Brought a giant smile to my face to see you have already tried out the tubing hack and it's working out so great! I've also got an extra tip for ultra advanced tubing hack users like ourselves on this channel. If you have a pen with a fat section and the fit with your tubing is a bit too tight, you can hold the tube for 20 secs under the hot water tap (on the "action" end). With the clear PVC tubing material, it really softens it and makes impossible fits possible. The PVC/vinyl tubing stretches -a lot- and is difficult to break or tear! Best part is that once it cools down, it kinda goes back to the original dimensions and snug fit again on its own. 😊
Hi Idimiditavi Corpzone!!!! So glad you are here to see the results of my trying out your suggestion!!!! I wonder now if putting the tubing in the fridge or freezer would then help if/when it gets stretched out ... I think these will hold up to repeated use for my purposes but cold will definitely contract things so hmmm. Very good to know it will stretch a tad more if put under hot water. :) Thanks again for giving me this idea!!!!
@@ChrisSaenz13 You're very welcome! Thanks for making an amazing video about it, so even people normally intimidated by grommets and tubing can see how it all works and that they can do it easily too. I believe your video is the world's first comprehensive guide on this "technique", Lol
@@marilyngardner4269 Hi Marilyn ... I have yet to have to hear the tubing. As long as I don't over jam the pen into the tubing it has so far been easy to remove. A few times practicing I did jam it in too tight and quickly realized itvonlu needs to go a certain amount aoprox 1/2 inch.
@@marilyngardner4269 Nope, it comes off really easy (if it got stuck somehow, you could just use warm water from the tap on it). The material isn't sticky and it doesn't massively expand from the hot water or anything, but it does get much softer/bendier and will be soft for a while after (maybe a couple hours). So there's no real worry it would get stuck while you're working with it. I was talking about how in my experience the next time you come to use your "stretched out" tube, and pull it out of the closet, I usually find it went right back to how it was when I originally bought it, no sign of being stretched. I like that about the material and the way it cleans up smoothly. Good luck experimenting!
Oh oh oh thank you so much! I’m so glad I happened upon this tonight. You know where I will be going tomorrow for my tubing and my TWSBI! And thank you to the person that told you!
Excellent!!!!. Love the way you explain things, you make it very familiar and easy to follow without falling asleep, as sometimes happens elsewhere ( 😀 ).
Thank you for posting this excellent video. I am going to try out the tubing technique and perhaps also the rubber grommets. I can see how both methods can help me with my TWSBI Eco. I want to thank you for a very high quality video that clearly shows how to use tubing to fill the pen. Your handwritten notes are truly marvelous, too. The word "DENIM" in large letters on the left hand page of your notebook makes me smile.
Hi Robert -- I have found I greatly prefer the tubing to the grommets after all this time .... what I realized is the tubing is quicker, easier and less stuff to rinse afterward. :) I fill my TWSBI Ecos from remnant ink sample vials with the tubing all the time now!!!!!
Hi Chris, this is the 2nd time I've watched this video just so I could refresh my memory. You sent me down a little bit of a rabbit hole with this hack. I tried the grommets in the vile, and the PVC Vinyl tubing. I've abandoned the vile method since it is prone to accidents. I didn't care for the vinyl tubing since it is such a stiff material and not all that flexible! The solution I came up with was Silicone tubing! For the 3/8" size I purchased a 3 foot section from a beer making supply company. The other size I'm using is an amber colored surgical tubing for one, and I also had an old silicone straw that I bought from Walmart a long time ago. The 3/8" was easy to find, not so much the smaller sizes. It works far better than anything else I've tried, and I don't need to worry so much about ink spills.
Hi @zeus52452 ... oh wow silicone tubing ... thank you for mentioning this because that sounds very flexible .... I have had okay results with the vinyl tubing but yet still in my mind I always wish I had more of a large sample so as to avoid the tube/bulky procedure .... it works well yet I have to be super careful with it and like you said ... it's stiff material. I appreciate very much you mentioning it here ... one of these days when I get a chance I'll look into getting a piece of the silicone tubing. :)
I love the tubing hack for my TWSBI and Pelikan piston fillers. I was anxious to see how messy it would be to remove the tube from the pen. Not bad. You have so much tubing, you could use several sections at one time while waiting the the rinsed ones to air dry. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for this video, Chris. I recently added a couple TWSBI’s into my rotation and always feel frustrated that I can’t get a complete fill, especially when using an ink sample. And I too hate wasting even a drop of ink. I’m going to my local hardware store tomorrow. I love your channel. I always learn so much.
Hi Theresa -- I always love sharing the cool ideas people give me!!!! This one with the tubing to fill TWSBI Ecos is great in my opinion and I plan to use it to fill my Ecos from all the beautiful left over ink flight and other samples I have - in fact one month I will likely do a complete Eco month with inks from leftover samples. LOL
I like rotating pens often, and using as many different inks as possible, so I never fill a pistion pen all the way. Halfway is more than enough. for me.
After 3 years I still cannot remember correct directions to turn piston fillers, so it is nice to see I am not along. Will try the tube hack. Thank you for the video.
Ha ha ... oh no you're not alone ... I can forget in just a few months. :) Good luck with the tube hack it has been helping me use up samples in my pison fillers.
Very glad to find this, just got my first TWISBI Eco and absolutely did not consider that I would have issues using it with my many ink samples. Will likely be trying this out soon!
I can't remember if I also mentioned this in the video -- but I sometimes use an Ink Miser -- it's a little stand up holder that is slightly easier to fill from than an ink sample vial too. It's the 2 ml and less samples I like the tube best for!!!!
