Search the Community

Hey guys, I just came from another thread where someone did a review of the Preppy after they glued the body on and instead filled the eyedropper by a small hole + syringe after taking the nib off and that made me think about alternative designs that don't require the silicon grease. This is all just theoretical and I don't own a preppy myself at the moment (I gave mine away to a friend who was fountain-curious). The reason for this is someone in the same thread also mentioned the ability to toss a Lamy nib on the preppy, but that it was very hard to get back out again. I wouldn't mind doing this mod for myself, but I can't be arsed with the re-applying of grease every few fills. So the idea would be to glue / waterproof the threads where the barrel screws on. Then, using a saw and a file, take a little off the very end of the barrel, leaving it open. Use the file to smooth it out and make it flush. I've roughly guesstimated the opening would be about 10mm (which equates to 3/8ths of an inch, according to the interweb). The idea is then to friction seal the end with a small plastic cap: http://www.clipsandfasteners.com/Plastic_Flush_Type_Hole_Plugs_p/pas1302-100.htm http://cdn3.volusion.com/9wsnr.t9nao/v/vspfiles/photos/PAS1302-100-2.jpg?1391549283 http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-8-NPT-Male-Thread-Plastic-Oil-Plug-Yellow-5-Pieces-/230917449481?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c3c0a709 http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTEwMFgxMTAw/z/FvYAAOxy-sRSX-X7/$(KGrHqR,!nYFJPFq3okfBS(-(6oyU!~~60_57.JPG If you can find a cap size that would fit tightly enough, yet have a little lip over the barrel, you could potentially get an ink-tight seal that could be removed and then replaced for filling. Or if the screw in type work, then that would be even better. Maybe the plastic could be heated and moulded around the screw in yellow type. Just throwing random ideas around, as I said, I don't have the resources atm to try this out for myself. But if anyone with a preppy and plenty of time on their hands wants to give it a go, let me know how it goes. Alternatively, you could drill a smaller hole in the side of the barrel if you could find a smaller plug, that might work better as you could suit the hole to any plugs you could find off hand.

In one of those lots of vintage pens in varying condition that people like me sometimes aquire I found a St. Regis. It is almost exactly like the St. Regis bulb Filler on Pen Hero - it's just green instead of grey. The pen looks like it has never been touched, never mind never been used - the surface finish has no patina at all. (Maybe polished, maybe never used - of course I cannot kjnow for sure.) I have unscrewed it and got most of the desiccated sac out, and I've seen the breathing tube, but I have a few questions about the pen itself and how to deal with it. As far as I can tell, this is similar to an eyedropper in that nothing holds the ink away from the walls of the pen. Is it the breather tube that is intended to keep it from burping, or is it just going to belch as it heats up and empties no matter what? The part where the back screws on is brass, and this brass is exposed to the ink, obviously designed this way. I thought exposing metal and ink to each other was a bad idea. Is this ok, or just how they did it in the thirties, or should I do something about it? The nib and feed were broken off flush with the section, and I cannot get the section off so far. Can I safely soak the section up to where it meets the barrel and a touch beyond in cool water to see if that helps, or should I go directly to gentle heat and section plyers? I read that the breathing tube is attached to the feed, I think - so what do I do about the fact that this thing needs a new feed and there is no St. Regis parts department with 80-odd year old parts to call and order one from? I am going to the Long Island pen show next weekend and that's probably the best chance I will have of picking up a new nib and feed so I can get it working. It is in beautiful condition and I think if I can take care of these little things I will probably like it, unless this sort of pen is just one long ink-belch-fest. Thanks for any info! T

Does anyone have some information or how to use a Japanese eyedropper with an automatic shut off valve? Thank you! Troy

Hi, A quick question and appreciate your help. I have couple vintage eyedroppers and will be using silicon grease to make sure that they won't leak. But, I could not find any guide on how frequently I should use grease? Shall I put grease everytime I open the barrel or maybe once a year? Thx

I love turning my cartridge/converter pens into eyedroppers because it is easy and lets me hold so much more ink. However, I have a Platinum Century 3776 pen that I am having trouble converting. I want to convert it because it is in the semi-transparent blue color, which makes it lovely for eyedropper filling, and I just love the way the pen writes. However, these pens have a small golden band near the bottom of the barrel that leaks out ink if I eyedropper fill it. Is there any way that you guys know of to seal this seam so that it does not leak ink? Right now I just wrap it in a single layer of electrical tape, but that is obviously ugly and not ideal. Any help you can give would be appreciated.http://fpquest.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/platinum3776bluechartres_oncap.jpg

