Pilot Custom 500 RS - which converters work?

January 29, 2023

I have a vintage Pilot Custom 500 RS with a press bar converter that doesn't seem to work. Are there any other Pilot converters that will fit this pen?

February 14, 2023

In order for us to be helpful to you, you need to provide more information. When you say [Press bar] do you mean a button on the top of the converter (Con 70), or a squeeze bar on the side of the converter (Con 20)?

Also I do not personally have any experience with the 500 RS, so it is also possible you have a built-in filler, in which case I cannot help.

Fortunately the world of Pilot converters is quite simple, see an excellent video by Goulet here:

Please note that the Con50 has now been discontinued and is replaced by the lower capacity Con40.

Now for my two cents; The Con20 is not transparent, so tracking your ink level is impossible with that. The Con40 holds only half as much as a cartridge (actually less I think) and therefore is not suitable for my daily use. The Con70 is too big for most of my Pilot FPs. So my tactic going forward is going to be using cartridges, and refilling them with a pipette. It sounds like a huge pain, but honestly, it really is not. Now I do not have to deal with inky nibs or grips, and have almost as much ink capacity as the Con70 without any of its mechanical fuss. The downside to this tactic, of course, is that you will have to carry a bottle and a pipette with your pen on the go. OR you could just keep a couple unopened cartridges in your purse for emergencies.

January 17

Hi there, out in the far away galaxies,

Thanks so much for your great reply. I was seriously injured, hence the delay in getting back to you. The converter that came with the pen is indeed a Pilot "press bar" converter. I can't seem to tell how much ink is taken up in it, and although I have read many reviews from users who love this converter, I don't ever seem to get much out of it. It is in a magnificent pen, given to me by a friend in Japan, in black finish with the Hannya script in Japanese gold leaf pressed into the finish, and gold trimmed clip. I just found a photo online from Peyton Pens, even though she doesn't have one of these pens in stock.

Any advice as to alternate converters, or maybe I'm just using it incorrectly, would be appreciated greatly.

Cheers, Gracie

January 17

I looked up your pen, and it looks like any converter except the Con-70 should fit. The Con-40 should let you see the ink levels. In terms of using the conveter you have, you attach it to the section, dip the nib in the bottle, squeeze the lever 3-4 times. You can usually hear the ink being sucked in if you listen carefully. If you prefer a piston converter that holds more ink, I did see a 3 pack of Con-50 converters for sale on Amazon US, I am not sure if it’s available to you:

Con-50

I will put in a good word for refilling cartridges- you can put as much or as little ink in as you’d like and you can see it. Spares are easy to find. I fill mine with a hollow syringe and then dip the nib just enough to get it going until the ink in the cartridge goes through the feed.

January 18

Thank you Penguincollector! I actually have a Con-50 stashed in case I ever needed one. I have never tried filling cartridges, although I did purchase a couple of syringes at an art store before I got injured 21 months ago, and I'll see if I can find them now, but I'm not sure what their purpose was or if they would be good for this. It's late now, but tomorrow I'll try all of your suggestions, as I really would like to use this lovely pen. I'll let you know how it goes. 🙏

January 18

Good luck, we like pictures and writing samples!

January 18

Good morning! On January 25, 2019 I posted a writing sample in "Of Nibs and Tines", I believe, but I don't think it used this pen. After I get to my Matcha I'll try your suggestions and send you a sample from this pen.

February 4

Hi Penguincollector,

Getting back to the topic here, I have tried the original converter and it does work, although it doesn't fill completely so there isn't as much ink as my contemporary Japanese pens. But as I worked with it, it started skipping, and I remembered that it had always done that. Because I had soaked the nib in pen cleaner a few times, and it still skipped, I thought it was from the converter not running properly, but now I'm thinking it must be the nib. And that confuses me as well, because it writes a "wet" medium line, and I can't see how it could be both wet and skipping, so I thought I would run this past you and the FPN crew before I tried the other converter, the Con 50 that you suggested. Does all or any of that make sense? I would send a photo of the skipping (about every other word) but I don't have an iPhone and my iPad just died, so until I figure out how to transfer a photo from my Pentax camera onto my new MacBook, I can't do that.