@@ChrisSaenz13 got my tubing today, will try it out sometime this week. I’ve got a bunch of 2ml samples from Goulet so fingers crossed it works for me!
@@ChrisSaenz13 just tried the tubing hack this morning and it worked perfectly! So excited I can use my TWISBI for anything now, including all my 2ml Goulet samples. Thanks again!
@@ChrisSaenz13 I live in Wisconsin, USA. I discovered today that the chain of hardware stores called "True Value" sells the 1/2" OD x 3/8" ID tube by the foot! I bought one foot of tubing for 99cents! What fun!
Thanks for showing the tubing method. Before you give your tubing away, cut a few more. Like our syringes, everything wears out after a while. Birthday Cake is one of my favorite purples.
Hi Kathy! That's a good idea! I once gave away right down to just a few lobster bands and then some of my bands dried up and cracked so I was sorry lol.
I just bought myself a Nautilus and was wondering how to fill it with small amounts, so finding this video was very timely. Otherwise, I've got two D580s and two converter pens, which are far easier to fill with small amounts. This is a fantastic idea -- thank you for sharing it!
Always good to have options for filling pens. I have had just a bit left in the vial and trying to get that last drop out. I need to get some of those Scribo inks to try. Thanks again for sharing.
Thanks a LOT, dear Chris, for sharing this amazing hack w/ us! Furthermore, @Idimiditavi Corpzone it was a great stroke of genius to come up w/ such an idea...!!! I love it so much!!!
Hi Reid -- ah good to know! Maybe I needed the 10 feet then lol. :) Each piece will have 2 ends to work with until/unless it stretches out too much. I'll have to report back after a year or so of using this method.
Thanks for sharing! I just got my first piston filler and will definitely try this. I am normally a person who just fills the converter. I have a syringe and it is fine, albeit a little hard to control and clean. Then, with my Colorverse minis, came small plastic pipettes. They are amazing! They don't last forever, but they last a long time, are easy to control and easy to clean, and are available cheaply lots of places, online and off.
Interesting hack with the tubing. I'm glad you did a demo because I never would have expected that to work without making a huge mess. I"m not bothered by sending a small amount of ink down the drain or perhaps using it for an ink wash to make stationery or decorate my planner, but if I ever do want to use every last drop in a TWSBI ECO, this would be the way to go.
Hi Marilyn -- oh I was the same way ... I was so skeptical that I kept using water over and over with the tube and my cement gray Eco finally realizing that it was just not going to leak. :) I kept waiting for a big mess to happen when I first filled my pen with ink. I really like it. I have an obscene number of samples to use up many of them so beautiful way to nice to just dump. :) I was so happy to find out it really works and that even I could not really mess it up lol.
Hi Ramona! I wonder if people use this tubing stuff for fish tanks. I am not sure. Apparently it's common because it was easy to find. Such a large quantity though. I long for the days when we could send a first class parcel of a light weight item for $1.35 nowadays it's up over $4 making it almost as much $ as the item itself.
Success! Went to Home Depot and got the vinyl tubing - just filled from a sample vial. Rinsed out with water then took the thin brush for cleaning out straws and it zipped through. Failed on getting grommets. Helper @ Home Depot took me to the grommets and the smallest one was 2 inches across! Will have to look elsewhere here in Toronto, Canada. Thanks for the tip. Filled my Twisbi eco with my Diamine pumpkin as the season is soon to be upon us!
Hi Nancy!!! Oh that's awesome!!! You may actually have more luck with the grommets by ordering online - carefully checking the inner diameter and outer diameter ID and OD. I just found that most places sold more of them online than I needed. Have you checked Canadian Tire? I love that place but only have gotten to go a few times when back in Vermont with my brother and his family. I went crazy for their tool department and their kitchen things. :)
@@ChrisSaenz13 Yup - but nothing as small as yours and I think that the ml samples I get from my wonderful local shop - Wonder Pens - are much small than your vials. Nice guy @ Canadian Tire suggested I bring a vial in to look. Wasn't that a polite way of pointing out my error!
This is a great ink filling hack for the piston-fill pens. I may try it on my Wing Sung 3008 or Lanbitou 3059 that are clones of TWSBI Eco. I have several sample vials with enough ink to use but hard to access. Thanks Chris for sharing it with us. 🤗
Hi Erin -- oh yes I forgot to mention that both the Wing Sung 3008 and the Lanbitou 3059 fit in the 3/8 ID tubing I have. So it's a solution for those pens too. I never seem to have any trouble pulling the Wing Sung 3008 feed + nib but still this would be quick and easy!!!! Happy filling!!!!
That's a great workaround for the ink sample vials. I have some 3/8 tubing so I will give it a go. When I get down to residue left in the tubes, I like to use a watercolour brush and brush the ink on my dip pens. Just have to get every drop:)
My ink miser gets ink caught there as well. I was able to clear it by putting in some water then putting two fingers across the top (to close it off) and I shook vigorously and it came out. You might have to use some pen flush if it’s been in there for awhile but give it a try.
Hi Ramona -- I am totally going to try that later today -- it drives me crazy since I'm always afraid of contamination. I have used a q-tip and all kinds of soaking etc ... hopefully that technique will do the trick!!!
Hi Tanja! I have such a big love for my Lamy pens these days too. The tube filling hack though has completely changed my enthusiasm for my Ecos because now I can fill them even with a remnant of a 2 ml sample ... it's such a completely life changing thing because I have so many sample I'd love to use up and I always love writing with my Ecos!!!!! I hope you find some tubing!!!!
