Best Ink Bottles To Re-Use For Large Nibs?

[Trexton]

Hey everyone! I have a few favourite inks that I adore but can't get much use out of their bottles. Particularly because I love big nibs on even bigger pens - Viscontis, Pelikans, you name it. They say that size matters, but sometimes having a long nib can get in the way of having a good time.

For example, my Diamine ASA blue, whose bottle has a very large bottom and small neck, which means after about half way you can't get many big pens in there to get the ink out. There's also my Robert Oster 100ml bottle of Fire and Ice, which ends up getting smearings of ink all up the barrel trying to get the pen deep enough. I'm really open to re-using ink bottles - currently the best I've found are Akkerman and Montblanc - but the Akkerman bottle is somewhat too big for where I store my regular inks (plus shipping to Australia is very expensive) and the Montblanc bottle has trouble getting the last say 25-30% of ink out with large nibs, but that also involves holding and tilting the bottle while I do so which is fine for my vacuum fillers, but can be a hassle with converters and pistons. I'd say that's a pretty good performance, though overall. I had similar experiences with the Waterman bottles, which were also decent.

 

Are there any other bottles which are just as if not more practical for large nibbed pens as either of these, and are you having similar issues?

 

Bonus: what's the WORST ink bottle for practicality you've encountered? For me - Delta 30ml bottle that came with a pen. It's designed to be turned on its side to access the lower levels of the ink, but you can't do this until the bottle is below 40% full otherwise it will spill, but you can't really fill a pen at the regular height once it's at like 65-80% full depending on the nib. I know it's not the worst, and it's only 30ml, but I haven't used many of the other contenders and the design just feels like a poor imitation of Waterman's tilt design.

 

Share your experiences and photos!

Thanks guys

[Chrissy]

Montblanc bottles, Akkerman bottles, Diamine 80ml bottles, Parker Quink bottles.

[Noihvo]

[hari317]

Montblanc. Waterman. Quink 2oz.

[lapis]

Not trying to be a smart Alec but I'd rephrase it as to say "Anything except the following"....

• Abraxas
• Cartier
• Diamine 30-ml jobs (including Cult Pen etc.)
• Herbin 1670 series
• Pelikan Fount India

[mannschott]

I have experience with bottles from J.Herbin, Lamy, Pelikan 4001/Edelstein, Gv Faber-Castell, Noodlers, Aurora, Sailor, KWZ, Pilot Iroshizuku, Backstone, Diamine, Monteverde, Waterman and Montblanc. I have no experience with Akkerman or Visconti bottles. I don't have nibs larger than a #6 and my girthiest pen is probably my Noodler's Neponset.

My top recommendation is Lamy's 50 ml bottle. The depression at the center of the bottom of the otherwise flat looking bottle is hidden by the plastic base and seems large enough to be help with every nib I own. I've use their small 30 ml bottles as well and find them convenient for inks that have become hard to get out of their original bottles.

Most of the rest of the bottles listed are work ok, but are a step below Lamy when filling a pen. I don't find that the little depression in the base of the Iroshizuku bottle makes much of a difference one way or another.

I would have recommended the Robert Oster bottles, but of course you're right about smearing the barrel as you have to put the deeper and deeper into the bottle when the ink level gets low. This probably removes Noodler's from consideration as well. Have you considered Aurora's bottles? Or is the neck too small for your pens?

The J.Herbin 30 ml bottles are *the worst*. Indeed, that's the reason I'm always in the market for cheap 30 ml Lamy bottles. I want to make sure to get every last drop of Vert Empire. The J.Herbin 1670 bottles suck too. Also, the Sailor bottles are pretty bad if your pen's nib isn't tiny. (They work great for my Lamy 2000.)

[OCArt]

Worst ink bottle for large nibs is sailor. Best was the bottle Parker Penman inks came in, best now available is Levenger ink bottles --- they have a inner well to use even the last drop.

[Mr. Pink]

I had some Herbin 1670 (or is it 1760), and I couldn't get anything larger than a tooth pick into the ink. Luck me, I had an old Penman bottle to put the ink in. So now I have a pretty good ink in a great bottle.

 

Dang - too bad I never saved all the other penman bottles I had.

 

Another great bottle is the Lamy.

 

The Diamine Shimmer bottles suck.

 

The old Sheaffer bottles were about perfect.

