Visconti travelling ink pot

[Shangas]

Please, great masters of the Network, I come before thee seeking enlightenment.

 

I have often read of the Visconti travelling ink pot since I have joined this forum oh-so-several months ago now. And I would like to know - What IS this contraption, and how does it work? I've seen photographs of it (I think!) But I still don't see how on earth it stores ink, OR, for that matter, how you get it OUT of there!! :ltcapd:

 

Any answers?

 

Shangas.

 

[NeoTiger]

The entire top opens and you can pour ink in (or use the eye dropper if you want to be careful).

 

A smaller opening at the top of the ink pot allows you to insert your pen, then rotate the entire combination upside down (with appropriate seals to prevent leaking) before you attempt to fill your pen using its normal filling mechanism. The advantage of this is that you can get your pen fuller than usual, due to the assistance of gravity.

[greencobra]

This might help you out. http://www.penhero.com/DebKinneyMain/Articles.htm

[WhosYerBob]

What IS this contraption, and how does it work?

The Visconti Traveling Ink Pot (latest version) is a long plastic tube encased in a metal shell that has cutouts for viewing the ink level. At the top of the plastic tube is a conical rubber collar insert that can accommodate a wide variety of nib and barrel sizes for filling purposes. A tight-fitting solid plastic stopper seals the package.

 

To fill the pot, I use a syringe. The pot can handle up to 5 ml worth of ink (approximately one and a half syringes), which I find is perfect for short business trips. I always keep two of them with me; one is colored blue and is always filled with my standard writing ink, the other is black and filled with the latest color I'm reviewing.

 

Warning: converters and piston pens MUST have the air purged out of them prior to the next step or they will create a river of ink on everything under the pen being refilled.

 

To use, the pen in question is simply inserted nib first into the top opening to form a tight seal with the rubber collar, then the whole business is flipped upside down and the pen is filled as usual. Once filling is complete, everything is righted, the pen removed, the ink pot stopper put back in place and the nib is ready to go. Refilling is very quick; not quite as fast as flipping out a cartridge, but much faster than other means - 10 to 15 seconds, if that. The whole business is very clean, and minimal nib polishing or blotting is required afterwards.

 

Two real benefits to using them - a) the pen is refilled to complete capacity - no air bubbles at all, and; unlike using a conventional bottle for refilling, with the ink pot - every drop of the ink goes in the pen.

[MicheleB]

Now if I was filling a syringe to give a shot to someone, I would insert the same volume of air into the flask as I was going to withdraw to avoid a vacuum. If I understand the direction above, the opposite is true here and you want to purge all air before inserting into the tube. Interesting. I suspect you must have your wits about you until you get accustomed to the process or end up with a mess. I have been tempted to get one of these so I can get every drop of Pear Tree Pens samplers into my pen. Thanks for the insight. I am less weary of this device the more I know about it.

[Deirdre]

If I understand the direction above, the opposite is true here and you want to purge all air before inserting into the tube. Interesting. I suspect you must have your wits about you until you get accustomed to the process or end up with a mess.

Quite, especially with a Visconti power filler.

[Clydesdave]

I use the Visconti Travelling Ink Pot almost exclusively. For me it is easier to fill a pen this way, and so far, I have not had any kind of mess or problem. However:

 

[/size][/color]You Cannot Fill A Namiki / Pilot Vanishing Point Pen With It!

 

Now the negatives and fears:

 

I have never traveled with it (on an airplane) and the thing that stops the ink from coming out is a cork like thing. I suppose it is possible that the air inside the container could expand enough to push the cork out in flight. I've never seen it happen, but I see it as a possibility. I've asked about it, and have been told it is not a problem. That was from the guy that was trying to sell it to me, so take it for what it's worth. I suppose if you keep it full (the key word being "full") of ink, the air would not expand enough to push the cork out. Being as there wouldn't be much air in it.

 

It's troublesome to change the ink in it. If you're one to change inks on a whim, and you want this to be your favorite ink bottle, you may want to consider this.

 

It doesn't hold that much ink. Long trips can exhaust this little gem, but for an overnighter :embarrassed_smile: it's pretty cool.

 

 

[MicheleB]

You Cannot Fill A Namiki / Pilot Vanishing Point Pen With It!

 

 

Hmmm it's not intuitive to me why not. Can you elaborate?

[Clydesdave]

You Cannot Fill A Namiki / Pilot Vanishing Point Pen With It!

 

 

Hmmm it's not intuitive to me why not. Can you elaborate?

 

 

When you take the workings out of the Vanishing Point, the end that seals against the taper of the Visconti Traveling Ink Pot is too small and complicated (not round) to seal.

[ethernautrix]

This is the question that brought me to this place a month ago. Since then, I have purchased a travelling ink pot (from the Pear Tree Company, which gave me a price I couldn't refuse -- the usual conflict-of-interest disclaimer), and while I have filled it with ink, I have yet to fill a pen from it. But that moment is imminent!