I inked up my Twsbi Eco Clear and Lilac today. This is really neat because you are right- samples are really hard with the ecos! I stopped buying samples because of it… I will definitely try it
Hi Sharelle! I'm so happy to have this in my tools! I've gotten feedback from some folks saying that sample filling to their Eco is no problem but I've hassled with it for 5 years and it made me either buy double sample from Goulet to end up with 4 ml or buying all of them from other places that have 3 or 4 ml samples. Now I feel like I'll be able to fully get my money worth from samples! :)
Hi Brenda! The tubing hack is just the most helpful thing I've ever come across for my TWSBI Ecos .... it changes my ability to use up many of the beautiful ink samples in the pens I most want the ink in!!!!! :)
Thank you for that! I just looked on the community tab to find the comment to double check that it is 8mm inner diameter in Europe. I swear I have some of this somewhere in the house!
Cool process. Thanks for the tip. I tend to fill cartridges when I have a small amount of ink. Or use a piston pen with ink reservoir access. Or an Opus 88 😊 I only have one Eco because of the filling method. I prefer the 580 because I can screw the grip off and insert the syringe needle or a narrow pipette to ink the pen.
Great Inking hacks. I think I like the tube method the best. No chance of the grommet coming out or getting loose. As of yet, I don't have any pens that I need this method on, but may in the future. I either fill from the bottle or use the syringe to fill converters (if not enough ink in bottle to dip nib in) or use the syringe to fill empty plastic cartridges. Thanks for sharing these methods. Like they say, "Good to the last drop". 😄✒
Hi Mpompadour! :) I like the tube too for my Ecos -- I could never manage to get all the ink from the remainder of a 2 ml sample into my eco ... I hear people say they can but I'm not that talented lol.
I don't buy samples, but I do use sample vials that I buy empty. I just don't worry about the last drop. I have far more ink than I'll ever use. I'll die long before I use a third of it. I always buy the largest bottle I can get, and if I like the ink, I buy another bottle before the first is empty so the last few drops just aren't important because I never actually reach the last few drops. If it's an ink I don't like I'll never use enough of it to matter, so the last few drops aren't a problem there, either.
Thank you so much for this video. I just got a TWSBI Eco. Will definitely keep this in mind. Can I ask where you got the book that you track what ink and nib you have in your pens?
Hi @ssfoster95 it is a Inky Fingers Currently inked book from The Pen Habit .... I do think his remaining stock went various places including Vanness Pen Shop and I'm not sure if they are still available but they were not too long ago!
Hi Christina!!! LOL my husband at first was laughing at me and asking if the clerk ID'ed me or took down my info since the tubing made him think of gas thieves. I can't take him anywhere. :)
Hi Terri! Yes me too -- I would not go anywhere without an ink syringe but the Ecos have given me pause especially with 2 ml samples. I just don't feel comfortable pulling the nibs and feeds -- even if I did I think then they'd get loose with time. So I love this option! :)
Thanks for sharing these hacks, Chris. I had found Brandon Lee's video, and asked over there for the European measurements of the grommets, but never got an answer. I will certainly give the 8 mm tubing a try. I hope that will work with my Visconti Homo Sapiens as well. It's a real pain to get a full fill on that one.
Wouldn't it be easier to remove the nib and feed, inject the ink into the barrel from the hole separating the feed from the piston, put the feed and nib back in, and expell a couple drops??? Just a thought that seems less complicated.
I think you can def remove the feed and fill from a syringe but I don't actually know if it's easier - this seems pretty dang simple! No need to fool with nib removal and replacement. I'll have to try both ways... I just got a couple of TWSBI. One is an Eco T and I don't know that I will work with the tubing method bc of the grip shape.
Hi @mary_katie_9199 -- yes it's true it would be easy ... I'm just very chicken about bending a feed or cracking a section on my TWSBI Icos ... but I have pen friends who do pull the nibs and feeds routinely ... I'm just far more comfortable with this method. :)
I just ran into that problem the other day with an ink sample bottle. Thanks!! I will have to try the tubing method for sure. So, question, if you don’t mind...does the tubing method work only on the Eco? Would you have to have a different inner diameter size work for different size pen?
Hi Cheryl -- so far I have used it on 3 pens the Eco, the Wingsung 3008 and the Lanbitou 3059. I think more pens will work too but those piston fillers are the ones I've used it with!
Thanks for the tips! Any idea if the grommets fit directly into the 18ml diamine bottles? They're my go-to ink and it would be great to fill directly and not have to do additional pouring/cleaning. I guess if they fit it would work for Inkvent bottles too :) I really love watching your videos, thanks so much!
Hi hickoco -- I just tried that and my grommets don't fit in the 12 or 30 ml Diamine bottles ... if I'm measuring correctly, the outer diameter for a grommet to fit in them would have to be 7 mm. Very interesting idea though ... I have no idea what other sizes these grommets are available in. The tubing seems to have several sizes. :)
Thanks so much for checking!! (I guess I meant 12 or 30ml not 18?! No idea where I got 18 from!) I will keep exploring and will play around with the tubing tip too! Thank you again :-)
I don't understand why you won't pull out the nib, and then use the needle to fill it, I have never used sample inks, but I ordered some, I came across this Channel to see how to fill it. But with cleaning nu Eco i always take out the nib and feed, to clean them with an ultrasonic cleaner. So should I be worried for doing that ? Or could we needle fill the eco by doing this ?