The gama kuyil is an ebonite pen from Gem and co. based from Chennai, India. The deccan ambassador and the gama kuyil. A minor diversion: Among the deccan pens I prefer the Deccan Advocate Sr. and Jr. models. My wife prefers the Deccan Bullet Sr. My wife trying out the Kuyil From left to right: Deccan Advocate, Deccan Ambassador, Gama Kuyil, Gama Acrylic Demonstrator, Gama Ebonite Jr. A note on the Indian Ebonite pens I own: Since these pens are hand-made and the quality control is not supreme the same model can vary in quality across pens. If one reads the above review it is clear that I am not satisfied with my Deccan Ambassador. The reason why I have openly expressed my distaste for the brand is because I used a Deccan Ambassador of another fellow pen collector and found similar issues while using it. I know of a few people who use Deccan pens who have a similar opinion and I thought I could voice it. I purchased other pens from the company before coming to the following conclusion (Please bear in mind these conclusions are from using the pens that I have encountered from Deccan and are entirely personal): The deccan pens are in general over-priced. I have no problem with the price if the quality is good. I bought a white deccan masterpiece and sold it to my friend because I hated the aerometric converter and because the nib was OK at best (I admit it looked pretty and that was the only reason he bought it off me). I have no problems with the Advocate pens. Although I still think the pens are over-priced. I don't use my deccan pens as much as, say, my Wality or my Gama pens. Whenever I give these pens a try I just end being disappointed. I prefer the Wality Jumbo to the Deccan Advocates (don't get me wrong the ebonite is nice to touch). Again, these are my personal experiences

This dropped through the letterbox an hour ago. I haven't had much time to play with it, but I couldn't wait to show it to you all. Here she is: a BCHR Mabie Todd Swan 1500 eyedropper, with a pretty gold-filled band. Big thanks to Deb from Goodwriters, who, as always, was an absolute joy to deal with. The cap is friction fit and posts very comfortably - the lack of a clip is actually something I always rather like in a pen (1500s with after-market clips are quite common, and I am pleased to have found a pen without one), but your preference may differ! Uncapped: Of course, the really interesting thing about the 1500 is the nib and feed setup. The 1500 was made in the 1910s, when most companies had abandoned the fiddly over/under feed for ladder feeds. Mabie Todd carried on with the over/under, and it's a wonderfully reliable mechanism - at least when Mabie Todd are making it (some vintage pens with this setup can be quite blobby). This nib is beautifully flexible; it's not the most responsive nib I own, but it feels very brush-like to use. Here are some pictures of the nib and feed, because I know that's what you're all interested in: I didn't take a picture before I filled the pen, but the feed's long back and accompanying twist of silver wire is interesting, and Deb has a picture from a different 1500 on her blog. I've owned this pen for all of about 70 minutes, so this is a very perfunctory look (and Tanzanite is too wet an ink to use in it, in retrospect - apologies for the scrawl). I've not written much with it yet, but I have a feeling we're going to be firm friends. The nib is smooth, wet and painterly, and the slimness of the barrel suits me perfectly.

