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Alternatives To Silicone Grease In Cc To Ed Conversions


Kella

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Generally speaking you don't want to convert a pen that has both a threaded barrel and threaded cap into an eye dropper. Ideally you want threaded barrel, and snap/pull caps (like the pilot metro has... but not metal interior).

 

Why would you say that? When you say "threaded barrel", are you meaning that the section threads into the barrel itself? (One assumes as much)

 

Unless you have the rare pen where the cap threads on the front edge of the section, I see no reason why the two threaded areas would have any interaction, and therefore be of any caution. In fact, it seems that a snap on cap, which would be clamping onto the section, might be more of an issue - someone not used to the pen might try to unscrew the cap, and if it had a good grip on the section, might unscrew it and let loose the flood.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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I have the complete collection of Apiezon greases.

 

I won't go there.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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At some point we should discuss the Apiezon greases.

 

I did a bit of reading and its properties are rather fascinating. Have you ever used it in any repairs in place of shellac or section sealant? Not that the latter two are bad to work with, but it would be interesting to see how the W40 grease works out in practice!

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Why would you say that? When you say "threaded barrel", are you meaning that the section threads into the barrel itself? (One assumes as much)

 

Unless you have the rare pen where the cap threads on the front edge of the section, I see no reason why the two threaded areas would have any interaction, and therefore be of any caution. In fact, it seems that a snap on cap, which would be clamping onto the section, might be more of an issue - someone not used to the pen might try to unscrew the cap, and if it had a good grip on the section, might unscrew it and let loose the flood.

 

I'm talking bout if the pen requires you to screw both the cap and the barrel. Because a cap with a screwed on cap can possibly unscrew the section away from the barrel as opposed to unscrewing the cap from the section. *some* pens do that (cause the section to become unscrewed or loose enough to leak as you're unscrewing the cap)

Edited by KBeezie
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I got a very small tub of silicon grease from a radio controlled model suppliers, it is used in model cars, model railways for axles etc. I have seen very small pots and tubs for sale on amazon, ebay etc. I have seen it in dive stores in tubes and is used on camera seals, o-rings etc. I am sure there will be other suitable products (such as beeswax mentioned earlier), but I personally would not take the risk and would stick to what is tried and tested.

 

Good luck and please let us know how you get on. A pic would be nice. :-)

 

Best Regards.

 

D.

Never try and teach a pig to sing: it wastes your time and annoys the pig

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Conversion to eyedropper (ED) is not without drawbacks. A big one is ink "burping" due to expanding air inside the ink chamber due to heating in the hand or pocket or gushing when the pen is nearly empty. And then there is that day when you forget which pen you are holding and unscrew the barrel to see how much ink is in the pen or something when you are out and about. While I do have good-performing, converted ED pens myself, I have found it necessary to limit their capacity to prevent the issues that go along with EDs. If the squeeze converter doesn't hold enough ink, I suggest that you refill cartridges with a syringe, instead. The Pilot cartridges can hold about 1ml of ink. This is a pretty decent amount.

 

Having a problem due to a thread-on cap usually requires that the section be wedged into the cap. This is unlikely with thread-on caps. It's much more common with push-on caps, ironically, but of course then you shouldn't be trying to get the cap off with an unscrewing motion..

Edited by mhosea

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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I'm talking bout if the pen requires you to screw both the cap and the barrel. Because a cap with a screwed on cap can possibly unscrew the section away from the barrel as opposed to unscrewing the cap from the section. *some* pens do that (cause the section to become unscrewed or loose enough to leak as you're unscrewing the cap)

 

I don't follow. How does a cap with threads "screw off" a section threaded into the barrel? The threads in the cap are mated with the threads on the exterior of the barrel; the cap doesn't touch the section, and therefore couldn't unscrew it. Which "some pens" are you speaking of?

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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With most threaded things you get screwed one way or another.

