So you can use different inks other than compatible carts?

I use a syringe to refill cartridges from whatever bottle of ink I want to use. The cartridges can be reused many many times.

edit: lol, if I had reloaded the page before commenting, I would have seen all of these people saying the same thing!

> edit: [...]

Every time fountain pens come up on HN I'm amazed how active the discussion gets.

I mean, how important is the pen as a tool to human history? The pen is one of the most important human inventions and the fountain pen is by far the coolest version of it :P

I am similarly surprised at the number of technical people who prefer one or more of the following:

* Fountain pens * Mechanical watches * Cars with clutches

Most pens either ship with or will work with a piston converter. You don't need to mod a pen just to use inks other than those available in compatible cartridges.

E.g.,

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=fountain+pen+piston+convert...

A lot of people just reuse empty cartridges a few times by refilling them with a blunt tip syringe (sold by most online pen/ink shops), using whatever ink they want.

It is far easier to get a blunt nosed syringe for $0.10 (not sharpened for medical use) and use it to quickly and cleanly refill cartridges with whatever ink you want.

For a video visualization of how this works, Brian Goulet (who runs a popular fountain pen YouTube channel) published a tutorial on cartridge cleaning and refills: https://youtu.be/QloRQWHe5Gk?t=301

Isn't it even EASIER to get a converter?

> Why tho?

Just to expand on the time before refills. Most converters are under 1 ml. Having, say, 3-4 ml in your pen means you fill it a lot less frequently.

The thing keeping me away from eyedropping my pen is the inevitable burps.

As I said, the only converter of mine that seems to have a capacity problem is the Namiki, but for practical reasons I also almost always run carts in that pen anyway.

I don't need a project, and I'm not super interested in locking a pen into a single mode of operation. The beauty of most pens is that you can go with carts OR with a converter, depending on mood. (Obviously some, like Pelikans and TWSBI, are bottle-fill only, but you know that going in.)

Yeah, I don't do cartridges for the same reason as others: I change the ink often, and the selection with cartridges is almost non-existent (and much more expensive per ml).

For a lot of pens, there is no "locking". You just remove the cartridge/converter, and add silicone, and you're good to go. You can always revert back.

Fair.

I ran carts only in my Vanishing Point(s) for years, but largely because it was easier for travel and I found the ink color and consistency very pleasant.

Once I stopped traveling so much I started using more bottled ink, which is fun, but then you get to a point where you have a mental matrix about which inks work best with which paper in which nibs…