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There are
many different filling mechanisms for fountain pens and in fact the
development of new fillers was a subject of great competition between
manufacturers, particularly in the '30s and '40s. I have covered the
most common ones below and I will add to this page as others occur to
me.
| Lever
fillers |
With a lever filler, opening the lever
completely compresses the ink sac, by means of a flat pressure bar
operated by the end of the lever. To fill you simply open the lever
fully, immerse the nib in ink and then close the lever. You need to
wait several seconds to allow the ink to be drawn up. Now lift the
pen out, shake any surplus ink off gently and wipe the nib with a
tissue. Done! It is not necessary to operate the lever more
than once. |
| Button
fillers |
The button filler has a small button
(brass or aluminium or occasionally plastic) on the end of the barrel
under a small "blind cap". Pressing the button compresses
the ink sac via a sprung pressure bar. Filling is the same as for a
lever filler. To fill you simply press
the button fully, immerse the nib in ink and then release the
button. You need to wait several seconds to allow the ink to be
drawn up. Now lift the pen out, shake any surplus ink off gently and
wipe the nib with a tissue. Done! It is not necessary to
operate the button more than once. |
| Aerometric
fillers |
These are fitted to most of the 1950s
Parker models. To fill you unscrew the barrel, dip the nib in ink
then press the pressure bar fully with your thumb or thumb nail.
Release the pressure bar and wait for the ink to be drawn in. The
aerometric filler has a type of pump action, so it is necessary to repeat
this about 5 times, or until pressing the bar stops producing air bubbles
in the ink bottle. Finally, gently shake off surplus and clean the
nib with a tissue. |
| Parker
Vacumatic (lock-down) |
The lock-down filler was the first of the
vacumatic types. A small blind cap covers a metal plunger, with a
brass top. A small twist to the left will release the plunger, which
springs up about 2 cm. Immerse the nib in ink and press the plunger
fully, wait a couple of seconds and release. Repeat about 10 times
(yes, 10!), pausing for a second or two at the top and bottom of each
stroke. Finish with the down stroke and twist the plunger to lock
it. Gently shake off surplus and clean the nib with a tissue.
Replace the blind cap. |
| Parker
Vacumatic (plastic) |
The later "speedline" vacumatic
has a plastic plunger under a much bigger blind cap and it no longer locks
down. To fill, remove the blind cap, immerse the nib in ink and pump
the plunger about 10 times, pausing for a second or two at the top and
bottom of each stroke. Remember to finish on a DOWN stroke, lift the
pen out of the ink and then release the plunger. If you release the
plunger first, the pen may tend to flood until the excess ink has
cleared. Finally, clean the nib off with a tissue. Phew! - not
the simplest one to fill! |
| Sheaffer
Touchdown |
The Touchdown pens are unique in that the
ink sac is compressed by air pressure. To fill, unscrew the knob on
the end of the barrel and pull out the filler tube - it comes out about 5
cm. Immerse the nib in ink and push the filler tube back down again
fairly quickly. Air pressure compresses the sac and then leaks away
to allow it to re-expand. Wait a few seconds for the ink to be drawn
in. Screw the knob back, then lift the pen out of the ink and clean
the nib off with a tissue. Done. |
| Sheaffer
Snorkel |
The Snorkel filler is a further
development on the touchdown but is different in that it is a "clean
filling" pen. To fill, unscrew the knob on the end of the
barrel, keeping slight downward pressure - you will notice the snorkel
tube being extended from under the nib. When the snorkel tube is
fully extended, you will feel a "clicking" as you turn the knob,
indicating that you can now pull out the filler tube as on the touchdown -
it comes out about 5 cm. Dip the snorkel tube in ink and push the
filler tube back down again fairly quickly. Air pressure compresses
the sac and then leaks away to allow it to re-expand. Wait a few
seconds for the ink to be drawn in. Screw the knob back with slight
downward pressure and the snorkel tube will be retracted, then lift the
pen out of the ink and clean the nib off with a tissue. Done. |
| Swan
Leverless |
This is another way to compress a rubber
ink sac. There is a small knob on the end of the barrel, which turns
a wedge-shaped metal bar inside the barrel. As you rotate this bar,
it twists the rubber ink sac round, compressing it. To fill, immerse
the nib in ink, twist the knob to the left, then return to to its closed
position. Wait a few seconds for the ink to be drawn in. Lift
the pen out of the ink, gently shake off the surplus drops and clean the
nib with a tissue. |
| "Vacuum"
Piston Fillers |
Examples include 1940s Sheaffer models and
many Onoto pens. The piston mechanism varies, but all fill on the
DOWN stroke by causing a slight vacuum behind the piston, which is
released at the bottom of the stroke, causing ink to be sucked up.
To fill, immerse the nib in ink, pull the piston rod out to its fullest
extent, then push it down again and wait a few seconds for the ink to be
drawn in. Note that most fillers lock down by screwing in a couple
of turns. As usual, shake off surplus ink and clean the nib with a
tissue. |
| Twist
piston fillers |
Examples include Pelikan, Mont Blanc and
other German pens among others. Unscrewing a knob on the end of the
pen pushes a piston down the pen barrel. Screwing the knob down
again pulls the piston up. To fill, immerse the nib in ink, unscrew
the knob fully, then screw it down again fully. This will fill the
barrel. Now lift the pen out of the ink, shake off surplus ink and
clean the nib with a tissue. |
| CC Fillers |
Cartridge / Converter fillers are more or
less universal these days and many people are content to use ink
cartridges, which simply push in. If you are using the converter,
there are several types. The twist-action type and the slide-action
type are just like the twist piston fillers in that a piston travels up
and down the converter to fill it with ink. The pressure-bar type is
like an aerometric filler (see above) and some Sheaffer converters have a
button like a button filler (see above). |
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