Reloadable Cartridges

February 5, 2017

I may make myself one one of these days. Be handy to have on a keychain.

How do you keep it on the cartridge? Be a real disaster if it came off...

February 6, 2017

Visconti has an expensive put in your pocket traveling inkwell....whoops not for cartridge pens.

A piston pen is my suggestion. With a CC pen as second pen. For someone who don't own a desk...a regular cartridge as reserve.

Yes I do refill my cartridges in I have always found them for rich folks only....

That is why converters came in.

February 6, 2017

Yes I do refill my cartridges in I have always found them for rich folks only....
That is why converters came in.

IMHO a good portion of the FP users are NOT bottle ink users. They want the convenience of a cartridge and don't want the hassle of dealing with a bottle of ink. This past Christmas, of all the fountain pens that I gave away, not one person wanted to deal with bottle ink. So I stopped giving ink converters (that would just get tossed aside) with the pens, instead gave them cartridges of ink.

It might be different in other parts of the world. Example, all the Chinese pens that I've bought came with converters. So maybe they use bottle ink in China, rather than cartridges.

Edited February 6, 2017 by ac12

February 6, 2017

Were those new pen people?

Everyone I know, except newbies, use bottled ink. And some have c/c pens that use carts refilled with bottled ink.

I'm happy to be given any carts since I can syringe that ink into carts that fit my pens. Looking at you Lamy Dark Lilac in my Platinum pen.

February 6, 2017

IMHO a good portion of the FP users are NOT bottle ink users. They want the convenience of a cartridge and don't want the hassle of dealing with a bottle of ink. This past Christmas, of all the fountain pens that I gave away, not one person wanted to deal with bottle ink. So I stopped giving ink converters (that would just get tossed aside) with the pens, instead gave them cartridges of ink.

It might be different in other parts of the world. Example, all the Chinese pens that I've bought came with converters. So maybe they use bottle ink in China, rather than cartridges.

Wow. I am astounded to hear that. I viscerally dislike cartridges. One, they are an obvious razor/razor-blade profit ploy -- the fountain-pen world's answer to K-cup & Nespresso coffee capsules. Two, they are a lock-in ploy: companies like Pilot, Platinum, and Parker have custom cartridge sizes, so you are restricted in your ink choices.

I always assumed everyone else was like me, barring a few really clueless newbies. Very interesting to hear otherwise!

E. K.

February 6, 2017

As I mentioned above, I think a container with a plug the size and shape of a feed nipple would work well.
What I am thinking of is a cylinder with a cartridge sized space inside. In the cap would be a rod the same size and shape as the nipple of a pen.
Inserting the cartridge into the container would be exactly like inserting a cartridge into a pen, except the nipple would have no hole in it - it would act as a plug to stop the ink coming out.

I may make myself one one of these days. Be handy to have on a keychain.

How do you keep it on the cartridge? Be a real disaster if it came off...

It's a clever idea. I can imagine a small cylinder with a screw cap. The screwing on of the cap would lower the nipple into the opening of the cartridge, sealing it. The nipple could be made from (or exactly the size of) the south end of an appropriate feed. That connection between feed and cartridge is designed to friction-fit without leaking.

February 6, 2017

Might as well put it in a pen.

February 6, 2017

Wow. I am astounded to hear that. I viscerally dislike cartridges. One, they are an obvious razor/razor-blade profit ploy -- the fountain-pen world's answer to K-cup & Nespresso coffee capsules. Two, they are a lock-in ploy: companies like Pilot, Platinum, and Parker have custom cartridge sizes, so you are restricted in your ink choices.

I always assumed everyone else was like me, barring a few really clueless newbies. Very interesting to hear otherwise!

E. K.

OK, myself I used cartridge ink from grade school through college and beyond. It wasn't until about 4 years ago that I converted to primarily bottle ink. The only exception during that time, was in college, using my mother's Parker 51 desk pen at home, obviously it was a bottle ink only situation.

In college, the only ink that I used in my carry pen was Parker Quink BLACK.

And yes I was quite satisfied with my limited ink choices with the cartridges, because, all I used was BLACK ink. And NO, I did not want blue ink.

I don't remember what I used in the Parker 51. Probably either Parker or Sheaffer black.

Not everyone is into inks. If Parker, or Sheaffer, or whatever ink matches or is close to what you want, that is good enough. It is only when you expose them to the the broad range of inks in bottles that you "might" get some of them interested. Though most will still not want to deal with a bottle of ink, and the potential MESS of a spilled bottle of ink. This is one of the reasons why the ball pen replace the fountain pen, no messy refilling.

Edited February 6, 2017 by ac12

February 6, 2017

Might as well put it in a pen.

The container I have in mind would only need to be slightly longer than a short international cartridge.

It would probably be around 1.24" long, which is way shorter than any pen I know of.

February 6, 2017

Were those new pen people?

Everyone I know, except newbies, use bottled ink. And some have c/c pens that use carts refilled with bottled ink.

I'm happy to be given any carts since I can syringe that ink into carts that fit my pens. Looking at you Lamy Dark Lilac in my Platinum pen.

A few were new to fountain pens, but most used fountain pens in the past, before ball pens took over. So they were not unfamiliar with fountain pens. One even asked if "Peacock Blue" was still available.

February 7, 2017

Cartridges aren't just for noobs, they are a perfectly valid option for people who are on the move a lot.

They are way overpriced if you compare them to bottled ink, but you are paying for the convenience.