[BruceK]

You Cannot Fill A Namiki / Pilot Vanishing Point Pen With It!

 

 

Hmmm it's not intuitive to me why not. Can you elaborate?

 

 

When you take the workings out of the Vanishing Point, the end that seals against the taper of the Visconti Traveling Ink Pot is too small and complicated (not round) to seal.

 

Although I have not yet done this I would think you could fill a VP converter simply by removing the nib assemb ly form the pen and then inserting it point-down into the upright inkpot. You definitely don't want to turn the inkpot over when you try to do this unless you want to clean up a very inky mess... :roflmho:

[Brassai]

I have never traveled with it (on an airplane) and the thing that stops the ink from coming out is a cork like thing. I suppose it is possible that the air inside the container could expand enough to push the cork out in flight. I've never seen it happen, but I see it as a possibility. I've asked about it, and have been told it is not a problem.

 

Indeed it is zero problem. I carry two of them in my laptop case and have never had a drip anywhere any time. My understanding is that it's designed to "absorb" the difference in air pressure that comes from flying. All I know is that I have almost 600,000 air miles on mine over the past 4 years (all domestic... yeesh) and I've used the before, during, and after flights to fill several different types of pens from many different manufacturers.

 

Including one memorable flight where I decided to refill my S.T. Dupont Orpheo in the window seat of First Class over the Rocky Mountains in a good amount of turbulence... scared the beejezus out of the guy sitting next to me in his Armani business suit. Not a drop out of place.... much less on him.

 

D.

 

[kiavonne]

Including one memorable flight where I decided to refill my S.T. Dupont Orpheo in the window seat of First Class over the Rocky Mountains in a good amount of turbulence... scared the beejezus out of the guy sitting next to me in his Armani business suit. Not a drop out of place.... much less on him.

 

D.

 

 

 

Ok, this and the story of the TSA guy handling the ink pot...

 

I really have to get one of these things now! :ltcapd:

[J English Smith]

I gotta say, the V-Pot just looks too complicated to me. I would probably have a bathroom that looked like a Jackson Pollack painting if I bought one of those. I will just have to live with the effects of gravity. (So far, they have not been too bad to me, but I am sure my 50s will allow gravity to begin to beat me down...)

[Deirdre]

I gotta say, the V-Pot just looks too complicated to me.

Complicated?

 

It's an upside-down gravity-fed eyedropper. That's not complicated!

[Brassai]

Including one memorable flight where I decided to refill my S.T. Dupont Orpheo in the window seat of First Class over the Rocky Mountains in a good amount of turbulence... scared the beejezus out of the guy sitting next to me in his Armani business suit. Not a drop out of place.... much less on him.

 

D.

Ok, this and the story of the TSA guy handling the ink pot...

I really have to get one of these things now! :ltcapd:

Yeah... well... it was priceless. I grabbed my bag, took out the inkpot, and started unscrewing the pen and the guy on the aisle (I hate window seats, but a last minute upgrade on a trans-con cannot be turned down!) said something about my having to replace a cartridge... I replied that I only use bottled ink, no cartridge. As I started to uncap the inkpot, he offered to get up so I could go to the Lav to refill, I noted that even the flight attendents were asked to remain buckled in their seats untill we were past the bumps and added "No worries, I haven't spilled a drop yet.

 

Holding the pot in my left hand with three fingers and the orpheo between my forefinder and thumb while screwing down the piston to expell the air in the converter was bad enough for him, but I think he actually flinched when I seated the nib appropriately and fliped the assembalage upside down to fill the pen. I don't think the guy actually took a breath untill I had the thing upright, pot capped, and the Orpheo nib blotted with a napkin to get rid of the small excess around the bottom of the feed.

 

Of course, I've had similar reactions when I've filled a pen in the middle of a meeting... It's fast and clean to do... but then again the guy in 3C on that United flight was a bit of a captive audience... and the room isn't bouncing around in meetings.

 

D.

 

[Deirdre]

The nice part about the bumpy flight is that it'd burp out any extra air in the pen's chamber, too.

[WhosYerBob]

I suppose it is possible that the air inside the container could expand enough to push the cork out in flight.

Only if it was a complete vacuum, like in space. I've taken them flying and used them at altitude without any issues at all. To be safe, I make sure I have a bunch of paper napkins under the whole thing when filling the pen, but have never had an issue while flying.

[Rapt]

Damn... Now I want one of these too....

 

 

 

 

*sigh* I have to learn to stop reading FPN....

 

 

[Bill D]

Damn... Now I want one of these too....

 

 

 

 

*sigh* I have to learn to stop reading FPN....

 

There is no cure :ltcapd:

 

Bill :roflmho: