16 March 2011

Pilot Converters

NOTE added on February 2017: A newer, updated review of the Pilot's cartridges and converters can be found on the Chronicle Pilot Cartridges and Converters 2017.


Pilot is the only big pen company in Japan supporting the use of its old products. Pilot, I already said on these chronicles, still manufactures the CON-W converter to use pens from the early 1960s —those with “double spare” cartridges— despite the fact this system was short lived.

This Pilot pen needs the CON-W converter.

Pilot also produces the small squeezer converter –CON-20— to fit in all of its wide range of pocket pens. This, we have already seen, is not the case of Platinum or Sailor.

From left to right: CON-20, CON-50, CON-70, and CON-W.

And finally, two other converters are available for pens with longer or wider barrels—the small piston CON-50, and the very unique CON-70.

A cartridge for a Petit-1 pen, and the regular Pilot cartridge.

These are the capacities, as measured by myself, of these converters and of the regular cartridge.

Capacities and prices (in JPY, sale tax not included) of Pilot converters and of the current cartridges. The small cartridge can be used in any Pilot cartrdige/converter pen, but the regular cartridge cannot be used in the Petit-1 line of pens.

(Katoseisakusho 800F – Sailor “Hiroko’s green”)

Bruno Taut
March 13, 2011
[labels: Pilot, conversor]

8 comments:

Peninkcillin said...

Thanks for the great chart. It looks like using the regular cartridge is a very valid proposition, what with its great capacity.

Anonymous said...

It doesnt seem like you have identified the first pen on the post huh... only that it's made in the 1960s

Bruno Taut said...

Thanks for passing by and commenting, Algester. However, I do not claim I was identifying anything other than the converters on this post.

Cheers,

BT

Anonymous said...

if you can identify it it may help this thread http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/273731-which-pilots-are-these/#entry3113565
but I have still to wait and see if the vintage expert will come hahaha

jeff pearson said...

Hi Bruno - I'm presently running a thread on FPN about my new Pilot Heritage 91 which is massively over wet for an SF nib (it's the 14k number 5). I'm getting a European MF line of very thick ink.
I've checked the tines through a loupe and they appear aligned.
I've toothbrushed the feed (the feed seems to have quite a broad channel compared to my Pilot 78 f nibs), and reset the nib (which unlike other images, has a punched out circular hole between the lower part of the scrollwork and the notch at the base of the nib. Is that normal? I've checked lots of 14k sf nib images on the web and they all seem a solid unit below the engraving.
Also (and the reason for finding your thread), this is the first time I've come across a con 70 converter (my others are con 20's).Is it usual for it to foam the ink like crazy, no matter how carefully I try to fill it?
Hope you can help!
Jeff P
Sheffield, England.

jeff pearson said...

Sorry Bruno, I should have mentioned that I'm using Pilot Syo Ro ink on a 120gsm NU notebook. Also the nib is far 'rougher' than any of my Pilot 78's which all write dry (I like that about them).

Bruno Taut said...

Jeff Pearson,

Sorry for the delay in replying to you. Busy days those of Xmas.

It is hard to come with a solution for your excess of flow on your pen without looking at it directly. You could try a number of things--from pushing the tines together to putting a thin nylon thread in the ink channel of the feed... You could also play with the inner core of the feed (it can be removed by pushing it from the front back). Changing its position with respect to the feed changes the flow a bit (do not expect huge changes, though).

You could also try to send it back to Pilot.

The big hole in the hidden area of the nib is a new trend of Pilot's to reduce the amount of gold on it. New nibs are like that.

There are a number of people complaining about foaming ink when using a CON-70 converter. Rhythm is everything when using that converter--not too fast, not too slow. Slower better than faster, in my experience. But you might also consider it is a faulty unit... I should also add I have not used those converters in a long while.

For what is worth, I love those soft nibs by Pilot.

Cheers,

BT

Bruno Taut said...

Sorry, Algester, but I do not write on FPN anymore.

http://estilofilos.blogspot.jp/2013/06/fora-ii-changes.html

BT

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