Love Pilot pens....... so I speak from that perspective. IMHO, it is far easier to fill ANY converter.... not just Pilot's..... with a syringe. And that's how I fill all of my converters. Thanks to Brian (in an old video) for that technique !!!! I like the capacity of the CON-40...... so just fill it with a syringe and you're good to go 🙂 Brian - excellent explanation... thank you !!
Seconded! I do the same. Mainly because I’ve always somewhat disliked dipping nib and feed into bottle and staining with ink while filling. Especially with certain pens of mine.
@@MarshaLove0723 .Same with Sailor cartridges & converters. Wide opening and so convenient every time. I have no complaints with any of these converters. I use them all the time.
I’ve found that craft stores have needle tipped squeeze bottles that also work well. Bonus is that you don’t have to fill them very often. And also much easier to carry around with you as well.
Interesting topic. The basic answer is that ink is a liquid, and liquids have a characteristic called surface tension. In order for the ink in a cartridge or converter to flow downward into the section when the nib is pointed down, the weight of the liquid in the reservoir must exceed the surface tension of the liquid - otherwise, the ink will merely hang up at the end of the reservoir. This is especially a problem when the ink in the reservoir is nearing depletion. Adding a ball (agitator) breaks up that surface tension and allows the ink to flow down to the section. One of the questions that has always intrigued me is how are cartridges manufactured - and specifically, how are they sealed. I can understand how cartridges that include a ball agitator can use the ball as the seal - the cartridge is injection molded with an orifice that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the ball agitator, and then ink is injected through that orifice into the cartridge. Finally, the ball is pressed into the orifice - the plastic (which appears to be HDPE) deforms around the ball, capturing the ball in the orifice where it seals the cartridge. Then, when the cartridge is installed in the pen, the nipple on the back of the section forces the ball further into the cartridge, opening the orifice to allow ink to flow into the section, and releasing the ball to become the agitator. But then there are Shaeffer cartridges (and perhaps others) that don't have agitators. These appear to be fully sealed, and it appears that installing the cartridge involves actually poking a hole in the plastic end of the cartridge with the nipple at the back of the section. How are they made?
Modern Sheaffer cartridges (made in Slovenia) now have one dedicated opening end (the original was unidirectional) and now have a plastic agitator ball released when puncturing.
It's fun to shake to listen to while your writing and pause and shake the pen in mid-thought. Or at least I think so. Such an awesome ASMR sound, love it.
The CON-40 has caused flow issues with my Vanishing Point . It'll be writing fine for a page or so and then suddenly I start running dry. For a while I thought it was the pen/feed that was the issue and then I tried a Pilot cartridge and had zero flow issues. After the cartridge was empty, I removed the metal cage and agitators from the CON-40 and the Vanishing Point works perfectly. I used a small screwdriver to just poke the cage onto its side and then just pulled it out. Your milage may vary!
I bought a couple Con-40s because I find the Con-70 a royal pain to clean even after disassembling and flushing. There will still be ink trapped inside the top of the converter where the agitator is connected to depressor button. The Con-40 has such limited capacity though.
When I bought two VP pens back in 2016 they both came with Con 50 converters and the pen shop threw in 4 free Con 20 squeeze converters to sweeten up the deal. What I’ve done is have one VP with a Con 50 converter and my other VP with the Con 20 converter. So I’ve got an unused Con 50 and 3 unused Con 20 converters. I don’t think I’ll be using or buying a Con 40 anytime soon and i probably wouldn’t be happy with it because of the low ink capacity. I enjoy using both my Con 50 and Con 20 in each of my VP pens. It seems that my Con 20 converter holds a little bit more ink compared to my Con 50 converter. Probably I’d have a better refill if I filled my Con 50 up with ink using a syringe instead of directly through my pen but I couldn’t be bothered doing it syringe method. So many choices with ink converter options to choose from and I still haven’t even used those extra free ink cartridges yet that they given me.
