The Case of the Burping Pilot Petit

[Catpaws]

I feel slightly ridiculous posting this but this is one of my favorite pens. I love the smallness of it when it's capped. It's durable and cute and I love the bright blue color. I refilled the cartridge and now it's burping in the cap. I ordered new carts and they should be coming soon. It sits on my desk and isn't jostled around. So is the burping from refilling the cart? I filled it with Pilot Kon-peki. Thanks for any insight!

[Number99]

Did you refill the ink for the fountain pen?

 

This pen is not a fountain pen, but a fiber-tip pen, which uses a different ink, and the type of ink, including color, cannot be changed. (You must use a special cartridge ink of the same color)

We don't know why you have an ink leak, but it may be due to the fact that you changed the ink.

 

You may need to abandon your current pen and replace it with a new one and use a special cartridge ink.

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have a number of these Pilot Petits.  Yes, they have an odd fiber feed but they're like fountain pens, they have metal nibs, and I have filled them willy-nilly, without regard to using new cartridges,  but just more or less matching the barrel color.  They're easy to refill.

 

It's possible that you refilled it too full.  Or that uncapping the pen is pulling some ink out into the cap.  You could try siphoning off some of the ink in the cartridge, and see how that goes.  Or just keep cleaning the cap with a cotton swan or something.

 

I also have one or two of the fiber tips.  I refill those, too.

[Number99]

7 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I have a number of these Pilot Petits.  Yes, they have an odd fiber feed but they're like fountain pens, they have metal nibs, and I have filled them willy-nilly, without regard to using new cartridges,  but just more or less matching the barrel color.  They're easy to refill.

 

It's possible that you refilled it too full.  Or that uncapping the pen is pulling some ink out into the cap.  You could try siphoning off some of the ink in the cartridge, and see how that goes.  Or just keep cleaning the cap with a cotton swan or something.

 

I also have one or two of the fiber tips.  I refill those, too.

Can you tell me how to clean the felt and what type and amount of ink to refill?

They are deprecated by the manufacturer, but are useful information if done at the user's own risk.

[Sailor Kenshin]

6 hours ago, Number99 said:

Can you tell me how to clean the felt and what type and amount of ink to refill?

They are deprecated by the manufacturer, but are useful information if done at the user's own risk.

Never bothered to clean the felt, just used whatever brand of ink I wanted.  That method worked for me.  The amount of ink I used varied, sometimes half a fill, sometimes a bit more.  
 

Also never disassembled any of them except one (a pink one) that stopped writing.  All I did was use water to flush it, then refilled it, and finally it wrote again.

 

OP,  there's really no need to throw out your pen and buy a new one.  The problem could even be in how much humidity's in the air.

[Number99]

59 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Never bothered to clean the felt, just used whatever brand of ink I wanted.  That method worked for me.  The amount of ink I used varied, sometimes half a fill, sometimes a bit more.  
 

Also never disassembled any of them except one (a pink one) that stopped writing.  All I did was use water to flush it, then refilled it, and finally it wrote again.

 

OP,  there's really no need to throw out your pen and buy a new one.  The problem could even be in how much humidity's in the air.

Thanks.

If we can operationalize your method, we will have a wider variety of inks available.

Even if we fail the risk is minor if we do it at our own risk as the price of the pen does not reach 2USD.

[Catpaws]

Thank you for your replies! I cleaned the cap again and suspect that I may have filled it too much. It seems better after some use. I think they are great little pens. Adorable design and not too fragile.

[Sailor Kenshin]

1 hour ago, Catpaws said:

Thank you for your replies! I cleaned the cap again and suspect that I may have filled it too much. It seems better after some use. I think they are great little pens. Adorable design and not too fragile.

Yay!  And I do love how well they post.  Great pocket/travel pens, too.

[Catpaws]

They great in a pocket or bag. I just ordered one in apple green. And orange. And a back-up light blue.

[AceNinja]

On 11/5/2022 at 1:13 AM, Number99 said:

Did you refill the ink for the fountain pen?

 

This pen is not a fountain pen, but a fiber-tip pen, which uses a different ink, and the type of ink, including color, cannot be changed. (You must use a special cartridge ink of the same color)

We don't know why you have an ink leak, but it may be due to the fact that you changed the ink.

 

You may need to abandon your current pen and replace it with a new one and use a special cartridge ink.

 

 

On 11/6/2022 at 2:41 PM, Number99 said:

Can you tell me how to clean the felt and what type and amount of ink to refill?

