Filling With A Converter, Why With The Nib?

[Earthdawn]

So I was wondering why when we fill a pen with a converter we dip the whole nib into the ink bottle to fill it? I mean the converter is removable as seen in the pic below. It is easy enough to unscrew the converter and dip that into the ink bottle and fill it, then wipe it and replace it into the pen. It is neater for me at least, to do it that way, and I get a full fill right off the bat.

 

Thanks in advance for setting me straight on this.

 

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac10/thevaporcafe/9f7d3b78.jpg

[bugmd]

Why not take it a step further and fill the converter with a syringe? The repeated removal and reinsertion of the converter will more rapidly cause the seal between the converter and the nib section to wear more quickly and increase the risk of ink leak. This is the main reason I tend to use cartridges instead of converters.

[guilhermejf]

I think it is more to rinse the nib and feed with some ink. Ink may contain some cleaning agents.

[Edgar Allan Bo]

you also get more ink inside because it's not only in the converter, it's also in the feed... you have to fill it once, then turn the pen with the nib up, let the air out by turning the converter til the ink goes up into the feed and then stuck it into the bottle and fill it once again, that way you have much more ink in the pen than just the normal full converter.

[Earthdawn]

OK... I get it now...

 

Those are the kinds of answers I needed to understand the "why" of why we do it a certain way.

 

Thank you very much

[lapis]

+1 on that said above. I always fill my converter pens only through the nib to keep the seal as tight as possible. Especially Pelikan converters and to a lesser extent Waterman converters are pretty loose in the first place. It's also faster and cleaner to fill through the nib. Last but least, If you do so with every piston pen anyhow, then you might just get accustomed to doing it like that for every converter pen too. But... for a good wash and rinse, I usually do remove the converter and clean and dry everything separately.

 

Lee

[torstar]

I always remove the converter and fill from syringe, allows for the right dilution each time.

 

Keeps the nib superclean and no leakage issues, especially for used pens.

 

Over decades I have not once "lost a seal" or worn out dozens of pens. Give me a break.

[professionaldilettante]

I always remove the converter and fill from syringe, allows for the right dilution each time.

 

Keeps the nib superclean and no leakage issues, especially for used pens.

 

Over decades I have not once "lost a seal" or worn out dozens of pens. Give me a break.

I would not think that the pen would wear out, since that they are meant to cycle through hundreads or thousands of cartridges in a lifetime. I'd just be worried more about the converter wearing out and loosing its seal. I kinda like the idea of ink flowing in both directions through a pen's innards, I'd think it keeps things clean inside. Also, I have heard rumors, anecdotal stories, about people who never cleaned their pens, but rather, just kept using one type of ink, and filling through the nib. No problems their entire life. Just the newer generation has to wash/clean their pens with more than 4 brands of ink to choose from, and not all of them blue or black.

 

Also for those in the camp of removing the converter and filling it directly with a syringe, wouldn't you think that filling a empty converter would give you more capacity? Logic tells me that the converter is meant to draw ink through the nib unit, as my Pilot instruction manual would have me think.

[torstar]

I always remove the converter and fill from syringe, allows for the right dilution each time.

 

Keeps the nib superclean and no leakage issues, especially for used pens.

 

Over decades I have not once "lost a seal" or worn out dozens of pens. Give me a break.

I would not think that the pen would wear out, since that they are meant to cycle through hundreads or thousands of cartridges in a lifetime. I'd just be worried more about the converter wearing out and loosing its seal. I kinda like the idea of ink flowing in both directions through a pen's innards, I'd think it keeps things clean inside. Also, I have heard rumors, anecdotal stories, about people who never cleaned their pens, but rather, just kept using one type of ink, and filling through the nib. No problems their entire life. Just the newer generation has to wash/clean their pens with more than 4 brands of ink to choose from, and not all of them blue or black.

 

Also for those in the camp of removing the converter and filling it directly with a syringe, wouldn't you think that filling a empty converter would give you more capacity? Logic tells me that the converter is meant to draw ink through the nib unit, as my Pilot instruction manual would have me think.

 

 

I'd buy a new converter if it did wear out, none have worn out on me for several years.

 

I like to have a known .6ml ink capacity to fill with .1 to .4 of distilled water for optimal dilution in a filling of the converter. (Yes, we are getting to be that crazy sometimes...)

 

On a few occasions I went through .6ml of ink and felt it was way too soon, but a lot was written that day.

Edited December 5, 2011 by torstar

[Chevalier]

Some pens even write a little differently, at least until the filled converter/cartridge rests inside it's place for quite some time already (the fins of the collector are already partially filled then). I like most pens filled from the feed on, not like using a refillable cartridge. This kinda makes the converters obsolete anyway it's no problem to fill cartridges.

[mineiro]

+1 for the syringe

 

But anyway I do not like converters. Give me a piston, lever, eyedropper, ..., but not a boring converter or cartridge.

[bernardo]

So I was wondering why when we fill a pen with a converter we dip the whole nib into the ink bottle to fill it? I mean the converter is removable as seen in the pic below. It is easy enough to unscrew the converter and dip that into the ink bottle and fill it, then wipe it and replace it into the pen. It is neater for me at least, to do it that way, and I get a full fill right off the bat.

Thanks in advance for setting me straight on this.

 

Interesting. When I got my first FP I thought that was the right way to fill it! With time, I learned that it should be done the other way (dipping the feed) since it's simpler and the pen starts faster to write properly.

