Refilling Namiki Cartridges

[GNL]

I've read about people refilling Namiki ink cartridges using an eye dropper. Since my favorite color ink is Waterman Florida blue, this appeals to me. But I've noticed when an empty cartridge comes out of my VP, the little flap of plastic that got punched when I originally inserted the cartridge into the pen is at a diagonal angle; in other words, it's sort of hinged on one side. This kept me from being able to properly rinse it out.

 

When you use an eyedropper to refill it, what's the method?

 

Thanks so much.

[jbb]

I refill my Namiki VP cartridges. I have a little plastic bottle with a syringe-ish tip. I squirt water into the old cartridge until it's clean. Then I just squirt some air into the cartridge using the syringe bottle while empty so that it gets all the water out. Then I fill the cartridge.

[GNL]

I refill my Namiki VP cartridges. I have a little plastic bottle with a syringe-ish tip. I squirt water into the old cartridge until it's clean. Then I just squirt some air into the cartridge using the syringe bottle while empty so that it gets all the water out. Then I fill the cartridge.

Do you leave the opening to the cartridge more or less "hinged?"

[Taki]

I pull out the disc with tweezers. They are not attached/hinged to the wall of the cart. It's more like friction fit, so you won't damage the cart by doing so.

Edited August 4, 2007 by Taki

[jbb]

Do you leave the opening to the cartridge more or less "hinged?"

I leave it however it is... I've never paid any attention to it and it always works fine.

[GNL]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but what's the advantage of refilling a cartridge over just using the converter to suck up bottled ink?

[jsonewald]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but what's the advantage of refilling a cartridge over just using the converter to suck up bottled ink?

 

Cartridge generally hold more ink than converters. In the case of Namiki converters, cartridges hold a lot more ink.

 

With Namiki cartridges, I usually pull the disk out, but have left it in with no problems. I use a hypodermic syringe with a long, blunt, ink jet cartridge refill needle to flush and fill the cartridge.

Edited August 4, 2007 by jsonewald

[jbb]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but what's the advantage of refilling a cartridge over just using the converter to suck up bottled ink?

No, that's a really good question. :roflmho: I don't think there's much advantage (the cartridge might hold a bit more ink). When I was newer at pens I simply used cartridges more than bottled ink.

Edited August 4, 2007 by jbb

[sleek_lover]

Never even noticed the flappy thing. Leave it there. The Ink Gods will get Peeved...

 

What a buncha wimps. I have a variety of REAL medical syringes. FILL THE CARTS, FILL MY VEINS. Be a really cool FP user.

 

Alternately, they give you a way of doing your very own tats of your fave pens. Left side for righties, right side for lefties. Just be sure that you have the artistic bent to pull off a good likeness. Other wise...the likeness??? Well...the..er...pen is...er...looks like something else...

 

Bill...ever helpful to newbies...

[Stephen-I-am]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but what's the advantage of refilling a cartridge over just using the converter to suck up bottled ink?

In addition to holding more, I've found that the plastic cartridge has better flow than the converter. The ink in the converter seems to want to do an impression of a cat in a carrier at the vet's office -- it just doesn't want to come out!

 

Stephen

[bbqncigars]

You can easily refill cartridges with one of these. A good buy that a fellow pen geek pointed out to me.

 

 

 

Wayne

[jmkeuning]

Never even noticed the flappy thing. Leave it there. The Ink Gods will get Peeved...

 

What a buncha wimps. I have a variety of REAL medical syringes. FILL THE CARTS, FILL MY VEINS. Be a really cool FP user.

 

Alternately, they give you a way of doing your very own tats of your fave pens. Left side for righties, right side for lefties. Just be sure that you have the artistic bent to pull off a good likeness. Other wise...the likeness??? Well...the..er...pen is...er...looks like something else...

 

Bill...ever helpful to newbies...

 

But do you fill your pens with your blood? THAT is cool.

 

That flappy thing is a hanging chad.

[GNL]

You can easily refill cartridges with one of these. A good buy that a fellow pen geek pointed out to me.

 

Wayne

Very cool - I just ordered one. Thanks!

[extrafine]

I pull out the flappy thing, as mentioned above. It's just a friction-fit closure for the cartridge. It makes it easier to refill them after. I use a large hypodermic needle, with the end blunted (because I'm a bit of a klutz). It's fairly easy to blunt the edge: just run it along the cement on the side of the street, if you don't have a good metal file. A few passes will do a good job of no longer having it be sharp.

 

I often prefer to hypo-refill cartridges instead of using converters, because unlike (most) converters, they're see-through, and I can tell how much ink I have left. It's also less messy on a one-time basis.

[sexauerw]

The interior surface of piston convertors needs to be very smooth for the piston to seal. It's also typically a pretty hard surfaced plastic that is non-wettable. The result is that, as others have mentioned, the ink doesn't flow very well. After having been bounced around in your pocket for a while, nib up, the ink is all at the wrong end of the convertor and it doesn't want to come out. Cartridges are made of a completely different kind of plastic and usually don't suffer from this problem. Also, they hold more because they don't have to give up any room to a filling mechanism.

 

Squeeze type convertors are usually better than piston types in my experience, but I'm now totally "converted" to refilling cartridges.

[extrafine]

^ Yes, this seems to be exactly the problem with my Falcon: non-wettability of the convertor. I have to give it a tap once in a while to make it continue along... not nice. Refilled cartridges rarely have this problem. Some cartridges, like Parker, even have little lines in the plastic to further discourage this behaviour. Parker cartridges also being made of great quality plastic, I've never had one "wear out" when used and re-used as a refillable. The "internationals" tend to eventually leak, as do the straight puncture-the-plastic types.

 

I suspect that Pilot/Namiki cartridges, from their design, will also be long-lasting. Ask me again in a few months :-).