I used the Pilot VP Capless in Medium nib for a year. It wrote/writes so well for an impossibly tiny, scrawny looking nib but I found the Con-40 converter annoyingly short of supply everytime, despite hacking it all the way up with a syringe. It's embarrassing when it happens in front of clients, when all their attention is on the paper. So I got myself a Pilot Custom 823 in Amber this afternoon. I'm hoping for longer uninterrupted note taking sessions from now on.
I have two main gripes with the con40. First is the fact that you need special tools and knowledge plus having to add steps to the process to get a complete fill. Looks to me like they needed to do more research to figure that out. If I am giving as much of a benefit of the doubt as I can, then maybe there is some performance reason as to why having a bit of air in the back is preferable/beneficial. It could be that, to get a tight enough fit to create a seal where you could get a complete on modern pens, would have left the opening either too wide or narrow for older pens. I wish they said something about it though because it is really obnoxious, but I could stomach it better if there is a good reason. The second thing that bothers me about it is that the edge of the metal piece that holds the agitators in place gets stuck with ink which requires an ink syringe to flush it out. I know it is not enough ink to really affect the color you’re using next and that perhaps it is better to make it easier to flush away rather than trying to prevent it and, when it does happen, it is very difficult to flush. I know. But it annoys me every time. I had some bitter complaints about the con70 before the new version came out, but most of those were addressed in that revision. Even thought the new con70 is still not perfect, I wish there was a similar revision for the con40. Or, failing that, that they made a luxury version of it. The con40 can be used with pens of all ranges so it needs to be cheap. But using it with more expensive pens it really takes away from what is otherwise a luxury experience. Maybe they could be released under the Namiki brand since that’s the luxury brand? I don’t know. I know that I would be willing to pay at least 3 times the price of the current con40 for one that “just works.”
In fact there is at least one company that promotes this as a feature. (Cross maybe) The back of their cartridges have a slightly narrower section, which they refer to as a reservoir. When you suddenly run out of ink (because you forgot to check recently) you give the pen a tap to dislodge the ink trapped there and you can finish what you were doing before having to change the cartridge.
You’re right about the smoothness of the Con-40. I have and use seven of them. All work perfectly smoothly without a glitch. Though there’s not much distance to travel in it, is there? 😀 I also find Aurora converters to be particularly good. They are rightly slammed for the price ($16-$26). But more strangely sometimes for their supposed dubious build quality. I have had no complaints.
I may be wrong (not for the first time) but I think if you go far enough back you’re dealing with bladders to hold the ink. Converters arrived somewhere in the 1970’s and took over that function by the mid 1980’s.
Might have to invest in this new one for my Namiki VP. I have the original plain tube CON50 that came with mine. Mind you, I have that many Pilot Blue cartridges I had better use them up. 😂
I agree with you on ink capability. Why could Pilot make the ink capability larger by making it longer while still be able to fit inside their Explorer, Metropolitan and all their other models. I understand that the longer ones will not fit the VP model so just use their old con 50 in them.
There's a lot of room for improvement regarding this converter in my opinion. But in the end it majes the job I guess... I personally prefer to reuse cartridges.🤷♀️ Thanks for taking the time to try to find an explanation though. 😅🙂
I've resealed refilled cartridges before. The ball is slightly larger than the opening, so it can't fall out or otherwise get stuck in the mouth. But with enough force, you can stretch the mouth of the cartridge slightly, which the resulting pressure "locks" the ball in place.
I now usually fill most of my converters with ink using a syringe, then eject 2 drops to wet the feed and I’m good to write with the pen straight away. The Con-40 isn’t great, but it’s just fine with me. I prefer it to a cartridge every time. All my Pilot pens have converters (of whatever model) in them. So do all my Sailor pens with their curiously much maligned proprietary converters I’m also somebody who seldom changes inks in my pens (regardless of filling system) so I don’t complain much at all about cleaning pens or small ink capacity converters like the Con-40. The metal ball in the otherwise excellent Platinum cartridge still bugs me quite a bit.
Thank you for the tip of putting 2 drops of ink on the feed..... Excellent. I don't know why I didn't think of that..... LOL. Perfect solution to getting the ink flowing right away after filling the converter with a syringe.......
