Single use plastics

[AimlessWanderer]

This phrase gets a lot of air-time in the press lately, as various Governments take steps to eliminate them. On the whole I have no issue with it, and as a species we do need to be a lot more responsible about the waste we produce, and how we dispose/recycle it. Although I started wondering how long it might be before fountain pen cartridges get snarled up in such legislation. I think they probably will eventually.

So I just ordered another 150.

All Diamine:
18 x Oxblood
18 x Sapphire Blue
20 x 150th Ann. Blood Orange
20 x 150th Ann. Regency Blue
20 x 150th Ann. Burgundy Royale
18 x Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue
18 x Cult Pens Deep Dark Green
18 x Cult Pens Deep Dark Purple

 

[Dominic]

This phrase gets a lot of air-time in the press lately, as various Governments take steps to eliminate them. On the whole I have no issue with it, and as a species we do need to be a lot more responsible about the waste we produce, and how we dispose/recycle it. Although I started wondering how long it might be before fountain pen cartridges get snarled up in such legislation. I think they probably will eventually.

So I just ordered another 150.

All Diamine:
18 x Oxblood
18 x Sapphire Blue
20 x 150th Ann. Blood Orange
20 x 150th Ann. Regency Blue
20 x 150th Ann. Burgundy Royale
18 x Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue
18 x Cult Pens Deep Dark Green
18 x Cult Pens Deep Dark Purple

Cartridges are definitely easy. Pop it in, and there you go. I use the converters with a little idea of less waste but also because I do like the rigamarole of filling it with new ink. As soon as the Pilot Petit1 Mini red is empty, I will make that an eyedropper fill pen. I have all the necessary gear to do it. I use a red pen for work a lot. My other work pen is a Platinum Preppy and can be made eyedropper, but I think I want to change ink more often in that one just to enjoy the change of colors.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I've never done the eyedropper thing. I've refilled cartridges with a syringe though. To be honest, I tend to refill converters that way too, as it's a lot less messy than dunking the end of the pen.

 

[Dominic]

To be honest, I tend to refill converters that way too, as it's a lot less messy than dunking the end of the pen.

Ah. Good to know. Could probably fill the converter full pretty easily with the syringe. I'll have to try that next time. Thanks.

 

[tankerjohn]

If you want to syringe fill, get the longest cartridges that will fit in your pen. That will hold a lot more ink than most converters, which have a piston that takes up half the length of the converter.

I won’t begrudge anyone the desire to stock up in their favorite inks. But do pardon my skepticism that the cart-pocolypse is nigh. I should think that the government would first ban the billions of disposable ballpoints first before worrying about a quirky niche hobby like fountain pens. But then, Uncle Sugar has done dumber things in the name of environmental progress (cough***incandescent lightbulbs***cough).

 

[D.Gray]

I've never done the eyedropper thing. I've refilled cartridges with a syringe though. To be honest, I tend to refill converters that way too, as it's a lot less messy than dunking the end of the pen.

TWSBI makes an ink bottle that has a set up for filling converters that is no mess. It has a cap with a nipple to put the converter on, and then that has a tube that goes to the bottom of the ink bottle.

You can take that off, put the insert for piston fill pens, put the lid on and turn the bottle upside down and right side up to fill the reservoir for the pen to be able to fill without a bunch of mess.

As to eye dropper pens my Conklin Duraflex can be fed cartridge/converter or eyedropper. I picked up some silicone grease to apply to the threads of the pen at the barrel, filled the barrel, put the pen together and started writing. This is a very clean way to fill a pen. I used an eye dropper the first time and a 3mil syringe the second time.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I won’t begrudge anyone the desire to stock up in their favorite inks. But do pardon my skepticism that the cart-pocolypse is nigh.

You're probably quite right, but I have to blame buying 150 cartridges in one hit, on something other than my own greed and stupidity

I don't expect pen cartridges to be specifically singled out, but rather caught up in something wider reaching. Maybe something encompassing printer cartridges for example. Or maybe even a cancel culture type bullying of people that sell them. Someone, somewhere, will get their knickers in a twist about them eventually.

It only affects one of my favourite pens anyway (Ohto Tasche). Everything else can take converters, or is self-filling.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

TWSBI makes an ink bottle that has a set up for filling converters that is no mess. It has a cap with a nipple to put the converter on, and then that has a tube that goes to the bottom of the ink bottle.

You can take that off, put the insert for piston fill pens, put the lid on and turn the bottle upside down and right side up to fill the reservoir for the pen to be able to fill without a bunch of mess.

That all sounds quite ... convoluted.

I have a little plastic sample bottle thing that I picked up from somewhere. It's wide enough for the nib of any of my pens to go right into the bottom. I kept hold of it for filling piston fillers that wont go deep enough into a diamine bottle. Dump some ink in that, fill the pen, then dump the excess back in the bottle again. It'll work well for anything when the ink level is too low.

Nice and simple. I like simple.

 

[Marco63]

What about dunking only the converter in the ink bottle?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

What about dunking only the converter in the ink bottle?

That might not reach in very far, depending on the type of converter. A couple of mine are the slide plunger type, so I'd be reaching in less than a short cartridge length. Much easier (and cleaner) with a syringe.

The biggest problem I find, is the narrow neck on Diamine bottles. My demonstrator pen will only fit in to part way up the section, and so ink needs decanting into that little sample bottle for filling, before the bottle is even halfway empty.