 

If there were only a sticky product that could be used on the barrel to section threads that would also act as a sealant we would be set. A tacky sealant as it were, we could avoid unwanted screwing while unscrewing and not get screwed.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

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The beeswax works great for now. I will try the silicone grease here soon. I managed to get some from the gutter supply company my dad gets his materials from so will be using it once the ink runs out during this fill. Thank you for all the help and suggestions. I will post pictures as soon as I can!

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I don't follow. How does a cap with threads "screw off" a section threaded into the barrel? The threads in the cap are mated with the threads on the exterior of the barrel; the cap doesn't touch the section, and therefore couldn't unscrew it. Which "some pens" are you speaking of?

I think he's talking about Pens like the nemosine where the cap threads onto the section rather than the barrel. Otherwise I don't see how it would be a problem.

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I think he's talking about Pens like the nemosine where the cap threads onto the section rather than the barrel. Otherwise I don't see how it would be a problem.

 

That would make sense. There's also the Nussbaum Pen Co. "John Ross", which has threads at the end of the section like the early Sheaffer Crest lever fillers. These are unusual arrangements, obviously.

 

It is faintly possible to wedge a section into an inner cap. In most cases you would be damaging something by doing so (in which case accidentally unscrewing the barrel would be the least of your troubles), but I think the modern Sailor and Platinum inner caps do slip over the edges of the section. Whether it's possible to wedge the section in by applying stupid levels of torque, I don't know and am not about to find out. Conversely, I have more than once seen "51" type slip on caps get wedged on pretty securely in conjunction with some accident or other.

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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I think he's talking about Pens like the nemosine where the cap threads onto the section rather than the barrel. Otherwise I don't see how it would be a problem.

 

I kind of thought that, which is why I specifically pointed out the exception for pens with caps that thread onto sections (I think there might be a Cristoph-Franklin pen like this, and certainly there are very old vintage ED pens like this.). Proper terminology, like using the term section, helps avoid confusion.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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With most threaded things you get screwed one way or another.

 

If there were only a sticky product that could be used on the barrel to section threads that would also act as a sealant we would be set. A tacky sealant as it were, we could avoid unwanted screwing while unscrewing and not get screwed.

Don't they call that Loctite?;)

Some people say they march to a different drummer. Me? I hear bagpipes.

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Don't they call that Loctite? ;)

 

Don't go there. First he'll start on "red or blue?", and it will spin out of control from there...

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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Jon,... I just received a Franklin-Christoph model 03 the Iterum.

With this pen & possibly with a few more of the F-C pens that have the cap threads at the front lip of their section, the unscrewing of the cap may also unscrew the section itself.

 

I was thinking about this while I first opened the pen to clean & flush it for the first time.

With all my other C/C pens, after the section is removed, the cap & barrel can still be screwed together.

Not with the Iterum's design.

If you remove the section, you are left with two parts in your hands, the cap & the barrel, that do not screw together.

 

This got me thinking about how appropriate my new 03 would be as an ED. Once screwed together & gently tightened, the Iterum's section & barrel reasonably sealed.

But,...could I put enough torque on the cap (when unscrewing it) to be able break the seal between the section & barrel.

Time will tell, as I'll first use this pen with international long carts or converters.

Edited by tinta

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

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Yep, tinta, that is one of the few pens I had in mind. Proceed with caution! :)

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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Jon, ...according to the maker, there is an inside shelf on the Iterum's barrel that is machined to match the the contour of the section's threaded, relieved bottom edge.

When you are screwing this pen's section home, you can feel that a contact is being made between these two parts.

You then turn past this point, till the section becomes snug on the barrel.

The makers say that grease may not be needed,... but as you've suggested,... I'll proceed with caution.

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

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Don't go there. First he'll start on "red or blue?", and it will spin out of control from there...

And green. Don't forget the green.

 

But NO I didn't mean Loctite. I was thinking more along the lines of something else though I do have the full set of Loctite as well.

 

I usually use the red but we have one specification that specifically calls for the blue. If you let Fred use your bottle, 9 times out of 10 you will get it back with a split cap the other time he will crack the bottle. Have you ever spilled Loctite in your tool bag?

 

Oh my, I think I'm started.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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