Esterbrook - Looking For A Modern Converter That Fits

[pajaro]

This is a whole lot of effort to go to to make something work. The challenge is there, and so no effort will be spared to conquer it. I get that, and these pens have frustrated me for some time. Well, you do need something to mess around with.

 

I like the look of the Safari cartridge pens enough to keep a sample of them. I would have liked to make them work, but I didn't want to do anything in the way of a permanent mod that couldn't be undone. Shellacking a sac into the section can be undone with alcohol.

 

You see that this is sufficiently intriguing that I am still trying converters from time to time even though I am convinced beyond doubt that the cause is hopeless.

[spaceink]

Friday evening tinkering: finally got around to attempting to fashioning something with a Sheaffer cartridge for my CA-101s. But then I figured out that I can maybe try to fit a converter directly on it.

 

So I fished out one of my cheap converters, $3 each off the Bay, not so different than what you'd find on a Jinhao or Baoer pen. It's plastic, and so the cut would not be difficult. I aimed my cutter to slice off the protruding tip and hoped that the opening created would not be too large to fit the pen's nipple.

 

 

 

Well, what do you know? It fits very nicely, with only some rough parts sanded away. It seems precarious but I noticed that the converter is grabbing onto the nipple with as much stability as the old cartridge.

 

 

 

And the converter also goes right into the barrel without any obstruction. I even shook and tossed the pen (capped) a few times on the shaggy rug. Nothing spilled out or came loose.

 

Note: one has to be careful with the converter's plunger, as it goes right down to the nipple and can push the whole thing up. Just twist back up and then push the entire converter back in place once there's room.

 

 

 

So my CA-101 is no longer dependent on filling up original Esterbrook cartridges or modified Sheaffer ones. I may syringe-fill those still, but when these 101s are in my rotation, it'll be nice to have a converter in my bag, just in case the ink goes dry in the middle of the day and I don't want to bring out a syringe for everyone to wonder about.

 

 

 

Coming up next time is the rig talked about for the Safari. Attaching a ready-made converter is unlikely to work, as the nipple is very small. Will likely do something with a sac for that one.

Edited February 14, 2015 by spaceink

[spaceink]

Hello, just wanted to show the converters I created for the Safari.

 

One is a plain sac converter, using a punctured Sheaffer cartridge end as the connector. I gave it a little bit of an "ink view" window.

 

 

 

 

The other involves the same treatment but with an international-size converter with a sac piece shellacked in for extra peace of mind. I've found that the Sheaffer ends wrap around these kinds of converters nicely (also secured with some shellac).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2015 by spaceink

[ScienceChick]

Mighty cool engineering!

[spaceink]

Thanks! It's pretty basic stuff, compared to other feats I've seen, but I'm a tinkerer and thought others might enjoy the post or find it useful.

Edited February 28, 2015 by spaceink

[ac12]

The good thing is that you made a pen that was an orphan (no cartridge or converter) usable again.

The bad thing is now people will start looking for those pens, now that the cartridge/converter problem has been solved.

[spaceink]

After some time with the C-101s, I'm changing my suggestion from attaching the modified converter directly to using a Sheaffer cartridge segment as a sleeve (after making the cut on the converter). The segment sleeve helps to push the rig flatter against the edges and offers more stability, over time, than the converter could alone.

 

I cut a new longer sleeve, about 1.5 cm, and it's fitting the 101 a bit better, as well.

 

 

 

 

As for the Safari, the bulb has worked best for me, when not syringe-filling a cartridge. The cartridge-converter combo is a bit too big for it with the converter stuffed inside, and I'm afraid of putting stress on the pen's plastic.

Edited March 8, 2015 by spaceink

[gweimer1]

I just tried a Platinum 500 converter on a CA101, and it's a snug fit. I've got ink in it, and we'll see how it holds up. Pics to follow.

[gweimer1]

[swanjun]

I just bought my first CA101 today, so thank you all for this thread! I think I'm going to start with the Platinum converter idea, but I do have a plethora of Sheaffer cartridges I can modify, if need be.

[spaceink]

Nice. Will have to try that. Thanks for posting.