Filling Fountain Pen Barrel With Ink, Crazy?

[inky338]

Hey everyone

 

I'll introduce myself a bit more in some other posts I'm going to have to make. What I can say for now is that I'm relatively new to fountain pens, and very new to forums in general. I'm also only 14 years old (whoops, too much info?) Haha,anyways, my uncle bought me a new fountain pen recently, however the converter it came with is no longer fitting On the bright side, I have a bottle of ink, and was thinking of just using the converter to pour some ink into the barrel. Is it a good idea?

[Sailor Kenshin]

Probably not. Especially for a beginner.

 

What model pen is it? Knowing the model will help with further advice. And welcome to the flowting world of fountain pennery!

[stevlight]

You may just need a new convertor. Tell us your pen and post pics if you can.

 

Welcome--we have lots of fun here.

[inky338]

Thanks mate! to be completely honest I have absolutely no idea about this pen aside from the fact that its a hooded nib, it has no marking on it, whatsoever. I actually have 4 of my own fountain pens, all of which I have no idea about. Anyhow, here are a few pictures of this particular pen, if anyone has the slightest guess as to the make or model, a reply would be highly appreciated.

[Pickwick]

You should be able to turn this pen into an eyedropper. All you need to do is get a small syringe from your local Pharmacy store, fill the barrel below the thread and put silicone round the section thread and screw it in. There are quite a number of posts on FPN which show it's a success. You may have to dip the nib in a bottle of ink to get the flow going.

 

Currently I have four pens which are eyedroppers where I've discarded the converters and been using them with no problem for the past month, and I do a lot of writing.

[iduncant]

You should be able to turn this pen into an eyedropper. All you need to do is get a small syringe from your local Pharmacy store, fill the barrel below the thread and put silicone round the section thread and screw it in. There are quite a number of posts on FPN which show it's a success. You may have to dip the nib in a bottle of ink to get the flow going.

 

Currently I have four pens which are eyedroppers where I've discarded the converters and been using them with no problem for the past month, and I do a lot of writing.

 

I would just add that you should get a small rubber o-ring and put that on there as well. just to make the sure the seal is tight.

 

Noodler's makes a pen called the Ahab that allows you to switch back and forth between a piston fill and eyedropper, so if your pen's barrel is watertight, don't be worried about converting.

 

best,

Duncan

[Essensia]

 

Just in case this needs to be said: Try it with water before you try it with ink.

[torstar]

I fill the barrel all the time, I have 6 pens going like that currently. Look up youtube videos for eyedropper conversion first though.

 

The major warning is not to fill up a barrel and place a metal section into it because it will contaminate the ink. I haven't found this to be the case at all over 100+ fillings.

 

However, BayState Blue stained a metal section very very badly the only time ever that I put BSB into a converted eyedropper with a metal section.

[Pickwick]

You should be able to turn this pen into an eyedropper. All you need to do is get a small syringe from your local Pharmacy store, fill the barrel below the thread and put silicone round the section thread and screw it in. There are quite a number of posts on FPN which show it's a success. You may have to dip the nib in a bottle of ink to get the flow going.

 

Currently I have four pens which are eyedroppers where I've discarded the converters and been using them with no problem for the past month, and I do a lot of writing.

 

I would just add that you should get a small rubber o-ring and put that on there as well. just to make the sure the seal is tight.

 

Noodler's makes a pen called the Ahab that allows you to switch back and forth between a piston fill and eyedropper, so if your pen's barrel is watertight, don't be worried about converting.

 

best,

Duncan

 

Regarding the O ring, I did try this on a couple of pens but found it caused the cap to fit loose if its a snap fit, and found the silicone is sufficient. Nathan with his Ahab pen does benefit with a O ring because it has a screw cap.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks mate! to be completely honest I have absolutely no idea about this pen aside from the fact that its a hooded nib, it has no marking on it, whatsoever. I actually have 4 of my own fountain pens, all of which I have no idea about. Anyhow, here are a few pictures of this particular pen, if anyone has the slightest guess as to the make or model, a reply would be highly appreciated.

 

 

It looks just like my Baoer Sonnett. Which is a nice writer! It will take standard international cartridges if that is the case.

 

Don't even attempt an eyedropper conversion until you are farther along in your fountain pen journey.

[PeterBeoworld]

I would tend to favour the cartridge solution - though looking at your fingers, you may have already tried some experimentation! You can then refill the cartridge with what ever you want. However a new converter would be cheap and worth getting. Less chances of a serious accident!!

[de_pen_dent]

I think that is a Jinhao. Quite by coincidence, I just saw this very pen (or a close-enough facsimile) at my local stationery shop yesterday, and that's what they said it was.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I had no idea that Jinhao was making semi-facsimilies of Sheaffer Imperials. Interesting!

 

On the topic at hand; this is an old and established practice (110 years ago, it was the only way people put ink in their pen). The things to be aware of are--

 

- look into the barrel and the back of the section. If there is any metal that wouldn't be touched by ink with a cartridge in place, the pen is a bad candidate.

- the "silicone" mentioned above is pure silicone grease. This can be had at hardware stores in the plumbing area. Accept no subsititutes!

- the pen will dribble when the barrel is down to about 1/3 full. Physics insists upon it.

 

That picture of the back of the section looks a little like the cartridge/converter nipple broken off, so this might be the only solution to returning the pen to service. I hedge a little, though, as it's hard to tell in a photograph.

Edited October 4, 2012 by Ernst Bitterman

[saskia_madding]

I'd strongly suggest taking it to a local pen store and seeing if they have a converter that fits. Even Grand & Toy should have the most common ones - Parker, Sheaffer, and the like.

[inky338]

Wow! You guys are absolutely amazing! I'm really starting to like this site Sailor Kenshin, that was quite a coincidence wasn't it? Or maybe it's just a common pen. Or maybe you just have a lot of pens. Haha, anyways, searched up Baoer Sonnet, perfect match! Thanks for the help, my friend. By the way, it was interesting to note it really did look exactly the same as the Sheaffer Imperial when capped (was in the same picture, actually), aside from being a tad bit on the slim side, so kudos to you Mr. Bitterman! Your advice was also really helpful, by the way, so I guess I'll try the eyedropper conversion Course, maybe after I gain some experience. Now, I guess it's a beginner's urge to go on and thank every single one of the repliers, but I'll try to hold back, aha, thank you everyone for the help, and take care

[Sailor Kenshin]

Lol... Yes, I have a LOT of pens. Glad I could help and good luck! Standard international cartridges will fit just fine & might be the cheapest, easiest for-now solution.