Hi @jolandanvt2379 -- this is a valid question ... I think there are a couple of reasons why I won't pull the Eco nib/feeds out to syringe fill. I'm certainly aware this is an option. Early in my fountain pen hobby experience I ruined a feed by pulling the nib/feed out of one of my Jinhao 992s ... this upset me a lot and I couldn't imagine how I'd feel with a $30+ pen vs that $2 pen if I ruined the feed on one of my Ecos. The other issue for me is that even using reading glasses I have a bit of trouble lining things up exactly right on some pens. I have had 2 Ecos crack at the section. Which is actually not bad considering I have 20 of them and only 2 have cracked. I will say that I now don't hesitate to pull JUST the nibs off these Ecos to swap nibs but I use tape and only pull out the nib. I leave the feed in there. :) For ME the tube filling really makes me more comfortable than pulling the nib/feed would. I know that's not the case for everyone ... one of my pen friends routinely pulls the nibs and feeds out of the Ecos to clean like you mentioned. I myself rarely have used shimmer inks in my Ecos up to this point.
That tubing trick is useful, thanks. Personally I am trying out going cartridge-only, as more interesting colors become available in cartridges. I want to leave as much ink-fussing as possible to you paid professionals.
Ha ha ... Ichiro ... whenever I try cartridges I always want to write with my favorite obscure ink so I end up refilling them with an ink syringe. I guess I enjoy complications lol.
Hi @oraghailligh -- that is a Bond Travel Gear A5 hard cover 68 gsm Tomoe River dot grid notebook ... they stopped making them and Bond Travel Gear became Lochby ... they now make the 68 gsm TR paper booklet style dot grid notebooks with the same paper. I have been so lucky to have received some old stock Bond ones to use as it is my favorite notebook for ink journaling ... has been since I purchased one ... I wish they still made them!
That's an interesting solution, but I think it's on overkill for me haha. Personally I'm a fan of doing it with the syringe but I don't pull the nib or the feed out. You're probably not supposed to do this 😂 but I just put then needle down the feed in the back and carefully fill it with ink, pulling it down with the piston as needed. Never had any problems and surprisingly it doesn't take that long. Just be careful not to stab the feed with the syringe.
Hi Vialait -- oh wow your method sounds fairly easy. I am imagining my chances of stabbing the feed though -- but you never know maybe I'd be able to pull this off. My love for quick and easy has so far kept me from trying to fill the Eco with a syringe. :)
This just seems to be making something simple complicated. I've not had any issues getting essentially all the ink out of a vial by tipping the vial until the ink reaches the hole in the feed. If that doesn't work, a ten pack of blunt syringes from Amazon is very cheap and they will last one user literally forever. This will work with any piston where the nib can be pulled and to refill cartridges or converters. Also, in the end it's just ink. If you can't recover few drops from a vial or bottle, so what?
I can understand that! Me, I'm not willing to pull the TWSBI Eco nib/feed due to breaking a feed early on. For me the tubing is just so simple I love it but I don't expect everyone will agree! :)
I'm either lazy, wasteful, or both. I don't buy sample vials. When I see an ink I might like, which is most of them, I buy the largest bottle I can find. Which is why I have more than three hundred bottles of ink, even after I gave away two hundred. It's ridiculous. I do use inkwells, which work better than the tall, skinny ink bottles I have. But I don't try to use the very last drop because if Iike an ink I buy another bottle before the first one is empty, and then add more from the new bottle into the inkwell. If it's an ink I know I'm not going to buy again, I just toss it when there isn't enough left for a fill. I just have too many inks to worry about it.
Brought a giant smile to my face to see you have already tried out the tubing hack and it's working out so great! I've also got an extra tip for ultra advanced tubing hack users like ourselves on this channel. If you have a pen with a fat section and the fit with your tubing is a bit too tight, you can hold the tube for 20 secs under the hot water tap (on the "action" end). With the clear PVC tubing material, it really softens it and makes impossible fits possible. The PVC/vinyl tubing stretches -a lot- and is difficult to break or tear! Best part is that once it cools down, it kinda goes back to the original dimensions and snug fit again on its own. 😊
Hi Idimiditavi Corpzone!!!! So glad you are here to see the results of my trying out your suggestion!!!! I wonder now if putting the tubing in the fridge or freezer would then help if/when it gets stretched out ... I think these will hold up to repeated use for my purposes but cold will definitely contract things so hmmm. Very good to know it will stretch a tad more if put under hot water. :) Thanks again for giving me this idea!!!!
@@ChrisSaenz13 You're very welcome! Thanks for making an amazing video about it, so even people normally intimidated by grommets and tubing can see how it all works and that they can do it easily too. I believe your video is the world's first comprehensive guide on this "technique", Lol
Is it difficult to get the tubing off the pen, if it started as a tight fit, once the tubing cools down?
@@marilyngardner4269 Hi Marilyn ... I have yet to have to hear the tubing. As long as I don't over jam the pen into the tubing it has so far been easy to remove. A few times practicing I did jam it in too tight and quickly realized itvonlu needs to go a certain amount aoprox 1/2 inch.
@@marilyngardner4269 Nope, it comes off really easy (if it got stuck somehow, you could just use warm water from the tap on it). The material isn't sticky and it doesn't massively expand from the hot water or anything, but it does get much softer/bendier and will be soft for a while after (maybe a couple hours). So there's no real worry it would get stuck while you're working with it. I was talking about how in my experience the next time you come to use your "stretched out" tube, and pull it out of the closet, I usually find it went right back to how it was when I originally bought it, no sign of being stretched. I like that about the material and the way it cleans up smoothly. Good luck experimenting!
Oh oh oh thank you so much! I’m so glad I happened upon this tonight. You know where I will be going tomorrow for my tubing and my TWSBI! And thank you to the person that told you!
Thank you 😊 and thank you to everyone who contributed knowledge to this video.
Excellent!!!!. Love the way you explain things, you make it very familiar and easy to follow without falling asleep, as sometimes happens elsewhere ( 😀 ).
