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Squeeze sac filler mod for cartridges

nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
I love pens and ink but I don't like ink all over my fingers and I'm not really comfortable with syringes and needles. I've been playing around with this idea for years and thought I'd share.

Essentially we will make a bulb filler mod for cartridges so you can suck ink through the nib and feed into your reservoir from a bottle, just like a converter. All you need is an old cartridge (I chose international for a Kaweco Sport), some sandpaper, shellac, and a #18 rubber sac.


Cut the cart to about 3/4 inch long from the opening. The sac can be just about any length to fit the pen's body, in this case it's really short for the tiny sport pen.


Use your sandpaper or a file to rough up the surface of the cart so the shellac will hold. You can leave the tiny agitator ball in there if you want, I chucked mine. It helps with the surface tension some inks have. Clean up any loose plastic shards and paint some shellac on the rough surface.


OK, stick them together (dexterity check!) and give a 1/4 turn spin to make sure the shellac is evenly spread, then straighten it out. Let it dry for a while, like half an hour.


You're done, find an ink bottle.


This can be done for just about every modern cartridge pen. Carts were invented for a reason, they are convenient. But sometimes fresh ones are hard to start (flood the feed) and you can't cleanly and easily use your fancy ink colors without refilling through that miserable tiny hole. Voilà!
 
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Ingenious, a instant bulb filler.... now I have to try that !!!!!

Doug.....3 bonus point's for that one
 
Seems there's no shortage of options for filling a fountain pen (at least for the industrious gentleman).
May need to snatch up a Kaweco before they get scarce.
 
That is great! I guess I know what I am doing tonight with that Kaweco cartridge I complained about! I knew the extra shellac and sacs would come in handy. Thanks for posting this Doug!
 

nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
This Aurora I did in 2005 because I couldn't find a cartridge for it at the time. Since then I heard Parker fits but I don't need one now!

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nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Pretty cool, but what's wrong with a syringe? I use mine to shoot all the old ink out and to refill.

One more thing to clean at the sink. This method will also not wear out the connection at the opening of the cartridge from repeated removal and I can guarantee no inky fingertips. Ever get even one drop of ink spilled using a syringe? A syringe on my desk at work doesn't look too cool either.

Keep doing what you're doing, just thought I'd share.
 
That the beauty of all this..... there's more then one way to skin a ...... well you know , Nemo you got me off my duff to order more ink sacs as I have a couple of old timers sitting here needing sacs...thanks again for your input.

I see Jim has been busy and put this into the sticky compendium
 
Now for the next big question what size?

Never mind I went back and read the OP, must have had a blonde moment.
 
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nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Where to order rubber sacs?

Richard's is good for sacs as well as Pendemonium. In Canada Martin at Wood Bin has some specialties as well as tools.

I get mine from the Pen Sac Co. -- not super quick but always reliable. I think most everyone selling them sources their sacs from http://www.pensacs.com --they are a remarkable company, manufacturing a product for a super niche market and surviving. Read the HISTORY section on their website, it's no bull. Old school place, fill out the order form (with your fountain pen of course) and send it in with your check. I buy 50-100 at a time to replenish my inventory so I'm not too worried about how fast they ship which can sometimes be two weeks. Maybe they're making the weird ones up for me, who knows?
 
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