Con40, Con50 & Con70 Converters

[darkage]

Planning on purchasing a Pilot Kakuno, but prefer to get a converter as well since Im still testing the waters with different inks at the moment.

 

I was deadset on getting a Con70 but now I doubt thats wise since I'm at the stage of trying out lots of different inks and I've read about how hard they are to clean.

 

The local store sells the Con40 but I heard bad reviews of this compared to the Con50. but Con50 is out of production. and prices are pretty expensive.

 

I've seen Con50's on aliexpress cheap but I suppose those are counterfeits.

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Pilot-Universal-Pen-Ink-Converter-CON-50-Japan/32699622560.html

 

Should I keep away from the Con50's on aliexpress and is there a reasonable priced seller somewhere for official ones ?

 

Or maybe I just say bugger it and try out the Con40 so I can pickup the pen locally

 

 

Thanks in advance!

[Dont_Flexme]

I have all three, Con 70, 50, and 40. Personally I haven't experienced much of a difference between the 40 and 50. I know there are people out there who like the 50 while hating on the 40, but both work for me. Now the 70, that's a different story.

 

If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with the 40 since its cheaper.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Dont_Flexme

[darkage]

I have all three, Con 70, 50, and 40. Personally I haven't experienced much of a difference between the 40 and 50. I know there are people out there who like the 50 while hating on the 40, but both work for me. Now the 70, that's a different story.

 

If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with the 40 since its cheaper.

 

 

ahh it seems alot of ppl are bashing the con40.

 

My options at the moment -

 

- Purchase pen + con70 online overseas for $3 more and wait.

 

OR

 

- Purchase pen + con40 locally, pay a tiny bit extra and no wait

 

Is the con70 that painful to clean ? At the moment I cant wait for my ink to run out so I can try other inks I've purchased.

[Dont_Flexme]

The Con 70 takes a little more effort to clean when switching inks, but its not that bad. It holds a lot more ink than the 40, so depending on how much you write, you could have ink for a while.

 

Sounds like a 40 would fit you desire to switch from ink to ink without wasting ink. And you can always pick up a 70 later if you want more mileage.

[Shaggy]

I love the con70 and have never had any trouble cleaning it. I honestly do not understand the problem. I run it under the faucet and it's great. Worst case, you use a syringe.

 

I use a con 70 in a Kakuno and it is one of my daily drivers

Edited May 15, 2019 by Shaggy

[darkage]

I love the con70 and have never had any trouble cleaning it. I honestly do not understand the problem. I run it under the faucet and it's great. Worst case, you use a syringe.

 

I use a con 70 in a Kakuno and it is one of my daily drivers

 

I guess everyone uncracks the glue on the screw, to open it up and clean it out good.

[A Smug Dill]

I guess everyone uncracks the glue on the screw, to open it up and clean it out good.

I don't, and I hate cleaning the CON-70 even with the help of a temperature-controlled ultrasonic cleaning tank. Flush it, soak it, buzz it for five minutes, flush it again... and if I then try to flick the converter dry with centrifugal force, it's almost guaranteed that I'll end up with more colour on the paper towel (if I'm careful about wrapping one around the converter first) or the wall.

 

I'm at the stage of trying out lots of different inks

You could just dip the nibs in ink and then write them dry, you know. That might not tell you how the ink will flow through the filling mechanism, and whether there are any problems with it (some inks don't work so well being fed through a CON-70, and some others don't work so well being fed through a CON-40), but you will still find out lots about how an ink interacts with the different papers of your choice, if you're not yet committed to keeping a pen filled with a particular ink for multiple, long writing sessions.

Edited May 15, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[sirgilbert357]

Glass dip pen might be fun for testing lots of ink samples too. Super easy clean up. No converter to worry about either...

 

But that's not what you asked...I prefer the CON-70, and I've had all of the converters Pilot makes except for the new CON-50. Even the "cleaning converter" was better than the CON-40 in my opinion though, so I doubt the CON-50 is that much better...

 

Edit: also, just keep in mind that you don't need to go crazy trying to clean out the converter. If you saw the ink that got left behind in your nib and feed even after extensive flushing, the converter would be the last thing on your mind...

Edited May 15, 2019 by sirgilbert357

[A Smug Dill]

But that's not what you asked...I prefer the CON-70, and I've had all of the converters Pilot makes except for the new CON-50. Even the "cleaning converter" was better than the CON-40 in my opinion though, so I doubt the CON-50 is that much better...

