Filling A Converter.

[A Smug Dill]

I just bought a pen with a converter. So here's a stupid question, how do you fill it?

Most, if not all, manufacturers recommend filling the converter through the nib and feed, i.e. with the converter already plugged into the gripping section of the pen.

 

Examples of manufacturers' instructions for refilling ink converters

Faber-Castell	https://www.faber-castell.eu/-/media/Faber-Castell-new/PDF/en/Instruction_manual.ashx
Lamy	https://www.lamy.com/en/care-tips/fountain-pens/
Parker	https://www.parkerpen.com/en-GB/care-guides-details-fountain-pen
Pilot	https://www.pilot.co.jp/support/fountain/1120630708375.html https://www.pilot.co.jp/howto_use/fountain/02/
Platinum	https://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/ink_top.html https://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/preppy_video3.html
Sailor	https://www.sailor.co.jp/knowledge/maintenance

but,

 

Do you leave the nib attached or do you fill the converter and then connect it to the nib?

in most cases, I'm personally inclined to fill the detached converter and then connect it to the gripping section.

[taimdala]

I prefer to detach my converter and fill it with a blunt syringe. It's cleaner and I don't have to worry so much about making a mess.

 

I also won't throw away any excess ink that would otherwise get wiped off my nib and feed with a paper towel or tissue, as would happen if I refilled by dipping the nib and feed into the bottle.

 

Also, after reading about "slime in the bottle", I am rather reluctant to dip my pens into my bottles. I take my pens with me everywhere and what if they got exposed to spores of something nasty while I was writing or drawing outdoors? Where I live, we've had a wettish spring and summer this year, with cooler temperatures on average. This means our yard is carpeted in mushrooms right now. I shudder to think of the spores drifting in our yard, much less through our open windows as we enjoy the cooler fresh air of autumn.

 

At least I can sterilze my blunt syringe before use with a hot water rinse, followed by rubbing alcohol. After filling my pen, I can dismantle the syringe completely, hot rinse, wipe with rubbing alcohol, and store it in an airtight container with a silica gel packet to suck up any remaining moisture. When I dip my syringe into my ink bottle, I can do it with the assurance that it's really really clean.

I have a few bottles of ink that were very hard to get and I was rather lucky to purchase them. If they get slimed, there is no replacing them. For those bottles of ink, I am extra vigilant. Yet even with bottles of ink I can easily replace, I do try to limit their exposure to light, air, and foreign objects. One never knows what might just drop in at random and doom your bottle of ink.

Edited September 30, 2020 by taimdala

[Pensei]

I do everything described in the previous post, and for the same reasons. I feel less alone now.

[bemon]

I like to do it the "wrong" way by removing the converter and filling directly. But my favorite ink comes in such a tiny bottle that it's hard to get a complete fill otherwise.

 

As soon as the ink level falls below half (and with a 20 ml bottle that doesn't take long) it's difficult to fill.

[tinta]

Having previously expressed that I'm firmly in the "fill through the nib/feed (attached converter) camp", there may be a good reason why I advocate this method.

 

Once a converter is plugged into a feed's nipple, it's better that it stays there. Only remove a converter if you need to change over to carts or if there is a problem with your unit. On occasion, I must remove a converter for deep cleaning, but not often.

 

The softer plastics used in manufacturing converters may make the mouth area of a converter particularly susceptible to deformation. If a converter or a cartridge is repeatedly removed then reinstalled, this might eventually lead to a less than precise fit around the nipple.

Some designs of cartridge/converters seem less likely to have issues (IME, Japanese converters). They have a wider openings.

 

As an example, Sailor's proprietary converters are solidly connected to the sections of my Sailor pens. It takes a good firm push to seat them in & they have a good seal. Unfortunately, my experience with Schmidt K5s or Kaweco international converters have not been as positive. I've experienced the occasional leak or poor fit in the gripping section of some European units.

 

Just because you can easily remove a converter from a pen, does not mean that you have to.