So, this is it, my first review. I have not been a member of the forum for long and really don’t have much experience writing reviews. I hope this will be useful and any criticism is welcome so that I can improve future reviews. Butterfly 311TG: I was recently randomly going to shops looking for fountain pens and found this one (with several others) at an old shop near my house. I had never used a pen of this make before and so I picked one up. It is certainly not an award winning pen in looks or build quality but it is certainly worth a review just because it is a nice pen to write and that too when it is probably one of the cheapest pens in the world. 1. Appearance and Design: 7/10 As I mentioned in the introduction, it is not an award winning pen in this segment. It is a very sober looking pen and looks pleasing in the first look. This was only available in blue so I don’t know if there are other options available. The cap has a good design with all its gold elements. The barrel has a cigar shaped tapered body and the cap screws on the barrel. The design of the pen is actually very good. The pen has a very convenient clear ink window and it does the job very well. The ergonomics of the pen are really nice. It is comfortable to hold and the section is not slippery at all. The threads do not irritate no matter where you hold the pen. Un-posted the pen is fairly decent size and posted the pen becomes very convenient to use, even for people with large hands. 2. Construction and quality: 5/10 While the tolerances of the pen are decent, the overall quality is rather poor. The pen looks plastic and the materials actually feels like recycled plastic. The make and model is screen printed on the barrel but is legible. The clip is of useless as it bends every time I put it in my pocket. Also the clip is permanently bent towards one side and it looks like a manufacturing flaw because I cannot straighten it just by hand. The gold paint on the cab band and the clip has already started coming off and the plastic of the pen is also very prone to scratches. 3. Weights and Dimensions: 6/10 Length: Capped – 134mm Uncapped – 122mm Posted – 148mm I do not have callipers to measure the dia but the pen is actually on the slim side so that might be a downside to people who like thick pens. I personally like the pen as it is comfortable to hold. As far as the weight go, well the pen is light, very light. Actually, it is so light that it becomes annoying to use it without posting it because you just don’t feel you are holding something. After posting it becomes usable but still a very light pen in my opinion. 4. Nib and Performance: 7/10 Now here it has both pros and cons. The pen has a gold coloured steel nib, which is as hard as a nail and I only realised after coming home that there is no tipping material on the nib whatsoever even though the nib says – “Platinum Power Point” which is just hilarious. The tines were completely misaligned and it took me about an hour to fix the nib and get it in writing condition. Then again the nib feels smooth although it has a lot of feedback. The feedback is somehow not scratchy and annoying. I mean even on very poor paper it did not dig into the paper or pull out fibre. The feed on the other hand is a beauty. The pen has an ebonite flat feed which keeps up the flow no matter how fast you write. Overall, the performance of the pen is nice. It is awesomely wet (the way I like it) and although the nib is a western fine, the pen writes so wet that it writes like a medium. I somehow enjoy writing with the pen even with its feedback. 5. Filling system and maintenance: 8/10 It is an eyedropper filler pen. One either loves it or hates it. I personally like eyedropper pens, so I would not complain, but if you do not like the hassles of the ED pens then this pen is not for you. Compared to other ED pens I have it does not hold a lot of ink but still holds a decent amount (a little less than 2ml) The nib and feed are friction fit and come out for easy cleaning which is really convenient when cleaning the pen. 6. Cost and Value: 9/10 The pen set me back around 20INR which is roughly 31 US cents (as of 14-11-13) so to get a pen for that price which writes well and one that I like writing with, I would say it is pure value for money. 7. Conclusion: 7/10 I would say a very decent everyday writing pen for students and other people who have a tendency to lose their pens. That said it is not a pen for everyone given its feedback and light weight. Plus it is not pretty. But as a pen I would say it deserves that 7/10 because it is a reliable writer, has no startup issues, holds a decent amount of ink and is ergonomic to use. I would say it does what the pen was designed for “write” and it does that rather well. And finally a writing sample and size comparision (with a parker Beta and Schneider Base) Thank you for reading. Ankit Chauhan

Hi, I have been reading so many good reviews about the Capulet that I need to try one out for myself. While browsing photos of the pen, I noticed that the barrel and nib section do not appear to have any metal parts to corrode with prolonged exposure to inks. Futhermore, the barrel on the walnut finish (which happens to be my preferred finish at this time) appears to be a single piece. So it seems that with minor effort, the pen is a viable eyedropper host. So my question to owners of the pen (and of course to Mary): is the ED conversion possible or am I off my rocker? Of course filling the barrel with ink is only a small part of the story, a major concern being wetness and ink flow control. So, I appreciate any insight you can give me. Anyway, ED conversion notwithstanding, I shall be ordering a walnut Capulet soon. Cheers.

