20 February 2017

Pilot Cartridges and Converters 2017

The Chronicle on Pilot converters and cartridges is the single most popular text on this blog. However, there are some misconceptions and some news, and a revision of that old text, from 2011, is in order.

The current situation is as follows: Pilot markets three different converters and two different cartridges. Two of the converters reported in 2011, CON-20 and CON-50, are discontinued.

The three converters on production are named CON-40, CON-70, and CON-W. The number refer to their price in Japan: JPY 400 for the CON-40, and JPY 700 for the CON-70. The CON-W only works on the pens that implemented the "double-spare" cartridge in the 1960s. Nominally, it is only served as a spare part and some retailers demand the “broken” pen to be sent for fixing. However, Maruzen and Itoya at their main shops in Tokyo (at least) sell the CON-W without any problem. Its price is JPY 700.


The new guy in town, the CON-40. It holds about 0.5 ml of ink and costs JPY 400.


All the cartridges and converters covered on this Chronicle. From left to right, CON-70 in steel and in black, CON-50 new and old, CON-40, CON-20, two "single spare" cartridges, two Petit cartridges, CON-W. With the obvious exception of the CON-W, all of them share the same mouth dimensions and, provided they could fit inside the barrel, could be used in any "single spare" cartridge/converter Pilot pen.

As for cartridges, the two types are the regular one, formerly named as “single-spare”, and the cartridge specific for the Pilot Petit pens (::1::, ::2::, ::3::). Single spare cartridges do not fit inside the Petit pen, and the only problem of the Petit cartridges to fit in regular Pilot pens are two small plastic notches at the opening of the cartridges. They can easily be removed with a blade.


Petit cartridge on top. Single spare cartridge on bottom. Note the small notches on the former. They prevent the use of the small cartridges on many Pilot pens that, otherwise, could use them. Removing them is easy with a blade.

The following table summarizes the present situation and includes the data of the recently discontinued converters CON-20 and CON-50.


Prices quoted without taxes. In Japan, the sale tax is, at the moment, 8%.


Pilot Custom Heritage 92 – Gary’s Red Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, February 2017
etiquetas: Pilot, conversor

5 comments:

Saltire Turquoise said...

So long to the CON-50 and the tiresome rattle. Couldn't Pilot have introduced a slightly smaller version of the CON-70? Perhaps just the right size to fit a falcon/elabo?

Bruno Taut said...

What Pilot could do...

The CON-40 also rattles. Inside there are some small balls with the same purpose of the metallic piece of the CON-50.

As about the CON-70 and the Elabo/Falcon, there are two versions of those pens: the metallic and the plastic. The CON-70 fits in the metallic one but not in the plastic unit.

Thanks for passing by and commenting. Cheers,

BT

Anonymous said...

Do you happen to know which converter fits the Myu-25? I've tried mine with a "single spare" cartridge but I think the cartridge opening is too big. Ink kept leaking into the body of the pen.

Also - in your review of the Myu 701 you mentioned that only the CON-20 would fit it. But if the CON-20/40/50 all have the same opening - should they not all fit the Myu 701? (I realize the CON-40 might have not been around yet at the time of your review). I'm using a Myu 701 with the CON-40. So far so good, but I hope I'm not creating a problem?

Thank you for all the detailed posts and information!

d blanc

Bruno Taut said...

d blanc,

Thanks for passing by and commenting. Several things on your text:

1. The converter for the Myu 25, as of today, is the CON-40. You could use the old CON-20 if you found it. And of course you can also use a "single spare" cartridge.

Now, if you felt that the cart opening was too big that might mean that either the nipple is broken or that it might have shrunk. That happens sometimes and there is no easy solution save replacing the nipple. You can also try to heat up the cartridge mouth to shrink it. It might not work, but you only lose a cart. Do it at your own risk.

2. At the time of writing that text, the CON-40 did not exist. And the CON-50 did not fit because the metal ring would not fit inside the body of the Myu.

Using the CON-40 is the right thing to do nowadays. I prefer the CON-20, but those are rare and expensive nowadays.

Cheers,

BT

Anonymous said...

Hi BT,
Thank you for the quick and comprehensive reply!

d blanc

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