Pilot Fountain Pen Ink Converter Screw Type (CON-40)

Works very well. The well only fills half way up by design. I think buyers should know this. It is not a problem, but you won’t have as much ink in the pen as with a cartridge, but I don’t mind refilling it. It only takes a minute.

This converter is a big part of the reason why I bought a Pilot Elite (E95S) pen. Until the CON-40 became available the only ink converter that would fit that pen was the CON-20 and I don't like "aero" type squeeze aspirated bladder converters. I've had my eye on the Pilot Elite (E95S) pen for quite a while, I really like the style and the pen has mostly stellar reviews, at least from people who know what they're talking about regarding fountain pens. But I did not want to be saddled with a CON-20 converter so I didn't buy the pen until I became aware of the CON-40 converter and had verified that it actually fit that pen by a question posted and answered here on Amazon. This converter has only been available in the US for a relatively short time. It is made with Pilot's usual high degree of quality in manufacturing. It's even a little cheaper than the CON-20 in most offerings. Some people prefer an "aero" type squeeze actuated converter so bear in mind this is a personal preference on my part. If you want to know why I don't like them, ask in the comments and we'll have a conversation about that. It fits the Pilot Elite (E95S) pen very well but you have to pull the converter to see how much ink is in it. This is an aspect of the pen not the converter, the pen is made so that this converter sits too deep in the section to see the ink chamber. That isn't a major difference from the CON-20 because you can't see how much ink is in the CON-20 due to its opaque bladder. Either way, you cannot visually ascertain how much ink remains in the reservoir by looking at it but at least with the CON-40 you can remove the converter and see what ink is left. You cannot use the other two screw and plunger type converters (the CON-50 and CON-70) in a Pilot Elite (E95S) pen, they do not fit. I keep writing "Pilot Elite (E95S)" because there are TWO designations for the same pen. The "Elite" is a pen that ships directly from retailers in Japan and the "E95S" is the pen you can buy from American retailers. They're exactly the same pen, the one from Japan has "Elite" on the cap and the one you can buy in America has a cursive "E" on the cap. There was some sort of trademark conflict with the name "Elite" because another pen manufacturer had already trademarked the name "Elite" on a different model pen in the US. So Pilot had to rename the "Elite" to the "E95S" in order for American retailers to sell it. It all seems a little silly to me and merely adds to confusions but that's the way it is. Incidentally you can buy a Pilot Elite from a Japanese retailer for about half the price of a Pilot E95S from an American retailer -- Even though they are exactly the same pen that comes off the exact same line in the exact same factory made from exactly the same materials of exactly the same quality in Japan. FYI, Pilot does not sell to Americans directly, you have to go through either a Japanese or an American retailer. I'm very pleased with this converter and the pen I put it in. I expected no less from a Pilot product and had done my due diligence on both pen and converter prior to purchasing either. I've never gotten a Pilot product that was a lemon so I didn't mind the "risk" of buying from a foreign retailer. An American retailer will provide the full gamut of customer and warranty service that may not be available from a foreign retailer that doesn't even speak English fluently. At half the price I was willing to put up with that but you need to think about it if you're considering obtaining something from a foreign retailer. It's a serious hassle trying to deal with returns and warranties when the item has to be shipped internationally for those things. I don't anticipate that will be an issue and it is highly unlikely I will need to interact with the Japanese retailer of this pen on any level. Pilot is phasing out the CON-50 and the CON-20 to bring in the CON-40 because it fits more pens in the Pilot line. The CON-40 holds the same amount of ink as the CON-50 so the claims that it's smaller and holds less ink in reserve are incorrect. (I see one of those claims in a review here on this item.) The ink capacity of a CON-40 vs. a CON-20 is moot, with a squeeze bladder converter you seldom get it completely full without a lot of extra effort and mucking about so in real world applications the CON-40 holds as much or more ink than most people can get into a CON-20. Pilot has ceased manufacture of the CON-20 and CON-50 converters.There is still a LOT of stock around of the CON-20 and CON-50 model ink converters so if you're in love with one of those, buy it before all that stock is depleted. Pilot is continuing to produce the CON-70 for the foreseeable future so if that's a converter that fits a pen you own it will still be available for quite a while. The CON-50 is known for being "noisy" because of the ink agitator/surface tension reducer inside the reservoir being a comparatively chunky cylinder of metal. The CON-40 does not have this problem, the agitator is/are two small metal balls that replaces the metal cylinder in the CON-50 and it is much quieter. With the converter full of ink and shaking the pen vigorously I can barely hear those two balls rattle around, I cannot hear them at all in normal use of the pen. This might make the CON-40 appeal to those who take issue with the noise that a CON-50 generates. This is a very good, high quality converter that lives up to Pilot's high standards. It's "new' so like anything there will be some people that think it is a step backwards but I cannot see how that can possibly be so. The converter has been re-designed from the older models and overcomes several liabilities that the older models exhibit without any loss of functionality or suitability and it is at least as good quality-wise as the converters it replaces. It's also attractively priced, at least here on Amazon.