@@SusanMJB45 ..Yup, Fill converter fully with syringe. Turn converter knob to empty just two drops back into bottle. Then hold the pen with nib up and turn converter knob back to close. Perfect every time. I’m happy you found it helpful.
@@SusanMJB45 ..Just to clarify, after fully filling converter with syringe, plug it back into pen before emptying the two drops. Obviously only then can the feed be moistened with the ink and primed to write instantly. Good luck! 👍
If you're concerned about ink capacity, I do the same as @Sajjad Husain and then take the cartridge out and top it off with ink (using a syringe) since the feed holds a fair amount of ink.
Re: Brian's conflicting desire for more/fewer cartridges. I think what I want is fewer cartridge standards and more cross-compatible cartridge models for those standards
Most of the cartridges I've seen are sealed by plugging or welding the back shut after the ball has been inserted from the back and then filled with ink. I recently discovered that the the Platinum cartridge's nose is a plug, so (in theory) the nose can be pulled out, have the ball reinserted, and the nose plugged back into the body of the cartridge after refilling. I haven't tested the seal yet because I deformed the body while taking the nose out. I am still thinking about how to remove the nose without deforming the body.
Of all the metal balls in cartridges and convertors..the spring agitator is the worst.... Also the rear end of the platinum cartridge tapers a bit.. And if you shake it during cleaning sessions it's gonna get lodged there.. Not the worst thing to happen.. But there's that risk of making an inky mess while shaking to get it unstuck
I’m probably wrong, but I swear the CON-40 ball bearings float down to the cage opening of the converter and clog it shut so no ink flows. I could NOT get ink to flow in my Prera the other day and was convinced it was the feed. But studied the converter and realized the bearings were in the way. Switched to a cartridge and all went fine. Fortunately I have saved cartridges and just reuse them. Rinse and refill using my trusty blunt needle and syringe. Sorted!
I think Brian didn't get Drew's question: when filled with ink and with little agitator spheres in the converter, how do you make sure, while writing that the sphere doesn't land on the opening of the converter in in such a way that it blocks the ink flow?
Pilot did a lot of research and designed Con-40.. They expect the users also to do a similar research to know how to fill it ! I tried filling mine using your method from that TH-cam video, but eventually gave up, so my Vanishing Point is always on Cartridge !
Interesting. I've seen this happen with some of my pens. I've had to shake it up a little hard to get the ink to flow down cus it was stuck on top. It's easier to see it happen with the more see-through pens like my Kakuno and Twsbi's.
Favorite pen is a cheap Pilot varsity. It never leaks, and always writes. Unlike my vintage kaweco sport fountain pen that keeps on leaking, and the piston stopped working.
The converter is plastic, and the viscosity of the ink is sticking it to the plastic. So ink is not folowing smoothly. The metal ball is moving from to to bottom ( when use the pen for writing) it initiates the ink to flow to hte feed. May be that is the reason they have metal balls inside the con-40. ( May be pilot taking a pilot project on the success of the model will be introduced to other models too)
I guess the question is, not why the con40 has balls to break up the ink, but why so many? Couldn't just one suffice? Because some cartridges (international long, platinum) have 1 ball in there, and that's usually enough
I hate the con40, getting a full fill is almost impossible and it's tiny to begin with. It's so finicky and just annoying. Also cleaning it is impossible because it's not meant to be disassembled.
crazy to see all these people complain and hate these converters so fervently they won't buy pilot products... I have a vp that i've never had an issue with with these con style converters and none of them have ever clogged or had issue. Think it's user error lmfao
A plastic ball may indeed float to the top of the ink. That means when the pen is nib-up, the ink will be in the 'wrong end' of the reservoir with the ball floating on top, but when the pen is then inverted for writing, the ball will float to the top of the ink which means that it will necessarily break through the surface tension and release the ink to flow down toward the nib. I think the reason that the ball doesn't block the flow into the section is that the nipple on the back of the section extends very slightly past the inside of the cartridge/reservoir. Therefore, when the pen is nib-down for writing, the ball will either float on top of the ink (if its plastic), or it will drop to the bottom of the reservoir and sit to one side of the nipple.
