I'm A Piston Snob! Who Else?

[Buzz_130]

Snob? No, I have vacs, aeros, pistons, c/c, buttons, power fillers, levers, eyedroppers, snorkels, and touchdowns. However, I can certainly appreciate the precise engineering and simplicity of a nice piston. My Pelikan M805 is always in rotation, and my Lamy 2000 is an industrial workhorse.

 

Of course, to be technical, the converter is also a piston filler.

 

Buzz

[oldmatekev]

I would much rather have an eyedropper over a cc. This is the case where less is more IMO. I did not know that there were cheaper Indian pens that used a piston filled. Are you sure they are not captive converters? And by cheap are we talking $10 dollars or less?

 

Definitely, some are as low as $5, some demonstrators are 2 for $12:

 

Look at fountainpenrevolution, they have quite a lot of brands.

 

ETA

I replied before I noticed that someone else had pointed you to FPR.

I have a couple of Serwex piston fillers. Actually 3, because they gave me one extra free with my purchase.

 

Not bad really, the flex nibs aren't great, but I've been meaning to get a few of their stubs to try.

Edited May 17, 2014 by oldmatekev

[Jadie]

I like the c/c but typically only use the converter or a refilled cartridge because I prefer to pick my own ink. Sometimes, if a pen holds TOO much ink, I get bored with the color. As long as the pen writes, I'm happy!

I'm the opposite: I find an ink that works well with a pen and keep using it, so I get annoyed with C/C fillers because they force me to refill so often. If it holds a lot of ink, it doesn't matter what the filling system is—I just want to write for days on end without interruption!

 

Though pistons are a little annoying when ink levels start running low...

[richardandtracy]

...

Of course, to be technical, the converter is also a piston filler.

 

Buzz

My preferred convertor from Parker, and the one I put in most kit pens I make, is a squeeze convertor that uses a bladder. Shame Parker stopped making these in the mid 1980's. The piston c/c is much less reliable than the squeeze convertor.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[Buzz_130]

My preferred convertor from Parker, and the one I put in most kit pens I make, is a squeeze convertor that uses a bladder. Shame Parker stopped making these in the mid 1980's. The piston c/c is much less reliable than the squeeze convertor.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

Richard,

 

Very good point; I forgot about the squeeze converters! There's something simple about an aero-like filler.

 

Buzz

[Joker4Eva]

 

Not that I'm trying to disagree with you, but a lot of very cheap Indian pens are piston fillers. Even more are eyedroppers, they don't need any parts in the barrel at all.

Also a lot of the really cheap Chinese pens on ebay use captive aerometric style fillers.

 

Piston fillers have moving parts, seals, threaded joints, rods, collars and blind caps (sometimes) that are all potential fail points. I know it's not the best example but my Konrad (another Indian pen) has a tendency for the piston assembly to unscrew a bit when I'm trying to wind the knob.

 

 

I've seen quite a number of old German pens from the 50's to 70's, and their pistons still worked perfectly, needing perhaps only a good soak to clean up the dried up gunk their previous owners used in them. After a good cleaning, they work just fine!

 

Here are a couple. One is under $10. The other is under $20. I don't know much about the Guru, but the Dilli gets good reviews.

 

http://www.fountainpenrevolution.com/fpr_collection.html

 

Thanks for the link, it really is an eye-opener! Would be reading up on what people think of these pens if compared with a Pelikan. True, it might not be so refined, but for that price, who can complain?

[Vikhalla]

I like the c/c but typically only use the converter or a refilled cartridge because I prefer to pick my own ink. Sometimes, if a pen holds TOO much ink, I get bored with the color. As long as the pen writes, I'm happy!

 

That's kind of where I am as well. I'm way too ADHD for the large ink capacity of a piston filler - I usually end up only filling half way. I just ordered my first C/C pen, in part, because I can carry multiple cartridges in different colors and have to switch more frequently. Of course, one can also just have more pens...but I don't have the bankroll to really get the pens that I fancy and i'm not one for compromises.

 

I will say, that I do like larger and heavier pens and piston fillers tend to go really well with that preference - not all, but in general.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Vikhalla

[Joker4Eva]

 

I will say, that I do like larger and heavier pens and piston fillers tend to go really well with that preference - not all, but in general.

 

In my very limited experience, larger and heavier pens with piston fillers are a tinge too back-heavy, which I don't really like. Same reason why I don't post my pens.

[Vikhalla]

 

In my very limited experience, larger and heavier pens with piston fillers are a tinge too back-heavy, which I don't really like. Same reason why I don't post my pens.

You're right - for that reason I don't post either. (Plus, I kind of like putting the cap on whatever surface I'm writing on with the emblem up - like the little thing you get at a Brazilian Steakhouse to say, "Let the meat train BEGIN!" only in this case it's, "Creativity, ACTIVATE!" *...backs away slowly*)

[Joker4Eva]

You're right - for that reason I don't post either. (Plus, I kind of like putting the cap on whatever surface I'm writing on with the emblem up - like the little thing you get at a Brazilian Steakhouse to say, "Let the meat train BEGIN!" only in this case it's, "Creativity, ACTIVATE!" *...backs away slowly*)

 

+1!

