3-in-1 vs Eyedropper

[tommym]

If I remove the converter from my 3-in-1 filling system and use it as an eyedropper, will it perform just as well as a pen that was designed as a dedicated eyedropper from the get-go?

 

I noticed the following with some eyedroppers that lack a 3-in-1 filling system:

 

1. Some come with an ebonite feed. Does this really matter? Or is this just tradition? Some even seem to be tweaked and fitted for the specific pen/nib assembly; no two are the same. 

2. The lack of a nipple (for a converter) on the feed/housing would seem to provide a larger volume of ink to the nib. Also, one less thing to break during maintenance. Your thoughts?

3. Many dedicated eyedroppers seem to have a small hole in the cap. None of my pens with their 3-in-1 filling system have this feature. I guess it's easy enough for me to drill a small hole if it is needed.

 

Thanks,

 

Tommy

 

[Aravind_A_2310]

Most pens that tout a 3-in-1 filling system usually use the same nib assembly as any cartridge converter filled pen, usually a no.5 or no.6/35 nib with a plastic feed. Usually many indian 3 in 1 uses either a Kanwrite or a Jowo unit (with the exception of ranga that use bock and schmidt units as well). The benifit here is that the well finned plastic feed eliminates or prevents ink leaking or burping.

 

I have an airmail 71 with the 3 in 1 filling system, that uses a Kanwrite #6/35 nib unit with the generic plastic feed. And I was able to write with that pen dry without any burps. 

 

Now on to your specific questions.

 

1. In my experience almost all indian eyedropper only pens come with the standard hand cut ebonite feed. While this provides exceptional inknflow, the problem here is that it's much more susceptible to burping or leaking. Especially when the ink in the barrel goes less than the 1/3rd mark. I've heard people say that jumbo pens are less likely to have the burp issue, but I don't have any. So take it for what it is.

 

2. I personally haven't broken the nipple for seating the converter, but since ebonite feeds have a straight channel and is usually larger than the plastic feeds, the inkflow is more direct, therefore giving you a wetter flow. I personally think the nipple has little to do with the inkflow aspect as the channel in plastic feeds are narrow to begin with.

 

3. That's a breather hole, it's to equalize the pressure within the inner cap seal and the nib, so the pen won't burp when you uncap it. As said previously, since traditional ebonite feeds don't buffer ink that well, and have a straight ink channel cut, ink has a much easier time getting out. But since the 3 in 1 pens use plastic feeds which buffer ink well, the chances of ink coming out when uncapping are far less, so it's not required.

 

 

Hope these pointers help.

[tommym]

Yes, those insights are very helpful.

 

Thank you,

 

Tommy

[K Singh]

Yes, the 3-in-1 pens also perform very well as eyedroppers. Though personally I prefer the old style friction-fit ebonite feed and nib for my eyedropper pens. 

 

Most of my eyedropper pens don't burp out ink anyway, and even if they are about to burp I stop writing and then pointing the nib upwards I open the barrel a little, and then the excessive ink in the feed goes back into the barrel. And if the pen is a heavy burper I just replace the feed with a sheaffer one and this solves the issue.

 

Like mentioned in above comment, I find the breather hole in cap to be unnecessary for modern pens.

 

Though Indian penmakers used to prefer the basic ebonite feed for the eyedropper pens, now many are moving towards 3-in-1 pens; a trend which I personally am not a fan of, but I can understand why they are doing it since most people prefer 3-in-1 pens over eyedroppers today.

 

In this hobby, it's best to try out some things on your own to get a clear idea about how things work. Who knows what type of nib/feed setup you will end up liking 🙂

[tommym]

Thanks for those additional insights, K Singh.

 

Sooner than later, I'll start dabbling with an eyedropper. 

 

I have experimented with swapping out the stock plastic feed with an aftermarket ebonite feed in one of my JoWo and Bock, both #6 1.5 mm nibs. It took superhuman strength to install and remove the ebonite feed and nib. So it was impossible to fine-tune the nib/feed alignment after the fact. Because of that, I did not find the aftermarket ebonite feeds of any practical use. I read of other options, including aftermarket modified plastic feeds and ebonite feeds/housings designed by the same manufacturer (available with and without a converter nipple). I am not sure how I will proceed, but I will eventually. 

 

Thanks,

 

Tommy

 

 

[K Singh]

50 minutes ago, tommym said:

Thanks for those additional insights, K Singh.

 

Sooner than later, I'll start dabbling with an eyedropper. 

 

I have experimented with swapping out the stock plastic feed with an aftermarket ebonite feed in one of my JoWo and Bock, both #6 1.5 mm nibs. It took superhuman strength to install and remove the ebonite feed and nib. So it was impossible to fine-tune the nib/feed alignment after the fact. Because of that, I did not find the aftermarket ebonite feeds of any practical use. I read of other options, including aftermarket modified plastic feeds and ebonite feeds/housings designed by the same manufacturer (available with and without a converter nipple). I am not sure how I will proceed, but I will eventually. 

 

Thanks,

 

Tommy

 

 

I have never tried installing an ebonite feed in jowo/bock housing. Since I mostly use friction-fit ebonite feeds and nib setup, it's easy to swap in and swap out different feeds. 

 

I once broke a jowo housing while trying to pull out or put in a feed( can't recall it exactly). So I just leave them alone. 

[tommym]

13 minutes ago, K Singh said:

I have never tried installing an ebonite feed in jowo/bock housing. Since I mostly use friction-fit ebonite feeds and nib setup, it's easy to swap in and swap out different feeds. 

 

I once broke a jowo housing while trying to pull out or put in a feed( can't recall it exactly). So I just leave them alone. 