I had no idea y’all were a southern Virginia based company. For some reason I never looked at where it shipped from and y’all are an hour away. Do you have a store front?
@@SusanMJB45 well still cool that I can get my stuff in 1 day haha. Been ordering from them since late 2016 and never thought to look. I’m sure it’s fast for you as well
I use a Vanishing Point with a Con-40 converter daily and it writes immediately and flawlessly every time. It's one of the least finicky pens that I own.
All converters suck; but every Pilot converter sucks in its own way. I used a converter in a 1964ish Pilot Capless. I ended up selling all my capless/vanishing points because of the converters.
I’ll disagree about converters. But I dislike cartridges and use them only when there’s no choice for some reason. But why get rid off your Pilot VP pens just because of the Con-40. Did you not consider using the cartridge instead? Or do you loathe them too?
Getting rid of the pens is like throwing the baby out with the bath water, yes? I prefer converters to cartridges because of a perceived ink flow improvement;may be psychological on my part. But I can see why some do not prefer converters;it's an extra step.
@@McAmeron089III .I’ve always preferred converters to cartridges. Some converters are occasionally annoying with flow issues of their own. But in my experience, they are overwhelmingly convenient, practical and work perfectly to purpose. And yes, getting rid of the pens just because of their proprietary converters that you happen to dislike is just too drastic and frankly, utterly sad, in my eyes. The Pilot VP is nothing to sneeze at. And to be ditched just for the converter is a bit tragic.
@@sajjadhusain4146 I hadn't used them for a while and was looking for pens with greater ink capacity. Ended up getting a Pilot Custom 823 with part of the funds.
@@blatherama Oh, that explains it. Why keep them if you don’t love them or use them much at all. Better to sell and buy something that you fancy far more. Which you did. The PC 823 is a magnificent pen with ample ink capacity. Good for you! 🙂
The con-40 is garbage. Its the single worst thing about the fountain pen hobby. I hate it so much, it actually makes me not buy pilot pens that only take that converter.
That converter put me off using my Pilot pens. The limited capacity and an annoyingly low fill in conjunction with this is awful. I didn't want to take my Diplomat Aeros to work but I ended up doing so until I got a Kaweco Sport and Student. Both of those are much better and even the Sport with its tiny cartridge lasts 2 days of work when using a Fine nib.
@@illegalopinions4082 What's also sucks is the con-70 isn't much better. Its hard to clean and you can't really prime feeds if you haven't used the pen in awhile. Then the only other Pilot option is the sack converter. What is this 1920?
Love Pilot pens....... so I speak from that perspective. IMHO, it is far easier to fill ANY converter.... not just Pilot's..... with a syringe. And that's how I fill all of my converters. Thanks to Brian (in an old video) for that technique !!!! I like the capacity of the CON-40...... so just fill it with a syringe and you're good to go 🙂 Brian - excellent explanation... thank you !!
Seconded! I do the same. Mainly because I’ve always somewhat disliked dipping nib and feed into bottle and staining with ink while filling. Especially with certain pens of mine.
Ditto. I love that because the mouth of the Pilot converter is wide (cartridges too) I can refill them with a pipette for better drop control. 😏
@@MarshaLove0723 .Same with Sailor cartridges & converters. Wide opening and so convenient every time. I have no complaints with any of these converters. I use them all the time.
I think I have about a dozen pilots... All syringe filled... Mainly to protect the ink bottles from contamination
I’ve found that craft stores have needle tipped squeeze bottles that also work well. Bonus is that you don’t have to fill them very often. And also much easier to carry around with you as well.
Interesting topic. The basic answer is that ink is a liquid, and liquids have a characteristic called surface tension. In order for the ink in a cartridge or converter to flow downward into the section when the nib is pointed down, the weight of the liquid in the reservoir must exceed the surface tension of the liquid - otherwise, the ink will merely hang up at the end of the reservoir. This is especially a problem when the ink in the reservoir is nearing depletion. Adding a ball (agitator) breaks up that surface tension and allows the ink to flow down to the section.