Very nice product, especially if you don’t want to keep buying ink cartridges. The Pilot Fountain Pen Ink Converter (Screw Type) works perfectly and allows you to use bottled ink, which is more economical in the long run. It fits well and is easy to use. Definitely recommended for fountain pen users looking for a refillable option.

It's hard to imagine that a battle can rage over a tiny plastic device that holds a few drops of ink, but such is the nature of online conversation today. And such is the turf war over the merits and lacks of the Pilot CON-40 Converter. Pilot is a Japanese company that makes highly respected, top-quality pens and pencils. Their Pilot and Namiki fountain pens are regarded as some of the best available. Ink cartridges and converters for Pilot fountain pens are—sadly—proprietary, which means you can't use other brands' cartridges and converters in your Pilot. However, with a converter, you are not limited to inks made by Pilot, so you can fill the converter with inks from any brand. Pilot make four converters: * CON-20 - Very small, thin, squeeze-sac converter you press and release to suck in ink * CON-50 - Small, with a screw-piston to suck in ink * CON-70 - Large, with a button-filling system to suck in ink * CON-40 - Intended replacement for the CON-50, and which is slightly thinner, meaning it should work in all Pilot fountain pens While the CON-20 fits in just about every Pilot fountain pen, the CON-50 and the CON-70 do not. For instance, the CON-50 is slightly too wide for use in the Pilot Cavalier, in which the CON-40 fits perfectly. The pros and cons of the new screw-piston CON-40: PROS + Works both in pens that would take the CON-50 and those that could previously take only the CON-20 + Contains metal bearings that help agitate ink, especially useful for the increasingly popular shimmer inks that contain metallic particles + Beats the CON-20 for convenience and performance, since you can clearly see the ink level in the CON-40, and it fills more easily and assuredly CONS - Rattles, caused by the agitator bearings, which annoys some users - Holds a fraction less ink at capacity than the CON-50 - Fills less full (some have reported) than the CON-50 For users who prefer Pilot's slimmest pens, the CON-40 is a big improvement over the CON-20, which I found annoying to use. I'm glad Pilot decided to make the CON-40; so for me, there's little not to like about this newest converter. That said, some fans of the CON-50 feel the CON-40 is a big step backward. In other words, it's all in your perspective based on which Pilot fountain pens you prefer.

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Dieser Con40 Konverter ermöglicht durch seine kleine Füllmenge öfter die Tinte zu wechseln wenn man möchte. Das kommt mir persönlich sehr entgegen. Für etwas längeres Schreiben wünscht man sich eine vollständige Befüllung des Konverters! 2. Foto: zeigt 1.Füllversuch- die Tinte reicht kaum über den Rand des Griffstücks hinaus. Noch ziemlich viel Platz im Konverter, die man auch mit Tinte befüllt haben möchte! 3. Foto: der entnommene Konverter lässt sehen, wie wenig Tinte beim 1.Füllversuch aufgezogen wurde. Da ich diesen Vorgang bereits kenne ( Griffstück und Konverter wieder zusammen stecken) alles sauber machen: ich halte das Griffstück mit Feder nach oben in der Luft mit etwas Schwung nach unten schwingen/ oder solange an das Griffstück klopfen bis die Tinte auf den Kolbenboden fällt. 4. Foto Jetzt Konverter entnehmen ( Papiertuch bereit halten) und vorsichtig die Tinte zum Rand des Konverters hochschieben mit der Drehfunktion des Konverters. Achtung: Dabei können Tntenblasen herausplatzen! Papiertuch! Die Tinte nur knapp bis zum Rand schieben ETWAS PLATZ LASSEN! Konverter säubern und wieder in das Griffstück einfügen. Feder nochmal in das TINTENGLAS eintauchen und Tinte aufziehen. 5. FOTO zeigt die vollständige Befüllung des Konverters bis zum Anschlag!

Fantastic for ease of refilling but not a huge ink capacity.

Initially, ink sucked by converter was very less. Then, learnt how to use through you tube vedios. Now , the converter is working very well.

Es un buen sustituto del cargador de goma, porque no se pasa con el tiempo.