 

Don't those friction-fit assemblies still need a housing?

 

Tommy

[K Singh]

7 hours ago, tommym said:

 

Don't those friction-fit assemblies still need a housing?

 

Tommy

No they don't. The feed and nib are directly put in the section of the pen. Here are some old pics of one of my Kim eyedropper pens to give you an idea

 

[tommym]

WOW! Thanks so much for posting those eye-opening pictures. That is a whole new level/world of fountain pens that I have never considered. Something to seriously think about. 

 

Thanks again, 

 

Tommy

[tommym]

Also, are there any pen manufacturers in India that still produce such pens?

 

Thanks,

 

Tommy

[K Singh]

21 minutes ago, tommym said:

Also, are there any pen manufacturers in India that still produce such pens?

 

Thanks,

 

Tommy

Welcome.

 

Yes, there are many who still make such pure eyedropper pens. ASA, Gama, Woodex, PLP, Deccan, Ratnam, Ratnamson, Guider - All these Indian penmakers/sellers can offer you such pens. Have no idea which of them will be willing to ship internationally though. 

 

[tommym]

7 minutes ago, K Singh said:

Welcome.

 

Yes, there are many who still make such pure eyedropper pens. ASA, Gama, Woodex, PLP, Deccan, Ratnam, Ratnamson, Guider - All these Indian penmakers/sellers can offer you such pens. Have no idea which of them will be willing to ship internationally though. 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for those leads! I might end up having to move to India!

 

Tommy

[Karmachanic]

Ranga is one of the few Indian pen makers that sells internationally.  They make 3 in 1 and eyedropper pens.

 

Go to: https://rangapens.com/

Click on Category, then Fountain Pen. Hover over Fountain Pen, and then hover over Regular and Special Ebonite.  Then click on Eyedropper on the right.

 

You'll find friction fit nibs and ebonite feeds in many Pen models.  Buy one of each.  Just in case.  Two or three weeks later hand made ebonite eyedropper pens will arrive.

[tommym]

2 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

Ranga is one of the few Indian pen makes that sells internationally.  They make 3 in 1 and eyedropper pens.

 

Go to: https://rangapens.com/

Click on Category, then Fountain Pen. Hover over Fountain Pen, and then hover over Regular and Special Ebonite.  Then click on Eyedropper on the right.

 

You'll find friction fit nibs and ebonite feeds in many Pen models.  Buy one of each.  Just in case.  Two or three weeks later hand made ebonite eyedropper pens will arrive.

 

My current crop of fountain pens are ALL Ranga 3-in-1 ebonite pens! Ranga has been very responsive over the past couple of years. No complaints there. Still, I'd like to know what my options are at this point regarding other pen makers in India. And yes, in the meantime I will check out their line of dedicated eyedroppers. Thanks for those instructions on how to navigate their website.

 

Thanks,

 

Tommy 

[mhguda]

fprevolutionusa dot com sells Indian FPs. Also, Asapens dot in. I have bought from both of them, and have alsways found their service exemplary. Which is why I have so many Walitys, Clicks, Gamas, Guiders, and even Serwexes, I guess. Also Olivers, which I used (among other things) to show high school physics students how fountain pens work. Those were the most inexpensive demonstrator piston fillers you could want....

[tommym]

1 hour ago, mhguda said:

fprevolutionusa dot com sells Indian FPs. Also, Asapens dot in. I have bought from both of them, and have alsways found their service exemplary. Which is why I have so many Walitys, Clicks, Gamas, Guiders, and even Serwexes, I guess. Also Olivers, which I used (among other things) to show high school physics students how fountain pens work. Those were the most inexpensive demonstrator piston fillers you could want....

 

Thanks for those additional links.

 

Tommy

[K Singh]

7 hours ago, tommym said:

 

 

Thanks so much for those leads! I might end up having to move to India!

 

Tommy

😁😁

 

7 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

They make 3 in 1 and eyedropper pens.

 

I'd suggest to ask Mr.Kandan first before placing the order for those eyedropper pens. They used to offer eyedropper option few years ago in their group buys, but they stopped offering that option since then. If they still offer pure eyedropper pens it's great. Atleast they stopped promoting such pens in their group buys, and since the last 3 years they seem to have a group buy every week in the Indian pen groups on FB.

 

[K Singh]

7 hours ago, mhguda said:

fprevolutionusa dot com sells Indian FPs. Also, Asapens dot in. I have bought from both of them, and have alsways found their service exemplary. Which is why I have so many Walitys, Clicks, Gamas, Guiders, and even Serwexes, I guess. Also Olivers, which I used (among other things) to show high school physics students how fountain pens work. Those were the most inexpensive demonstrator piston fillers you could want....

Penhouse.in also sells various Indian eyedropper pens and I think they ship internationally too. They also sell ebonite feeds/various Indian nibs. I haven't bought anything from them yet, but have heard good reviews about them. 

 

Also Gama pens too sell via their website gamapens.com now, but they don't show option for international shipping. 

[Karmachanic]

3 hours ago, K Singh said:

I'd suggest to ask Mr.Kandan first before placing the order for those eyedropper pens.

 

 

Follow the instructions I gave above to tommym, and it will lead you to the eyedropper page on the Ranga site.

[K Singh]

28 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Follow the instructions I gave above to tommym, and it will lead you to the eyedropper page on the Ranga site.

I mentioned to check with Mr.Kandan first because the website isn't regularly updated. He himself told once that the website work was done for free by an FP enthusiast and as such he can't make modifications easily to the site. There were bugs with Indian pricing earlier and even until a few months ago it wasn't fixed. That's why it's best to contact them first to avoid any hassles.