a standard ink cartridge - a new twist

there is an age old question, how can i refill my standard ink cartridge and reseal it back just it like came out of the factory?

over the years, a couple of solutions appeared, from super glue, to hot glue, blue tack, plasticine, scotch tape or plainly, forget it.

in comes the most unforseenable hero, one which i had by purely only grace and mercy from the LORD that i could have observed, the daiso ink cartridge.

granted, the daiso pen is famous enough. it cheap, it is smooth, it is good and it looks like and is a fountain pen. but every one though very lightly of the cartridge. even me.

however, this cartridge could be one of the few rare cartridges that can be totally dismantled and assembled back again. this means, you can take the ball out, seal it from the inside, add ink and seal the back again. all without any external aids to keep them in place.

this is getting naggy, so just according to the number for the instructions to do so. and enjoy! :)

 1) ah, the famous daiso pen...



2) but did you realise that the cartridge is even more fascinating? on your left is the standard boring cartridge, on your right, the daiso cartridge. notice anything different?
 

3) now do you observe something? no?
 

4) how about this....
 

5) this cannot be any more clearer....
 

6) now, to fully dismantle the cartridge, this tool is very important. just insert and push.
 

7) or, a pen knife will also do the trick by inserting it in from the rear break lines and push. but i don't really like this method.
 

8) to assemble, put the ball in again, and push it in until you feel a click. that click is important, it means it is seal. pour your ink into the rear, then cap it back. 1 new cartridge reporting for duty. with your choice of ink. how about putting stormy grey into it? 
 
9) now, the special tool in question, it comes from a standard staple. see the part that supports the string ? the metal rod came from there.

So, what can you do with this? How about filling it with your favourite jherbin ink, carry it on airplane and fly around the world without a care for bottles or leakages or even losing the cartridge?

 Or keep your ink samples as such? :)


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(update : 29/Jul/17)

daiso has changed their fountain pen and their ink cartridge, and it is with a heavy heart that i announce that the sealing is no longer possible. it can still be disassemble, but the ball can no longer keep the ink behind when you seal it from the back. in theory, you can still seal it from the front, but that leakage also means that any shaking can force the ink out from the front again.

to differentiate, look at the length of the neck. the longer one is the new version which cannot seal.

       

pilot petit1 - RM (Real Mode) Version 1.0

Converted the SD (super deformed) version of petit1 to a full fountain pen. able to take a converter and is a full demostrator(or clear version). Of course she comes with a character and is represented in pink. ;)

Simplist - the papermate, zebra fountain pen hybrid

Simplist - the family

 Simplist 1.0 - the beginning

Finally, after 2 years of research, searching high and low for the right items, and a lot of praying, i manage to get this hybrid out! :) :) :)

So, first the story. i love this ballpoint pen. initially designed by papermate called flexigrip, it is no longer in production. I finally found zebra started making it again. why is it good? first, full body rubber grip and it is a light pen. most importantly, the rubber grip do not disintegrate with time and turn sticky. it is slim too. this is a good body pen.

But it is a ballpoint pen. i wanted a fountain pen. Not a dip pen, but a fountain pen. People look at me in disbelief. Marrying a ballpoint pen to a fountain pen? Whoever did that perfectly before?

Having heard that, the question that I asked myself was, why not? I am not forcing nature to change, i am looking for the perfect match. that is nature.



and the perfect match finally came. parker classic. that nib fit perfectly into the pen. no leakages, feeds well. and the nib is smooth.



With a little bit of engineering included, i finally got the 2 to agree to get together. perfect couple i say.


What i have is the best of both worlds: perfect body, perfect nib. perfect weight. being an Eyedropper mode, it's capacity is huge too. It's simple design, like a muji fountain pen but without the rough surface, is why i just call it simplist. short and sweet.

So presently the pen besides a lamy to allow easy comparison for size, and its original ballpoint pen body.


a vintage nib in a somewhat vintage pen body (design) = a vintage pen? :)

  

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Simplist 2.0

with the previous knowledge and experiences, i have managed to created yet another version, now with a kakuno F nib!

With this, it means i can now fit the EF nib from penmanship and a CM nib from prera.

this just gets better and better. :)

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Simplist 3.0

First, parker, then pilot, and now, platinum. got a preppy nib,

 

 made a modification, and into the ballpoint body it goes. in case any one is wondering, all of them are eyedropper mode and the nibs are screwed in.

what next ? :) ( i still need to find a flex nib ><)

Got them a box and taken a family photo...

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 Simplist 3.5

This was a test since it did look nice with the pen body and the nib together. but the original body was protesting. The nib is from sailor.

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Simplist 4.0 - the first gold nib.

Simplist 4.0 now uses a 14K gold nib. Taken from Pilot celemo, this nib works perfectly well with this body. It is also the first gold nib for the Simplist family.

 

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Simplist 5.0

Daiso's platinum rivere has a bad reputation of having scratchy nib, lousy feed which draws no inks and a flimsy body. well, that body is really flimsy, but that nib and feed is actually well-made. just that it is not suited for the body. so, to give rivere a new life, i had plug it into the ballpoint pen (again!) and make it worth its price (of $2) again. if anyone is thinking it is a dip pen, nope, the feed is together with the nib as shown. it is a fountain pen.

It writes smooth and doesn't skips. the thin body made of full rubber makes the grip as good as the rest of its family. and the nib is easily replaceable for $2. that had happened when....wait, it hasn't happened before. :p

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 Simplist 6.0

 Finally, I found a willing black nib, from online germany switch plus. 

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Simplist 7.0

version 7 comes with a two toned nib from a daiso fountain pen which is of course modified by me (again!).

 

This isn't stopping. What else is coming?

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