What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[BinaEliora]

I bought a Kaweco Liliput Fireblue on a whim yesterday. We have two stationary stores in town, one sells a very limited amount of fountain pens (Kaweco and TWSBI). I went there to buy a journal and a Kaweco Sport Classic for my friend. I just had to hold the little one and that was the end of it. It went home with me. It makes my AL Sport look big, yet it is comfortable to write with.

 

 

 

[Pen Ffynnon]

15 minutes ago, BinaEliora said:

I bought a Kaweco Liliput Fireblue on a whim yesterday. We have two stationary stores in town, one sells a very limited amount of fountain pens (Kaweco and TWSBI). I went there to buy a journal and a Kaweco Sport Classic for my friend. I just had to hold the little one and that was the end of it. It went home with me. It makes my AL Sport look big, yet it is comfortable to write with.

 

 

 

 

And...it's really quite beautiful. Congratulations on your newest addition!

[inkstainedruth]

I keep looking at the Fireblue.  Then I look at the price tag....  

I do have a question -- does a pen that thin take a converter, or is it cartridge only? I've heard less than inspiring things about Kaweco converters, but I've been looking for a short international Standard converter for a Chinese-made Cross sub brand pen (I currently have an Edelstein Amethyst cartridge on it, but it's too long to then put the barrel back on -- which makes trying to cap the pen and then uncap it really awkward, even more so than writing with it (I actually accidentally pulled the converter off the back of the feed once last week).  I was in a store yesterday that carries some Pelikans, and actually asked the owner about converters, but it turns out that the Pelikan converters are about the same length as the the cartridges....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[BinaEliora]

35 minutes ago, Pen Ffynnon said:

 

And...it's really quite beautiful. Congratulations on your newest addition!

Thank you. I'm strangely fond of Kaweco. Usually I like larger pens.

 

32 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

I keep looking at the Fireblue.  Then I look at the price tag....  

I do have a question -- does a pen that thin take a converter, or is it cartridge only? I've heard less than inspiring things about Kaweco converters, but I've been looking for a short international Standard converter for a Chinese-made Cross sub brand pen (I currently have an Edelstein Amethyst cartridge on it, but it's too long to then put the barrel back on -- which makes trying to cap the pen and then uncap it really awkward, even more so than writing with it (I actually accidentally pulled the converter off the back of the feed once last week).  I was in a store yesterday that carries some Pelikans, and actually asked the owner about converters, but it turns out that the Pelikan converters are about the same length as the the cartridges....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

They are not cheap. But quite unique, and they fit in any pocket, you won't even know it is there.

I already had the mini converter you can use in the Kaweco Sport pens (it is a pull/push thing). So I though I use that. I filled the converter with a syringe and put it in the Liliput. Good thing I held it over the bottle. When I closed the pen it pushed the piston in and the ink dripped out of the nib. It was quite funny. The already rather small volume is now cut in half or less (<= 0.25ml). Width wise it is OK, just too long. I will order the squeeze converter when it is in stock again. Until then I just use an empty cartridge (short European standard works) and fill that with the ink of my choice.

 

Pelikan converters are the same size as any other standard converter (like Schmidt, Waterman etc). The pen needs to be able to take the long standard cartridge. If your pen only takes short standard cartridges you could try a Kaweco converter (the one that fits in the Sport or Liliput), the squeeze version might be best since there is no piston sticking out. The Kaweco Mini (with piston) is 5.3cm long, the squeeze version is 4cm. They work fine, but don't hold much ink.

Edited February 21, 2021 by BinaEliora
added some info

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the info about the converters.  The place I was in also carries Kaweco pens, but I didn't think to ask the owner about them (it's mostly a stationery store and does stuff like custom wedding invitations, but does carry a few pens, and at the moment has a lot of Edelstein ink bottles).  I was on the way to a place around the corner from it (a card shop that also carries books and novelty stuff, and -- as it happens, some Sheaffer and Pilot pens and inks) and it occurred to me to stop in and ask at the first place since I was going past there anyway.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[JonSzanto]

About converters of the small variety:

Any time you are using a small pen and need to have an ink supply, it is going to make an awful lot of sense to syringe-fill an empty cartridge. The simple fact of the matter is that any converter, no matter the system it uses, will have a mechanism that takes up part of the space you could hold ink in. An empty cartridge has no such internal mechanism and gives up all of it's interior for ink storage. The largest cartridge that will fit in the pen's barrel will give you the largest (ready-made) ink capacity, short of eye-droppering. Pro-Tip: if you refill carts, a drop of glue from a hot glue gun will seal the end, but pop off when you need to use the ink. Handy for filling at home the extras to take with you.

The one step beyond is DIY and applies only with a pen/cartridge where not all the space is used up. I have a couple of pens that have large barrels and I realized that if I could find the right materials, I could make an ink reservoir even larger than a standard converter, in length and width. I did so, making a custom ink 'tank' by welding (gluing) the front of a converter to a piece of plexiglass tube and using a rubber stopper in the back (which also cushioned the end). In the pens, which have semi-transparent barrels, it looks like an eye-droppered demonstrator without any of the mess or staining, and a very clean look with no mechanical parts. The bare tank looks like this:

 

That ended up being awfully long, sorry. Bottom line? Fill carts for maximum ink in a small pen!

[BinaEliora]

Very neat, and it seems to hold quite a bit of ink.

[Topcat666]

At the moment, I'm trying to resist impulsive pen acquisitions and have restrained myself from buying a Narwhal Schuylkill just now (we'll see if it remains unbought by today's end).

I think some of my wish to buy stems from "Lockdown Blues" ie buying to make myself feel better.

Ah, well, that's some form of validation/justification, I suppose.

The Narwhal can join a list of pens that will probably be bought this year but in what order I know not.

Stay sane, everyone.

[N1003U]

On 2/19/2021 at 12:24 AM, sansenri said:

no, I can confirm it does not smell at all, not even when new

Excellent! My last new Edison was a Brockton made maybe a year or so ago, and it had very little odor when new, and now I can only smell the acrylic when it is directly under my nose. I actually smell the ink a bit more, and that itself is a very subtle odor.

[Noihvo]

[N1003U]

7 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Thanks for the info about the converters.  The place I was in also carries Kaweco pens, but I didn't think to ask the owner about them (it's mostly a stationery store and does stuff like custom wedding invitations, but does carry a few pens, and at the moment has a lot of Edelstein ink bottles).  I was on the way to a place around the corner from it (a card shop that also carries books and novelty stuff, and -- as it happens, some Sheaffer and Pilot pens and inks) and it occurred to me to stop in and ask at the first place since I was going past there anyway.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

The Kaweco squeeze converter works fine for what it is. Yea, the ink volume is small (my Liliput has an F nib), but I still get several pages of writing out of a fill. I imagine with a wider nib one would have to refill fairly often when writing a lot. The Liliput is a compact pen with an interesting design. It is a nice pocket pen, but it doesn’t do everything. For folks who are one-pen-at-a-time types, who like to write a lot on the go, and fill with bottled ink, this may not be the optimal pen. For compact storage/carry, and for short writings, it is a lot of fun. The Liliput also works fine with short standard cartridges, if one really wants to maximize ink capacity and/or needs to refill on-the-go.

 

I am waiting for a Kaweco Supra in copper, as I like the bigger size, and with the extender, it takes a full-size converter. With a short cartridge and no extender, the Supra is a similar length and a bit thicker, and a great small pen, yet with a big #6 nib.

[carola]

Visited my pen repair guy today to collect a pen he restored for me.

 

Got home with that restored pen, a Parker Duofold Mandarin Yellow pen and pencil set and a fully planned custom made pen project.

 

I think that might qualify...

[Topcat666]

12 hours ago, Topcat666 said:

At the moment, I'm trying to resist impulsive pen acquisitions and have restrained myself from buying a Narwhal Schuylkill just now (we'll see if it remains unbought by today's end).

I think some of my wish to buy stems from "Lockdown Blues" ie buying to make myself feel better.

Ah, well, that's some form of validation/justification, I suppose.

The Narwhal can join a list of pens that will probably be bought this year but in what order I know not.

Stay sane, everyone.

Didn't buy the Schuylkill.

Ordered the Original in puple with matching stand and KWZ Berry ink just now.

No will power, I guess.

[rkesey]

15 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

About converters of the small variety:

Any time you are using a small pen and need to have an ink supply, it is going to make an awful lot of sense to syringe-fill an empty cartridge. The simple fact of the matter is that any converter, no matter the system it uses, will have a mechanism that takes up part of the space you could hold ink in. An empty cartridge has no such internal mechanism and gives up all of it's interior for ink storage. The largest cartridge that will fit in the pen's barrel will give you the largest (ready-made) ink capacity, short of eye-droppering. Pro-Tip: if you refill carts, a drop of glue from a hot glue gun will seal the end, but pop off when you need to use the ink. Handy for filling at home the extras to take with you.

The one step beyond is DIY and applies only with a pen/cartridge where not all the space is used up. I have a couple of pens that have large barrels and I realized that if I could find the right materials, I could make an ink reservoir even larger than a standard converter, in length and width. I did so, making a custom ink 'tank' by welding (gluing) the front of a converter to a piece of plexiglass tube and using a rubber stopper in the back (which also cushioned the end). In the pens, which have semi-transparent barrels, it looks like an eye-droppered demonstrator without any of the mess or staining, and a very clean look with no mechanical parts. The bare tank looks like this:

 

That ended up being awfully long, sorry. Bottom line? Fill carts for maximum ink in a small pen!

Very informative! Thanks for sharing this. I've been resistant to this kind of project because I'm not very good at them, but maybe...

[rkesey]

12 hours ago, Topcat666 said:

At the moment, I'm trying to resist impulsive pen acquisitions and have restrained myself from buying a Narwhal Schuylkill just now (we'll see if it remains unbought by today's end).

I think some of my wish to buy stems from "Lockdown Blues" ie buying to make myself feel better.

Ah, well, that's some form of validation/justification, I suppose.

The Narwhal can join a list of pens that will probably be bought this year but in what order I know not.

Stay sane, everyone.

Yes, my collection has really benefited from Lockdown Blues...

 

[rkesey]

18 hours ago, BinaEliora said:

I bought a Kaweco Liliput Fireblue on a whim yesterday. We have two stationary stores in town, one sells a very limited amount of fountain pens (Kaweco and TWSBI). I went there to buy a journal and a Kaweco Sport Classic for my friend. I just had to hold the little one and that was the end of it. It went home with me. It makes my AL Sport look big, yet it is comfortable to write with.

 

 

 

That Fireblue's beautiful!

[inkstainedruth]

18 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

About converters of the small variety:

Any time you are using a small pen and need to have an ink supply, it is going to make an awful lot of sense to syringe-fill an empty cartridge. The simple fact of the matter is that any converter, no matter the system it uses, will have a mechanism that takes up part of the space you could hold ink in. An empty cartridge has no such internal mechanism and gives up all of it's interior for ink storage. The largest cartridge that will fit in the pen's barrel will give you the largest (ready-made) ink capacity, short of eye-droppering. Pro-Tip: if you refill carts, a drop of glue from a hot glue gun will seal the end, but pop off when you need to use the ink. Handy for filling at home the extras to take with you.

