Replacing Lamy Piston Converter?

September 1, 2013

hello everybody, i am new to both fountain pens and the forum. i have considerable experience w technical drafting pens--but i'm now free to play with the fun pens!

i've made a pretty big beginners mistake i think. half measures or moderation has never been a strength. i bought 4 Pilot Namiki falcon II in the enameled metal. i love the way the ink flows, the converter seems to keep the ink under pressure (?) and it always simply flows out beautifully. i'd wanted them to improve my writing because i'm loosing some hand dexterity due to spinal issues (thus for mostly lowercase typing), but am not enjoying the pressure one has to use on the flexible nibs. my dexterity is just not up to that anymore.

so i bought a set of Lamy pens and absolutely love the stiff italic nibs. however, i am constantly having to open them up after a few sentences and screw down the plunger to get the ink flowing correctly again. i have 3 of them and am having the same issue w all three.

is there a way to put in a converter like the one in the pilot namiki into the Lamy pens? i'm sure it will be some work, but after having to retire exceptionally early from architecture for health issues, this is very important to me. i have an art studio and use written pages in my paintings, but also simply love to have a comfortable pen. i've also been doing quite a bit of writing of late--i feel i need to get everything written down before the hand no longer works! the metal Falcon II and Lamy Studio pens are a perfect diameter and fit for my hand. the italic nibs also cover the shakiness of my writing that is starting to show when using a regular F, M, or even B nib. i'd thought about having the Falcon's nibs reground to italics, but am a little afraid of having a flexible italic nib. (any thoughts on that wld be welcome)

i've been using Pilot Namiki Iroshizuku inks.

if there are other options or ideas/advice, i would love to hear those as well. admittedly, i was a little cocky when buying these pens after years of using, disassembling, cleaning, and reasembeling technical pens. pens are pens...right? i'm finding there's quite a lot more involved with fountain pens than i ever imagined!

thank you for your time.

kim