One of the questions that has always intrigued me is how are cartridges manufactured - and specifically, how are they sealed. I can understand how cartridges that include a ball agitator can use the ball as the seal - the cartridge is injection molded with an orifice that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the ball agitator, and then ink is injected through that orifice into the cartridge. Finally, the ball is pressed into the orifice - the plastic (which appears to be HDPE) deforms around the ball, capturing the ball in the orifice where it seals the cartridge. Then, when the cartridge is installed in the pen, the nipple on the back of the section forces the ball further into the cartridge, opening the orifice to allow ink to flow into the section, and releasing the ball to become the agitator.
But then there are Shaeffer cartridges (and perhaps others) that don't have agitators. These appear to be fully sealed, and it appears that installing the cartridge involves actually poking a hole in the plastic end of the cartridge with the nipple at the back of the section. How are they made?
I'm guessing cartridges without agitators are filled like cups and then sealed last.
Modern Sheaffer cartridges (made in Slovenia) now have one dedicated opening end (the original was unidirectional) and now have a plastic agitator ball released when puncturing.
I remember the movie “a bugs life” when they would drink the droplets while holding the droplet in their hands. Surface tension is cool!
It's fun to shake to listen to while your writing and pause and shake the pen in mid-thought. Or at least I think so. Such an awesome ASMR sound, love it.
The CON-40 has caused flow issues with my Vanishing Point . It'll be writing fine for a page or so and then suddenly I start running dry. For a while I thought it was the pen/feed that was the issue and then I tried a Pilot cartridge and had zero flow issues. After the cartridge was empty, I removed the metal cage and agitators from the CON-40 and the Vanishing Point works perfectly. I used a small screwdriver to just poke the cage onto its side and then just pulled it out. Your milage may vary!
I bought a couple Con-40s because I find the Con-70 a royal pain to clean even after disassembling and flushing. There will still be ink trapped inside the top of the converter where the agitator is connected to depressor button. The Con-40 has such limited capacity though.
When I bought two VP pens back in 2016 they both came with Con 50 converters and the pen shop threw in 4 free Con 20 squeeze converters to sweeten up the deal. What I’ve done is have one VP with a Con 50 converter and my other VP with the Con 20 converter. So I’ve got an unused Con 50 and 3 unused Con 20 converters. I don’t think I’ll be using or buying a Con 40 anytime soon and i probably wouldn’t be happy with it because of the low ink capacity. I enjoy using both my Con 50 and Con 20 in each of my VP pens. It seems that my Con 20 converter holds a little bit more ink compared to my Con 50 converter. Probably I’d have a better refill if I filled my Con 50 up with ink using a syringe instead of directly through my pen but I couldn’t be bothered doing it syringe method. So many choices with ink converter options to choose from and I still haven’t even used those extra free ink cartridges yet that they given me.
I used the Pilot VP Capless in Medium nib for a year.
It wrote/writes so well for an impossibly tiny, scrawny looking nib but I found the Con-40 converter annoyingly short of supply everytime, despite hacking it all the way up with a syringe.
It's embarrassing when it happens in front of clients, when all their attention is on the paper.
So I got myself a Pilot Custom 823 in Amber this afternoon.
I'm hoping for longer uninterrupted note taking sessions from now on.
I have two main gripes with the con40. First is the fact that you need special tools and knowledge plus having to add steps to the process to get a complete fill. Looks to me like they needed to do more research to figure that out. If I am giving as much of a benefit of the doubt as I can, then maybe there is some performance reason as to why having a bit of air in the back is preferable/beneficial. It could be that, to get a tight enough fit to create a seal where you could get a complete on modern pens, would have left the opening either too wide or narrow for older pens. I wish they said something about it though because it is really obnoxious, but I could stomach it better if there is a good reason.
