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How to fill fountain pens
Probably everyone can figure out how to pop in a cartridge or
use a modern piston or aerometric converter, but filling more
obscure pens can sometimes be quite a puzzle. Use the links below
to locate the instructions for filling your particular pen.
Make sure you have a cartridge that will work in your pen. You're
usually safe buying the cartridges made by the same company that
made the pen, but many pens (generally European) use a standard
design making these cartridges more or less interchangeable. Unscrew the barrel from the pen; pull out the old cartridge (might
want to do this with the pen pointing up so you won't drip any
of the remaining ink from the cartridge). Put the new cartridge
in its place and push; usually, you have to break a membrane or
dislodge a small bead in order to start the ink flow (you should
be able to feel a nice "thunk" when you've accomplished this).
Reassemble the pen and you're back on the trail. If the pen was
dead empty or dried out, it will take a bit of scribbling before
the proper ink flow starts up. If the new cartridge is a different
color, it may take some time for the new color to appear (the
pen must use all the ink stashed away in the feed before taking
on new ink from the cartridge). You really shouldn't have to pinch
or squeeze the cartridge to get the flow started. If you use cartridge pens, you should consider switching to a
bottle fill converter; not only is this more economical (not to
mention more environmentally sound), but you're flushing out the
feed every time you fill, so it will stay cleaner and will be
less likely to clog). Converters fit inside cartridge pens in place of the cartridge
and allow the pen to be filled from a bottle. If you have a cartridge
pen, chance are you can find a converter that will fit it. There
are two general types of converters in common use: the "aerometric"
or sleeve filler, and the piston filler. You can also refill empty
cartridges if you are of a frugal frame of mind. The Aerometric filler (a Parker term which has since become somewhat generic) is actually a variation
on the old-style sleeve filler that was used early in the century.
It usually consists of a rubber or rubber-like sac (some are transparent
plastic) inside a metal sheath; there's an opening in the sheath
through which you can see a pressure bar. To fill the pen, simply
dip the point all the way into the ink bottle, mash the pressure
bar, let go and allow the sac to expand and draw in ink. If the
pen is new or nearly empty, you might repeat this maneuver a couple
of times to make sure you get as much ink as you can. Most "better" convertible pens today, like Waterman and Montblanc, have piston-fill converters. The chief advantage of these is
that they can be broken down and cleaned should they dry out;
also, with the ink reservoir being totally transparent, you can
see how much ink is left in the pen at any time. To fill a piston filler, immerse the point completely in the ink
bottle, then twist the knob (or push the slide on more recent
Parker converters) until the piston is all the way down. Then,
move the piston back up, drawing ink into the converter. Again,
repeat this to completely fill the converter if it was pretty
empty to start with. Remember to "prime" the pen by releasing a few drops of ink after
filling, then screw the piston back up to the top. Rotring recently introduced special ink bottles that were designed
especially to fill converters out of the pen; this isn't as convenient
as it might sound, since you not only have to unscrew the barrel,
you have to remove the converter (and now you have the pen in
at least three pieces to keep track of). Also, you lose the benefit
of "flushing" the point and feed during the filling process. In a pinch (pardon the pun), you can use an empty cartridge as
a converter of sorts. You can leave the cartridge on the pen,
immerse the point, squeeze then release the cartridge and allow
the ink to be drawn in. Cartridges weren't designed for this kind
of treatment, so they aren't a permanent solution. If you want
to go easy on the cartridge, you can remove it from the pen and
fill it with a syringe or eyedropper (or a spare Sheaffer snorkel
pen, if you have one). Many pens, particularly German ones (like Pelikan and Montblanc), fill only from a bottle and use a piston or screw-type filler.
These can be identified by a barrel-end that screws in and out
(and, usually, an ink window in the section in which you can see
a piston). To fill these pens, unscrew the piston (by twisting
the knob at the end of the pen until it hits a stop), dip the
point in the ink supply, then screw the knob back down. Remove
the point, and while holding it over the ink, twist the knob back
out just enough to let three drops fall from the pen (this part
is important). Then, screw the knob back down, wipe up, and you're
ready to go. Some older pens used a fairly crude piston fill that worked exactly
like a hypodermic syringe: Push the piston home to expel the old
ink, dip the point in the bottle, then raise the piston do draw
fresh ink into the pen. If you have a very old pen, and it has no visible means of filling
(e.g., no lever), chances are that it is an "eyedropper filler",
basically a big empty vial into which you drip ink from an eyedropper.
Unscrew the point-section assembly from the barrel. Use an eyedropper
(some drug stores still carry glass eyedroppers) to draw ink from
the bottle and fill the barrel. Replace the section and screw
down tight to make a good seal. Needless to say, keep the barrel
upright during all this! Should your eyedropper pen leak (as they are often prone to do),
you can try rubbing some cake soap or wax on the threads to make
a better seal. If the point of your very old pen moves in and out like a lipstick
when you twist the bottom, you have a safety pen. These were so-called
because when the point was retracted and the cap attached, they
were effectively sealed against leakage. Safety pens are also
filled with an eyedropper. It's difficult to improve on Waterman's
own directions, so why not read them for yourself? Sac pens keep their ink in a rubber sac inside the pen. They are
filled by collapsing the sac with some mechanical device, then
allowing it to expand with the point inside an ink supply. The
vast majority of fountain pens made before 1960 are sac pens of
one sort or another. You can recognize them by the presence of
a lever on the side or a button beneath a removeable blind cap.
