Does a converter HAVE to be filled through a nib?

[Kirk]

I always just fill the converter. My process:

 

1. Fill the converter from the ink bottle.

2. Wipe excess ink from tip of converter.

3. Install converter and squeeze 3 drops or so through the feed and back into the bottle.

4. Fill, wipe and insert the converter again if I want it absolutely full.

 

My feed still gets flushed, but there is less mess for me with this method and less waste.

 

You do need to be careful when removing or installing the converter. I don't think you'll damage the converter, but the little nipple in the section that it connects to can get broken. I had this happen to a Montblanc Slim Line that I inherited that way.

 

Kirk

[Feanor]

I fill through the nib until there's not enough ink left. Then I fill the converter directly and let the pen sit a minute nib-down to let the ink creep to the nib, just like putting in a new cartridge.

[AtomicLeo]

Just a general question. Where can one get a syringe to fill a converter? I am tried of cleaning ink off of the nib every time I fill.

[rwilsonedn]

If you are changing inks when you refill the pen, there might be one good reason to leave the converter in the pen. That is that you need the converter (or a syringe of some sort) to properly flush the previous ink out of the feed and ink collector. You can't get all the old ink out by just rinsing the section and nib, or even by leaving it submerged (unless you leave it in often-changed water for a day or more.) You need the converter drawing water in through the nib and feed, and then expelling the water under pressure to flush out the works. And you need to keep doing this until the water runs clear after pausing for a few minutes between flushes. (This takes about ten flushes more than you think it will.) The reason for this is that in some rare cases if you allow ink left in the feed or collector to mix with a new ink, the two will react and form ugly byproducts and you will end up with a mess in your pen.

If you want to use the converter to flush out the pen, and then take the converter off and fill it from the bottle, no problem. But do, as others have said, push a drop or two of ink into the feed with the converter after you have put it back on the pen.

ron

[dcwaites]

Just a general question. Where can one get a syringe to fill a converter? I am tried of cleaning ink off of the nib every time I fill.

 

It depends on where you live, and your local laws. In Australia, and at least in some of the US states, you can get them from a pharmacist or a vet, just by asking (and paying, of course...).

In Australia, you can get specially packaged ones for dispensing cough medicine to small children, for about $10. Or you can ask the pharmacist, and get the same, unpackaged syringe, for about 20 cents. Go figure...

 

I find it useful to have a range of sizes from 2~3 mls, up to 10 and 20 mls. The little ones are good for filling cartridges or blending inks, and the larger ones are useful for moving ink from one bottle to another, without making a mess.

 

If you want to get needles as well, the best sort are dispensing needles, as they have a large bore and are blunt. If you can't get them, then go for the largest bore needles you can get.

I then blunt the needles by rubbing them on an abrasive stone. Don't clip the point off, as you will just squeeze the needle shut.

Don't get insulin syringes and needles as they are too small to be useful.

 

[Kirk]

Just a general question. Where can one get a syringe to fill a converter? I am tried of cleaning ink off of the nib every time I fill.

 

That can be a problem for me too. I have a few different crack whores that I pick them up from, but I'm an impulsive guy that has a tough time with temptation, so that often sets me back about $50.

 

You can also scrounge around the trash cans at truck stops. I usually find some there, just be careful not to get pricked while sticking your hands in the trash. This happened to me once, that's how I lost all of my hair.

 

Some of the big guys at my gym have them too. Just be careful when approaching them as there are purported rage issues if you're not tactful in your request. Look for back acne for a sure sign of who might have needles and syringes. If I lend a hand with popping some of those back zits I can usually get them for free!

 

My favorite suggestion - date a nurse. You can get all sorts of good stuff that way. I still have a box of latex gloves. Every once in a while I put them on my head and blow them up with my nose until they pop. Sometimes I run out of breath and pass out. I have one on my head now, can you tell?

 

I could keep going with helpful suggestions, but I think you get the idea....

[TSWard]

I've mostly used lever and piston fillers. When I refill my Lamy Al-Star for work, I swear it picks up more air bubbles when filling through the nib than when I fill the converter directly.

[alvarez57]

I think with most converter systems it would take hundreds, if not thousands of times of removing the converter to do any significant wear and tear. ..

 

I do have converters that have used gazillions of times (same with cartridges) and they still fit the section. Only if you''re forceful with the cartridge will it give away.

 

I fill my Pilot VP Decimo converter with a syringe. This ensures that I can fill the very small converter to iots maximum capacity. It seems to work quite well.