Hi Hani -- my tendency to talk fast and use visuals is at least helpful for something lol. :) I'm glad you're here!!!!
Thank you for posting this excellent video. I am going to try out the tubing technique and perhaps also the rubber grommets. I can see how both methods can help me with my TWSBI Eco. I want to thank you for a very high quality video that clearly shows how to use tubing to fill the pen. Your handwritten notes are truly marvelous, too. The word "DENIM" in large letters on the left hand page of your notebook makes me smile.
Hi Robert -- I have found I greatly prefer the tubing to the grommets after all this time .... what I realized is the tubing is quicker, easier and less stuff to rinse afterward. :) I fill my TWSBI Ecos from remnant ink sample vials with the tubing all the time now!!!!!
Hi Chris, this is the 2nd time I've watched this video just so I could refresh my memory. You sent me down a little bit of a rabbit hole with this hack. I tried the grommets in the vile, and the PVC Vinyl tubing. I've abandoned the vile method since it is prone to accidents. I didn't care for the vinyl tubing since it is such a stiff material and not all that flexible! The solution I came up with was Silicone tubing! For the 3/8" size I purchased a 3 foot section from a beer making supply company. The other size I'm using is an amber colored surgical tubing for one, and I also had an old silicone straw that I bought from Walmart a long time ago. The 3/8" was easy to find, not so much the smaller sizes. It works far better than anything else I've tried, and I don't need to worry so much about ink spills.
Hi @zeus52452 ... oh wow silicone tubing ... thank you for mentioning this because that sounds very flexible .... I have had okay results with the vinyl tubing but yet still in my mind I always wish I had more of a large sample so as to avoid the tube/bulky procedure .... it works well yet I have to be super careful with it and like you said ... it's stiff material. I appreciate very much you mentioning it here ... one of these days when I get a chance I'll look into getting a piece of the silicone tubing. :)
I love the tubing hack for my TWSBI and Pelikan piston fillers. I was anxious to see how messy it would be to remove the tube from the pen. Not bad. You have so much tubing, you could use several sections at one time while waiting the the rinsed ones to air dry. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Marcy - that was my worry initially too but now I see that it's about the same as a bottle fill!!!!
What a simple but brilliant solution! I would never have thought of that.
Hi Melinda -- me either -- and at first I was the worlds biggest chicken but I am not experiencing any leaks so I'm super excited about this!!!!! :)
@@ChrisSaenz13 I don’t blame you for being afraid, I would be too. But it works great! Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us!
WoW, Chris, this is so cool!! Very clever! I will have to try this. Thanx for sharing!!
Hi Sharon -- I'm thinking of all the ink flight inks I want to use up with my Ecos. :) I'll be sending you some tubing -- :)
Thanks for this video, Chris. I recently added a couple TWSBI’s into my rotation and always feel frustrated that I can’t get a complete fill, especially when using an ink sample. And I too hate wasting even a drop of ink. I’m going to my local hardware store tomorrow. I love your channel. I always learn so much.
Hi Theresa -- I always love sharing the cool ideas people give me!!!! This one with the tubing to fill TWSBI Ecos is great in my opinion and I plan to use it to fill my Ecos from all the beautiful left over ink flight and other samples I have - in fact one month I will likely do a complete Eco month with inks from leftover samples. LOL
@@ChrisSaenz13 what a great idea. If you do, I will. 👍
I like rotating pens often, and using as many different inks as possible, so I never fill a pistion pen all the way. Halfway is more than enough. for me.
Thank you for this wonderful ink hack! I’m a fan of TWSBI Ecos and ink samples, so this will be very useful. Thanks again!
Hi Marci you're welcome!!!!
After 3 years I still cannot remember correct directions to turn piston fillers, so it is nice to see I am not along. Will try the tube hack. Thank you for the video.
Ha ha ... oh no you're not alone ... I can forget in just a few months. :) Good luck with the tube hack it has been helping me use up samples in my pison fillers.
Very glad to find this, just got my first TWISBI Eco and absolutely did not consider that I would have issues using it with my many ink samples. Will likely be trying this out soon!
I can't remember if I also mentioned this in the video -- but I sometimes use an Ink Miser -- it's a little stand up holder that is slightly easier to fill from than an ink sample vial too. It's the 2 ml and less samples I like the tube best for!!!!
@@ChrisSaenz13 got my tubing today, will try it out sometime this week. I’ve got a bunch of 2ml samples from Goulet so fingers crossed it works for me!
@@ChrisSaenz13 just tried the tubing hack this morning and it worked perfectly! So excited I can use my TWISBI for anything now, including all my 2ml Goulet samples. Thanks again!
Thanks Chris for sharing those great hacks 👍. That tube will be much easier to wash out
Hi Annie! Oh yes it's great to just run it under water and be able to SEE that it's perfectly clean!!!! :)
Great video! Brilliant use of that tubing!
Thank you Kim - I was so excited when a viewer brought the idea to my attention ... it works like a charm with my Ecos!
I love your channel. Thanks for your videos and energy! Happy pen and ink fun!
Hi Jim -- thank you -- I'm glad you're here!
@@ChrisSaenz13 I live in Wisconsin, USA. I discovered today that the chain of hardware stores called "True Value" sells the 1/2" OD x 3/8" ID tube by the foot! I bought one foot of tubing for 99cents! What fun!
@@jaescala Good to know! I'm in Wisconsin too and have a True Value nearby. I'll try this.
Thanks for showing the tubing method. Before you give your tubing away, cut a few more. Like our syringes, everything wears out after a while. Birthday Cake is one of my favorite purples.
Hi Kathy! That's a good idea! I once gave away right down to just a few lobster bands and then some of my bands dried up and cracked so I was sorry lol.
