converter to refill it and push it back on the pen. Doing that wears the converter just as you've found re-using a cartridge does.

[Driften]

Work out how many fills you get before it goes bad and replace them before you hit that limit, or move to a comparable converter...

[Karmachanic]

Last I looked Con-20s and Con-50s were available on aliexpress

[Bibliophage]

Try a converter.

 

A cartridge is not designed to be pulled off and refilled. The idea, going way back to about 1960 with Parker's 45, was that the owner would buy cartridge after cartridge. That was based on the razor-blade economics: we, said companies like Gillette, sell you a razor on the cheap, and we make a profit by selling packs of razor blades on and on and on.

 

Gillette got the idea from bottle cap manufacturers. They sold the crimping machines cheaply, and made their profit off of the caps.

[tamiya]

I recently switched from buying new Namiki cartridges to refilling old ones. The transition has gone great, except that the cartridges have little ribs running along their length, and once in a while those ribs spring a leak. Anyone know of a remedy?

Namiki=Pilot?

 

Are you squeezing them?

 

I've had carts give way from most brands from generic std ints to genuine Parker, Lamy & Sheaffer but don't remember a Pilot cart bursting on me. I don't squeeze them to prime the pen; I do remove carts & convertors to refill them though.

 

CON20 is good but I prefer the even simpler "flushing convertor" version. No idea where to buy separately but they're supplied with Parallel Pens. IMHO they hold as much as cartridge when fully filled.

[loganrah]

Which Namiki pen(s) do you have? I believe at least a lot of the newer models will fit a Con70, which is the best converter I've ever used and fits almost the same volume as a pilot cartridge.

[SpecTP]

Namiki=Pilot?

 

Are you squeezing them?

 

I've had carts give way from most brands from generic std ints to genuine Parker, Lamy & Sheaffer but don't remember a Pilot cart bursting on me. I don't squeeze them to prime the pen; I do remove carts & convertors to refill them though.

 

CON20 is good but I prefer the even simpler "flushing convertor" version. No idea where to buy separately but they're supplied with Parallel Pens. IMHO they hold as much as cartridge when fully filled.

 

You can buy a Pilot Parallel pen from Jetpens and use the 'squeeze converter' https://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Parallel-Pen-1.5-mm-Nib/pd/893

 

I'd just use a CON50/70

[WLSpec]

Yep, get a converter or switch cartridges.

[A Smug Dill]

Incidentally, don't pull the converter to refill it and push it back on the pen. Doing that wears the converter just as you've found re-using a cartridge does.

 

 

Apart from Aurora converters (that came inside new Aurora fountain pens) splitting open at the lip, I must say I've never had an issue with brand X converters being used with brand X fountain pens wearing out over time, even though I always remove the converter from the pens for cleaning and refilling. In any case, converters are classified by most, if not all, pen manufacturers as consumables that aren't designed or expected to last the lifetime of a pen, but something that can be readily replaced by the customer through normal retail. As long as it doesn't wear out the "nipple" on the feed or in the stem of the collector inside the pen's gripping section, I think it's pretty safe.

[ENewton]

 

 

Apart from Aurora converters (that came inside new Aurora fountain pens) splitting open at the lip, I must say I've never had an issue with brand X converters being used with brand X fountain pens wearing out over time, even though I always remove the converter from the pens for cleaning and refilling.

 

 

I have had issues with Platinum converters wearing out over time. Otherwise, after 25 years of using fountain pens, I have never had a converter fail.

[spuriousgeorge]

Thanks, guys!

 

Lots of people refill cartridges. including experienced members of this forum, for which reason I decided to try it myself. But perhaps I'm a converter person at heart. Had my pen been compatible I would have bought a CON-70 a long time ago.

[spuriousgeorge]

Greatly appreciate your advice, tamiya. What's the flushing converter like?

Edited January 24, 2020 by spuriousgeorge

[tamiya]

Greatly appreciate your advice, tamiya. What's the flushing converter like?