The second thing that bothers me about it is that the edge of the metal piece that holds the agitators in place gets stuck with ink which requires an ink syringe to flush it out. I know it is not enough ink to really affect the color you’re using next and that perhaps it is better to make it easier to flush away rather than trying to prevent it and, when it does happen, it is very difficult to flush. I know. But it annoys me every time.
I had some bitter complaints about the con70 before the new version came out, but most of those were addressed in that revision. Even thought the new con70 is still not perfect, I wish there was a similar revision for the con40. Or, failing that, that they made a luxury version of it. The con40 can be used with pens of all ranges so it needs to be cheap. But using it with more expensive pens it really takes away from what is otherwise a luxury experience. Maybe they could be released under the Namiki brand since that’s the luxury brand? I don’t know. I know that I would be willing to pay at least 3 times the price of the current con40 for one that “just works.”
Makes sense! Ink does like to hang out at the end of the pens sometimes when there isn't much ink left! Don't have one but good idea
In fact there is at least one company that promotes this as a feature. (Cross maybe) The back of their cartridges have a slightly narrower section, which they refer to as a reservoir. When you suddenly run out of ink (because you forgot to check recently) you give the pen a tap to dislodge the ink trapped there and you can finish what you were doing before having to change the cartridge.
I love the con40. It is the smoothest twisting converter I have. All the others stick at some point.
That's a good point! - Drew
You’re right about the smoothness of the Con-40. I have and use seven of them. All work perfectly smoothly without a glitch. Though there’s not much distance to travel in it, is there? 😀
I also find Aurora converters to be particularly good. They are rightly slammed for the price ($16-$26). But more strangely sometimes for their supposed dubious build quality. I have had no complaints.
I may be wrong (not for the first time) but I think if you go far enough back you’re dealing with bladders to hold the ink. Converters arrived somewhere in the 1970’s and took over that function by the mid 1980’s.
Might have to invest in this new one for my Namiki VP. I have the original plain tube CON50 that came with mine. Mind you, I have that many Pilot Blue cartridges I had better use them up. 😂
The agitator balls are not the problem. The tiny ink capacity and the aggravation of trying to get it filled are the problems.
I agree with you on ink capability. Why could Pilot make the ink capability larger by making it longer while still be able to fit inside their Explorer, Metropolitan and all their other models. I understand that the longer ones will not fit the VP model so just use their old con 50 in them.
There's a lot of room for improvement regarding this converter in my opinion. But in the end it majes the job I guess... I personally prefer to reuse cartridges.🤷♀️ Thanks for taking the time to try to find an explanation though. 😅🙂
I've resealed refilled cartridges before.
The ball is slightly larger than the opening, so it can't fall out or otherwise get stuck in the mouth.
But with enough force, you can stretch the mouth of the cartridge slightly, which the resulting pressure "locks" the ball in place.
I now usually fill most of my converters with ink using a syringe, then eject 2 drops to wet the feed and I’m good to write with the pen straight away. The Con-40 isn’t great, but it’s just fine with me. I prefer it to a cartridge every time. All my Pilot pens have converters (of whatever model) in them. So do all my Sailor pens with their curiously much maligned proprietary converters
I’m also somebody who seldom changes inks in my pens (regardless of filling system) so I don’t complain much at all about cleaning pens or small ink capacity converters like the Con-40.
The metal ball in the otherwise excellent Platinum cartridge still bugs me quite a bit.
Thank you for the tip of putting 2 drops of ink on the feed..... Excellent. I don't know why I didn't think of that..... LOL. Perfect solution to getting the ink flowing right away after filling the converter with a syringe.......
@@SusanMJB45 ..Yup, Fill converter fully with syringe. Turn converter knob to empty just two drops back into bottle. Then hold the pen with nib up and turn converter knob back to close. Perfect every time. I’m happy you found it helpful.
@@sajjadhusain4146 I did find it helpful !! Thank you. And thanks for the detailed instructions. I'll give it a try on my next fill.....
