Modifying Kaweco Converter to fit short pens (Monblanc Bonheur)

[nive]

I thought it would be interesting and potentially helpful to share this since I searched for converters that fit this pen but I couldn't find any. Result-wise, this is what it looks like and it works but with a little caveat, which I'll get to in a moment.

Here are the steps:

I started off by drilling a hole near the base of the piston stem.

Then I cut off the top of the stem with a box cutter.

Next, I threaded a bundle of string through and tried to push down the piston. However, the collar fits snuggly around the stem so the strings got stuck. So does the piston. 

To solve that, I polished the inside of the collar and the two sides of the stem with micromesh, so that the strings can fit through.

Finally, it can be assembled together. I also polished the back of the stem such that it's more conical and less flat. It helps the stem to not be stuck by the collar. 

It does indeed draw up ink but you might have noticed a slight problem. That is you have to have a thin rod, which is a separate thing that you have to carry around, to push down the piston. It shouldn't be a problem on the desk but it's something extra you need to remember if you want to refill on the go. 

 

Length comparison:

kaweco modified, international short, international long, international converter(top to bottom)

 

[txomsy]

The draw string is a great idea.  I'm already thinking how I can apply it to reduce the kaweco rod length... thanks for sharing it.

[nive]

3 hours ago, txomsy said:

The draw string is a great idea.  I'm already thinking how I can apply it to reduce the kaweco rod length... thanks for sharing it.

No problem . Which pen are you trying to fit a converter into? I can think of 2 pens that might benefit off the top of my head, such as Ensso Puma pocket and Schondesign pocket. Maybe Montblanc baby but the barrel is spring-loaded against the cartridge so I'm not sure.

[txomsy]

Actually the very Kaweco pens. Some of them cannot take the converter fully extended, so only allow for half- or 3/4- fills. I do not mind much, as it allows me to change ink more frequently, but it is bothersome all the same.

[nive]

14 hours ago, txomsy said:

Actually the very Kaweco pens. Some of them cannot take the converter fully extended, so only allow for half- or 3/4- fills. I do not mind much, as it allows me to change ink more frequently, but it is bothersome all the same.

Oh  That is news to me. Which models have that problem? I almost pulled the trigger on this one but I heard that you need to hack the feed to make it wet and now the converter problem so I've been hesitant. 

I don't mind tinkering a bit as you know but usually I'm only willing to spend that time on pens that I really like. Would you recommend getting this one?

[Penguincollector]

Have you tried the Kaweco mini squeeze converters on your pens yet? That’s what I use on small or slim pens. It doesn’t hold much ink but if you like to vary your ink, it should work fine if it fits.

[txomsy]

As for the models...

 

Don't take my word for it, as I have too few to be certain and it seems to have been (at least in come cases) fixed. Disclaimer mentioned, here I go.

 

The old Kaweco AL Sport seemed to have a problem with body capacity, my Sotonewashed black and blue, both fail to take the piston converter fully extended, so I fill it, push it a bit to be able to screw the body, and screw the body over the ink bottle so it pushes the piston and the ink falls in the bottle. They seem to stop at 3/4 capacity.

 

BUT, I seem to remember that newer models do not have this issue. Certainly, I own a Bronze Sport that I bought much later and it does not have any trouble. Indeed, I can even almost use an international converter (after trimming part ~1cm?) of the piston knob of the standard converter, which allows me full standard converter capacity.

 

So, in modern sports, that may not be the case, or at least it may depend on the model.

 

I have two Copper Liliput pens. When I screw back the body, the piston goes down to about 1/2 of the converter barrel.

 

And, yes, I do also have sac converters. I agree they are handier, but some inks seem to stain them badly, which implies I no longer see how much ink is loaded. With sac converters one has to flush them 2-3 times while loading the ink so they get totally filled (seems to be the same for standard converters, I'd like to understand the physics, for it is all nib down and ink should be expelled instead of air which should be up), so if the sac is opaque, there is no way to be sure how much has it loaded.

 

Plus, I fear that squeezing sacs will wear out the part bound to the sac mouth and eventually break them. So I use them sparsely.

 

I can syringe fill cartridges, and is sometimes do, but one has to clean them as well, and I've always been on the lookout for some solution that increases capacity and allows filling directly from the bottle.

[txomsy]

BTW, by all means, do not hesitate to get that Sport. They are cute, neat, practical small pens and -in my experience- write nicely.

 

As for the feed being dry, one can switch nib housings. And within a nib housing, one can switch nibs. If I were in that situation, I'd likely get a B or 1.1mm housing and swap nibs, as those should come with a wetter feed.

 

OTOH it may not be the feed, but the ink in use, which sometimes is too dry or too wet.

 

The other thing I'd do, before any housing/nib swapping is, first of all, try the same pen/nib with a Noodler's wet ink, like Polar Blue, which flows like a flood from the Open Gates of Heaven, and may be then that pen/nib would turn out to be the perfect appliance for that kind of inks.

 

Polar Blue often makes -in my experience- an EF or F write like an M or B. SO a dry pen might be a blessing to have for these types of inks. Oddly, Noodler's inks, although mostly wet, can sometimes behave a lot better on bad paper. O, the magic of inks.

[nive]

On 7/20/2023 at 10:36 AM, txomsy said:

BTW, by all means, do not hesitate to get that Sport. They are cute, neat, practical small pens and -in my experience- write nicely.

 

Just got mine today. I like the looks overall but there is some work to do. I'll need to spread the tines to make it wetter, smooth the tips, and polish the misaligned facets 

[txomsy]

That's a beauty. Now I regret having seen it for I'll need to restrain myself.