By jamming a small bulb syringe into a cartridge with the back end cut off, you can clean your pens quickly with no mess and you'll only need one syringe for the different types of pens. I can clean all my cartridge/converter pens with one bulb syringe and three cut cartridges - Lamy, international, and Pilot. I'm not sure if this has been shown here before but I thought I'd share in case it hasn't.
Easy pen cleaning
- Thread starter Heron
- Start date
Brilliant!!! I am going to try this. Thanks for the tip!!!
Great idea. This has been my go-to for a while.
Note - make sure the bulb syringe has a good seal with the pen/cartridge or watery ink will be all over you.
Note - make sure the bulb syringe has a good seal with the pen/cartridge or watery ink will be all over you.
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Why bother with a converter? I just cram the bulb into the end of the section to flush it. Never had any problem.
You’ll need to add:
Sailor
Platinum
Sheaffer
Chinese pens have 3 different sizes
That does work well. Don’t be too exuberant in squeezing the bulb. You can shoot the section and nib across the room.
Sailor
Platinum
Sheaffer
Chinese pens have 3 different sizes
That does work well. Don’t be too exuberant in squeezing the bulb. You can shoot the section and nib across the room.
Yeah, I guess that's how I actually use mine too, to flush out the nib portion.
I use a blunt tip syringe in any cartridges and then soak them in a small dish.
Both ways should work.
- Thread starter
- #7
In my experience it's easier to get a good seal in the end of a converter than directly into the section. And the converter eliminates the need for multiple bulb syringes cut to different size openings.
I think I'm going to get a second bulb and cut a larger opening for my Lamy 2000 and TWSBI Diamond 580, though. I don't like using the piston mechanism for cleaning.
Whatever you feel you need, certainly. I've never had any problems at all with the bulb as it is. I never felt the need to trim it. You're over thinking this in my opinion.
Thanks! This is great. Just when I found a couple of my old pens in a spot where they've been hiding. They need a little TLC.
O.H.
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #10
By the way, has anyone received what looks like an empty cartridge but it's open on both ends? My Diplomat Magnum came with a full cartridge and what I thought was an empty cartridge. I learned that it was not an empty cartridge when I felt ink dripping all over my hand and on my feet when trying to syringe fill it. Is that a manufacturing mistake or is it supposed to be like that?
@Hercule That's possible, I am an expert overthinker.
@Hercule That's possible, I am an expert overthinker.
Some pen companies do that for some reason. I’ve gotten a few like that
I won't ask how you know that.
What? You don’t have several of each?
I meant the part about shooting the section and the nib across the room. The last time this happened it pricked a hole in my blowup doll.
Ahh. Fortunately my shooting the section and nib was only into a sink full of water so nothing harmed.
Ditto for me. But hey, to each his own.
Back in day when Fountain Pens were more common then Ballpoints, we just flashed with warm water.
Fountain Pens were not expensive so if you goofed one up you would buy a new one.
Remember my mother having a cool fountain pen with fang that suck ink from ink well, using piston, then the fang retracted after filling with ink.
Fountain Pens were not expensive so if you goofed one up you would buy a new one.
Remember my mother having a cool fountain pen with fang that suck ink from ink well, using piston, then the fang retracted after filling with ink.
I had a Schaeffer Snirkel once. Wish I’d have kept it. Can’t remember if I sold it or gave it away.
This is quicker and better. Fill with water, put section in silicon hole, hold on to section while I squeeze. I have a capacity of 340 grams of water. More than any other contraption. Done!