Also, if you really are a Penguin Pen collector, I need a Penguin body for my Penguin 2.0 calligraphy nib that I had on a vintage Penguin body, but the ink won't move through the nib - do you have any suggestions?

Thanks again! Gracie

February 5

Hi @Gracie,

I’m a collector of things that feature penguins, like stationery, or fountain pens with penguins on them, like the Namiki Tradition Origami Penguin. I’ve never heard of a vintage Penguin calligraphy set, I would love to learn more about it and would certainly help once I’m up to speed on the subject. Once your iPad is charged, I would love it if you could either send me a message with a picture of your Penguin Calligraphy 2.0 nib on the vintage Penguin body, or start a thread on it in the appropriate forum.

It sounds like both your Pilot nib and your Penguin nib are having the same issue with ink moving through the feed. I have a couple of questions:

Have you ever tried to use any fountain pen inks that might clog a feed if either left to dry in a pen, like pigmented ink?
Have you ever used anything that was NOT a fountain pen ink in either pen?

I can ask my fellow pen club members if they know of someone who would be able to help you in person up in BC. I do know there is a club there with a robust membership, so I’m sure you could find someone to assist you there. That’s what I would suggest, finding someone who either fixes pens or mentors people and shows them how to repair their own.

February 5

Hi Penquinator,

I must admit that Penguins are adorable and utterly irresistible, but I've never seen the Namiki Tradition Origami Penguin! I have the Namiki Golden Pheasant and the Namiki Phoenix, both of which I would grab on my way out the door in an emergency.

I wasn't clear about the iPad. It died and could not be fixed. I think I picked this nib up either in a thrift store or from Peel Pens, who always have lots of interesting bits and pieces. In any case, I never thought about where it came from originally, so I just now started surfing and found this, so it should still be there:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/334479824407

Until yesterday I've never tried to run any ink through this vintage Penquin body and nib, and although it seemed to fill, nothing went into the nib until finally I got some ink into the nib by pushing the feed forward and tried writing with it before it flooded the table, and the nib seemed fine. I don't have the original Penguin body, and this one was donated to me with a warning that it might not work, but this was the first time I tried it. I've never put anything but Waterman's Blue through the Sailor.

There is a pen club in Vancouver, but I'm injured in Victoria. I wonder how much the eBay seller would take for that set, besides his unreasonable offer?

Gracie

February 5

Just an add-on - I've been using Penguin and Pelican interchangeably, assuming you liked both birds as much as I do, but that was probably confusing. Is there actually a Penguin pen?

February 5

Oh, you mean Pelikan! You could find better deals than that. I hope your recovery is going well. Does the pen club in Vancouver have any social media or an email? I know Victoria is tiny and inconvenient, but my hope is that they might know of someone either on island that can help you, or someone on the mainland that can help by mail. I know people here in Oregon and elsewhere in the states, but shipping to/from Canada is costly, and I don’t know how customs would handle it. Sometimes, the older inlaid Pilot nibs have a glue failure, and while there are instructions on how to repair this somewhere on this site, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re really comfortable working on your pens. What I would do is try different converters and cartridges, an ultrasonic cleaner if you have one, and if all that fails, google fountain pen repair people in Canada. Also try emailing Pilot Canada, they might be able to help.

February 5

2 minutes ago, Gracie said:

Just an add-on - I've been using Penguin and Pelican interchangeably, assuming you liked both birds as much as I do, but that was probably confusing. Is there actually a Penguin pen?

They are very different, but both seabirds are fun to watch. I love going to the Oregon coast to watch the pelicans and various other seabirds. You must see plenty out in Victoria. I have seen one vintage Penguin brand fountain pen, a sub brand of Everlast Pens, I think.