@@SusanMJB45 ..Just to clarify, after fully filling converter with syringe, plug it back into pen before emptying the two drops. Obviously only then can the feed be moistened with the ink and primed to write instantly. Good luck! 👍
If you're concerned about ink capacity, I do the same as @Sajjad Husain and then take the cartridge out and top it off with ink (using a syringe) since the feed holds a fair amount of ink.
Re: Brian's conflicting desire for more/fewer cartridges.
I think what I want is fewer cartridge standards and more cross-compatible cartridge models for those standards
Most of the cartridges I've seen are sealed by plugging or welding the back shut after the ball has been inserted from the back and then filled with ink.
I recently discovered that the the Platinum cartridge's nose is a plug, so (in theory) the nose can be pulled out, have the ball reinserted, and the nose plugged back into the body of the cartridge after refilling. I haven't tested the seal yet because I deformed the body while taking the nose out. I am still thinking about how to remove the nose without deforming the body.
"A lot of thought when in to their agitators" is a line I think fits in more than just con-40 discussions
Of all the metal balls in cartridges and convertors..the spring agitator is the worst.... Also the rear end of the platinum cartridge tapers a bit.. And if you shake it during cleaning sessions it's gonna get lodged there.. Not the worst thing to happen.. But there's that risk of making an inky mess while shaking to get it unstuck
I’m probably wrong, but I swear the CON-40 ball bearings float down to the cage opening of the converter and clog it shut so no ink flows. I could NOT get ink to flow in my Prera the other day and was convinced it was the feed. But studied the converter and realized the bearings were in the way. Switched to a cartridge and all went fine. Fortunately I have saved cartridges and just reuse them. Rinse and refill using my trusty blunt needle and syringe. Sorted!
I think Brian didn't get Drew's question: when filled with ink and with little agitator spheres in the converter, how do you make sure, while writing that the sphere doesn't land on the opening of the converter in in such a way that it blocks the ink flow?
But then Drew answered the question himself, the post is there. (which knocks the ball to the side)
How can I buy the fountain pens and inks from your website? I live in India. How many days do you take to ship?
Before I learned about ink syringes, I gave up on this converter. I hate it, and it’s a deal breaker for me with pens that use this converter.
Why cannot Pilot which is the best Pen company in the world in my opinion not come up with a large converter that fills up properly.
Pilot did a lot of research and designed Con-40.. They expect the users also to do a similar research to know how to fill it !
I tried filling mine using your method from that TH-cam video, but eventually gave up, so my Vanishing Point is always on Cartridge !
It is going to change around end of 2022 or early 2023 :)
Interesting. I've seen this happen with some of my pens. I've had to shake it up a little hard to get the ink to flow down cus it was stuck on top. It's easier to see it happen with the more see-through pens like my Kakuno and Twsbi's.
Favorite pen is a cheap Pilot varsity. It never leaks, and always writes. Unlike my vintage kaweco sport fountain pen that keeps on leaking, and the piston stopped working.
Same can be said of the Pilot Kakuno;never leaks,always writes;never dries out!. Great cheap pen that takes Con-70.
Missed opportunity for a "pondering the orb" reference!
I just use a cartridge and fill it with a syringe. More capacity and easier to dry. They're converters are really not great
So hard to get the ink out from between the plastic and the metal stopper that keeps the balls in. Takes so much filling and flicking.
Thank you
The converter is plastic, and the viscosity of the ink is sticking it to the plastic. So ink is not folowing smoothly. The metal ball is moving from to to bottom ( when use the pen for writing) it initiates the ink to flow to hte feed. May be that is the reason they have metal balls inside the con-40. ( May be pilot taking a pilot project on the success of the model will be introduced to other models too)
I guess the question is, not why the con40 has balls to break up the ink, but why so many? Couldn't just one suffice?
Because some cartridges (international long, platinum) have 1 ball in there, and that's usually enough
Parker Pens have also produced converters with a single ball.
