Ohto Tasche Fountain Pen - anyone (besides me) use them ?
Submitted by ygor on Mon, 2007-10-29 14:10.
I may have discovered a nifty trick with the ink cartridge.
D*I*Y Planner
the best thing in printing since Gutenberg
Comtemplating...
I'm contemplating getting one before I have my vintage parker repaired. So, I'd be interested in any tricks you have.
Jason
-- Coffee and Books, the pleasures of life
-- http://javajeb.wordpress.com
I've thought about it...
But now you have to share your trick!
I Do
What's the trick?
Look at an empty cartridge
I was washing one out to refill and I noticed a small sphere in it.
I believe the sphere is the plug.
I used a fat paper clip and pushed the rear out of the cartridge, remove the sphere, and replaced the cartridge end.
I believe I can now refill it, replace the sphere as a plug, and *poof* I have a filled cartridge.
I'll post pictures when I actually do this.
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
Little glass ball?
Is this a little glass ball (may be made from plastic these days.) Shaeffer carts have this, too -- it forms the seal and requires a bit of direct force when inserting the cart to dislodge the ball. Once in the cart, I think it helps keep air bubbles down. I've seen references on FPN to people adding recycled balls to problem carts to address this very problem. I haven't done this, though I keep the old carts for refilling (They have a pleasing rattle when shook, much like my head.)
Can you replace the ball without getting ink everywhere? On the Sheaffer's, the "business end" is somewhat flanged, so the only way to get the ball back in would be to open up the opposite side and try to push it back into place with a paperclip from behind (while dripping ink from the refilled cart in the process, if it were up to me.)
Can you replace the ball without getting ink everywhere?
I think so. I made the discovery while washing it out, so mess was minimal. The Tasche cartridges have an "end plate" that popped out easily when pushed with the paper clip. The pictures will help.
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
I think the little sphere
I think the little sphere helps to keep the ink flowing--breaks up the surface tension across the opening of the cart so ink doesn't stop flowing.
To fill a cartridge, all you really need is a syringe. I personally get mine at the dollar store--they used to sell "printer ink refill kits," complete with a blunted syringe for filling (the rest of the kit wasn't worth two cents but the syringes are great). Or you could ask a doctor/vet/diabetic/junkie friend for a donation.
This is probably possible
This is probably possible with a great variety of international-style cartridges, including Waterman, Pelikan, Stypen... I have a bunch in my office drawer, some of no-name brands, and they all seem to have the "sphere" and the potentially removable-end.
I'm not sure why you cannot just refill them with a syringe, though. ??
Sealing it off
I think the key part of ygor's post is replace the sphere as a plug meaning that they can be refilled and then set aside for later, rather than used right away.
I still want to see pictures with before and after hand shots. :-)
On the nose !!
As to the "hand shots", are you looking for inky fingers ?
We shall see. I am not known for my grace (read: a total klutz sometimes)
>:D
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
On the hands !!
Yes, that's the stuff. It's one thing to say "I can refill and reseal cartridges" but quite another to finish with "and all it cost me was a shirt, a pair of pants, and black fingers for a week." ;-)
Adhesive tape...
From posts I've read elsewhere, people who refill their cartridges using a syringe, often use a piece of adhesive tape to reseal the end. Haven't tried it much myself, but it might be a lot easier than trying to re-seat the ball.
Also, the ball might actually be there to break the surface tension of the ink in the cartridge to promote even flow to the feed. Sometimes ink "sticks" at the end of the cartridge and won't flow to the feed end.
My two cents...
Walter
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The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
B. Banzai?
yep
The primary purpose of the ball is breaking the tension between ink and cartridge.
I think I'll stick to refilling to use right away.
International cartridges can be bought pretty inexpensively on E-Bay.
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I am a notebook junkie.
Just a thought--why not seat
Just a thought--why not seat refilled cartidges on a slab of blu-tack or plasticine?
A somewhat silly thought, I think
Why clog things up with an inky bit of wax/clay ?
I believe I can re-use the original method of sealing the cartridge.
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
I just fill 'em as I need
I just fill 'em as I need 'em. I never write so much that I would go through a cartridge in an entire day and need to carry a refill anyway...
I recently got a Tasche
And it fits perfectly into my 'perfect wallet'. I was surprised at the width of the line it writes with. I had assumed from my research that most Japanese made pens write more finely than US or European made ones. But this one writes more thickly than I had anticipated. Then I saw that the nib is actually made in Germany, so I guess that explains it.
I love it's small size and its thinness tho, so I'm adjusting. Also, I read about the trick of writing with the nib upside down to get a somewhat thinner line. This one still writes pretty smoothly even upside down.
Not a fan of the Ohto ink though.
I know some other folks recently got a Tasche, how do you like it?
Does anyone have the Tasche and the Fine? If so, how do their nib widths compare?
-kmorris
who has recently succumbed to the allure of fountain pens, and has so far managed to avoid spinning it.
Tasche and Fine ... The Same
Have both, love them. Find the nibs are the same, Medium. And yes I flip it over when I want to write finer. With the Fine you can use an international converter, but you must get the right one... tried a bunch. Need a converter without the metal around the shoulder that fits into where you plug into the pen. The hole is narrow and a tight fit. Reusing cartridges works well till they wear out.
Thought the OHTO ink was ok, not bad. Soonest began using other brands, even mixing inks. Got some interesting colors from the mixes.
Gave a Fine to my brother last year at Christmas... he's a 60 year pen user/lover. Few months later he mentioned what a nice pen it was.