It's this one...

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VP3jDCJ3mzE/UgzrcI6tskI/AAAAAAAADdI/LTL11wpVxxk/s1600/PN-Metropolitan-Gold-ZigZag-5.jpg

 

Barebones & functional, easier to use than CON20.

 

Before they started marketing convertors under "CON" label (hmmm.. apt! ) that squeezy character was found in all my simple/budget/cheap/schoolpen level Pilots; nowadays I've only seen it packaged in Parallel Pen box.

 

I pull it off to manually refill, if I've got the equipment to hand. I can fill it right up, put it on to prime the ink path, then top it up again.

 

 

btw when you're reusing cartridges, do you remove the sealing disc?

 

If you leave the disc in there when reinserting without looking where it's aligned, you MIGHT be able to shove the disc further into the cartridge where it narrows down & causing stress.

 

I fish it out with haemostats. It's useless after first unsealed, takes up space for more ink. Gets in the way of easily flushing out the cart too.

[A Smug Dill]

Before they started marketing convertors under "CON" label (hmmm.. apt! ) that squeezy character was found in all my simple/budget/cheap/schoolpen level Pilots; nowadays I've only seen it packaged in Parallel Pen box.

 

 

I believe that some retailers (only in the US from what I've seen) are offering them as an SKU that can be ordered by the product name of CON-B.

 

As recently as last year, Pilot MR and Cocoon pens I bought were still supplied with those converters in the retail package.

[Honeybadgers]

 

 

I have had issues with Platinum converters wearing out over time. Otherwise, after 25 years of using fountain pens, I have never had a converter fail.

 

Platinum converters can be disassembled and greased, unlike many others. I've yet to have one of those fail, but I have had a schmidt one fail, weirdly.

 

I'm guesing the OP is squeezing the cartridges after filling to prime the pen. If you don't do that, there's no reason a cartridge won't last at least 20 years. I have an aurora duocart from the 60's I believe that still has a usable cartridge.

[Runnin_Ute]

 

 

I have had issues with Platinum converters wearing out over time. Otherwise, after 25 years of using fountain pens, I have never had a converter fail.

I am still using the original converter from my first Al Star. Purchase date? 1998.

[JulieParadise]

Same here: Cartridges get filled & filled & filled & filled ... As long as you don't squeeze them -- no matter what brand -- these should last for a looooong time.

 

The only issue I (respectively my children) have is with Kaweco Sport models and their cartridges as there is a tendency of carts to fall off, esp. when using standard international carts instead of Kaweco ones. I refill the carts for my children (10 & 11 years old) as they use up about one cart full every four to five school days. But even this only happens once every few months.

 

My history with fountain pens and refilling cartridges goes back until 1987 when I started school in East Germany, so, as the others said before: Trust your carts but don't torture them!

Edited January 24, 2020 by JulieParadise

[Arkanabar]

IMX, Pilot carts are pretty sturdy. I've been using the same carts in my 1.5mm and 3.8mm Parallels since I got them. I have no idea how many times I've refilled either of them, but I used the 3.8mm quite a bit for a year or so at work, and I must have refilled it at least a couple dozen times.

I never squeeze a cartridge to prime a pen. I am far more likely to drop it about 2cm to land on its point on a writing pad, until it starts to leave a mark on the paper. There is no modern nib that should take harm from this. (Okay, maybe if you put a dip nib or an FPR Superflex #6 into one of those 70g monsters from Mr. Pen...) Bo Bo Olsen can let us know about vintage flex.

[sebastel23]

The only issue I (respectively my children) have is with Kaweco Sport models and their cartridges as there is a tendency of carts to fall off,

 

 

i cut off a piece of 18-19mm from the end of an old, empty parker cartridge (because it was available). this is inserted into the sport's barrel, to keep the inked cartridge firmly seated in place.

 

here is a photo: