Pilot To Introduce Con-40, Discontinuing Con-20 & Con-50

[AndyYNWA]

I orderd one on Jan 24. Still waiting.

Contact the seller. At least my delivery was insured, hence the sender (hobby-japan) will get full refund if the package hasn't arrived within 30 days. I.e. they will send you a new converter.

[hari317]

true... 1950s was the time they introduced the Super series which was entirely stuck on converters "switch fillers" but other Super series pens still used different "converters" undocumented probably beyond what I can read in Crónicas Estilográficas

this I will have to dig about the only converter usable by the first capless would have been the SS use converters but the first capless came out in 1963 unless Pilot kinda got lazy and just said to use cartridges until they got converters that fit later on

as they introduced the CON-W according to the page in 1994.

Fixed fillers are not converters. Converters "convert" a cartridge pen into a bottle filled pen.

 

Of course, there were older converters for use with the double spare cartridge pens, I have a few in my possession. Con W is the later spare part for these pens.

 

the pic linked above is not complete but is still very informative and a nice thing.

[AndyYNWA]

At last they arrived!

[butangmucat]

to those who still can't trust what Pilot says then please someone test this

 

Converter for the Elite 95 as labeled in Pilot Japan's website

適合コンバーター(インキ吸入器）

CON-40 CON-20 ※カートリッジインキもご使用できます。

Just got my hands on CON-40 and I am also able to confirm this. The CON-40 works in my 1970s original Elite, see https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/305381-my-con-40s-have-arrived/ .

[butangmucat]

and the CON-50 and CON-20 arent much different in their height... I guess...

Not really. They both fit into the Capless with no problem and I think this says something about the height.

[jmccarty3]

I agree, and I don't particularly care whether the new converter holds 0.5ml or 0.4ml. I'm more interested in whether the new converter is an improvement in functionality over the old one (or at least it should be no worse), but it seems most of the thread has been about the reduction in capacity. But then my pens are on the finer end of the spectrum so even 0.5ml (or 0.4ml) goes a long way. I also never carry just one pen so running out of ink is not an issue for me. Personally, I prefer to refill my pen more often than let the ink sit around in the pen, so I have no complaints about the small capacity of Japanese converters.

 

 

+1. I get to write so little nowadays that my main problem is ink sitting too long in my pens, rather than running out.

[AndyYNWA]

...

Edited March 10, 2016 by AndyYNWA

[AndyYNWA]

I agree, and I don't particularly care whether the new converter holds 0.5ml or 0.4ml. I'm more interested in whether the new converter is an improvement in functionality over the old one (or at least it should be no worse), but it seems most of the thread has been about the reduction in capacity. But then my pens are on the finer end of the spectrum so even 0.5ml (or 0.4ml) goes a long way. I also never carry just one pen so running out of ink is not an issue for me. Personally, I prefer to refill my pen more often than let the ink sit around in the pen, so I have no complaints about the small capacity of Japanese converters.

+1

I like to change ink often.

[inotrym]

to be honest if were going to talk about Pilot bottles I like the no longer existing Iroshizuku 25ml bottles

I will have no comments for the Converter just yet... not until I find out they dont fit into their older but newer than CON-W enabled cartridge pens

 

 

Terribly sorry to derail the discussion, but do you happen to have a picture of the 25ml Iro bottles? I did a quick search online but couldn´t find anything relevant.

[Algester]

Terribly sorry to derail the discussion, but do you happen to have a picture of the 25ml Iro bottles? I did a quick search online but couldn´t find anything relevant.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E8%89%B2%E9%9B%AB+25ml&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigqNH26cHLAhUG4qYKHUr9A0cQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=704#tbm=isch&q=%E8%89%B2%E5%BD%A9%E9%9B%AB+25ml&imgrc=KDv_YNT_kRaTsM%3A

Not the greatest photo in the interwebs but should work

[inotrym]

Thanks for the link. So, essentially they were pretty close to the current mini bottle (except a little bigger and with a less appealing cap).

