Syringe blunt needle for cartridge refills

[kavanagh]

Dear Colleagues,

 

I’ve realised that some of my pens will not accept ink converters and that not recycling plastic ink cartridges is expensive ( money that can be better spent on new pens ....)

 

I want to refill ink cartridges with bottled ink, but I’m not sure what needle diameter to use ( blunt tip needle ) that will slide comfortably inside the mouth of a standard international cartridge to inject the ink.

fleabay has a variety of blunt tip needles, but the sizes are confusing, they go from 14G to 25G. 
1) Can anyone tell me the best size to use, and also if a 10ml syringe is sufficient?. 
2) Is it also better to use a separate empty ink bottle from which to extract the ink ( rather than the original ink bottle, with the risk of contaminating it with the blunt needle).

Thank you guys

[Karmachanic]

These will do. Picked at random. Flush when done and fill from bottle.

[kavanagh]

15 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

These will do. Picked at random. Flush when done and fill from bottle.

 

Thank you Karmachanic. 

[Karmachanic]

2 minutes ago, kavanagh said:

Thank you Karmachanic. 

 

You're welcome. Pass it on.

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, kavanagh said:

the sizes are confusing, they go from 14G to 25G. 

 

The larger its gauge number, the thinner the needle is. A 14-gauge needle will easily pass through the 2.4mm-diameter opening on an international standard cartridge. Chinese fountain pens typically use cartridges with wider openings than that, as does Lamy, Parker, Pilot, etc.

 

1 hour ago, kavanagh said:

1) Can anyone tell me the best size to use, and also if a 10ml syringe is sufficient?

 

The thinner the needle, the harder it will be to draw ink through it into the syringe, so you'll probably want to use as thick a needle as you can get that will cleanly pass through the opening of the cartridge. The typical ink cartridge holds less than 1ml of ink, so a 10ml syringe is overkill.

[kavanagh]

Thanks for the advice A Smug Dill.

 

I’ve always wanted to do this, but was put off by the logistics of needles and the mess it could create.

I regret throwing away those Cross Cartridges (that have a unique shape), in to the bin.
I suppose it’s also a financially efficient way of making pens write wetter (by using a Diamine ink ), without having to send it to a nibmeister.

Edited February 24, 2021 by kavanagh
Grammatical error

[inkstainedruth]

You can also buy regular hypodermic needles and blunt the end yourself (although you may need a sharpening stone or various grit sandpaper).  That's what I did -- bought a 10 pack of needles at a pharmacy (the really thin needle ones used for insulin) and my husband has a sharpening stone he acquired somewhere or other.  I did that early on, but then decided I hated cleaning and refilling cartridges.  

There's also a hack that Como posted photos of in another thread, where he cut the back end off a cartridge and glued on a cut-down sac with shellac, thus turning it into a makeshift bulb-filler.  I may try that trick for the Penatia (Cross sub-brand) pen, because it apparently only takes International Standard short cartridges (the Edelstein cartridges I have are too long for the barrel to fit over), if I can't find decent International Standard short converters -- having read decidedly mixed reviews of Kaweco converters.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[mizgeorge]

Father Christmas brought me some of these - and I have to say they are much easier to use - the spring means I can do the whole thing one handed, which for someone who spills as much ink as I do is a big bonus!

[Ron Z]

Industrial syringes with blunt needles can be found on Ebay.  Shop a bit through the offerings, and you'll find some decent prices.

[irrigger]

Where did "Father Christmas" find the spring loaded syringes

[es9]

35 minutes ago, irrigger said:

Where did "Father Christmas" find the spring loaded syringes

 

Throw "spring filler ink" into Google.  I've thought about using them for precisely applying solvent to the bottom of a barrel (e.g., Sheaffer vac-fills), but I'll save that question for a different part of this site

[brokenclay]

Those spring fillers are nice!

 

I bought a short blunt needle (and syringe) from our local ranch supply store.

[irrigger]

Thanks. I found them as the Moonman ink fillers.

[sansenri]

I've used ordinary 2.5 ml syringes since time immemorial... and never really bothered that they were not blunt needles either...

but those springy ink fillers do look nice!

[kavanagh]

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

You can also buy regular hypodermic needles and blunt the end yourself (although you may need a sharpening stone or various grit sandpaper).  That's what I did -- bought a 10 pack of needles at a pharmacy (the really thin needle ones used for insulin) and my husband has a sharpening stone he acquired somewhere or other.  I did that early on, but then decided I hated cleaning and refilling cartridges.  

There's also a hack that Como posted photos of in another thread, where he cut the back end off a cartridge and glued on a cut-down sac with shellac, thus turning it into a makeshift bulb-filler.  I may try that trick for the Penatia (Cross sub-brand) pen, because it apparently only takes International Standard short cartridges (the Edelstein cartridges I have are too long for the barrel to fit over), if I can't find decent International Standard short converters -- having read decidedly mixed reviews of Kaweco converters.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Ruth, to blunt the end of a syringe with a sharpening stone is dedication to the cause!. Thank you. 

 

2 hours ago, Ron Z said:

Industrial syringes with blunt needles can be found on Ebay.  Shop a bit through the offerings, and you'll find some decent prices.

Ron Z, will do - Karmachanic sent me a useful link.

 

13 minutes ago, sansenri said:

I've used ordinary 2.5 ml syringes since time immemorial... and never really bothered that they were not blunt needles either...

but those springy ink fillers do look nice!

 

Would it still be worth investing in an empty ink bottle, and take the batch of ink from that for the cartridges ? - I don’t want to contaminate or introduce flora in to the original ink bottle as it could encourage mould growth. 

[torstar]

When I run out I go to the pharmacy and tell them i need real syringes for my fountain pen hobby, each time they have readily obliged.

 

Or I ask the doctor or other healthcare person at an attended clinic for a few for my fountain pen hobby.

 

 

[AmandaW]

For Australians looking for a blunt needles syringe: I got mine from LarryPost. Very cheap, bought two five years ago. Still using the first one... Good for cleaning cartridges as well as filling them.

 

Just saying. There will be other places with them too.

 

 

[Karmachanic]

9 hours ago, kavanagh said:

Would it still be worth investing in an empty ink bottle, and take the batch of ink from that for the cartridges ? - I don’t want to contaminate or introduce flora in to the original ink bottle as it could encourage mould growth. 

 

5ml sample vials 😀

[A Smug Dill]

9 hours ago, AmandaW said:

There will be other places with them too.

 

Such as my study, haha… I have more than a hundred of them sitting in a box, mostly intended for ink sample giveaways that will never happen now.

[kavanagh]

3 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

5ml sample vials 😀

Aha! - Good idea - and a good excuse to try out a new ink!. 

 

11 hours ago, AmandaW said:

For Australians looking for a blunt needles syringe: I got mine from LarryPost. Very cheap, bought two five years ago. Still using the first one... Good for cleaning cartridges as well as filling them.

 

Just saying. There will be other places with them too.

 

 

Cheers AmandaW, I would love to try some of those Blackstone Inks from Australia ( called Colours of Australia) from the site below:

https://justwrite.com.au/blackstone-fountain-pen-ink/blackstone-fountain-pen-ink-colours-of-australia