I have two, unrelated questions, both of which was posed to me today but actually stumped me... What is the actual purpose of a flex pen? Is it simply the line variation?(This was asked by a friend who can actually write nicely, unlike me) Is an eyedropper pen a good pen for trying out samples of inks?(This was asked by my history tutor and I had no clue at all)

In my quest to find a simple, back to basics, no frills eyedropper, I stumbled across the Noodler's Aerometric Ebonite filler. I am totally digging this pen! Smooth simple body, just BASIC!! The problem is...I can't seem to find anything on where to buy it now. would anyone have any leads on where I could buy one or have one that they would be willing to sell? FPGeeks did a review on it a while back, here's the link: http://fpgeeks.com/2012/01/noodlers-aerometric-eyedropper-ebonite-fountain-pen-the-awesome-review/

Hello, I pulled the trigger and made an offer on two pens I found at a local antique mall. I had seen the pens Tuesday, just before closing time, and fell in love. They were in two different cases at opposite ends of the room, but owned by the same vender. Today I went back and got to sit down and look at them side by side. I made an offer and the vender took it. The smaller one is 5 inches long capped and the longer one is 5 1/4 inches long. The smaller one has a Pilot Warranted 14K #2 nib. The longer one is a Warranted 14K #3 JIS nib. Both are marked R14K on the clips and band with minimal brassing on the shorter pen. The larger pen was well loved, the cap is worn, even some of the urushi is worn above the band in one area. Someone carried and used this pen. Its bori pattern looks to be similar to one Stan had posted and has on his website. It is not the common pattern. The shorter pen is in the more typical pattern with an area for personalization which is blank. Both show signs of ink around the shut-off rod. So with out further bragging, the pictures.

First Impressions Tyler, from Organic Studio, had posed on Facebook, a few weeks back, that the was trying a line of pens and was offering them to beta testers for a reduced price. In the post, he showed a group of five ebonite pens of varying sizes and of four different colors. The smallest was the Mendeleev. It looked too small and thin. The next two were the same size, the Boyle and the Alchemist, the later having a hooded nib. The next size was the Lavoisier, which looked too big fro my small hands, and the final looked like a large cigar, the Special. The colors were black, red, brown, and green. I found the green most attractive and the Boyle most desirable. When I pulled it out of the wrapper, I thought it was of rather cheap or poor quality. It was light, the fittings weren't terribly shiny. The white embossed name on the pen was unique in my experience and seemed poorly done. This impression would prove to be false. Appearance and Design I'm a sucker for the look of ebonite pens. This one delivers that, very well, especially in the cap. It looks like black ink flowed into the fabric of a healthy leaf. This, along with the excitement of owning one early on in production, attracted me most to the pen. Embossed on one side is "OS Boyle" in white stamping. At first this attributed to my impression of it being cheap, but as I held it and looked at it and wrote with it, I felt like I returned to the 1920's (why? I have no clue). The white lettering gives it an old-timey feel. The fittings seem to be made of plastic or a dull metal. There is a band at the bottom of the cap. The clip starts at the black finial and comes down. On the clip is Organic Studio's Indian manufacturer, Ratnamson Construction and Quality The pen is light. At first, I chalked it up to cheap, but then I got the idea that it was intentionally made light. This is the kind of pen with which a book could be written. Your hand can use it for long periods of time without fatigue. That makes the pen a serious though the extended writer. The clip looks weak but again looks are deceiving. I can withstand a bit a beating. It's solidly build and yet has enough give to be put in and taken out of pockets without much difficulty. The grip section is very comfortable especially for my small hands. Larger hands and fingers might find themselves on the top part of the threads. The little lip disallows slippage. Speaking of the threads, there are 9-11 threads for the cap, so ... there is a worry that this cap will 'accidentally' fall off. It secures itself on there like a child to his father's leg. This isn't a quick draw pen for sure, not one fore mere signatures or quick notes. It expects you to sit down and write. Also, there is no need to worry that ink from the body will leak out. There are the same if not more threads to detach the body from the grip sections. It thoroughly seals the body to the grip section. It doesn't have the rugged feel of a Lamy Al-Star, but it isn't a fragile pen either. It might, in certain conditions, crack. So I wouldn't take this on a hunting trip despite its camaflouge-esque look. It would keep on the desk or in a case. if being carried around. Weight and Dimensions As I've mentioned previous, this is a light pen. It feels about the weight of a Pilot Prera, or another similar build small pen. I have a picture here of its comparative size to a Prera and a Safari. It posts well without any difficulty and remains there solidly. It is the perfect size for my hands but will still work well in larger, hands when posted. It also remains balanced when posted. The cap doesn't make it top heavy. Nib and Performance Before I go into its performance, the facts: 1) its a two tone German-made iridium nib 2) its only made in medium at this time This is where, originally, the pen failed miserably. I filled it with an Italian scented ink that smelled like Pine and had decent color. Because there was a small space for the ink to flow to the feed I wanted to use an ink I didn't care about that much, just in case in wouldn't work. I filled the body, flooded the feed by turning it nib down for a few minutes and then set it aside to let it move more naturally. About 10 minutes later, I took it up to write. It scratched and nothing came out. I pushed down hope to open it up and it finally flowed. "Great! It wrote!" I thought. So I set it aside on my desk to do something else and picked it up an hour or so later. 30 seconds of scratching and I had to unscrew it to make sure there was ink in the body. I wet the nib and it started again. Then, I put is aside for when I had time to write this review. A week later, again it was dry. I wetted the nib, but this time nothing came out. The body was full of ink! I cleared out the ink. Cleaned the pen as best I could and refilled it the next ink in my rotation, Chesterfield Ruby. This became a whole new pen. It flowed much more evenly and didn't even dry up after sitting for periods. With that said, the nib started scratchy with the Ruby, but as the ink flowed, the smoother the nib got. It's not a gold nib, but it doesn't feel like chalk on a chalkboard anymore. It does take two or three strokes to get started, if you've let it sit for longer the a few hours, but after that it doesn't need anymore. It hasn't skipped at all. It does seem to work better with some inks, or it could've been that there were manufacturing gunk in the feed. As for the line itself, it maintains a good consistent line. It holds the size of line between a Lamy M and F. I prepared this review in a paperblanks notebook and it handled well. It writes well on Rhodia as well. The nib seems to be form fitted into the grip section but I couldn't pull it out barehanded. Filling System and Maintenance I received the eyedropper version. There is also a version with a sack, but, to me, the sack is superfluous. This baby holds a good amount of ink. (Exact quantities I don't know, but at least a half of a syringe purchased from Goulet). What's very different from any other pen that I've seen is the channel were ink flows from the body into the feed. It about the size of a needle. It's tiny. I originally though I received a defective pen because it looks like there's a plug in there. That being said, thick high pigmented inks might have trouble flowing through it. This pen isn't easy to clean either for the same reason. You can't flush the pen out very well because the hole is so small and if you do, you'll need a larger space for excess water spillage. It doesn't have the east of a cartridge/converter. Cost and Value It's sold at most retailers for $25 USD, which I think is a fair price for the pen. It give the student an option for a cheap ebonite and the eyedropper experience/benefit. In that way, has found a niche with very few comparable competitors. Conclusion I'm glad I didn't judge this book by its cover. The more I wrote with it the more I liked it. The scratch has greatly decrease after extended writing, making it a joy to write with. It would definitely be an option in my mind as "the pen" for my next work of fiction because of its light weight and high ink capacity. Well, worth your $25.

