Rohrer And Klingner Ekra-Rapid (Bottle Insert Filler)

[loganrah]

The Rohrer and Klingner Ekra-Rapid is a bottle insert type filling device, the kind you invert the ink bottle to fill before putting your pen in. See the product here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rohrer-Klingner-erka-rapid-insertion-bottles/dp/B015Q7O1K6?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_marketplace

 

The review: the Ekra-Rapid works great for the intended purpose for small pens (vintage ringtops, Kaweco sports) but unfortunately does not really work for full size pens (Pilot 742), or at all for large pens like the Pilot 823 or MB 149.

 

Given the cheap price this would not be a big issue since it is really those small pens you need the help for anyway. However in the Rohrer and Klingner ink bottles the Ekra-Rapid fits very snuggly and requires leverage (side of a knife) to remove. Removing it regularly is also a messy affair wasting some ink.

 

I would recommend this product if you are only likely to be filling pens with small nibs from a particular bottle. But if you are likely to want to fill both large and small pens I would not suggest it as the best tool. (Large pens cannot be filled in the normal way with the Ekra-Rapid installed.)

 

Finally, the Ekra-Rapid also fits the current 3oz Noodler's Ink bottles, which is a nice bonus (I have not tested it with other ink bottles). However the opposite problem appears here: the fit is very loose. Hence the Ekra-Rapid is prone to coming out with the lid so you must be extremely careful when opening a bottle with it installed. Given the difficult filling shape of Noodler's bottles this is a trade-off I am willing to live with until a better solution arrives in my hands.

Edited June 29, 2020 by loganrah

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Thank you for posting this

[stephenchin]

agreed: many thanks and wish i had known this before I purchased 6.

 

This has prompted me to make a quick check of other pens that do and don't appear to work (note that this has as much to do with the length and shape of the nib as it does with the diameter of the section).

 

The insert does work for many medium-sized pens, not just for small pens like ring-tops and Kaweco Sports. However, the amount of the draw may be slightly less with pens with longer nibs, as the pen is only drawing from the top part of the reservoir (which is, cleverly, much wider than the bottom of the cone shaped insert).

 

Pens that do work with this insert:

 

Parker 51

Parker Duofold Sr. (vintage, both Streamline and flat-top, but early Sr. may be partial draw)

Pelikan 400/Pelikan m600 with vintage 400 nib

Lamy 2000

Pelikan 100n

Pelikan m101n

Pilot Super100/Super 250

Sheaffer fat TD/Triumph plunger filler

Sheaffer Cadet/Craftsman/Imperial TD filler

Sheaffer Imperial TD

Sheaffer Targa

Sheaffer Connaisseur (somewhat limited draw)

Pelikan m30

Montblanc 146

Montblanc 14/24 (presumably entire series of smaller 12/14 60's piston fillers)

Waterman 52-56 (56 is only a partial draw but significant)

Conklin Nozac (Jr & Sr, 5m and 7m word gauge)

Eversharp Skyline Standard size (but not Executive)

 

Pens that do not work:

 

Bock #6/ Jowo #6 pens

Sheaffer OS balance

Parker OS vac

Omas Paragon/Gentleman

Moore 94

Eversharp OS deco band

Swan 56

Montblanc 149

 

So all in all, still a useful device--just not if you only have large size pens with #6 size nibs and larger.

 

 

If anyone wants me to test any specific pens for them that I may have, let me know.

Edited June 29, 2020 by stephenchin

[stephenchin]

btw, Jetpens, Vanness and Pen Chalet all have these for cheaper than Amazon (before shipping), if you're already putting an order in with them.

Edited June 29, 2020 by stephenchin

[loganrah]

 

 

The insert does work for many medium-sized pens, not just for small pens like ring-tops and Kaweco Sports. However, the amount of the draw may be slightly less with pens with longer nibs, as the pen is only drawing from the top part of the reservoir (which is, cleverly, much wider than the bottom of the cone shaped insert).

 

 

Thanks for contributing this list.

 

However, I don't think we should count a device specifically designed to fill pens as working, if it does not allow for a complete fill.

Edited June 30, 2020 by loganrah

[stephenchin]

Thanks for contributing this list.

 

However, I don't think we should count a device specifically designed to fill pens as working, if it does not allow for a complete fill.

I hope that this list will help others determine if the Ekra-Rapid will work for their pens and ink bottles.

 

For larger pens, there is also the ink-shot ink vial to try. There is a larger ink-miser insert that works in larger bottles like the Noodler's and the Stipula Calamo that may accomodate larger pens. And the Visconti travelling ink-pots, which will allow you to invert the pen and ink and draw more ink--but only works with certain pens.

 

However, if you are looking for a device that will allow you to completely fill a very large-nibbed pen, from the last dregs at the bottom of a bottle, you may find that the laws of physics, volume and geometry will frustrate you.

 

For $3 an insert, the Ekra-Rapid does its job reasonably well across a wide variety of smaller bottles (in addition to the Rohrer & Klingner, for which it was designed); and for a surprisingly wide variety of pens. But as the OP pointed out, you do have to be careful when opening the ink bottle cap in non-R&K bottles, where the insert is loose and can come out.

 

But it's just a tool--with it's limitations and uses, like the ink bottle itself.

 

Would you say that a 5-gallon gas can doesn't work because it doesn't completely fill your tank? Or a medium-sized belt doesn't work because it doesn't quite fit around your oversized waist? Both are specifically designed to do a job. But with understandable limitations.

Edited June 30, 2020 by stephenchin

[The Good Captain]

I got mine from The Writing Desk here in the UK. Had no problems.

[Brandywine]

For those who want to google the item:

the correct name is ERKA - Rapid and not EKRA - Rapid

 

And it works in 30ml Pelikan bottles as well (the small ones, not the 60ml ones!)

and all bottles like it: Octopus, Standardgraph, Lindauer ...