Reusable Converter/Cartridges for travel

[kiethg]

First not a discussion on which is better Converter or Cartridges. I m new to fountain pens.  I want to travel with my fountain pen (work has me travel a lot), but am looking for solutions that do not include taking a jar of ink. Was wondering if anyone knows of converters or cartridges that I can fill and have a cap, to travel with. I know Noodler 308, but not sure if they will fit.  I have a international standard size pen (I believe) for travel, my home pen is different.  Thanks for any suggestions. 

[silverlifter]

What would be the point of a refillable cartridge if you don't have a bottle to fill it from?

 

If you want to refill a cartridge or converter on the road, you'll need some sort of container of ink. A bottle, or plastic jar if you are concerned about the bottle breaking, makes most sense. Either that, or just take a box of cartridges.

[arcfide]

I would suggest doing the box of cartridges route, since there are some good color selections available with International cartridges, but there are a few alternatives that might be up your alley. There's the traveling ink wells that various companies sell, which gives you small vials of ink from which to fill a pen with a converter, and I think those can be more convenient than a large bottle of ink. There are also sample vials which can serve the same purpose. 

 

Colorverse and some others have small bottles of ink that are as compact and easy to travel with as a box of cartridges, so you might find those worth your time as well. You can pick up such small bottles and fill them with whatever your preferred ink is. 

 

Outside of that, the hardest and most time consuming solution would be to empty International cartridges and syringe fill them with your preferred ink and then try to reseal them using something like silicon. I've heard of people doing this, but IMO, it's more work than it is worth. 

 

My personal solution is to keep a bottle of ink and a corresponding set of cartridges of the same color so that when I travel, I can easily switch to using cartridges and then switch back to using bottles of ink when I am back home. This restricts my choice of colors, but fortunately, some of my favorite colors are available as cartridges, so this is is not a loss for me. 

[XYZZY]

 

You may have better luck with this request if a moderator moves it to "Fountain & Dip Pens - First Stop".  "Paper and Pen Paraphernalia" is more typically paper (obviously) and notebooks, cases, envelopes, wax, etc.

 

I started writing a response, but then realized that I was repeating what @arcfide already wrote.  He mentioned traveling inkwells, two that I can think of are the "Visconti Traveling Inkwell" and the "Pineider Pen Filler".  I have not personally tried either, but with specific names you can easily search for reviews of them.

 

I like the idea of the Pineider Pen Filler and have considered buying one, but when I travel the ink in the pens that I take is sufficient.  If I wanted to write more than that I would probably just take a bottle of ink and an ink rag.

[Karmachanic]

For short term travel I find three filled pens sufficient.  For longer sojourns I rely upon 30ml Nalgene bottles, in carry-on along with the pens.

[inkstainedruth]

Another route would be to carry sample vials with the ink(s) you want with you on the trip.  I've even flown with mine -- in a ziplock bag in my purse to make it easy for TSA (as long as you're under the four oz. limits you should be fine -- I was).  

Personally, I hate cartridges and would much rather have pens that have converters or some other fill system.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[tim77]

16 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

For short term travel I find three filled pens sufficient.  For longer sojourns I rely upon 30ml Nalgene bottles, in carry-on along with the pens.

 

Those Nalgene bottles make excellent inkwells: very robust and leak-tight.  I came across them in a camping supplies store.  Note that there are two types: a wide-mouth version, and a narrow mouth version which at 13mm may be too small for some pens.

[tim77]

18 hours ago, kiethg said:

Was wondering if anyone knows of converters or cartridges that I can fill and have a cap, to travel with.

 

Ordinary cartridges can be re-sealed if you recover the tiny plastic spheres from the neck.  Chop open one emptied cartridge to retrieve the seal and use it in another.

[Karmachanic]

Cartridge stopper. Wouldn't trust them on 'plane though.

[Karmachanic]

An Opus 88 Demonstrator with a 3ml capacity, and a shut off valve might solve the problem. 

[A Smug Dill]

I agree with those who suggested just going with using commercially available (pre-filled and factory-sealed) ink cartridges of the right size. If you're using a pen that takes ‘international standard’ cartridges, the selection of ink colours you can buy in that format from different brands in the market is just astounding.