I've used many CON-50 converters since 2013 (when I bought my first Pilot Capless Vanishing Point), and they're no trouble with or without the agitator that was introduced later. They certainly hold enough ink to not make my Pilot Capless pens let me down in the middle of a meeting or writing session.

 

Edit: also, just keep in mind that you don't need to go crazy trying to clean out the converter. If you saw the ink that got left behind in your nib and feed even after extensive flushing, the converter would be the last thing on your mind…

Actually, between my ultrasonic cleaning tank and a 30ml rubber bulb syringe for flushing, nibs and feeds get cleaned thoroughly relatively easily.

[Shaggy]

 

I guess everyone uncracks the glue on the screw, to open it up and clean it out good.

 

I guess I'm not that obsessed if a drop of ink is behind the seal under the button.

[loganrah]

I only own the CON-70, but since I learnt about flushing out the little metal pipe with a syringe I've not found it any harder to clean than any other converter I own.

But if you are going to be trying a lot of inks I would add another vote to getting a glass dip pen.

[Honeybadgers]

The 70 is where my money goes for any pen that fits it.

[darkage]

The 70 is where my money goes for any pen that fits it.

 

 

I was afraid someone was going to walk in and say that I guess overtime I will probably end up with all of them

[Shaggy]

The 70 is where my money goes for any pen that fits it.

Same, no question.

[Honeybadgers]

 

 

I was afraid someone was going to walk in and say that I guess overtime I will probably end up with all of them

 

If you have a syringe, the 70 is easy to clean, just squirt water straight into the middle of that metal rod, that's where the ink hides. cleans in 5 seconds.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQDzfJkGCjA&t=4s

[Olya]

I wouldn't bother with any converter if you want to just test inks. I'd refill the cartridge and the Pilot and Sailor cartridges are out of all of them the easiest to clean out and refill, certainly easier than the Pilot converters.

 

You'll have no problem refilling them with the fat-ish eyedropper made of plastic from China, but I recommend a syringe.

 

Bothering with a converter for ink test-driving purposes just increases wash times and more.

 

Once you settle, you can then use a converter..

[sirgilbert357]

I've used many CON-50 converters since 2013 (when I bought my first Pilot Capless Vanishing Point), and they're no trouble with or without the agitator that was introduced later. They certainly hold enough ink to not make my Pilot Capless pens let me down in the middle of a meeting or writing session.

 

 

Actually, between my ultrasonic cleaning tank and a 30ml rubber bulb syringe for flushing, nibs and feeds get cleaned thoroughly relatively easily.

 

 

I rarely, if ever, run out of ink writing in the real world. I check it often enough to know if I need to fill before a meeting or even before just leaving the house in general. So, I'm sure the CON-50 is fine in that regard, but what I mean is functionally, the design of the converter should be very similar. Pilot does a pretty good job with their converters and I'd expect them all to function well enough. But I like to fill my pen as few times as possible over time, so I gravitate towards refilling cartridges or just using the CON-70 for my Pilot pens (except the 823, for obvious reasons).

 

I'm sure ultrasonic cleaners are better, but I just said "flushing". If one doesn't have an ultrasonic cleaner and only uses traditional flushing to clean their pens, ink is almost always left in the nib and feed assembly on most pens. This is easily verified by flushing the pen until clear water comes out and then pointing the nib into a wad of paper towels and slinging the nib to use centrifugal force. The paper towel reveals the ink that was left behind.

[Honeybadgers]

You're overflushing if you're running water until it's absolutely clear.

 

A little bit of dye still left is harmless.

 

Also be wary of flicking a pen. One wrong move and you're in for an expensive ride. I made that mistake with a visconti. Just setting it nib down on paper towel should wick all the water from the feed. Or build the salad spinner centrifuge.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[ParkerDuofold]

The 70 is where my money goes for any pen that fits it.

Yup.

 

Hi Darkage, et al.

 

I love the push-button 70 myself... and as others have already said... use it in every Pilot that will accept it.

 

I don't find cleaning it that difficult. I set the faucet down to a trickle... fill the converter about half-way, put my index finger over the hole and shake it like a martini.

 

To empty it, I shake it over the sink like an old mercury thermometer.

 

EZ PZ.

 

 

- Anthony