How To Get That Last Drop Of Ink In A Bottle For Self Filling Pens

[leewm]

With the help of a simple flexible tube that fits over the nib section, here's how to get that very last drop of your favorite ink.

 

https://youtu.be/JE1ZxNk5hiQ

 

 

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi Leewm,

 

Interesting approach,... but I dunno... ...seems like you may need various diameters of vinyl tubing to accommodate all of your sections.

 

I really like the plain old Ink Miser from Noodler's... or the gizmo from TWSBI for the Vac... although that one is a little pricey at $15, considering it only works on a couple of pens... AFAIK.

 

When it comes to filling pens... go with whatever works for you.

 

Be well and enjoy life.

 

 

- Anthony

[Karmachanic]

Removing the nib housing and using a syringe works for me..

[surprise123]

Didn't Noodler's have that ink cup you stuck in the bottle? Looked like a small cone. Used to have one, no idea where it is now.

 

Personally, I use a Sheaffer Snorkel to suck out those last few drops. Nothing goes to waste, and Snorks are wonderful pens anyways.

[Freddy]

Didn't Noodler's have that ink cup you stuck in the bottle? Looked like a small cone. Used to have one, no idea where it is now.

Never seen that in any bottle of.........when you find..please post photo and or scan...Thanks.

Personally, I use a Sheaffer Snorkel to suck out those last few drops. Nothing goes to waste, and Snorks are wonderful pens anyways.

That's good to know what you do...personally...however how do you get out the last drop....Saludos, my darlings, and you

know who you are...C'mon, let's mingle.....So nice to see you..and You look Marvelous.....

Re: Sheaffer Snorkel pens..They're neat-o and so are diesel-electric submarines with 'em....

Still your friend and mine..

Fred

Always has and always will be Good To The Last Drop............

Edited April 21, 2019 by Freddy

[Bo Bo Olson]

A Snorkel was invented for that.

The needle syringe works if one has a Pelikan or Geha with a twist out nib section.

 

Best is if the ink was good, is to put the remainder in the newly opened and just used bottle.............if the ink was not good.......dump it,

or put it in the wonderment Alchemist jar.......if it isn't poison like R&K Sepia.

[PhotoJim]

Pineider has a little snorkel accessory that you can use to fill most cartridge converters, too. You fill the converter outside of the pen, then put the converter in a pen. I was able to get all but a fraction of a millilitre of my Waterman Florida Blue used up this way.

[Mech-for-i]

I had lab use syringe with blunt and long tip ; work always even with small ink sample vile

[tonybelding]

Goulet sells 5ml syringes with a long, blunt-tipped dispenser needle. It's like a hummingbird beak. It can suck up every last droplet from a bottle and then put it exactly where you want it. It's ideal for filling eyedropper pens, but you can also refill cartridges, put ink directly into converters, or into any pen that can be opened up.

[Runnin_Ute]

When it gets to a certain point - even with a device like what Levenger puts in every bottle of ink, transferring to a sample vial is a good way. Of course, at some point the aforementioned blunt needle syringe becomes very practical. Even with a sample vial.

[sirgilbert357]

OK, none of ya'll seem to see the value in what's being done in the video, but I have to say this is awesome and it just solved a problem for me and my Pilot Custom 823. I was about to order a Pineider pen filler, but now I don't have to...

 

A 5ml sample vial isn't really enough to fill the 823 easily. I have to stress "easily" because I like to get a FULL fill. This tubing method would allow me to work the vac filler mechanism multiple times to get a full fill without having any ink leftover in the tubing (you still have to have about 1.5 - 2.0 ml of ink in the vial to cover the nib for the vac to drink from in a 5 ml vial) AND without having to worry about ink splashing out of the vial when I do the second pump, AND I wouldn't have to remove the pen from the ink to invert it for the pre-compression stroke for the second pump because the pen will already be inverted while filling (see Brian Goulet's video on getting a full fill on the vac700 or the Pilot 823 if you don't know what I mean). Brilliant!

 

For the tubing, I'd just cut it to be a little longer to accommodate the max fill of an 823, with a long enough extra portion so nothing can spray or splash out.

[sirgilbert357]

Hi Leewm,

 

Interesting approach,... but I dunno... ...seems like you may need various diameters of vinyl tubing to accommodate all of your sections.

 

I really like the plain old Ink Miser from Noodler's... or the gizmo from TWSBI for the Vac... although that one is a little pricey at $15, considering it only works on a couple of pens... AFAIK.

 

When it comes to filling pens... go with whatever works for you.

 

Be well and enjoy life.

 

 

- Anthony

 

You could probably accommodate the variances between most pens by either warming up the tubing with a hair dryer a bit and stretching it or cutting a slit in it and melting it back together with a lighter (to make the diameter smaller). Where there's a will, there's a way! And I'm always happy to explore saving money by finding workarounds, lol!

[ParkerDuofold]

You could probably accommodate the variances between most pens by either warming up the tubing with a hair dryer a bit and stretching it or cutting a slit in it and melting it back together with a lighter (to make the diameter smaller). Where there's a will, there's a way! And I'm always happy to explore saving money by finding workarounds, lol!

Hi SG,

 

Yeah, heating the tube probably would do the trick...

 

 

...Hi all,...

 

But I'd like to reiterate my recommendation for the Ink Miser... it's so easy to use... pour the ink in... fill your pen... pour what's left back in the bottle... rinse for 2-3 seconds under tap... DONE.

 

No awkward syringes that are difficult to clean, etc.

 

It's just... pour... fill... pour... rinse... DONE... ... and Bob or Chuck Jones' your uncle.

 

But to each his/her own,...

 

...but for me,... the ink miser compells me to do cart wheels whenever it's pen filling time.

 

 

Be well all.

 

 

- Anthony

[sirgilbert357]

I got some vinyl tubing today at the hardware store. It's 3/8 inch inner diameter and fits snugly on the grip section of my Pilot 823, in case anyone else wants to know what fits this pen. Ten foot section of tubing was $4.93. Looking forward to trying it when I get home, as the 823 is about 60% empty.

 

This is also really helpful for me in another way: I am mixing small batches of ink to make a custom color just for the 823. Before now, I would have had to mix an extra 2ml of ink beyond what it will suck up just to have the nib covered so it will fill properly. If I don't like the color of the batch, this is kind of wasted ink (but I don't pour it out, I just use it up anyway). I'm about to mix another batch and it's nice to know I don't have to make ANY extra and I can mix just enough to fill the pen and that's it. Pretty excited to try this out.

[bemon]

The Pineider Snorkel is ridiculously useful- especially for samples. Interesting idea for self fillers though.

 

When I run into this issue I tend to turn to my Lamy 2000 where I just unscrew the section and use a syringe to feed the ink directly into my pen's belly. Works well for me, but I suppose pulling off the nib and/or section of your pen might not be the best option for any old pen.

[bemon]

the 823 is about 60% empty.

 

 

I feel like the "glass half full/half empty" argument as it relates to positive thinking is reversed in this community. As in "my pen is 60% empty which means I get to fill it again soon!"