 

Please don't say you insist on using Sailor pigment inks or Platinum iron-gall inks or, Heaven forbid, Noodler's Ink inks, on your travelling assignments for work, although that is your prerogative — to limit and force yourself into a problem situation necessitating an unusual solution. Especially if, as you say, you're new to fountain pens; I'm sure out of the dozens of ink colours available in retail boxes of international standard short cartridges, something will meet your technical requirements if you pay the asking price for it.

[kiethg]

Thanks all, I have an ink I like and it dries fast but the cartridges are so much more when comparing to the bottle price so that is why I was wondering. 

[A Smug Dill]

23 minutes ago, kiethg said:

Thanks all, I have an ink I like and it dries fast but the cartridges are so much more when comparing to the bottle price so that is why I was wondering. 

 

So don't look at it as merely how many cents of out-of-pocket expense per millilitre, but as paying the ink manufacturer itself to supply you with fresh cartridge shells that you can just dispose of, and doing the work of filling and sealing the cartridges much better and more securely than you could accomplish yourself.

[XYZZY]

1 hour ago, kiethg said:

Thanks all, I have an ink I like and it dries fast but the cartridges are so much more when comparing to the bottle price so that is why I was wondering. 

 

By the way, how much ink do you need to take with you on these trips?

[peroride]

On 7/8/2021 at 12:31 PM, inkstainedruth said:

Another route would be to carry sample vials with the ink(s) you want with you on the trip

This.👍

 

I researched the travelling issue to death and concur this is the best option for me.

 

Why?

 

• Those standard screw on sample vials fit the bigger Bock 8 nibs and smaller, Conid bulkfiller to a Waterman 52.
• The only drawback is securing the light vial so it does not dip over while filling.  
• I have a travelling ink well and the Noodler's 308 refillables (that DO NOT seem to fit any other pen except for the intended Noodler's). They are actually too much ink to carry. Took a Lamy CP1 EF with full converter and a spare cartridge figuring I could get ink refills in Japan. Turns out I never refilled the CP1  at all! EF lines go a long long way.

Lesson learned: really assess needs beforehand.

 

 

[brokenclay]

How long are these trips, and how much writing do you do? Do you normally empty the pen in less time than the length of your trip?

 

My solution to the problem is to take multiple filled pens, rather than extra ink. That way I also get variety in both pens and inks, which pleases me.

 

If you want to take only one pen, and you are going to need to refill it, I vote for standard commercial cartridges, assuming they fit your pen, which you have not identified.

[arcfide]

12 hours ago, kiethg said:

Thanks all, I have an ink I like and it dries fast but the cartridges are so much more when comparing to the bottle price so that is why I was wondering. 

 

Honestly, unless you are using more cartridges than you are bottled ink, I don't think it's likely to be a major impact. If you start your trip with a large and fully filled converter, and then only switch to cartridges when the need arises during the trip, depending on the duration of your trip you might not use that many cartridges at all. This might be especially true if you are just doing very short, weekend style trips where you can get a converter to last a few days. 

 

But baring that, I think just finding a more convenient ink bottle for travel is likely to be an easier path than trying to find a more reusable cartridge for travel and storage. 

[kiethg]

All my trips tend to vary from a couple of days to a couple of months. On longer ones taking a vial with me is ok but on a week or so trip was looking for something other than the full vial of ink. I also write a lot as it helps me remember what is going on in meetings.

 

[Mech-for-i]

The best solution for frequent road trip fountain pen use is to get a couple or even trio of fountain pen with capacity , piston filler, vac filler, Eyedropper or similar that hold a load of ink ... I used to do that in my prior job as traveling engineer ( on site support ) , if its long enough that my fountain pen would run dry its likely long enough for me to be able to source ink locally. Which I only ever need twice ( both more than 10 weeks on the road )

[XYZZY]

7 hours ago, kiethg said:

... couple of months.... I also write a lot...

 

 

If it were me, I'd learn to love disposable cartridges or take along bottles.  The little Nalgene HDPE bottles (1oz or 2oz) are great.  Not the hard plastic consume Nalgene water bottles, but the HDPE laboratory bottles.  Eg.  https://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-HDPE-Mouth-Round-Container/dp/B000VKZX1U/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=nalgene+hdpe+1oz+round+wide+mouth&qid=1626394536&sr=8-1   Note the "wide mouth": you want to be able to get your pen in there