Only my 0.02 CAD

Edited October 1, 2020 by tinta

[Ron Z]

It is this pen mechanics considered opinion that the converter should be filled through the feed - i.e. attached to the section. Many flow problems show up when the owner uses cartridges, which is in effect what you are doing if you fill the converter directly, detached from the section. Paper fibers, dried ink, what have you, can build up in the feed. But if you fill from a bottle you in effect flush the pen every time you fill it. I usually cycle the filler two or three times when filling a pen.

 

Over the years I've had many people send a pen to me because it quit writing. They usually use cartridges. I clean the pen for them, and suggest that they switch to converters and bottled ink. When I check back some time later, they invariably tell me that the flow issues never returned after making the change.

 

Short form answer: fill through the nib unit - it's better for the pen.

[Karmachanic]

tinta sez: "Once a converter is plugged into a feed's nipple, it's better that it stays there."

I infer then, that you don't often change ink colours in particular pens. Some of us do. Far more efficient to flush the converter with a blunt needle syringe, and the section with a bulb syringe.

 

also: "The softer plastics used in manufacturing converters may make the mouth area of a converter particularly susceptible to deformation."

For this reason I regard converters as expendable, and always have extras on hand.

 

As with others, if there's sufficient ink in the bottle I'll fill thru' the pointy end. If not syringe directly to converter and expel a drop or two.

[sansenri]

Hi Sansenri, et al,

 

This is a valid observation; my advice would be to either buy an Ink Miser, (from Noodlers), or save an ink bottle with a built in well, (Lamy, Sailor Jentle, Standard Pilot inks, pre-1999 Sheaffer, etc.). This will give you the best of both worlds.

 

 

- Sean

Thank you for the advise, but probably too much fuss, I have a long term experience in refilling my cartridge pens with a syringe (and honestly I've never used a blunt one, a normal syringe with sharp needle...) since I was very young at school. Cartridges were more expensive than bottled ink and once I discovered I could fill them with a syringe I've almost never again bought cartridges unless when they were really really battered...

At the time I did not have any piston pens but using the syringe method was everyday practice!

[corniche]

Thank you for the advise, but probably too much fuss, I have a long term experience in refilling my cartridge pens with a syringe (and honestly I've never used a blunt one, a normal syringe with sharp needle...) since I was very young at school. Cartridges were more expensive than bottled ink and once I discovered I could fill them with a syringe I've almost never again bought cartridges unless when they were really really battered...

At the time I did not have any piston pens but using the syringe method was everyday practice!

Hi Sansenri,

 

Well, to each his own; if it works for you, so be it.

 

 

Hi all,

 

If you do insist on using syringes, etc., at least make sure that when you flush the section under the tap; you at least rotate it periodically, so the nib is up and you get the bi-directional flow through the feed/section... as I said before (and RonZ echoed), that's important to prevent clogging/slow flow.

 

 

- Sean

[tinta]

tinta sez: "Once a converter is plugged into a feed's nipple, it's better that it stays there."

I infer then, that you don't often change ink colours in particular pens. Some of us do. Far more efficient to flush the converter with a blunt needle syringe, and the section with a bulb syringe.

 

.

I only use blues, blue/blacks, violets & brown/sepias. Yes, I seldom change inks in a pen. Generally flush with converter attached.

If a more thorough flush is needed, I will screw off the threaded collar on my converters. Then I'll clean the interior parts (plunger, shaft, end cap) by hand with running water. With the converter's tube still attached to the grip/section, I use an ear-syringe to force water through the tube & through the pen's feed & nib. Once clean, I re-assemble the converter.

 

I have some converters that have been working for almost a decade & their tubes have never been removed from the section.

 

[Mysterious Mose]

Hi all,

If you do insist on using syringes, etc., at least make sure that when you flush the section under the tap; you at least rotate it periodically, so the nib is up and you get the bi-directional flow through the feed/section... as I said before (and RonZ echoed), that's important to prevent clogging/slow flow.


