MB 149 and shallow ink bottles

[FredRydr]

Congrats to myself.  I followed the convolution of uploading an image via this new forum software, so here's my point about the advantage of other bottles besides the MB bottle.  Montblanc bottles preclude effective access to remaining ink, even if tipped, because of the smaller mouth and shallow depth.

 

Top photo: All three are filled with the same volume of liquid.  The Waterman has a wide mouth, so a pen with a large nib (like a 149) at an angle can can access remaining ink easier.  

L to R: Waterman, Omas, Montblanc old-style.  

 

 

Bottom photo: I was comparing access to contents of the similar Waterman and Pelikan bottles.  Note the sticks in relation to the bottom of the liquid, but I should have also used a 149 to illustrate the advantage of the wider mouth of the Waterman bottle.  It allows better access than the Pelikan bottle to angle large pens to get at remaining ink.  The Montblanc bottle didn't compare (top photo).

L to R:  Pelikan, Waterman

 

[Kenlowe]

If you are brave and not a coffee drinker you can do the same with the Parker bottle.

 

I am not that brave.

[Switala]

Great tips and solutions for the ink bottles that are running low.

I take a different approach, use a Sheaffer Snorkel to suck up the last drop of ink from the bottle.

It has worked well for me.

[FredRydr]

9 minutes ago, Switala said:

...I take a different approach, use a Sheaffer Snorkel to suck up the last drop of ink from the bottle.  It has worked well for me.

LOL  That's cheating!  But when it comes to using the last milliliter, that's what I do as well.  🙂

[bunnspecial]

The Sheaffer inkwells are often touted as a great solution(I've been guilty of saying it myself) but TBH I've found them of limited utility with anything other than a snorkel or a skinny hooded nib like a "51". I'll also sometimes fill converters directly out of them, but the well really is shallow.

 

After I bought a bottle of Penman Sapphire, I'm in love with the bottle. I commented in another thread about the fact that Queen Elizabeth II apparently is still able to get her own special color of Penman from Parker, and if the bottle is still in production I'd buy normal Quink(an ink I'm not particularly fond of otherwise) bottled in a Penman bottle.

[BlueJ]

My Noodler's Ink Miser inkwell serves very nicely for filling my 149. A standard ink sample vial can be used too, as well as the internal "cups" in ink bottles such as Levenger's and the old Parker Penman, as Bunnspecial mentioned. The basic idea is to use a narrow container that fills to a high level with a small volume (of course it has to accommodate the front of the pen too.)

 

Using an external well does imply transferring ink with an eyedropper. Pouring ink risks a spill!

[tde44x]

I added an inkmiser to a re-purposed (emptied from use) Monteverde 90ml bottle.

[tommym]

There have been at least three versions of the MB glass shoe ink bottle. I still prefer the oldest one that is shown at the bottom of the image.

 

Tommy

 

[maclink]

19 minutes ago, tommym said:

There have been at least three versions of the MB glass shoe ink bottle. I still prefer the oldest one that is shown at the bottom of the image.

 

Tommy

 

Interesting.  Do you know the technical reasons for the changes and how they evolved?  The newest seems the least functional based on the concept.  Of course, I stress 'seems' since it may look that way but it actually isn't if I were to compare their performance.

[tommym]

50 minutes ago, maclink said:

Interesting.  Do you know the technical reasons for the changes and how they evolved?  The newest seems the least functional based on the concept.  Of course, I stress 'seems' since it may look that way but it actually isn't if I were to compare their performance.

 Nope, I do not have a clue as to why they changed the design.  I do agree that the newest one seems to be the least functional.

 

Tommy

[niksch]

On 3/3/2021 at 2:17 PM, tommym said:

There have been at least three versions of the MB glass shoe ink bottle. I still prefer the oldest one that is shown at the bottom of the image.

 

Tommy

 

 

 

The oldest MB bottle is the best IMO.

 

BUT.  Nobody has mentioned the Visconti Traveling Ink Pot as an alternative.

 

 

[Wolverine1]

I buy inks, and decant the ink into either old Parker Penman bottles, or recently, I have taken to decanting the ink into P.W. Akermann ink bottles.  And as Erick has said, the Visconti Travelling Ink Pot also works very well.  Unfortunately, when I started suffering strokes, I thought I was going to die, and sold it off along with a lot of my pens!!!!!  That was rather stupid of me!!!!

[ljmudit]

On 3/7/2021 at 11:37 AM, niksch said:

 

The oldest MB bottle is the best IMO.

 

BUT.  Nobody has mentioned the Visconti Traveling Ink Pot as an alternative.

 

 

 

MB 149 is my daily driver too. Both Visconti Travelling Ink Well and the Pineider pen filler come in handy when the levels are low. Although the former is a pain to clean out than the latter (I use permanent inks). 

[samasry]

Lamy ink bottle

[irrigger]

You can also use the sample vial from Goulets as a mini travel ink well to get the last drops of ink into your 149. I have been told that there are some newer vials with a slightly smaller ID and the shoulders of the nib can be a tight squeeze.

 

[Kenlowe]

1 hour ago, salmasry said:

Lamy ink bottle

 

 

Hi Salmasry

 

I think that this is the best solution, the Lamy bump provides for ease of filling, it is worth buying a bottle of Lamy ink just for the bottle!

 

Lamy Green is excellent by the way

 

regards

 

KL

[samasry]

2 hours ago, Kenlowe said:

 

 

Hi Salmasry

 

I think that this is the best solution, the Lamy bump provides for ease of filling, it is worth buying a bottle of Lamy ink just for the bottle!

 

Lamy Green is excellent by the way

 

regards

 

KL

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

 

I know that in my case and  since I am   a bit  clumsy, this bottle design havs saved many of my  nibs.

 

I agree with you about their ink as well.  Not a lot of dedicated fans out there, but in reality it is good ink.

 

BTW, couple of the online pen shops used to sell empty lamy bottles for $2 to $3, and   you can get a full bottle for $8 to $11.  

I did like  you and  went with full bottles.

[Newton Pens]

TWSBI bottles come with a plastic reservoir thing that goes in the bottle.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMQJuP_BnSB/