 

PS. I think I might have to start studying Japanese! I´ve noticed that I am always missing a good part of the good stuff.

[Garageboy]

Guess I'm getting a CON 40 to replace the 20 in my pilot that started leaking into the pen

[pepsiplease69]

I picked up two CON-40s from amazon, they arrived last week and I started using one of them with my 78G.

 

First impressions:

 

The rattle: I would almost liken the sound to that of a box of tic-tacs. On some level it's satisfying to know that those little beads are doing their job inside the ink chamber. The sound is not very intrusive. The lug nut inside the con-50 was so bad I had to disassemble it and take the thing out.

 

Piston: seems the gasket sticks a bit to the walls. It takes a bit of coercion to get the piston to travel. Maybe it needs a bit of silicone grease, but I haven't yet figured out how to disassemble the thing, if anyone has had success with taking it apart please chime in.

 

Hydrophobic: cannot comment yet on how the ink would tend to cling to the back of the converter, I filled it all the way up with aurora black (generally a very wet ink). But I'm less concerned about that because of the agitators; the problem should no longer be there.

 

Also now there's this business of a strainer at the nozzle which is meant to keep the beads in and let the ink pass. In previous converters there was nothing, and I wonder how much will the ink cling to this metallic retainer.

 

 

Overall I'm quite pleased with the thing and I feel it's an upgrade from the CON-50. I am, however, finding out now that (at $16 a pop) I might have paid too much for it, ordering from amazon, but oh well.. Live and learn.

[Opus105]

Pepsi - So you can hear the beads even when the converter is filled with ink?

[pepsiplease69]

Yes you can hear it, but it's not bad. It's faint.

[AndyYNWA]

Yes you can hear it, but it's not bad. It's faint.

 

+1

[Jeremy_Smith]

I just wanted to add that it has solved my flow issues that I had with my Pilot 912 with A FA nib. It cured my the hard starting, and skipping-As well as the railroading. The rub is, it doesn't hold as much, but oh well. I'm pretty happy with it.

[Renly]

At first I was really into the Con-50 and abandoned my Con-20 but twisting gets pretty tiring when you're cleaning the pens. I find the Con-20 to be really simple but you can't really see the ink inside and I feel there is always residue so it has its drawbacks. I bought 7 Con-50's which I now regret. If someone wants to trade their Con-20's for 50's Pm me. I won't be buying Con-40 because it's essencially the same thing. The rattle on the 50 was always minimal to me and I actually enjoy it. I do like that it helps the pens start though. The Con 40 is same twist mechanic.

[Icywolfe]

You can buy "white" con20s on the bay. Like tons of them. And if you don't care for the japan tag look for pilot korea con20s.

[pepsiplease69]

At first I was really into the Con-50 and abandoned my Con-20 but twisting gets pretty tiring when you're cleaning the pens. I find the Con-20 to be really simple but you can't really see the ink inside and I feel there is always residue so it has its drawbacks. I bought 7 Con-50's which I now regret. If someone wants to trade their Con-20's for 50's Pm me. I won't be buying Con-40 because it's essencially the same thing. The rattle on the 50 was always minimal to me and I actually enjoy it. I do like that it helps the pens start though. The Con 40 is same twist mechanic.

I don't know if you were aware but it is possible to take a con-50 completely apart. I do that when I want to give the thing a thorough cleaning and lubrication. I'm not a fan of cleaning the thing by twisting the piston back and forth umpteen number of times either.

 

The metal ring at the back just under the piston knob is threaded in place and then secured with some glue. You can, if you want, take a pair of grippy gloves and try to unscrew the metal ring (right hand rule) and with some force, the glue will break loose and it will unscrew normally.

 

You then have the option of getting rid of the agitator and put some smaller pellets from an old std int'l converter in there.

 

The con-50's were not my favorites until I discovered this trick from a Goulet video and now those things are a lot more manageable.

 

Disclaimer: the thing is not meant to be taken apart as can be surmised from the securing with glue. So disassemble (if you decide to do so) only sparingly.