 

Hetty

 

So do I fill many different cartridges with a syringe. I bought a pack or PR cartridges and to my dismay there were 3/4 full! I like the long Waterman [standard] cartridges for they hold 1cc of ink.

Just a general question. Where can one get a syringe to fill a converter? I am tried of cleaning ink off of the nib every time I fill.

 

It depends on where you live, and your local laws. In Australia, and at least in some of the US states, you can get them from a pharmacist or a vet, just by asking (and paying, of course...)....

 

I find it useful to have a range of sizes from 2~3 mls, up to 10 and 20 mls. The little ones are good for filling cartridges or blending inks, and the larger ones are useful for moving ink from one bottle to another, without making a mess...

 

...Don't get insulin syringes and needles as they are too small to be useful.

 

 

1ml=1cc. 3cc's the one I mostly use.

 

Just a general question. Where can one get a syringe to fill a converter? I am tried of cleaning ink off of the nib every time I fill.

 

That can be a problem for me too. I have a few different crack whores that I pick them up from, but I'm an impulsive guy that has a tough time with temptation, so that often sets me back about $50.

 

You can also scrounge around the trash cans at truck stops. I usually find some there, just be careful not to get pricked while sticking your hands in the trash. This happened to me once, that's how I lost all of my hair...

 

 

I hope you're joking for loosing your hair is the least harmful [thing] you can catch.

 

Don't date a Nurse unless you really intend to or love her dearly: they work very, very hard and have crazy hours.

[CS388]

Just a general question. Where can one get a syringe to fill a converter? I am tried of cleaning ink off of the nib every time I fill.

 

Don't know where you are, but I had great difficulty sourcing a syringe with a needle in the UK.

 

Was seriously contemplating picking up one of the many seen in the gutters and shop doorways and washing it out. Then I found this:

 

 

It originally held super glue, two bottles for 99p. Washed out and is excellent for filling cartridges/converters etc.

[jakelogan]

You can fill it through the converter its just that the feed and nib can hold a little extra ink, and the nib is already primed if you put it in the bottle.

[Corvus77]

I ordered lots of ink samples from Pear Tree Pens. The amount of ink in each sample and the shape of the sample bottle make it extremely difficult to submerge the nib to draw ink into the converter.

 

Every "how-to" shows filling a converter through the nib, but that's very hard to do with these samples. Is there a reason it should not be filled directly? I don't see how doing that, then putting it in the pen and squeezing out some ink, would leave the feed an nib any less primed than drawing ink into the converter through the nib.

 

 

A couple of years ago I picked up a bottle of ink designed for traveling. It was plastic and thin, so there wasn't anyway to get a nib down into the bottle. The bottle cap could screw completely off, or just part came off and uncovered a sort of point or nipple that was attached a feed line that went to the bottom of the bottle. I just took the converter out of the pen, slid it down on the nipple, and twisted the converter mechanism. Worked great. Filled well and cleanly. Unfortunately, the bottle is in my drawer at work, so I can't tell you the maker, but maybe someone else is familiar with it.

[professionaldilettante]

Just a general question. Where can one get a syringe to fill a converter? I am tried of cleaning ink off of the nib every time I fill.

 

That can be a problem for me too. I have a few different crack whores that I pick them up from, but I'm an impulsive guy that has a tough time with temptation, so that often sets me back about $50.

 

You can also scrounge around the trash cans at truck stops. I usually find some there, just be careful not to get pricked while sticking your hands in the trash. This happened to me once, that's how I lost all of my hair.

 

Some of the big guys at my gym have them too. Just be careful when approaching them as there are purported rage issues if you're not tactful in your request. Look for back acne for a sure sign of who might have needles and syringes. If I lend a hand with popping some of those back zits I can usually get them for free!

 

My favorite suggestion - date a nurse. You can get all sorts of good stuff that way. I still have a box of latex gloves. Every once in a while I put them on my head and blow them up with my nose until they pop. Sometimes I run out of breath and pass out. I have one on my head now, can you tell?

 

I could keep going with helpful suggestions, but I think you get the idea....

I can't tell if you're being humerus, or truthful. If you're trying to be funny, that's not funny.

[Corvus77]

Just a general question. Where can one get a syringe to fill a converter? I am tried of cleaning ink off of the nib every time I fill.

 

It depends on where you live, and your local laws. In Australia, and at least in some of the US states, you can get them from a pharmacist or a vet, just by asking (and paying, of course...).