Boy, we sure don't see these every day! http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/waterman/waterman_0518_9.jpg http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/waterman/waterman_0518_2.jpg http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/waterman/waterman_0518_4.jpg http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/waterman/waterman_0518_1.jpg http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/waterman/waterman_0518_7.jpg TERI

I know this is an old topic, but this is my first attempt to convert a pen to an eyedropper, and I just wanted to share. I'm new to fountain pens, and I'm excited with the results of my conversion. This is a fun, new interest and thank you to all who share their knowledge. http://youtu.be/PZUf8OxHdjE

I've just bought an Onoto piston filler at an antique shop. It's a BHR pen much like the top illustration in Marshall and Oldfield, 2nd ed., p.166, except that there is only an underfeed. The plug can be unscrewed and the rod pulled out although I've not tried to see how far it can be extracted with force. The section unscrews nicely from the barrel assembly, revealing the pointed end of the piston. I suspect that the pen has not been serviced in a long time. Having read M+O’s description a full overhaul is well beyond my current and likely future capabilities, In any case, the mechanism will always be fragile, which does not mix well with my innate clumsiness. As the section does unscrew so easily, I can envisage removing the section and using the pen as an eyedropper by dropping ink into the barrel with the section out, then refitting the section with silicone grease. This would, of course, depend on the rod/barrel seal being sound, but I’d expect to test that out after greasing the rod and working it back and forth a few times. I’d also expect to have to release the ink flow by opening the knob a touch (if I understand the mechanism correctly). So, what do Onoto experts see as the likelihood of being able to use the pen in this way, and are there any disadvantages, for example the possibility of damage or difficulty for future repairers due to ink getting into the wrong places?