Other sac systems were used, as noted below. If you have trouble getting your sac pen to take ink, or if it
leaks through the lever box or other opening, you may have a rotted
sac, which can be easily replaced by any moderately-experienced
hobbyist. The great majority of older (pre-1960) pens you will see will
be lever fillers, which have a small lever (usually nickel or
gold plated metal) running lengthwise down the side of the barrel.
Immerse the point completely in the ink bottle. Using a fingernail,
flip the lever out to a 90º angle (or as far as it will go without
forcing it) to collapse the sac (this will eject any ink remaining
in the sac, so clean the pen first if you're changing colors).
Then, flip the lever back in place and leave the point in the
ink for a few seconds. Remove the pen and wipe down the point.
Typically, no priming is necessary as with a piston fill pen. Parker's button fill was an effective response to the Sheaffer
lever fill system, and was used through to the 1940s. Since Parker
pens were so widely copied in other respects, it isn't surprising
that the button filler appears on many other brands as well. Remove
the blind cap (don't lose it!), mash the button to expel old ink,
hold the button down, then release it with the point completely
inside the ink supply. Give the pen ten seconds or so to fill,
then remove it, wipe the point, and replace the blind cap. There were a number of other systems for compressing and expanding
sacs, many of which were devised to evade patent infringement
complaints. In general, the principle behind all these is the
same as for the lever fill -- you have to do something to mash
in the sac, then let it expand with the point down inside the
ink supply. For the crescent filler (Conklin etc.), twist the locking ring
around so that the crescent can be pressed into the barrel. Release
the crescent, allow the pen to fill, and (important!) twist the
locking ring back in place to secure the crescent (unless you
want to squirt ink all over your nice stationery). For the sleeve filler (various brands), move or twist the cover
until the sac is exposed. Press on the sac and release with the
point inside the ink bottle. Replace the cover. A few pens (mostly European) used a twist sac filler, in which
a twist on the back of the barrel would collapse the sac by wringing
it; twist the knob, put the point in ink, then return the knob
to its original position. Wait a few seconds, then remove and
clean up the point. This was the system used on Vacumatics, 51s, and other Parker pens from the middle of the century. Remove
the blind cap from the back of the pen (don't lose it!). Put the
point all the way into the ink bottle. Tap the plunger several
times; the pen will gradually fill through a breather tube inside
the barrel. Replace the blind cap. If the pen does not fill, it
may need a new diaphragm, which is a job for a professional. (Note:
one advantage of the vacs is that they tend not to eject their
ink supply as readily as sac pens should you accidentally press
the plunger). Later Parker 51s and others used a permanently attached Aerometric filler. The first Parker 61s used a remarkable capillary filling system. To fill these, remove
the pen barrel to expose the Teflon-covered filler; drop the pen
point up in the ink supply and leave it in (about thirty seconds
should do it). Remove the pen, give the filler end a quick wipe
(the Teflon will shed most of the ink) and replace the barrel. Capillary-fill 61s tend to clog up after awhile; this is one reason
why they were discontinued in favor of more conventional aerometric
filling 61s. If yours becomes clogged, try soaking the pen in
cool water or gently directing water through the filler and out
the point (e.g., using a turkey baster or similar device) until
it runs clear. The problem here is that you now have to "write"
all of the water out of the pen, filling it frequently to get
fresh ink into the flow. This isn't something you want to do on a regular basis, so the
best solution is either to keep using the pen (not giving the
ink a chance to clog up the pen), or leave it clean and empty. The Sheaffer vac-fil system is a bit trickier than the Parker vacuum system. Unscrew
the blind cap until it is clear of the barrel, then pull on the
cap to reveal a long slender rod (whoops! I forgot to tell you
this will "belch" out the ink inside the pen!). Then, insert the
point all the way into the ink bottle, and push the rod home,
reattaching the blind cap. Give the pen a few seconds before removing
it from the ink supply. Do not "pump", one smart stroke is all
that is required. The touchdown and snorkel systems supplanted the lever filler and the vac-fil in the Sheaffer lines
of the later 1940s, and were used until the coming of cartridges.
For the snorkel, unscrew the blind cap carefully, which will
cause the snorkel tube to emerge from inside the point. When the
cap is clear of the barrel, pull it out (ejecting the old ink).
Immerse the tip of the snorkel in the ink bottle, push the blind
cap home once, smartly (if the pen is in good repair, you'll hear
and feel a small "burp" when you do this). Leave the point in
the ink for a few seconds. Carefully screw the blind cap back
down, making sure that the snorkel retracts all the way. Follow
the same directions for the touchdown filler, except you won't
have to worry about the snorkel going out and in.
Cartridge pens
Converter pens
Aerometric converter
Piston filler
Empty cartridge used as a converter
Piston fill pens
Eyedropper pens
Safety pens
Sac pens
Lever fill
Other sac fill systems
Parker Vacumatic system
Parker Aerometric system
Parker 61 capillary system
Sheaffer Vac-Fil system
Sheaffer Snorkel and Touchdown pens
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| This file last posted on: 2005-Jan-20 17:50:23 CST |
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