I just bought myself a Nautilus and was wondering how to fill it with small amounts, so finding this video was very timely. Otherwise, I've got two D580s and two converter pens, which are far easier to fill with small amounts. This is a fantastic idea -- thank you for sharing it!
You're very welcome! I always like to pass on stuff I learn in hopes someone else will find pen tips that really help!!!!!
Always good to have options for filling pens. I have had just a bit left in the vial and trying to get that last drop out. I need to get some of those Scribo inks to try. Thanks again for sharing.
Hi Cynthia -- I love the Scribo inks! My samples came from Vanness.
Thanks a LOT, dear Chris, for sharing this amazing hack w/ us! Furthermore, @Idimiditavi Corpzone it was a great stroke of genius to come up w/ such an idea...!!! I love it so much!!!
Pretty cool idea huh! I wanted to share it because it's brilliant!!!!!
These hacks are great! I have used that kind of tubing in labs before and the end will stretch out with repeated use and not seal as well.
Hi Reid -- ah good to know! Maybe I needed the 10 feet then lol. :) Each piece will have 2 ends to work with until/unless it stretches out too much. I'll have to report back after a year or so of using this method.
@@ChrisSaenz13 plus you wont need thr complete length so you could trim off the stretched out bit and use again and again untill its too short ☺️
Nice!! Great techniques! And Happy Anniversary Chris!!
Thank you Yvonne!!!
Thanks for sharing! I just got my first piston filler and will definitely try this. I am normally a person who just fills the converter. I have a syringe and it is fine, albeit a little hard to control and clean. Then, with my Colorverse minis, came small plastic pipettes. They are amazing! They don't last forever, but they last a long time, are easy to control and easy to clean, and are available cheaply lots of places, online and off.
Hi Lidia -- oh yes I also love those mini pipettes they stick in the mini Colorverse inks. They are quite useful!!!! :)
Excellent demo and discussion/evaluation! Thanks!!!
Hi Rinae -- thank you!!!
Interesting hack with the tubing. I'm glad you did a demo because I never would have expected that to work without making a huge mess. I"m not bothered by sending a small amount of ink down the drain or perhaps using it for an ink wash to make stationery or decorate my planner, but if I ever do want to use every last drop in a TWSBI ECO, this would be the way to go.
Hi Marilyn -- oh I was the same way ... I was so skeptical that I kept using water over and over with the tube and my cement gray Eco finally realizing that it was just not going to leak. :) I kept waiting for a big mess to happen when I first filled my pen with ink. I really like it. I have an obscene number of samples to use up many of them so beautiful way to nice to just dump. :) I was so happy to find out it really works and that even I could not really mess it up lol.
Love the tubing hack! If I can find a shorter length of it I’ll try it. For now I’ll keep using the grommets. Love a good hack!
Hi Ramona! I wonder if people use this tubing stuff for fish tanks. I am not sure. Apparently it's common because it was easy to find. Such a large quantity though. I long for the days when we could send a first class parcel of a light weight item for $1.35 nowadays it's up over $4 making it almost as much $ as the item itself.
Success! Went to Home Depot and got the vinyl tubing - just filled from a sample vial. Rinsed out with water then took the thin brush for cleaning out straws and it zipped through. Failed on getting grommets. Helper @ Home Depot took me to the grommets and the smallest one was 2 inches across! Will have to look elsewhere here in Toronto, Canada. Thanks for the tip. Filled my Twisbi eco with my Diamine pumpkin as the season is soon to be upon us!
Hi Nancy!!! Oh that's awesome!!! You may actually have more luck with the grommets by ordering online - carefully checking the inner diameter and outer diameter ID and OD. I just found that most places sold more of them online than I needed. Have you checked Canadian Tire? I love that place but only have gotten to go a few times when back in Vermont with my brother and his family. I went crazy for their tool department and their kitchen things. :)
@@ChrisSaenz13 Yup - but nothing as small as yours and I think that the ml samples I get from my wonderful local shop - Wonder Pens - are much small than your vials. Nice guy @ Canadian Tire suggested I bring a vial in to look. Wasn't that a polite way of pointing out my error!
This is a great ink filling hack for the piston-fill pens. I may try it on my Wing Sung 3008 or Lanbitou 3059 that are clones of TWSBI Eco. I have several sample vials with enough ink to use but hard to access. Thanks Chris for sharing it with us. 🤗
Hi Erin -- oh yes I forgot to mention that both the Wing Sung 3008 and the Lanbitou 3059 fit in the 3/8 ID tubing I have. So it's a solution for those pens too. I never seem to have any trouble pulling the Wing Sung 3008 feed + nib but still this would be quick and easy!!!! Happy filling!!!!
That's a great workaround for the ink sample vials. I have some 3/8 tubing so I will give it a go. When I get down to residue left in the tubes, I like to use a watercolour brush and brush the ink on my dip pens. Just have to get every drop:)
Hi Samantha! That's a good idea using the brush! :)
Wallace and Gromit springs to mind here in the UK
Hi Neil!!! :)
Thanks for more helpful info!
Hi Christine - you're very welcome!
My ink miser gets ink caught there as well. I was able to clear it by putting in some water then putting two fingers across the top (to close it off) and I shook vigorously and it came out. You might have to use some pen flush if it’s been in there for awhile but give it a try.
Hi Ramona -- I am totally going to try that later today -- it drives me crazy since I'm always afraid of contamination. I have used a q-tip and all kinds of soaking etc ... hopefully that technique will do the trick!!!
Wow Chris this is great,!!! I haven't used my Ecos, when I only had a tiny bit left, I went for the Lamys. 🙋💚
Hi Tanja! I have such a big love for my Lamy pens these days too. The tube filling hack though has completely changed my enthusiasm for my Ecos because now I can fill them even with a remnant of a 2 ml sample ... it's such a completely life changing thing because I have so many sample I'd love to use up and I always love writing with my Ecos!!!!! I hope you find some tubing!!!!
@@ChrisSaenz13 I can see a trip to the hardware store coming up👷♀️✒️🙂
I inked up my Twsbi Eco Clear and Lilac today. This is really neat because you are right- samples are really hard with the ecos! I stopped buying samples because of it… I will definitely try it
Hi Sharelle! I'm so happy to have this in my tools! I've gotten feedback from some folks saying that sample filling to their Eco is no problem but I've hassled with it for 5 years and it made me either buy double sample from Goulet to end up with 4 ml or buying all of them from other places that have 3 or 4 ml samples. Now I feel like I'll be able to fully get my money worth from samples! :)
I wish I had known about this trick before I bought a vac filler! That’s great info.
Hi Brenda! The tubing hack is just the most helpful thing I've ever come across for my TWSBI Ecos .... it changes my ability to use up many of the beautiful ink samples in the pens I most want the ink in!!!!! :)
👍👍Thanks, Chris!
Hi Dave! :)
Thank you for that! I just looked on the community tab to find the comment to double check that it is 8mm inner diameter in Europe. I swear I have some of this somewhere in the house!
Hi cerealnana -- I was thinking I had seen some of this in the past and my husband said maybe fish tank tubing but we're not sure.
Cool process. Thanks for the tip.
I tend to fill cartridges when I have a small amount of ink. Or use a piston pen with ink reservoir access. Or an Opus 88 😊
I only have one Eco because of the filling method. I prefer the 580 because I can screw the grip off and insert the syringe needle or a narrow pipette to ink the pen.
Hi Marsha -- I love the Eco so much but I admit I don't love the filling method. Even the Diamond 580 allows me to use my smaller samples easier. :)
Great Inking hacks. I think I like the tube method the best. No chance of the grommet coming out or getting loose. As of yet, I don't have any pens that I need this method on, but may in the future. I either fill from the bottle or use the syringe to fill converters (if not enough ink in bottle to dip nib in) or use the syringe to fill empty plastic cartridges. Thanks for sharing these methods. Like they say, "Good to the last drop". 😄✒
Hi Mpompadour! :) I like the tube too for my Ecos -- I could never manage to get all the ink from the remainder of a 2 ml sample into my eco ... I hear people say they can but I'm not that talented lol.
I don't buy samples, but I do use sample vials that I buy empty. I just don't worry about the last drop. I have far more ink than I'll ever use. I'll die long before I use a third of it. I always buy the largest bottle I can get, and if I like the ink, I buy another bottle before the first is empty so the last few drops just aren't important because I never actually reach the last few drops. If it's an ink I don't like I'll never use enough of it to matter, so the last few drops aren't a problem there, either.
Thank you so much for this video. I just got a TWSBI Eco. Will definitely keep this in mind. Can I ask where you got the book that you track what ink and nib you have in your pens?
Hi @ssfoster95 it is a Inky Fingers Currently inked book from The Pen Habit .... I do think his remaining stock went various places including Vanness Pen Shop and I'm not sure if they are still available but they were not too long ago!
Oops, just read the comment from the kind ink person who gave us the original hack. Thanks, pen friends!
Super helpful as always Chris!! Thanks!! Guess it’s time to get to the hardware store!!! 🥰🙋♀️👏🖋
Hi Christina!!! LOL my husband at first was laughing at me and asking if the clerk ID'ed me or took down my info since the tubing made him think of gas thieves. I can't take him anywhere. :)
@@ChrisSaenz13 🤣🤣🤣🤣🙋🏼♀️👍🖋🤣
That tubing hack is pretty cool. I can use my ink syringe for pretty much any other pen but my TWSBIs.
Hi Terri! Yes me too -- I would not go anywhere without an ink syringe but the Ecos have given me pause especially with 2 ml samples. I just don't feel comfortable pulling the nibs and feeds -- even if I did I think then they'd get loose with time. So I love this option! :)
Thanks for sharing these hacks, Chris. I had found Brandon Lee's video, and asked over there for the European measurements of the grommets, but never got an answer. I will certainly give the 8 mm tubing a try. I hope that will work with my Visconti Homo Sapiens as well. It's a real pain to get a full fill on that one.
Hi Janny! It was just too great of a tip to not pass along somehow lol. I just love it!!! Good luck with the tubing!!!!
@@ChrisSaenz13 Thanks, Chris! I'll let you know how things went.
Wouldn't it be easier to remove the nib and feed, inject the ink into the barrel from the hole separating the feed from the piston, put the feed and nib back in, and expell a couple drops???
Just a thought that seems less complicated.
I think you can def remove the feed and fill from a syringe but I don't actually know if it's easier - this seems pretty dang simple! No need to fool with nib removal and replacement. I'll have to try both ways... I just got a couple of TWSBI. One is an Eco T and I don't know that I will work with the tubing method bc of the grip shape.
Hi @mary_katie_9199 -- yes it's true it would be easy ... I'm just very chicken about bending a feed or cracking a section on my TWSBI Icos ... but I have pen friends who do pull the nibs and feeds routinely ... I'm just far more comfortable with this method. :)
I just ran into that problem the other day with an ink sample bottle. Thanks!! I will have to try the tubing method for sure. So, question, if you don’t mind...does the tubing method work only on the Eco? Would you have to have a different inner diameter size work for different size pen?
Hi Cheryl -- so far I have used it on 3 pens the Eco, the Wingsung 3008 and the Lanbitou 3059. I think more pens will work too but those piston fillers are the ones I've used it with!
Thanks for the tips! Any idea if the grommets fit directly into the 18ml diamine bottles? They're my go-to ink and it would be great to fill directly and not have to do additional pouring/cleaning.
I guess if they fit it would work for Inkvent bottles too :)
I really love watching your videos, thanks so much!
Hi hickoco -- I just tried that and my grommets don't fit in the 12 or 30 ml Diamine bottles ... if I'm measuring correctly, the outer diameter for a grommet to fit in them would have to be 7 mm. Very interesting idea though ... I have no idea what other sizes these grommets are available in. The tubing seems to have several sizes. :)
Thanks so much for checking!! (I guess I meant 12 or 30ml not 18?! No idea where I got 18 from!) I will keep exploring and will play around with the tubing tip too! Thank you again :-)
Use a mini funnel to help with the fill
Ah great idea ... I have one around here somewhere ....!
You have the best content. I have run into your channel over and over. One day, I’d like to meet you and share ink. Take care :)
Hi @rahulshah1408 thank you!
Who woulda though nice method!!!!
I don't understand why you won't pull out the nib, and then use the needle to fill it, I have never used sample inks, but I ordered some, I came across this Channel to see how to fill it. But with cleaning nu Eco i always take out the nib and feed, to clean them with an ultrasonic cleaner. So should I be worried for doing that ? Or could we needle fill the eco by doing this ?
Hi @jolandanvt2379 -- this is a valid question ... I think there are a couple of reasons why I won't pull the Eco nib/feeds out to syringe fill. I'm certainly aware this is an option. Early in my fountain pen hobby experience I ruined a feed by pulling the nib/feed out of one of my Jinhao 992s ... this upset me a lot and I couldn't imagine how I'd feel with a $30+ pen vs that $2 pen if I ruined the feed on one of my Ecos. The other issue for me is that even using reading glasses I have a bit of trouble lining things up exactly right on some pens. I have had 2 Ecos crack at the section. Which is actually not bad considering I have 20 of them and only 2 have cracked.
I will say that I now don't hesitate to pull JUST the nibs off these Ecos to swap nibs but I use tape and only pull out the nib. I leave the feed in there. :) For ME the tube filling really makes me more comfortable than pulling the nib/feed would. I know that's not the case for everyone ... one of my pen friends routinely pulls the nibs and feeds out of the Ecos to clean like you mentioned. I myself rarely have used shimmer inks in my Ecos up to this point.
@@ChrisSaenz13 oh I never knew you could actually break your pen doing this. Thank you so much for the answer. Makes alot of sense. ♥️
@@ChrisSaenz13 ohh, and I use crazy shimmers in my eco, never had any trouble with shimmers in it.
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
Hi Ms Elany!!! :)
That tubing trick is useful, thanks. Personally I am trying out going cartridge-only, as more interesting colors become available in cartridges. I want to leave as much ink-fussing as possible to you paid professionals.
Ha ha ... Ichiro ... whenever I try cartridges I always want to write with my favorite obscure ink so I end up refilling them with an ink syringe. I guess I enjoy complications lol.
@@ChrisSaenz13 I'm tired of scrubbing my fingers.
Whats that journal your writing in for your ink samples
Hi @oraghailligh -- that is a Bond Travel Gear A5 hard cover 68 gsm Tomoe River dot grid notebook ... they stopped making them and Bond Travel Gear became Lochby ... they now make the 68 gsm TR paper booklet style dot grid notebooks with the same paper. I have been so lucky to have received some old stock Bond ones to use as it is my favorite notebook for ink journaling ... has been since I purchased one ... I wish they still made them!
That's an interesting solution, but I think it's on overkill for me haha. Personally I'm a fan of doing it with the syringe but I don't pull the nib or the feed out. You're probably not supposed to do this 😂 but I just put then needle down the feed in the back and carefully fill it with ink, pulling it down with the piston as needed. Never had any problems and surprisingly it doesn't take that long. Just be careful not to stab the feed with the syringe.
Hi Vialait -- oh wow your method sounds fairly easy. I am imagining my chances of stabbing the feed though -- but you never know maybe I'd be able to pull this off. My love for quick and easy has so far kept me from trying to fill the Eco with a syringe. :)
This just seems to be making something simple complicated. I've not had any issues getting essentially all the ink out of a vial by tipping the vial until the ink reaches the hole in the feed. If that doesn't work, a ten pack of blunt syringes from Amazon is very cheap and they will last one user literally forever. This will work with any piston where the nib can be pulled and to refill cartridges or converters.
Also, in the end it's just ink. If you can't recover few drops from a vial or bottle, so what?
I can understand that! Me, I'm not willing to pull the TWSBI Eco nib/feed due to breaking a feed early on. For me the tubing is just so simple I love it but I don't expect everyone will agree! :)
This method seems so so simple to me! Stick the tube on, pour the ink in, suck it up, and done!
I'm either lazy, wasteful, or both. I don't buy sample vials. When I see an ink I might like, which is most of them, I buy the largest bottle I can find. Which is why I have more than three hundred bottles of ink, even after I gave away two hundred. It's ridiculous. I do use inkwells, which work better than the tall, skinny ink bottles I have. But I don't try to use the very last drop because if Iike an ink I buy another bottle before the first one is empty, and then add more from the new bottle into the inkwell. If it's an ink I know I'm not going to buy again, I just toss it when there isn't enough left for a fill. I just have too many inks to worry about it.
Hi James! I think it's because I use so many samples!!! LOL I totally get it that you would rarely need such a hack because of using full bottles! :)