They are deprecated by the manufacturer, but are useful information if done at the user's own risk.

 

I wouldn't call it "is not a fountain pen".

 

I've refilled my petit1 with pelikan 4001 royal blue, brilliant red, and Karkos turquoise before, all fountain pen inks, no leak no problem.

Cleaning the felt just like how you would normally clean your pen: running water under the tap.  since the section and the feed is clear, you can actually see the felt/fibre slowly becoming white over time.  can use bulb syringe or syringe-cartridge combo for added speed.

 

I haven't tried it with pigmented ink though, I suspect it would be very different, the pigment might lodge in the fibre for good.

Edited November 8, 2022 by AceNinja
typo in a big way

[Number99]

4 hours ago, AceNinja said:

 

 

I wouldn't call it "is not a fountain pen".

 

I've refilled my petit1 with pelikan 4001 royal blue, brilliant red, and Karkos turquoise before, all fountain pen inks, no leak no problem.

Cleaning the felt just like how you would normally clean your pen: running water under the tap.  since the section and the feed is clear, you can actually see the felt/fibre slowly becoming white over time.  can use bulb syringe or syringe-cartridge combo for added speed.

 

I've tried it with pigmented ink though, I suspect it would be very different, the pigment might lodge in the fibre for good.

Thank you.

 

But the manufacturer's description is "felt-tip pen like a fountain pen".

I will not ignore that reference.

 

I was concerned about the saltation reaction that would occur when any different ink was used continuously without felt cleaning.

If cleaning is possible, I think the probability of that happening would be reduced.

[pw1224]

There are some Pilot Petit models with different tips. Back before COVID, I think I saw a roller ball and a felt tip version in addition to the typical fountain pen steel nib.  They all used the same ink cartridges. 

[AceNinja]

19 minutes ago, pw1224 said:

There are some Pilot Petit models with different tips. Back before COVID, I think I saw a roller ball and a felt tip version in addition to the typical fountain pen steel nib.  They all used the same ink cartridges. 

There is Petit1, Petit2, Petit3.

 

Petit1 is the fountain pen, steel nib, only in F I think.  Its the same nib as Pilot varsity, which only comes in M.

Petit2 is the felt tip pen.

Petit3 is the brush pen.

 

I never saw a rollerball version though.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have one felt tip.  Don't think I ever saw a brush or rollerball… but now I want both.  😉

[Catpaws]

Is Pilot not making the Petit 2 or 3 any more?

[essayfaire]

On 11/4/2022 at 1:13 PM, Number99 said:

This pen is not a fountain pen, but a fiber-tip pen

I have a set of Petits in multiple colors.  They are fountain pens(at least mine are); they make a narrower line than the Varsity.

 

They are wonderful writers and a great value- I think I had a thread on them going a number of years ago!  I confess, I only have used them with Pilot cartridges.

[Number99]

11 hours ago, essayfaire said:

I have a set of Petits in multiple colors.  They are fountain pens(at least mine are); they make a narrower line than the Varsity.

 

They are wonderful writers and a great value- I think I had a thread on them going a number of years ago!  I confess, I only have used them with Pilot cartridges.

It is a "fountain pen type", not a fountain pen. Pilot's product category is "fountain pen type signature pen".

 

Please read the manufacturer's description.

I am discussing the manufacturer's description, not your own theory.

 

Addition.

I too believe that is the standard method of use.

But I realize that this thread is discussing a change in usage.

And that should be done with an understanding of the original function of this pen.

Of course, it is a prerequisite to abandon the performance guaranteed by the manufacturer.

Any responsibility for that will have to be taken by the user.

 

Correction.

The sign pen was translated as a signature pen.

The correct translation is sine pen.

Edited November 17, 2022 by Number99
Correction of mistranslations,and addition

[Sailor Kenshin]

We already 'fixed' the OP's problem.  Now what? 
 

I call them fountain pens.  The Zebra (forget its name but I had a few) fountain pen used carts but also a fiber wick.  They were fountain pens.  Once the wick filled they would write until the cart gave out.

[Number99]

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

We already 'fixed' the OP's problem.  Now what? 
 

I call them fountain pens.  The Zebra (forget its name but I had a few) fountain pen used carts but also a fiber wick.  They were fountain pens.  Once the wick filled they would write until the cart gave out.

Is this a reference to me?

[Sailor Kenshin]

5 hours ago, Number99 said:

Is this a reference to me?

Just talking.