- Sean

 

Sean, what do you mean "rotate it periodically, so the nib is up and you get the bi-directional flow through the feed/section?" Do you mean have the flow of water through the section be in the normal direction of feed, and also have the flow go from the nib through the section? In other words, in both directions?

[corniche]

 

Hi all,

 

If you do insist on using syringes, etc., at least make sure that when you flush the section under the tap; you at least rotate it periodically, so the nib is up and you get the bi-directional flow through the feed/section... as I said before (and RonZ echoed), that's important to prevent clogging/slow flow.

 

 

- Sean

 

Sean, what do you mean "rotate it periodically, so the nib is up and you get the bi-directional flow through the feed/section?" Do you mean have the flow of water through the section be in the normal direction of feed, and also have the flow go from the nib through the section? In other words, in both directions?

Hi MM,

 

Yes. Hold the section so that the water flows through the section/feed/nib in same direction the ink flows; then rotate the section so that the water enters thru the nib - as it would when your siphoning from a bottle. (Naturally, with the cartridge or converter removed).

 

This will at least ensure you have bi-directional flow through the feed/section.

 

 

- Sean

[Karmachanic]

Generally flush with converter attached.

If a more thorough flush is needed, I will screw off the threaded collar on my converters. Then I'll clean the interior parts (plunger, shaft, end cap) by hand with running water. With the converter's tube still attached to the grip/section, I use an ear-syringe to force water through the tube & through the pen's feed & nib. Once clean, I re-assemble the converter.

 

I have some converters that have been working for almost a decade & their tubes have never been removed from the section.

 

 

Thank you tinta. I'll give this technique a try when next I clean a converter pen.

[inkstainedruth]

tinta sez: "Once a converter is plugged into a feed's nipple, it's better that it stays there."

I infer then, that you don't often change ink colours in particular pens. Some of us do. Far more efficient to flush the converter with a blunt needle syringe, and the section with a bulb syringe.

Not necessarily. I ended up with Diamine Registrars Blue Black all over my face trying to flush a cartridge with a syringe. And I change colors *quite* often. But when I'm soaking a pen in ammonia solution or vinegar solution, or even with plain water, I'm not standing there in the bathroom the entire time. I'm going and doing other things -- so who's more efficient in the long run?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Karmachanic]

Not necessarily. I ended up with Diamine Registrars Blue Black all over my face trying to flush a cartridge with a syringe. And I change colors *quite* often. But when I'm soaking a pen in ammonia solution or vinegar solution, or even with plain water, I'm not standing there in the bathroom the entire time. I'm going and doing other things -- so who's more efficient in the long run?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Hopefully you now flush a cartridge with the mouth down? Take me less than five minutes to thoroughly flush a section/nib/feed and converter. I use the kitchen.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Karmachanic

[A Smug Dill]

https://www.sailor.co.jp/knowledge/maintenance

Just noting that Sailor's web site has been overhauled since my previous post. Refilling instructions are now found here:

https://sailor.co.jp/topics/fountain-pen-refill-ink/#toc_4

[Arkanabar]

Short answer? As you like. I fill through the nib, so the feed is primed when I'm done. Of all the self filling pens that I know, only the LeVeL V didn't fill through the nib.

To maximize my fill, I'll fill a pen around half full, turn it point up, and then run the converter piston to the bottom, to suck all the ink out of the feed. Then I SLOWLY run the piston back up until ink just barely starts to well up around the nib's collar, then back into the ink for a complete fill, and then drive out 4-5 drops of ink, then back upright to run the piston all the way bottom. This process gets almost all the air out of the ink reservoir and doesn't leave the feed overloaded with ink.

I can appreciate Taimdala's reticence regarding filling directly from bottles. When I said "bottle" above, I meant "sample vial that I fill using a bulb pipette."

[Retro-user]

You can also flush the converter and nib while still attached to the pen. I simply immerse the nib (when it’s empty) into a small paper cup filled with distilled water and draw water in and out a couple of times. I’ve used this procedure to change colors.

[A Smug Dill]