February 7, 2017

Back in the BC....before color TV, I remembered bottle ink at home. We were not a cartridge family. We had the Family Snorkel for writing checks (still part of the time of One Man, One Pen and we only needed one.)

In the AF my father had 'free' skillcraft ball points. My mother had a fancy looking Sheaffer ball point....for years....before the era of free ball points.

My fancy start of school ball points and fountain pens (Wearevers, Venus and the ugly post '60 Esterbrook....never had one of the pretty pre'60 Esterbrooks.) got stolen every year by the pen collectors of the day. Had we been a bit better off I could have gotten my name engraved in my pens and had them still.

The ball point refill sticks were not cheap.

It was the schools that pushed cartridges; I'm sure, in they no longer had to have extra ink for the fools or poor who didn't ink their fountain pen at home.

I remember having to borrow cartridges at school from other kids....and the few times I too lent cartridges.............to have three cartridges in the plastic zip lock bag was unusual. Less than three was normal....and now I can see worrying.

The school or teacher had no free ink any more.

Perhaps that is where writing became expensive so it was no fun....couldn't waste ink scribbling now could you. To bad none of us knew about needle filling of cartridges back then.

Couldn't have gotten a needle syringe anyway.

At home we'd always had a bottle of Sheaffer's Script ink, until the middle of the '60's when the family went over to the Cheap Pelikan ink.

Then sometime in the early mid '60's I got so lucky, 10 ball point refills for only 10cents. A years worth of writing for a silly dime. I then had a life. A dime bottle of coke, once a week. A nickle snickers once a week....a gamble on baseball cards with a small stick of gum for a nickle. Once a week.

Sigh for only a year. Stores wanted to make money selling even cheaper than Jotter refills.

Then came the Bic.

This reusable cartridge will have to be private made. Try doing it on that net start up company program.

The pen companies make too much money selling cartridges. Always have.

I think the high cost of cartridges accelerated the ball point day....and almost killed off the fountain pen.

I did buy a P-75 in @ 1970, knowing it was a squeeze filler, so tossed the box and instructions with out even reading.

45 years later I find out it took cartridges too.

And in the last 20 years converters came in.

I do strive to stay away from cartridge pens. I do have six. Three Pelikans, a P-45, a Lamy Persona and Joy.

I just gave two Lamy's away hooking a neighbor into fountain pens. I wouldn't have given away a piston pen. Of course I gave her, some cartridges. Can't hook with out an assortment of inks. To go with a small assortment of papers.

Originally I'd only given the CPM-1 but found out the same day while checking, Parker cartridges were too wide for it, but not for a Safari, so gave that away too.

I can believe what AC said, most fountain pen users don't even know what a bottle of ink looks like....and not knowing about needle syringe filling......And, not knowing how very expensive cartridges are.....will ignore bottled ink that they can't use anyway.

I found out about needle filling cartridges on this com. So many of the converters were problems.

I luckily snuck back into fountain pens with Piston Pens.....and rushed out and bought a bottle of Pelikan royal blue and black the very next day. That was the ink I knew as a kid....and was there (in Germany) and still cheap.

Then, I had not cartridge pens.....or so I thought. How was I to know the P-75 also took cartridges? I don't remember them advertising them as a cartridge pen.

Well, still haven't stuck a cartridge in it.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

February 7, 2017

Cartridges aren't just for noobs, they are a perfectly valid option for people who are on the move a lot.
They are way overpriced if you compare them to bottled ink, but you are paying for the convenience.

+1. If I'm flying, I take a bunch of cartridges. I like the idea of being able to take on an airplane cartridges that I've filled with my favorite inks and resealed.

I could just take a bunch of pens, each with a refilled cartridge in it (and I've done that), but that's not ideal.

Plus, who among us hasn't ended up with a lot of cartridges from buying pens? I don't throw them away. And if you aren't buying them separately, they aren't a more expensive option than using bottled ink. Throwing them away would be the expensive part.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Komboloi

February 7, 2017

Cartridges aren't just for noobs, they are a perfectly valid option for people who are on the move a lot.
They are way overpriced if you compare them to bottled ink, but you are paying for the convenience.

Oh yeah, definitely not only for the inexperienced. I've been using fountain pens for about three decades, and I prefer cartridges. I've used plenty of pens with different filling mechanisms, so I am very well educated on this subject vis-a-vis what I like.

I don't use c/c pens exclusively; I am not a zero-tolerance hard-liner. But given the choice, I'll choose c/c.

Having said that, I do like certain piston-fillers -- brands such as Pelikan, Aurora, and TWSBI. I like that the nib or nib sections can be easily removed for cleaning and filling with a syringe.

As for the expense... after the initial expense of a box of cartridges, I have plenty of them to refill. I don't remember the last time I had to discard an empty cartridge cos it could no longer do its job. I'm sure it's happened; I just can't remember when that was.

February 8, 2017

Cartridges aren't just for noobs, they are a perfectly valid option for people who are on the move a lot.
They are way overpriced if you compare them to bottled ink, but you are paying for the convenience.

On certain scenarios cartridges aren't even that badly priced. I have written this year one correspondence, one application (two pages, one sided), so maybe... one A4 in total. Cartridges eventually evaporate out, but ink bottles may show life forms. Which case costs more? I don't know, and right now I don't care. I usually refill my cartridges from a bottle, but for last two or three months my pen has had factory filled GvFC moss green cartridge. (Where on earth is my newspaper, so I can waste some ink on filling a sudoku?)