[torstar]

So I was wondering why when we fill a pen with a converter we dip the whole nib into the ink bottle to fill it? I mean the converter is removable as seen in the pic below. It is easy enough to unscrew the converter and dip that into the ink bottle and fill it, then wipe it and replace it into the pen. It is neater for me at least, to do it that way, and I get a full fill right off the bat.

Thanks in advance for setting me straight on this.

 

Interesting. When I got my first FP I thought that was the right way to fill it! With time, I learned that it should be done the other way (dipping the feed) since it's simpler and the pen starts faster to write properly.

 

 

 

Most of my good FPs will start writing immediately when a newly filled converter is placed onto a clean and dry nib, and a few of my cheapies.

[someonesdad]

There is no "right" way to fill a converter -- use what works for you because you get to define what is "right". On an uninked pen, I always fill the converter by dipping the converter into the ink and filling the converter. Then I put the converter on the pen's section and cause some ink to flow into the feed. I stop when I see a bulge of ink from the feed and back off a bit. This accomplishes the same thing as dipping the nib, as the pen will write immediately after being reassembled. If I want maximum ink in the converter, I top it off. When that same pen needs to be filled again, I dip the nib.

 

Why do I do it this way? No great reasons other than 1) it's suitably quirky , 2) it works for me and 3) has done so reliably for decades. I've never had a converter wear out or leak; if one ever does, it gets tossed and I'll buy a new one. I have had refilled cartridges leak after about 20 refillings, but that's good enough performance for me (and I know when to toss the cartridge).

[Edgar Allan Bo]

Also, for non C/C pens, if you don't want to mess up your nib with ink you could also unscrew the nib/feed section (like on the Pelikan) and fill the piston tank with a syringe, then screw the nib back in again. o_O

 

Getting inky fingers is part of the game. :meow:

Edited December 6, 2011 by Edgar Allan Bo

[terim]

I always remove the converter and fill from syringe, allows for the right dilution each time.

 

Keeps the nib superclean and no leakage issues, especially for used pens.

 

Over decades I have not once "lost a seal" or worn out dozens of pens. Give me a break.

I would not think that the pen would wear out, since that they are meant to cycle through hundreads or thousands of cartridges in a lifetime. I'd just be worried more about the converter wearing out and loosing its seal. I kinda like the idea of ink flowing in both directions through a pen's innards, I'd think it keeps things clean inside. Also, I have heard rumors, anecdotal stories, about people who never cleaned their pens, but rather, just kept using one type of ink, and filling through the nib. No problems their entire life. Just the newer generation has to wash/clean their pens with more than 4 brands of ink to choose from, and not all of them blue or black.

 

Also for those in the camp of removing the converter and filling it directly with a syringe, wouldn't you think that filling a empty converter would give you more capacity? Logic tells me that the converter is meant to draw ink through the nib unit, as my Pilot instruction manual would have me think.

 

 

I can confirm that Sheaffer squeeze converters can have the opening widened to the point of creating a bad seal, if repeatedly removed and replaced.

 

TERI

[grandpasmurf]

In the last 18 years of using fountain pens I have always filled through the nib, my trusty old vector has never had the converter removed and has never been washed out or 'flushed' as it has always had parker blue black in it and nothing else, now that i am older i have found a 'wiser' move, only ever use one ink in a pen, dont chop and change - if i want to try a new ink then it gives me a perfectly good excuse to buy another pen - think of all the hours of fun scouring pen shops and ebay looking for that specific pen at a given price, and the elation that follows the success, not to mention the fun of developing my little system

 

black body gold trim - black

black body chrome trim - blue black

flighter gold trim - purple

flighter chrome trim - royal blue

rolled gold - turquoise

satin steel flighter, chrome trim - florida blue

 

oooo just ordered some burgandy ink, off to ebay for a parker 88 in a fetching blue/burgundy decor

 

 

[Randal6393]

What an enabler! Guess we should all buy a new pen every time we buy (or try) a different ink.

 

Enjoy,

In the last 18 years of using fountain pens I have always filled through the nib, my trusty old vector has never had the converter removed and has never been washed out or 'flushed' as it has always had parker blue black in it and nothing else, now that i am older i have found a 'wiser' move, only ever use one ink in a pen, dont chop and change - if i want to try a new ink then it gives me a perfectly good excuse to buy another pen - think of all the hours of fun scouring pen shops and ebay looking for that specific pen at a given price, and the elation that follows the success, not to mention the fun of developing my little system

 

black body gold trim - black

black body chrome trim - blue black

flighter gold trim - purple

flighter chrome trim - royal blue

rolled gold - turquoise

satin steel flighter, chrome trim - florida blue

 

oooo just ordered some burgandy ink, off to ebay for a parker 88 in a fetching blue/burgundy decor

 

 

[tutelman]

Filling like a piston filler by submerging the nib is faster and gets ink to the feed. But when you're at the bottom of the ink bottle, nothing beats the naked convertor when it comes to sucking up those last few drops. (And I have yet to have a problem with a convertor not seating tightly. If I did, I'd probably buy a new one.)

[OcalaFlGuy]

I don't think the forward and reverse flushing of the nib feed channels thru the nib, converter installed, should be under emphasized. Even more so if you're using a highly saturated ink.

 

We're not talking any power flush sediment removing velocities but a lot more than that from the usual flow from gravity.

 

I also agree the less times a friction fit converter is removed and reinstalled, the better. Some say there are certain vintage converters that work better than their more modern replacements (the Sheaffer red tip for one) and anything small that can be done to increase their lifespan probably should be.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Edited December 6, 2011 by OcalaFlGuy