The Pilot Varsity Fountain Pen – One of the very first fountain pens I owned. Well actually given to me. While I was attending a business expo one of the dealers there were giving these away. I found mine while cleaning out my neat pens I have collected over the years. I loved working and writing with this pen. First because it was a fountain pen, Second because it was free. When it ran out I didn’t throw it away I kept in in my box of pens I really liked and saved. Well I did a google search and found in the ALT.COLLECTING.PENS-PENCILS group an old post about how to refill them.
Here is a copy of the original post:
Someone recently asked about refilling a disposable Pilot Varsity
fountain pen. I had a blue one that went dry a couple of weeks ago so
I took it apart this weekend.
The end cap is just a color indicator and a barrel plug. When removed
you can look half way down the barrel and see the top of the ink
chamber. Half of the barrel is nothing but dead space. No way to
fill from that end. I popped the cap back on and began working on the
nib end.
With a pair of needlenose pliers I twisted the nib assembly and pulled
it out with a bit of force. It came out with a “plop” like a stopper
from a bottle. And that is just what it is, a ribbed stopper with a
stainless steel nib attached. After adding a shot of Quink blue, I
reinserted the nib section. It took a little force, but went back in
and seated well. It works!!! In fact it works so well I wish I had
filled the ink reservoir instead of adding only 1cc of ink. My guess
it will hold about 2cc.
I wasn’t very careful and the pliers left marks on the plastic under
the nib. With the amount of force necessary to remove the nib
assembly there may be no way to get it out without marring it. This
did not effect the nib or its writing quality. I’m amazed how well
these pens write. For a disposable they are great.
Shame on Pilot for only filling the barrel half full of ink. Other
than a marketing scheme (read greed), there is no physical reason they
could not have made the entire barrel an ink chamber. At a retail
price of $4.50 per 60cc bottle of Sheaffer ink, another 2cc of ink
would add only 1.5 cents to the total cost. More like 0.25 cents for
Pilot. Certainly a pretty small incremental cost for a retail $2.95
pen. The pen is well constructed and it’s a shame that it is not
readily refillable.
–Ben
If you would like to purchase one of these pens I found them on Amazon. Here is a link to look at them or even purchase one or two.
Tags: analog, Fountain, fountain pen, Free, Hacks, Journal, Pen, Hack
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