Anything Wrong With Filling A Converter Separate From The Nib?

[EMM]

I've never liked the process the submerging the entire nib into the ink bottle to fill and then wipe clean, I think this probably wastes ink. But is this process anyway essential to proper performance or can I just fill the converter and then manually push ink into the feed section?

[Possum Hill]

Several members have reported filling the converter outside the pen, either with its piston or squeezy thingy or with a syringe. It works just fine.

[FrankB]

I have resorted several times to removing the converter from the section because the ink bottle's remaining ink was too shallow to accept the full nib. It works just fine. The converter opening might receive enough wear over time that it will stop holding tightly to the nipple in the pen's ink feed.

 

Remember, though, that when you immerse a nib/feed unit in ink, you are not only filling the converter but also the ink feed. Ink has got to get into the feed. When you fill directly into the converter, you will have to push some ink into the feed, and that process can and up using a considerable amount of the ink supply. You would then have to fill the converter a second time if you want it completely full.

[indyshaq]

Actually, this is the only way that I fill my pens. I know that you are not "supposed" to because over time the converter mouth will become wider and the ordinarily tight seal between the nib and the converter will become loose. I have been doing this for 8 years without a single problem. My reason for doing this is admitedly foolish - I like my nib to be perfectly clean when I write and I find that if I immerse the entire nib, as in the case for my piston fillers, it is an annoying process wiping down the nib and the feed. If worst comes to worst, a replacement converter usually only costs $4 - $8. YMMV

[welfvet]

This is my standard way of filling my pens but as reported above, 'charging' the feed' uses sometimes half or more of the converter capacity so I often end up going through the 'moves' twice. I'm sure one day I will need to replace the converters when they wear out but it is a less messy process for me than dunking the nib. I also find it has helped me eliminate air from the system before taking a pen on a flight. Just be wary of also filling the fins of the feed that are under the exposed part of the nib or else there will be nowhere else for ink to go when there is an expansion issue (eg when it gets hot and sweaty) than into the cap. Hooj messy situation!

 

Nic