The one step beyond is DIY and applies only with a pen/cartridge where not all the space is used up. I have a couple of pens that have large barrels and I realized that if I could find the right materials, I could make an ink reservoir even larger than a standard converter, in length and width. I did so, making a custom ink 'tank' by welding (gluing) the front of a converter to a piece of plexiglass tube and using a rubber stopper in the back (which also cushioned the end). In the pens, which have semi-transparent barrels, it looks like an eye-droppered demonstrator without any of the mess or staining, and a very clean look with no mechanical parts. The bare tank looks like this:

 

That ended up being awfully long, sorry. Bottom line? Fill carts for maximum ink in a small pen!

Thanks but I did the "refill empty cartridges" thing early on.  Too much of a PITA for me.  I much prefer using converters.

Your DIY system is pretty cool, but completely beyond my skill set.  

The really frustrating part is that the Edelstein cartridge is only a fraction too long for the Penetia barrel (half an inch at most, I'd say).  I'd read less than stellar stuff about the Kaweco converters, so was hoping that another brand which took International Standard short cartridges had a better rap for converters.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

 

[AmandaW]

16 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Thanks but I did the "refill empty cartridges" thing early on.  Too much of a PITA for me.  I much prefer using converters.

 

I think there needs to be a way to differentiate between "refilling a cartridge" and "refilling and re-sealing a cartridge".

 

I say that because refilling with a blunt syringe is no more difficult or time consuming than filling a converter. Most converters have less capacity than their equivalent cartridge. And some are expensive compared to the value of the pen (eg Preppy) and some break and aren't worth replacing (Pilot CON-70). I wouldn't want to deter a newbie from using bottled ink for lack of a converter - refilling a cartridge is EASY.

 

Refilling and re-sealing is another thing altogether. Definitely an advanced skill.

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

21 hours ago, BinaEliora said:

Pelikan converters are the same size as any other standard converter (like Schmidt, Waterman etc).

 

Pelikan converters just rebranded Schmidt K5 converters, as are Diplomat converters, if I'm not mistaken. Faber-Castell converters and Rotring converters aren't that, even though they're still ‘international standard’ converters.

[inkstainedruth]

35 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

 

I think there needs to be a way to differentiate between "refilling a cartridge" and "refilling and re-sealing a cartridge".

 

I say that because refilling with a blunt syringe is no more difficult or time consuming than filling a converter. Most converters have less capacity than their equivalent cartridge. And some are expensive compared to the value of the pen (eg Preppy) and some break and aren't worth replacing (Pilot CON-70). I wouldn't want to deter a newbie from using bottled ink for lack of a converter - refilling a cartridge is EASY.

 

Refilling and re-sealing is another thing altogether. Definitely an advanced skill.

 

 

I think you're assuming that I'm filling the converters with a syringe.  I'm not.  I'm filling the pen through the feed, since that helps prime the feed.  

As for resealing a refilled cartridge, it's actually not all that advanced a skill.  Back when I was doing it, I bought a tube of 100% silicone caulk (the stuff you use for regretting around bathtubs) at the hardware store and put a dab over the end of  re-filled cartridges.  But I used so little that I've still got most of the tube left; not sure of the amount but at LEAST twice as much stuff as the capacity of a standard large tube of toothpaste would hold -- assuming it doesn't go bad after the better part of a decade....

Yes, refilling a cartridge is "easy", but I found I didn't care for doing it (and of course then had to flush out the syringe; and -- if I put a different ink in -- the cartridges themselves.  Hence the preference for converters for c/c pens.  The problem is that most of the cartridges I *do* still have are mostly proprietary, like the Parker ones, (or I think they are -- Sailor and Pilot ones).  I don't actually own a lot of pens which take International Standard.  And the only reason I have the Edelstein Amethyst ones are because they were swag from the first Pelikan Hub I went to, and I ended up buying a couple of bottles of Amethyst while they were still available.  So the cartridges have just been sitting around in their little metal tin all this time.  

If the Penetia barrel had just been a little bit longer, it would never have been an issue -- I just would have gotten some standard/long International Standard converter.  (So much fuss over a pen that cost me three bucks...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth