Supplies for Filling Directly through the Converter

One minor thing I don’t like when it comes to filling my fountain pen is how the nib and section always have to get ink on them, so I decided to try a different method for filling recently.  I am willing to bet that there are some issues with filling a fountain pen this way, but so far none have been apparent to me, but for those of you out there that know better than I do, let me know your thoughts.  Am I missing something that could be bad for the pen or the writing performance by doing it this way?

Filling the Syringe

I’ve been using a bulb syringe (which I unfortunately don’t remember where I got) and filling it with ink as you see above.  This first stem avoids having to stick the nib and section of the pen into the ink bottle and getting them covered with ink that you later have to wipe off that gets wasted.

Filling the Converter

Next I stick the end of the syringe in the end of the converter and slowly squeeze the ink in, starting at the bottom and pulling the end out as it fills the converter.

Full Converter

I’m careful not to fill the converter TOO much.  If you look at the top you can see hat I’ve left a small space in there unfilled.  The reason I do this is because when you attach it back tot he section, there is a small nipple that pops inside the converter, so if you were to fill it the whole way, the nipple would displace ink and make a mess inside the section.

Last Step – Squeeze one drop out

My last step in filling the fountain pen converter is to twist it in order to squeeze one drop out of the nib so that the entire feed is filled with ink now.  This last step does by default mean that I am not filling the pen with as much ink, but that is one trade off I am willing to take in using this method for my pens.

As I said, I’ve had pretty good success with this method over the last few months.  The pen writes immediately after filling it, and my goal of keeping the nib, section, and feed area clean have been met.  So I don’t claim to be the creator of this method, I’m sure there are other people that do this…or maybe that don’t do it because there are some down sides that I am not considering.  Has anyone tried this before?  Is there a reason I shouldnt be doing this?  I’m willing to take minor risks and trade offs in order to make the whole refill process a little cleaner, but I’d love to hear any thoughts that people have regarding this method for refilling a fountain pen.

©2017, Brian Greene. All rights reserved.