In Australia, you can get specially packaged ones for dispensing cough medicine to small children, for about $10. Or you can ask the pharmacist, and get the same, unpackaged syringe, for about 20 cents. Go figure...

 

I find it useful to have a range of sizes from 2~3 mls, up to 10 and 20 mls. The little ones are good for filling cartridges or blending inks, and the larger ones are useful for moving ink from one bottle to another, without making a mess.

 

If you want to get needles as well, the best sort are dispensing needles, as they have a large bore and are blunt. If you can't get them, then go for the largest bore needles you can get.

I then blunt the needles by rubbing them on an abrasive stone. Don't clip the point off, as you will just squeeze the needle shut.

Don't get insulin syringes and needles as they are too small to be useful.

 

[Corvus77]

With regard to getting a syringe, in Washington state better hardware stores carry syringe-like devices for applying glue in very small cracks. Some are large with large plastic "needles", but I have also purchased ones with a much smaller metal needle. Perhaps not as fine or sharp as a medical syringe, but I would think adequate to fill a converter. Woodworking supply stores might also have something.

[Rev. Nathan]

I frequently fill the converter directly, especially with hard to use bottles. After the fill, I wipe off the open end of the converter to avoid having ink outside the join. Never had a problem with this method.

Hmm... interesting. My Lamy Safari nib has to hit the bottom of my J. Herbin ink bottle to get proper suction. This could elimate this problem. But how do you remove the Safari's converter (Z-24)? Just pull? It's clicked into place on two sides that seemingly make it permanently in place.

[Rev. Nathan]

This slightly off topic but relates to converters. Do you push the converter down as you go? I am just getting used to converters and never really found out if this was recommended.

No. It's suctioned/vaacumed in so you don't need to. Think of it another way: did you ever have to push down something as you went along with the ink in any of your disposable ballpoints? If anything, pushing as you go along could pose a problem: if you push too hard, you might end up with an ink spill! But you should probably go all the way down when you are refilling ink of the same color, even if it's not fully empty. Otherwise, leave your converter alone!

[weemeng]

I ordered lots of ink samples from Pear Tree Pens. The amount of ink in each sample and the shape of the sample bottle make it extremely difficult to submerge the nib to draw ink into the converter.

 

I'd use an eye dropper in this case.

 

1. With the pen pointing up, expel all air from the C/C.

2. Use eye dropper and drop enough ink to saturate the feed, about 5 drops.

3. Twist C/C a little to suck ink into reservoir.

4. Repeat 2-4 until C/C can't suck in anymore.

5. If there's air in the C/C, repeat steps 1-5.

 

I carry my ink in a 10ml eye dropper bottles in my brief case and fill up my pens that way whenever they become thirsty.

 

rgds

weemeng

[dflorida]

Just a general question. Where can one get a syringe to fill a converter? I am tried of cleaning ink off of the nib every time I fill.

 

If the purchase of a syringe isn't restricted by law where you reside, I've always found that feed stores carry a good assortment. In Texas, it is legal to administer medicine to your livestock or pet, hence the syringes at the feed stores.

[mana]

I ordered lots of ink samples from Pear Tree Pens. The amount of ink in each sample and the shape of the sample bottle make it extremely difficult to submerge the nib to draw ink into the converter.

 

Every "how-to" shows filling a converter through the nib, but that's very hard to do with these samples. Is there a reason it should not be filled directly? I don't see how doing that, then putting it in the pen and squeezing out some ink, would leave the feed an nib any less primed than drawing ink into the converter through the nib.

 

 

A couple of years ago I picked up a bottle of ink designed for traveling. It was plastic and thin, so there wasn't anyway to get a nib down into the bottle. The bottle cap could screw completely off, or just part came off and uncovered a sort of point or nipple that was attached a feed line that went to the bottom of the bottle. I just took the converter out of the pen, slid it down on the nipple, and twisted the converter mechanism. Worked great. Filled well and cleanly. Unfortunately, the bottle is in my drawer at work, so I can't tell you the maker, but maybe someone else is familiar with it.

 

Sounds like a Rotring ink bottle >

 

Unfortunately I only have ones without the feed line, would love to get my hands on one...

[richardandtracy]

That's peculiar.

I had a P61 with a c/c in it for so long I forgot I could remove it, and was going to find somewhere to send the pen off to for repair when the bladder in the c/c failed.

 

I tend not to fill the c/c on its own. The only pen where I would need to (because of the huge nib size) as the bottle empties, is a Duofold, and that has a dodgy c/c-section seal and it's not wise to disturb it once it seals.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.