As I look thru my collection of vintage fountain pens I see a variety of different filling mechanisms. There are plenty of sources of information on filling mechanisms and I thought it would be more fun to describe some pens and their associated filling mechanisms. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a sampling. (In all cases be sure to gently wipe the nib with a soft cloth or tissue after filling.)
Parker Duofold – this pen has a button fill. To fill, remove the blind cap, place the nib and half the section into the ink. Press the button, release and wait about 5 seconds. Remove the pen from the ink and replace the blind cap. Very simple and straight forward.
Sheaffer Defender 500 – this pen has a lever fill. Lift the lever until it stops, place the nib and half the section into the ink. Release the lever slowly and wait about 5 seconds. Remove the pen from the ink. The lever fill was one of the more common filling mechanisms and is found a on a variety of vintage fountain pens.
Parker Vacumatic and Parker 51 Vacumatic – these pens have vacumatic fill mechanism. Remove the blind cap, place the nib and half the section into the ink. Press the button 8-10 times pausing about a second between each press of the button. Remove the pen from the ink and replace the blind cap. Once again, very simple and straight forward.
Parker 51 Aerometric – these pens have an aerometric fill mechanism. Remove the barrel from where it screws on to the section and place the nib and half of the section into the ink. Press the bar 4-6 times pausing about a second between each press of the bar. Remove the pen from the ink and replace the barrel.
Sheaffer Touchdown and Vacumatic – in both cases unscrew the blind cap and pull the plunger out. Place the nib and half the section into the ink, then push the blind cap and plunger down. Leave the nib in the ink for about 5 seconds then tighten the blind cap. Remove the pen from the ink. The Touchdown has a fairly wide plunger whereas the vacumatic has a narrow plunger. Also, I have noticed that the Sheaffer Vacumatics offer a fair amount of resistance when you push down on the blind cap and that is normal.
Sheaffer Snorkel – this is one of the more interesting ones! Unscrew the blind cap and pull out the plunger. This causes the filler tube to extend out of the feed. Dip only the filler tube into the ink, push the blind cap and plunger down, wait about 5 seconds and then tighten the blind cap. When you tighten the blind cap the filler tube should go back into the feed.
Montblanc Monte Rosa – this pen has a piston filler mechanism. Turn the knob at the end of the barrel clockwise until it stops. Place the nib and half the section into the ink. Turn the knob counterclockwise until it stops. Remove the pen from the ink.
Happy collecting!
Parker Duofold – this pen has a button fill. To fill, remove the blind cap, place the nib and half the section into the ink. Press the button, release and wait about 5 seconds. Remove the pen from the ink and replace the blind cap. Very simple and straight forward.
Sheaffer Defender 500 – this pen has a lever fill. Lift the lever until it stops, place the nib and half the section into the ink. Release the lever slowly and wait about 5 seconds. Remove the pen from the ink. The lever fill was one of the more common filling mechanisms and is found a on a variety of vintage fountain pens.
Parker Vacumatic and Parker 51 Vacumatic – these pens have vacumatic fill mechanism. Remove the blind cap, place the nib and half the section into the ink. Press the button 8-10 times pausing about a second between each press of the button. Remove the pen from the ink and replace the blind cap. Once again, very simple and straight forward.
Parker 51 Aerometric – these pens have an aerometric fill mechanism. Remove the barrel from where it screws on to the section and place the nib and half of the section into the ink. Press the bar 4-6 times pausing about a second between each press of the bar. Remove the pen from the ink and replace the barrel.
Sheaffer Touchdown and Vacumatic – in both cases unscrew the blind cap and pull the plunger out. Place the nib and half the section into the ink, then push the blind cap and plunger down. Leave the nib in the ink for about 5 seconds then tighten the blind cap. Remove the pen from the ink. The Touchdown has a fairly wide plunger whereas the vacumatic has a narrow plunger. Also, I have noticed that the Sheaffer Vacumatics offer a fair amount of resistance when you push down on the blind cap and that is normal.
Sheaffer Snorkel – this is one of the more interesting ones! Unscrew the blind cap and pull out the plunger. This causes the filler tube to extend out of the feed. Dip only the filler tube into the ink, push the blind cap and plunger down, wait about 5 seconds and then tighten the blind cap. When you tighten the blind cap the filler tube should go back into the feed.
Montblanc Monte Rosa – this pen has a piston filler mechanism. Turn the knob at the end of the barrel clockwise until it stops. Place the nib and half the section into the ink. Turn the knob counterclockwise until it stops. Remove the pen from the ink.
Happy collecting!
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