Maximizing A Piston Fill

[Arkanabar]

Here's how to get the very most possible ink into a piston pen, whether c/c or full piston. This method takes practice, and is prone to causing spills, so take all the precautions you're able. I'm not responsible for your spills.

Put the pen into the ink (I use sample vials; I don't worry about fungus contaminating the pipettes I use to fill the vials from bottles). Draw in just enough ink to start having a little come into the ink chamber. A couple turns ought to do.

Then lift the pen, still point down, out of the ink, and make a couple more turns. This will draw most of the ink currently in the feed into the chamber.

Then lift the pen away from the bottle and, holding it point up, deliberately draw in air -- as much as you can. This draws in just a little more of the ink from the feed to the ink chamber, combining suction and gravity. The goal is to have as much of the ink as possible out of the feed and into the ink chamber. The more you are able to draw ink out of the feed, the easier the next part gets.

Still holding the pen point up, slowly slowly slowly slowly drive the air out of the ink chamber, and refill the feed. This is the part that causes drips and messes. The moment you see ink puddling up around where the feed enters the section, STOP.

Put the pen back in the ink, fill the rest of the way, force three drops back out of the pen and into the ink so that your feed isn't so full as to drip, and wipe. And you're done.

[Flaxmoore]

Good post! My favorite for this is the Lamy Al-Star- translucent section, you can see a half-ml of ink flood the feed.

[Fountainer]

Thanks! Although i have already sometimes paid attention to removing air bubbles, i will now fine tune my procedures according to your methods and maybe turn from occasional full-filling to more routine like full-filling. There is a slight problem however that my currently most used pen has no ink window.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Akanabar is always a good read.

 

Then you have to let three drops out of the piston, so you don't get vapor lock. (My '50's MB & Pelikan paper work says let three drops out.) I do admit to having filled my pens with out letting anything out, but I was writing immediately and not putting the pen up in a pocket.

 

 

I'm lazy, just dunk a well made or even second tier German piston pen into the ink and twist, if need be a second time.

Don't know anything about the new Japanese or Chinese piston pens.

 

Sigh cubed.........I could easily fill two or even three pens in that time.......or one takes one's ball point to lend.

 

Akanabar's method could really fill a 400NN or '50's 400 to 2.0ml +.