pilot con-40 full assembly and disassembly

 So we have a con-40 here. There's ink behind the piston, and you want to remove it. a complete disassembly is in place, but how?

Here's the end result you want:

Of course, this is the other end result you want too: 

 Components:

i'm just going to define these components so that it is easier to guide later. 

the ball gate

 the 4 balls:

the piston:

the c-clip:

the metal ring:

the converter body:

the twist component:

Dis-assembly:

usually people start with dis-assembly, but since dis-assembly is an exploratory and classified as a destructive process, i rather do a detailed assembly process. Thus, please reverse the sets from the assembly to dis-assemble the converter.

of course, there is a minor insignificant reason that i did not document this process and is too lazy to do so. I will just insert foot note to take care of during dis-assembly. :p

Assembly:

you insert that piston from this direction: 

[Dis-assembly: push the piston out from the front. it is not to be extracted from the back.]

then you insert that c-clip in. note those groove inside the converter body and align the clip's groove accordingly:

[Dis-assembly:Nothing it dis-assemble here....move on...] 

then, use the twist component and push the c-clip in. make sure the c-clip goes straight to the end.
[Dis-assembly: remove the twist component, swing the piston left and right and pull a little. the c-clip will slow move up and out of the converter body.]

then, push the twist component in. you should hear a click. it means the groove has gone into the drain.
[Dis-assembly: note that the twist component is turning on the drains on the converter body. the converter body holds onto the twist component like jaws, upper and lower portion. to remove the twist component, gently bend towards the upper jaw and pull a little so as to dislocate the twist component out of the lower jaw drain, then do the same for the lower jaw. be careful as the converter body is plastic, no big movement, just gentle nudge. the bend is to be just enough to clear the drain.] 

next, put on that metal ring. just push it in and you should hear another click.
[Dis-assembly: get a grippy material, hold onto the metal ring, turn it. then pull] 

lastly, put those 4 metal balls in, and insert that ball gate.
[Dis-assembly: get a 2 legs pincher, leg in the 2 holes, turn, clamp and take out.]

Done!

Delike brass version

This is a long delayed ink up, in my defense i had to deplete some other pens first.

anyway, the nib is very smooth considering it is EF, and while it is EF, it writes as thick as a ECO EF. no skipping and hard starts, unlike kaweco in some cases. and it is full brass. seriously a murder weapon if executed properly.

Con-40 partial disassembly.

To those who hated that con40's stupid design of gate and the rattling ball bearing like me, u can remove them. Yes you can. And use it like a con50. Clean it easily like a con50. If ink gets behind the converter, do know that there is a hole behind and that allows you to flush water in to clean it.

to remove the metal gate : get a pincer, 2 legs in. turn, wiggle, and it's loose.
 

派利003 compared to prera. size difference, body not interchangeable. Personally Prera is still better in terms of the feel, as the length is just right. oh, 003 is back heavy when posted, unlike prera which is still balanced. however, the talk of the town. however, 003 may be preferred for those with bigger hands.

body built is quite steady, plastic is quite thick and not weak. smoothness well, you can swap with a pilot pen, or some tuning is required. not too much.

recommended to buy but please get a prera as well. FYI i have gotten the full set of clear prera a long time ago.

 

 

The "wicked" system

My usual style is to release version 1 once version 3 is made and stabilized, so here goes...version 1.

Personally, i do not consider a fountain pen that uses a wick in its feed to be a fountain pen, because, well, that is cheating. and for a long time i refused to look at its merits.

until now (or then since i'm already on version 3).

so, if a wick can work, why then shouldn't we extend the wick to be....the reservoir too?

why not?

why yes? well there are these advantages:
1) a full wick system means there is no air in the reservoir, which means no sudden air expansion which causes leak.
2) with no reservoir, there is no chance of ink leaks as the ink is held in the wick.
3) the ink flow is very controlled. seriously, it's writing dry, not like the usual wick feed which are usually wet
4) the wick reservoir looks nice
5) it is easily refillable
6) it is easily washable (the wick, that is). i think. i mean, easy is relative.

materials are simple:
1) a wick FP. the daiso pen, the pilot petit1, the zebra pen or any pen you see with a white thing in the middle, that is a wick pen.
2) a highlighter pen that does not use ink, but a sponge inside. remove that, wash it clean till it is white, and you are good to go.
 
anyway, here goes. the first full wick pen. For the lack of a better name, i call this the "wicked system"

Pilot VPens waterproof test

it's something that is bugging me for a long time, is the pilot VPens' ink waterproof? i mean, the ink do have nice color. i wanted to use them for daily work use....

too bad, the test turned out as such....

 

 

Sheaffer converter

For those who are interested in a full breakdown of a sheaffer converter. I had to do this to repair the faulty converter.