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Thread: How do you fill your pens?

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    Default How do you fill your pens?

    Hi everybody,

    Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I have a fairly stupid question. Let me know if I’m legit stupid or just didn’t get a good night sleep.

    I have been buying those small packaged ink kits from Massdrop. You know, the ones that come in the 30mL bottles with the opening that only can fit a Metropolitan in. I have no luck filling any of my non-CC pens pass the first quarter ink of ink. I’m curious what everyone else does in this situation. I’m sure there must be a fair amount of people who have purchased those drops because the prices are quite attractive sometimes.

    What I have been doing is pouring the ink into an empty ink bottle, i used an empty Caran d’Ache bottle, the bottle is so substantial and nice to say the least. But that bottle is not very ergonomically. If you guys/gals have gone down this route what bottles do you think is the best for this and if you took a different path please share.


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    Senior Member Robert's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    A Visconti traveling ink pot comes in handy in the situation you describe. Works well on piston and lever fills. I haven't tried it with a"power fill" system (yet). The Visconti ink pot works with most pens, but girth of the section (excessively thin or thick) may be a problem.
    Last edited by Robert; June 8th, 2018 at 06:36 PM.

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    The Noodler's ink miser helps in this situation but I don't think it fits the smaller bottles. Look around for some Waterman ink bottles. Empties come up for sale every once in a while. The bottles have facets designed to allow the bottle to sit on its side for an easier fill when the ink level gets low. Not my photo but it gives you the idea.

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    I have a few piston fillers, and the rest are cartridge/converter. I've had no problems filling the piston fillers from Diamine bottles so far, but it's easy to see the problem looming.

    As to the inaccessible ink at the bottom of the bottle, I'll just use a syringe to fill carts and converters (yes, I fill converters with a syringe too - less mess and waste). I now have some vials which look like they'd be good for decanting ink into for the piston fillers - less diameter, and slightly pinted bottom inside.

    If I got really desperate, I'll pull a nib and feed out, fill the piston filler with the syringe, and replace the nib and feed.

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    gouletpens.com sells empty ink bottles, and the utterly fabulous $6 ink miser-shot inkwell, which I swear by. Ink miser also makes a gadget that you can insert into an ink bottle to get the very last drop in an ink bottle. I often fill empty cartridges or eyedropper conversions using the goulet syringe. Seems to me, your own solution of an empty ink bottle works just fine.

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    I had a couple of empty Pelikan Edelstein bottles, and I bought a couple of Diamine 30ml plastic containers. Same problem as your: the Diamine 30ml is slender, hard to fill from it. The Edelstein bottle holds much less than it seems.

    The best bottle is the old Sheaffer Skrip "topwell" bottle. EBay always has empties, and a half-full bottle of Skrip would have good ink. Waterman bottles, as mentioned above, have a handy "facet" (that's the name?). Current MontBlanc bottles look pretty good, too.

    Here is a good selection of unopened Sheaffer ink at $8 each:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-SHE...u5y3uMWjuSkE2Q

    Here is an empty Sheaffer bottle (metal cap: check for rust and clean, of course):

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-She...EAAOSwuHJbE2Mr

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?


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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    Levenger bottles are some of the best. And they look good too.

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    I use Levenger bottles. These bottles have an insert that fills from the main reservoir and holds enough ink for a fill. Parker Penman bottles have this insert too.
    "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    There is also a reservoir solution available from Rohrer & Klingner called Erka-Rapid which can be bought independently from the bottles.
    It is made for the R&K ink bottles but works also with others having the same diameter of the opening.

    https://www.rohrer-klingner.de/?page_id=685&lang=en

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    Put the ink into a test tube or vial to fill.
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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    I got blunt needle syringes from eBay and when the bottle gets low enough and I can't fill it anymore, I put a syringe in the bottle and draw up the ink. Then put the syringe into the converter and slowly press the plunger filling the converter. Any ink left in the syringe goes back into the bottle for the next time.

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    I use Montblanc bottles.

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    Quote Originally Posted by Spideysgirl View Post
    I got blunt needle syringes from eBay and when the bottle gets low enough and I can't fill it anymore, I put a syringe in the bottle and draw up the ink. Then put the syringe into the converter and slowly press the plunger filling the converter. Any ink left in the syringe goes back into the bottle for the next time.

    Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
    This is what I do, except that I use hypodermic syringes because I buy them in boxes of 100 from my pharmacy for medical use.

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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    Quote Originally Posted by Robert View Post
    A Visconti traveling ink pot comes in handy in the situation you describe. Works well on piston and lever fills. I haven't tried it with a"power fill" system (yet). The Visconti ink pot works with most pens, but girth of the section (excessively thin or thick) may be a problem.
    Thank you, I’ll look into that.


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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    Quote Originally Posted by KrazyIvan View Post
    The Noodler's ink miser helps in this situation but I don't think it fits the smaller bottles. Look around for some Waterman ink bottles. Empties come up for sale every once in a while. The bottles have facets designed to allow the bottle to sit on its side for an easier fill when the ink level gets low. Not my photo but it gives you the idea.

    Image property of departmentv.net
    Thanks, I checked the waterman out and it looks just like what I’m looking for.


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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    Quote Originally Posted by ambimom View Post
    gouletpens.com sells empty ink bottles, and the utterly fabulous $6 ink miser-shot inkwell, which I swear by. Ink miser also makes a gadget that you can insert into an ink bottle to get the very last drop in an ink bottle. I often fill empty cartridges or eyedropper conversions using the goulet syringe. Seems to me, your own solution of an empty ink bottle works just fine.
    Do you find the light weight of the ink miser to be a problem?


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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    Quote Originally Posted by welch View Post
    I had a couple of empty Pelikan Edelstein bottles, and I bought a couple of Diamine 30ml plastic containers. Same problem as your: the Diamine 30ml is slender, hard to fill from it. The Edelstein bottle holds much less than it seems.

    The best bottle is the old Sheaffer Skrip "topwell" bottle. EBay always has empties, and a half-full bottle of Skrip would have good ink. Waterman bottles, as mentioned above, have a handy "facet" (that's the name?). Current MontBlanc bottles look pretty good, too.

    Here is a good selection of unopened Sheaffer ink at $8 each:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-SHE...u5y3uMWjuSkE2Q

    Here is an empty Sheaffer bottle (metal cap: check for rust and clean, of course):

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-She...EAAOSwuHJbE2Mr
    Thanks, I just brought 2 bottles of the Shaeffer Skrip ink.


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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    Quote Originally Posted by welch View Post
    I had a couple of empty Pelikan Edelstein bottles, and I bought a couple of Diamine 30ml plastic containers. Same problem as your: the Diamine 30ml is slender, hard to fill from it. The Edelstein bottle holds much less than it seems.

    The best bottle is the old Sheaffer Skrip "topwell" bottle. EBay always has empties, and a half-full bottle of Skrip would have good ink. Waterman bottles, as mentioned above, have a handy "facet" (that's the name?). Current MontBlanc bottles look pretty good, too.

    Here is a good selection of unopened Sheaffer ink at $8 each:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-SHE...u5y3uMWjuSkE2Q

    Here is an empty Sheaffer bottle (metal cap: check for rust and clean, of course):

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-She...EAAOSwuHJbE2Mr
    Those bottles are really cool looking too.



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    Default Re: How do you fill your pens?

    Quote Originally Posted by Analogriter View Post
    Hi everybody,

    Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I have a fairly stupid question. Let me know if I’m legit stupid or just didn’t get a good night sleep.



    What I have been doing is pouring the ink into an empty ink bottle, i used an empty Caran d’Ache bottle, the bottle is so substantial and nice to say the least. But that bottle is not very ergonomically. If you guys/gals have gone down this route what bottles do you think is the best for this and if you took a different path please share.


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