 

And with many piston fillers, you're normally able to twist it to a certain point before the piston actually starts moving. That's my mental "Loading..." thingy.

That's why I like piston fillers. You'll have to play with the whole barrel when the pen's a CC/Converter, and that feeling's different.

[dashboi666]

if it looks good (ok that's subjective) and writes well, it works for me! pros and cons to the different filling systems but i do like fiddling with my pens.. it makes me feel closer to them :wub:

[Niagara Falls]

My first good fountain pen was a Pelikan Souverän, so I "grew up" with the piston filling system. Can't imagine anything better. Also have some Pilot Custom 823, but the vacuum filling systen always gets stuck, I don't like it really.

C/c I don't use...too less capacity.

[wspohn]

 

The reason why I like piston fillers so much is because they're durable. They've been Pelikans that've existed for more than a century, and their pistons are still working perfectly, which speaks of how dependable such a filling mechanism is. 

The fact that converters CAN break is what irks me.

 

A piston filler CAN break too. Only thing is that when it does it costs about 10-20X as much to fix. I have a MB 149 that was used maybe 4 fills from new and then set aside. The piston glued itself to the inside of the barrel and when I tried ti fill it, became disconnected from tge piston. Result a $100 bill for overhauling what was basically a new pen, as opposed to a bill for $8 for a new converter.

[georges zaslavsky]

I am one of the piston snobs despite I have some button fillers, some vac fills and a vacumatic.

Edited May 20, 2014 by georges zaslavsky

[Joker4Eva]

A piston filler CAN break too. Only thing is that when it does it costs about 10-20X as much to fix. I have a MB 149 that was used maybe 4 fills from new and then set aside. The piston glued itself to the inside of the barrel and when I tried ti fill it, became disconnected from tge piston. Result a $100 bill for overhauling what was basically a new pen, as opposed to a bill for $8 for a new converter.

 

Note that I never said it couldn't!

I've had old German piston fillers from the likes of Pelikan and Lamy and Geha and Montblanc and a few more that I can't remember, and almost all of them had piston fillers, and all made before I was born. With just a good wash with running water and (very) careful disassembly of the pen, just to give those pens a good rinse after years of neglect, they all work wonderfully.

I've only held a MB149 for a couple of days before (someone PIFed it and he graciously allowed me some time to play with it before he did), so I cannot comment on it's durability, although it did strike me as large enough and tough enough to act as a baton.

[Flounder]

It is alarming to read these replies, I had no idea so many have been through the same ordeal as Sachs. Perhaps it is the same miscreant in each case - perhaps you could each post a description of the micturating malefactor?

[WilsonCQB1911]

I own more internal fillers than anything else and am finding myself more attracted to the cartridge/convertor anymore.

 

The internal fillers don't always hold as much ink as you may expect them to. If you pour them out you may be surprised by how little they hold in many cases. My Omas 360, for instance, holds less than many c/c pens. My Visconti HS holds around 1ml, but goes through it fast due to the wet nib (not a fault of the filler though)! On the other hand, my MB 149s hold a bit more than 1.5 ml. Of course, my smaller Omas Arte Italiana celluloid holds over 2ml!!!! I guess my point is that you never know how much one will hold until you test it, and internal fillers don't always mean more ink. Some converters get 1ml or more from what I understand.

 

The internal fillers are also harder to clean. I much prefer flushing a c/c pen. Super simple. Also, repairing an internal filler can be impossible on one's own, requiring a trip to the factory. Replacing a converter, however, is cheap and easy. Also, I feel easier using staining or finicky inks in a converter. I couldn't care less if the converter stains. And if it dries up or gets sediment in it, it's easy to get inside and clean it or just replace it for little money.

 

So, filling system isn't a selling point for me anymore. In fact, I am leaning towards c/c pens more and more.

[uchinanchukg]

How about the "captured converters" such as the Visconti Homo Sapiens?

 

Technically it's not a true piston filler. Does that count as a piston filler for the piston lovers?

 

KG

[WilsonCQB1911]

How about the "captured converters" such as the Visconti Homo Sapiens?

 

Technically it's not a true piston filler. Does that count as a piston filler for the piston lovers?

 

KG

One of the HS models is a "power filler" similar to a Pilot 823. That's the one I have. I think it's the steel age that is a captive converter.

[readonly]

I usually don't mind the particular filling system, but I do appreciate a major technical advantage of c/c pens. Their ink reservoir is insulated against the barrel of the pen. Why does that matter, you ask? Well, if a piston pen fill is rather low and you start writing with the pen, you will heat up the barrel and so does the large air bubble in the barrel. That will force more ink into the feed and, depending on the feed design, it sometimes leaks out or makes the feed so over saturated that the slightest movement will squirt ink all over your letter.