Best Ink Bottles To Re-Use For Large Nibs?

[Randal6393]

Happy to help, wasteland. And welcome to FPN.

 

Noticed yesterday that JetPens.com has a page on the Erka-Rapid Ink Reservoir. Three reservoirs for $9.75. The page has an incomplete list of bottles that the Erka fits and a picture showboard that shows how to use the Reservoir. I have a half-dozen and find them useful when most small bottles get down to about 50 % of fill. I find these reservoirs useful with Monteverde 30 ml, Rohrer & Klingner bottles, and a host of other small bottles.

 

The Noodler's Ink Reservoir is also sold at JetPens.com, for $5.00. Use is the same as with the Erka Reservoirs, with Noodler 3 oz bottles and Monteverde 90 ml bottles. Am sure another dozen or so manufacturers as well.

 

Enjoy,

[Trexton]

Happy to help, wasteland. And welcome to FPN.

 

Noticed yesterday that JetPens.com has a page on the Erka-Rapid Ink Reservoir. Three reservoirs for $9.75. The page has an incomplete list of bottles that the Erka fits and a picture showboard that shows how to use the Reservoir. I have a half-dozen and find them useful when most small bottles get down to about 50 % of fill. I find these reservoirs useful with Monteverde 30 ml, Rohrer & Klingner bottles, and a host of other small bottles.

 

The Noodler's Ink Reservoir is also sold at JetPens.com, for $5.00. Use is the same as with the Erka Reservoirs, with Noodler 3 oz bottles and Monteverde 90 ml bottles. Am sure another dozen or so manufacturers as well.

 

Enjoy,

Those Erka ones look great! I'm definitely going to have to pick some up. They look exactly like the old Skripp bottles' inner reservoir but can fit any bottle! Thanks for sharing, definitely something I'll get on my next order.

[Fermata]

Lamy bottles with the dimple have got to be the best.

[katerchen]

This lady does a very nice comparison:

 

 

Also : I assume you already know about Goulet's empty bottle section. The caveat is that there's no guarantee as to what they have on hand - it all comes and goes.

[ehemem]

Lamy bottles with the dimple have got to be the best.

 

 

They make great tops, too...

[dms525]

Just looked at (and ordered) the "Erka-Rapid Ink Reservoir" you mentioned, Randal. Its structure is different than the others. I'm hoping it works as advertised, as I have many ink bottles getting to low to fill without some sort of assist. In my experience, the Sailor version is worthless. The Akkerman system works very well.

 

I'll tell you how much I appreciate the tip after I've tried them out.

 

David

[senzen]

Can't get to the end of the ink with J Herbin bottles, the 30ml ones, the 1670 is even worse with its small opening; Edelstein, Iroshizuku, Diamine, Stipula, Quink are better in this respect.

[Noihvo]

Happy to help, wasteland. And welcome to FPN.

 

Noticed yesterday that JetPens.com has a page on the Erka-Rapid Ink Reservoir. Three reservoirs for $9.75. The page has an incomplete list of bottles that the Erka fits and a picture showboard that shows how to use the Reservoir. I have a half-dozen and find them useful when most small bottles get down to about 50 % of fill. I find these reservoirs useful with Monteverde 30 ml, Rohrer & Klingner bottles, and a host of other small bottles.

 

The Noodler's Ink Reservoir is also sold at JetPens.com, for $5.00. Use is the same as with the Erka Reservoirs, with Noodler 3 oz bottles and Monteverde 90 ml bottles. Am sure another dozen or so manufacturers as well.

 

Enjoy,

 

[Randal6393]

@David & Noviho: I think you will like the Erka Reservoirs. They work well but have a quirk or two. The R & K bottles have a snug fit, the Monteverde and others will take the reservoir with a looser fit. Things I have discovered the hard way are:

 

(1) A tight cap works better than a loose one when you turn the bottle over. Unless you like spatter all over your desk.

 

(2) When opening a loose-fit bottle, be careful to not lift the reservoir out with the lid -- it can be done fairly easily. Again, spatter hazard.

 

Best of luck,

[torstar]

 

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

 

 

aurora

noodler's

[Inkling13]

 

aurora

noodler's

why does noodlers not work?

[Trexton]

why does noodlers not work?

Probably because you end up getting ink all over the barrel of the pen when you start getting deep into the bottle. I get bothered by this especially when I full my Visconti HS Bronze as the material absorbs the ink and you need to wash it off with a wet cloth of some kind to make sure no staining happens. On any other pen it's just an inconvenience and makes you get ink unnecessarily on your hands. Same goes for Aurora or Robert Oster or any other long bottle. Some mind it others don't

[OCArt]

I really like the design of Levenger's ink bottles. They have an inner well that fills when you invert the bottle so that you can use the last drop. I especially recommend their Amethyst ink, it's a really beautiful color.

 

Bottles look like this:

http://www.levimage.com/IMAGE/PRODUCTS/PEN_INK/REFILLS/PR1420_S6_1608.jpg

Very comprehensive video review of amethyst ink by VittaR here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrgpZ3FIx9U

[Trexton]

I really like the design of Levenger's ink bottles. They have an inner well that fills when you invert the bottle so that you can use the last drop. I especially recommend their Amethyst ink, it's a really beautiful color.

 

Bottles look like this:

http://www.levimage.com/IMAGE/PRODUCTS/PEN_INK/REFILLS/PR1420_S6_1608.jpg

Very comprehensive video review of amethyst ink by VittaR here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrgpZ3FIx9U

I can't say I'm too tempted by the Amethyst, it's a bit bright and happy for my tastes but I definitely am by the Empyrean... Nice rich deep blue, and possibly the Evergreen one which had a unique green colour. I'll grab a sample of the Amethyst though on my next sample order and see if I like it better in person, or perhaps be converted to less depressing colours

[oneill]

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

Can I suggest a Glass syringe with a rubber Bulb on one end which allows you to place in an ink bottle

and extract enough Ink to fill your pen,I hope that helps Trust Me, Oneill

[Trexton]

Can I suggest a Glass syringe with a rubber Bulb on one end which allows you to place in an ink bottle

and extract enough Ink to fill your pen,I hope that helps Trust Me, Oneill

Like suck ink into the syringe, then take off the bulb and fill the pen from the syringe? Because that sounds like an interesting solution haha

[torstar]

why does noodlers not work?

 

after 1/3 use of the bottle you are having a little trouble dropping the nib to the ink level without getting it on your hands.

[Inkling13]

Can I suggest a Glass syringe with a rubber Bulb on one end which allows you to place in an ink bottle

and extract enough Ink to fill your pen,I hope that helps Trust Me, Oneill

Are you making a makeshift eye dropper? What's wrong with a piston?

[torstar]

Like suck ink into the syringe, then take off the bulb and fill the pen from the syringe? Because that sounds like an interesting solution haha

 

do that with BSB and have an interesting facial stain for a week.

[lapis]

 

after 1/3 use of the bottle you are having a little trouble dropping the nib to the ink level without getting it on your hands.

Before zero use of the bottle (assuming that I've already opened the darn thing) I'm gonna have a little trouble dropping the nib to the ink level, I'm tellin' ya.