Link to YouTube for the Ink Syringe video.
If you've never used ink syringes or seen them used before, then you're missing one of the essential tools in your fountain pen toolbox. They serve a multitude of uses, including:
- Filling empty ink cartridges/converters
- Cleaning empty ink cartridges
- Filling/emptying ink sample vials
- Getting the last of the ink out of a glass bottle
- Filling an eyedropper pen
- Measuring ink for mixing
- Filling pens with 'feed saturation' (like I do in this post)
Though ink syringes can essentially be any syringe you find (unused), it's really best if it has a blunt-tip, so you don't hurt yourself or your ink cartridges. The ones I use in the video (and the pictures) are my own syringes I've sourced out specifically for the purpose of using them for fountain pens. Mine have more than a 5ml capacity, which is enough to fill even the largest of eyedropper pens. The 1.5" long needle is long enough to reach into the deepest ink bottles, even to the bottom of a 4.5 ounce Noodler's bottle!
Ink syringes are also ideal for refilling ink cartridges or converters. If you refill your ink cartridges, it means you don't have to necessarily buy a converter, but you can still use bottled ink. That, and some ink cartridges hold more ink than their matching converters do.
There are a few retailers out there that have their own ink syringes, and most of them should work in a very similar fashion. Though I've used my own syringes for the video and the details will be specific to Goulet syringes, the basic concepts are the same with any syringe. If you're interested in the Goulet ones, you can find them here.
Have you ever used any? What other interesting uses have you found for them?
Thanks for the helpful videos. I still hate you for showing how easy it was to clean a cartridge/converter pen with bulb syringe. All those years of twisting back and forth. Why couldn't you just let me suffer. :-)
ReplyDeleteHaha! Sorry for making you realize how difficult your life was ;) I'm not gonna stop though! Haha!
ReplyDeleteExcellent video! Another reason I love syringes: After you flush a cartridge, there's still clean water that won't drain out of the cartridge. (Surface tension issues? Sorry, it's been 30 years since I took physics.) You can use a syringe to suck that water out. It will get every last little droplet in a cartridge or converter.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about all M series Pelikans, but on my M215, I can unscrew the nib and feed and use the syringe to fill the barrel. I love using the samples in this pen because I have a Binder cursive italic on it. You have to be careful not to overfill it though or ink gushes out when you screw the nib and feed back in. Yes, I've done that more than once. :)
ReplyDeleteYes indeed! I didn't go into great detail about using the syringes to clean the carts, I was trying not to make this a 30 minute video! I think it warrants a separate vid.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if all the Pelikans do this, but for the ones that do, the syringes work great. As another note, filling the eyedropper style pens are much cleaner with the controlled flow of a syringe than with an actual eyedropper!
ReplyDeleteI never thought of the doing the feed saturation method. Man, that and the bulb syringe method of cleaning c/c fillers have been two great tips from you Brian. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFor years, I've used a syringe to fill ink cartridges and converters, and occasionally to mix inks. While the syringes can be used unlimited times, the measurement markings on the syringe barrel tend to wear off over time. What I've done is to place a piece of scotch tape over the numbers to keep them intact.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I'm working on a feed saturation video that I hope to have done this weekend. It'll be posted soon!
ReplyDeleteYes! I've done this too! I completely forgot to mention that in the video!
ReplyDeleteGreat video. I wish you had these a while back. I ended up buying a box of 100 insulin syringes which are a lot thinner and have sharp needles. The capacity doesn't matter because they can hold more ink than the average fountain pen/converter/cartridge can hold. The sharp needle doesn't matter because it is very short and is so thin that even if I prick myself I doubt I'll feel much.
ReplyDeleteApparently the capacity is 1ml, divided into 100 units. So if I want to do some ink mixing I can be very precise.
Since I have so many of them, I can dedicate one to each of my inks.
Funny that you mentioned the feed saturation method. I used that as a little kid though I had forgotten about it.
Thanks for another useful video. I've been using the same syringe for years and years. The trick of storing the needle alongside the inner section is a great tip.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I got a baby ear syringe just in time to clean out my Pilot 78G pens when I switched them to cartridges from the wonky converters they came with; one converter in particular wouldn't suck up much more than one page worth of in. The ear syringe cleaned out those nibs in nothing flat!
I've linked your videos to a couple of posts for my knitter/pen lover friends at Ravelry!
Another great video! I bought those syringes a few months ago & they really are great! However, my problem now is that I have so many fountain pens (well, to me 10 is a lot...) but I've forgotten which inks I have in which pens ... is there an app for that???
ReplyDeleteThe plan to clean them ALL out and start all over but this time write it all down in my new journal!
I also use the syringes to remove ink from cartridges when I want to refill with a different ink. Some of the cartridges have those metal balls that make it hard to empty the cartridge by turning it over. The metal ball covers the opening and blocks the ink from escaping. With the syringe, I can suck the ink upward instead and save it in a sample vial.
ReplyDeleteHaha...yeah, there's an app for that, it's called a pen and paper! ;) Come on, you can't tell me you'd think to do anything beyond a list on paper for keeping a record of your pens and inks! ;) j/k....actually, an app for that would be pretty cool. I like to change inks a LOT and I have a LOTTT of different pens, I find myself needing to keep upwards of 30 pen/ink combos straight. I do most of it by memory, with some help from a physical list, but when those fail me and I can't easily distinguish the ink, that's when it's time for a cleaning ;)
ReplyDeleteNice! I do this trick too....I think I'll cover this in my more thorough video on using a syringe to clean/refill ink carts. With the metal ball, you can just shake it a bunch to get the ink out, though that could get messy! The ink syringe just makes it easier to clean in general though.
ReplyDeleteI just picked these up to replace the 3cc syringes I had been using. The extra capacity is great for flushing cartridges and converters and they have a short enough throw that they can be used one handed. This is a good package. One is on my utility sink, one with my ink and they get used a lot.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! So glad you're liking them ;)
ReplyDeleteAnother ab fab video! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Glad you like it :)
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing this video I ordered syrengies and ink samples. Now I have decided to buy Waterman standard long cartridge in order to have empty long cartridges and have more ink capacity instead of two short cartridges and one it is not of your favourite ink. Waterman does not seem to fit/lock-in very well although it works. Could you please the best long standard cartridge? Pelikan maybe? Thanks
ReplyDeleteThe type of cartridge that works best in your pen is going to depend on your pen. What pen are you using? If it's a pen that takes Standard International cartridges, Pelikan will be your best bet. They make two kinds though....some are short and some are long (like the Waterman ones). The long will obviously hold more ink.
ReplyDeleteI have two: S.T. Dupont Olympo XL and MB Meisterstuck Silvered Classique. Both of them accept short standard international cartridges. I thought Waterman long one was standard diameter but it seems be a little broader and not click well. So, Pelikan is the unique alternative? As said the objetive is to refill them to have almost double of capacity. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Waterman carts are a little bigger diameter in the opening than the Pelikan ones. Pelikan carts are Standard International, so they should fit both of your pens.
ReplyDeleteSomeone is stealing ink from my printer. Not the cartridge, but the ink out of the cartridge-14 empty in less than a month. No one can use my printer without getting into my computer which is impossible. How can that be done? Where would the hole be in Cannon cartridges be.
ReplyDeleteNo they are not leaking-had that checked. The cargridges are marked and I see them full one day and empty the next!
I'm sorry to hear that...this blog is all about fountain pens and I'm no expert on printers :P
ReplyDelete