I hate the con40, getting a full fill is almost impossible and it's tiny to begin with. It's so finicky and just annoying. Also cleaning it is impossible because it's not meant to be disassembled.
crazy to see all these people complain and hate these converters so fervently they won't buy pilot products... I have a vp that i've never had an issue with with these con style converters and none of them have ever clogged or had issue. Think it's user error lmfao
Would the plastic ball (as opposed to metal) in the cartridge float to the top of the ink? Therefore not plugging up the hole?
A plastic ball may indeed float to the top of the ink. That means when the pen is nib-up, the ink will be in the 'wrong end' of the reservoir with the ball floating on top, but when the pen is then inverted for writing, the ball will float to the top of the ink which means that it will necessarily break through the surface tension and release the ink to flow down toward the nib.
I think the reason that the ball doesn't block the flow into the section is that the nipple on the back of the section extends very slightly past the inside of the cartridge/reservoir. Therefore, when the pen is nib-down for writing, the ball will either float on top of the ink (if its plastic), or it will drop to the bottom of the reservoir and sit to one side of the nipple.
@@monophoto1 It astounds me how fascinating fountain pen science can be! 😄
I think the con in con-whatever is an abbreviation of confusing!
I had no idea y’all were a southern Virginia based company. For some reason I never looked at where it shipped from and y’all are an hour away. Do you have a store front?
I'm in central NC...... so fairly close also. Unfortunately, they are online only. No store front for us to visit.... sigh...
@@SusanMJB45 well still cool that I can get my stuff in 1 day haha. Been ordering from them since late 2016 and never thought to look. I’m sure it’s fast for you as well
@@JackLambert180 Yes.... I usually get my order in 2 days !!!
TIL that the converter in my Pilot Cocoon (Metropolitan) isn't a CON-40! It doesn't have the balls, but the annular agitator.
Puts me off getting a Vanishing Point. But can’t you just use a CON-B with that?
I use a Vanishing Point with a Con-40 converter daily and it writes immediately and flawlessly every time. It's one of the least finicky pens that I own.
torp edo mon key 👨🍳's 😘
Thinking in Drewish.
All converters suck; but every Pilot converter sucks in its own way. I used a converter in a 1964ish Pilot Capless. I ended up selling all my capless/vanishing points because of the converters.
I’ll disagree about converters. But I dislike cartridges and use them only when there’s no choice for some reason.
But why get rid off your Pilot VP pens just because of the Con-40. Did you not consider using the cartridge instead? Or do you loathe them too?
Getting rid of the pens is like throwing the baby out with the bath water, yes?
I prefer converters to cartridges because of a perceived ink flow improvement;may be psychological on my part.
But I can see why some do not prefer converters;it's an extra step.
@@McAmeron089III .I’ve always preferred converters to cartridges. Some converters are occasionally annoying with flow issues of their own. But in my experience, they are overwhelmingly convenient, practical and work perfectly to purpose.
And yes, getting rid of the pens just because of their proprietary converters that you happen to dislike is just too drastic and frankly, utterly sad, in my eyes. The Pilot VP is nothing to sneeze at. And to be ditched just for the converter is a bit tragic.
@@sajjadhusain4146 I hadn't used them for a while and was looking for pens with greater ink capacity. Ended up getting a Pilot Custom 823 with part of the funds.
@@blatherama Oh, that explains it. Why keep them if you don’t love them or use them much at all. Better to sell and buy something that you fancy far more. Which you did. The PC 823 is a magnificent pen with ample ink capacity. Good for you! 🙂
The con-40 is garbage. Its the single worst thing about the fountain pen hobby. I hate it so much, it actually makes me not buy pilot pens that only take that converter.
That converter put me off using my Pilot pens. The limited capacity and an annoyingly low fill in conjunction with this is awful. I didn't want to take my Diplomat Aeros to work but I ended up doing so until I got a Kaweco Sport and Student. Both of those are much better and even the Sport with its tiny cartridge lasts 2 days of work when using a Fine nib.
@@illegalopinions4082 What's also sucks is the con-70 isn't much better. Its hard to clean and you can't really prime feeds if you haven't used the pen in awhile. Then the only other Pilot option is the sack converter. What is this 1920?