[zaddick]

Good: MB shoe bottles, Iroshizuku, Lamy 50, Akkerman, DeAtramentis, ols Glass Visconti bottles, and Franklin Christoph.

 

The pits: j her bin 30 ML, small Sailor 30 ML.

[ehemem]

I save all my Pilot/Namiki ink bottles. They have that plastic inset you fill by inverting the bottle (capped of course).

[Charles Skinner]

I don't know actually what the correct name is for these items I use when, for various reasons, it is hard to fill a pen from a bottle. I bought a little "funnel" looking device and some "needles" from Goulet, and any time I am having trouble filling a pen --- for any reason ---- I use the "needle device" to suck up the ink from the bottle and empty it in the little "funnel container." This way, there is always enough ink in the "funnel" container to fill just about any pen. If not enough, repeat the process.

 

I wish I knew the proper name for there two accessories. I am sure you can find them quickly on the Goulet web site. I use this system just about every time fill a pen.

 

C. S.

[Randal6393]

Noodler bottles are not good but, with the addition of an ink-miser, they become as good as any bottle I have used. JetPens.com sells the Ink-miser plastic insert, sized to fit a standard Noodler's 3-oz bottle. Also available, for smaller ink bottles, is the Erka Rapid-Fill ink-miser, for Aurora, Pelikan, Waterman, et al.

 

Both inserts are conical wells and change a standard ink bottle into one much like the old Levenger bottles. Once installed, recap the bottle, and turn it over, then over again. Base, cap, base again. The well is charged, open and fill. (Carefully!) Any mistakes will have ink everywhere.

 

I also have a clear ink-miser that has a base for use in mixing small amounts of ink.

 

Enjoy,

 

 

PS: See Charles Skinner's comment above. The "funnel" thing he is talking about is the Ink-Miser I reference.

Edited January 28, 2018 by Randal6393

[wasteland]

Noodler bottles are not good but, with the addition of an ink-miser, they become as good as any bottle I have used. JetPens.com sells the Ink-miser plastic insert, sized to fit a standard Noodler's 3-oz bottle. Also available, for smaller ink bottles, is the Erka Rapid-Fill ink-miser, for Aurora, Pelikan, Waterman, et al.

 

Both inserts are conical wells and change a standard ink bottle into one much like the old Levenger bottles. Once installed, recap the bottle, and turn it over, then over again. Base, cap, base again. The well is charged, open and fill. (Carefully!) Any mistakes will have ink everywhere.

 

I also have a clear ink-miser that has a base for use in mixing small amounts of ink.

 

Enjoy,

 

 

PS: See Charles Skinner's comment above. The "funnel" thing he is talking about is the Ink-Miser I reference.

Much obliged for this info.

[Trexton]

Thanks everyone for your input so far! I was surprised that Lamy seems to be an overwhelming favourite, I'll definitely have to pick up a bottle and see how I like it. I also googled the old Parker bottles and they look great as well, but I can't find any empty ones online and my goodness the price of a full bottle O_O
I like the ink miser idea too because that's an inexpensive way to make any bottle a bit more practical. Or the Levenger and Pilot I quite like too with the inbuilt miser and nice design. I think I'll have to pick up one of each of these too!

Gotta agree with a lot of these downvotes too. Thanks guys!

[Inkling13]

Lamy or iroshizuku bottles are my favorite, but nothing will get around having to refill them. Lamy is hard to tip, Iroshizuku is stately.

[Mr. Pink]

I'm not to keen on the Iroshizuku. Stately yes, but a very fragile cap.

[sciumbasci]

Waterman or Pelikan are both my go-to inkwells.

[effrafax]

An alternative is to decant the ink into a Nalgene bottle: the 15ml ones are very good for this. Wide enough mouth to accommodate the largest nibs, and deep enough for the longest ones.

[kestrel]

Goulet sample vials. Decant (or syringe fill) the ink into the vial. Leave room at the top so you can insert the nib without demonstrating Archimedes law with ink. I stick the vial in the hole in a cellophane tape dispenser for added stability.

 

Second comments above about Levenger bottles and older Sheaffer's with the glass well.

[Runnin_Ute]

Another huge fan of Levenger bottles. I like the Lamy bottles as well. The old Sheaffer Skrip bottles with a well are good too.

Waterman, Pelikan 4001 (2 oz), Diamine I find good as well, but the Levenger is my favorite.