If you’re new to fountain pens then this article is for you! There’s a ton to know about fountain pens and Endless Pens is here to make sure you know where to begin.
For this article, we’d love to share a moment together so we can tell you all about fountain pen refills and where to start.
There’s no judgement here, personally, when I began using fountain pens I was both in awe and oh about it. As in “oh! So how do we go about certain things here?”. There are intricacies to figure out, and knowing them makes the difference.
First Things First
When you get a new fountain pen you can’t jump straight into writing. Most fountain pens are refillable. Which means you can ink it as many times as you need and with all the different fountain pen inks there are, (shading, shimmering, sheening) the options are close to limitless.
Secondly, with proper handling and regular maintenance, fountain pens are something that will last and can even be passed down from one generation to the next.
There are multiple types of filling systems and with ever evolving technology there will no doubt be more filling systems in the future but here we’re just going to talk about the most common ones today in 2025. So without further ado, how do you refill a fountain pen?
Refilling Different Fountain Pen Filling Systems
How to refill a fountain pen with a cartridge?
If your fountain pen is filled via a cartridge it will generally come with a small plastic capsule filled with ink. Most common colors packaged with your pen will be black or blue. They are convenient to use for being portable and mess-free. The bottom of the cartridge is flat and the top side has a seal that as you push in the cartridge to the bottom of the feed it will penetrate that seal and be able to feed the ink to your feed. What’s important to remember is you need the right ink cartridge for your fountain pen. There are standard ink cartridges that fit most fountain pens and there are proprietary ink cartridges for specific fountain pens like LAMY. While this is one of the easiest ways to refill a fountain pen, note that if the cartridge doesn’t match your pen, you’d be in a pickle! The downside to cartridges is you don’t have nearly as many refill options as you will with bottle inks unless you use extra tools like an ink syringe to fill it again yourself but for people new that’s not the most ideal recommendation. Keep it simple if it’s your first time. Learn more about ink cartridges.
How to refill a fountain pen with a converter?
The most common filling system in today’s day and age is a converter. You can find these in many brands like Kaweco, Sailor, Platinum, and Visconti. There are often three kinds of converter you may encounter: a piston, a plunger, a push button, and a squeeze. These all draw ink differently based on its filling mechanism but what’s great about it is how it allows you to refill your fountain pen directly from the ink bottle. All you have to do is disassemble your fountain pen, dip the nib completely in your ink bottle, make sure it’s dipped low enough to pass the breather hole on the nib then work the converter to draw the ink. A piston would require a few twists, a plunger would require you to pull, push button and a squeeze converter is as easy as its name suggests. Again there will be proprietary convertors depending on the brand. Lamy is a prime example of them always wanting to use proprietary tech. That being said, it's very common that most pens we offer come with a converter and if not under our brand pages you can always find brand specific convertors. Find out more about ink converters here!
How to refill a piston fountain pen?
This is the big uncle of a piston converter. Pistons are a built-in mechanism that allows this type of fountain pen to have an easy refill. Same procedure as a convertor, submerge the nib in the ink bottle and spin the back of the pen. Some piston pens will have a blind cap which is a piece that will unscrew and come off to reveal a piston knob. Example of this would be on the Kaweco Sport Piston. The main pro to this system is you can fill the pen without the need to disassemble the entire pen. Additionally most piston systems offer a higher ink capacity than a converter or cartridge do.You can see this in brands like TWSBI, Gravitas, and Nahvalur.
How to refill a vacuum fountain pen?
Similar to the piston, towards the bottom of your pen’s barrel your find a knob to turn that will open the valve, twist the knob and pull the plunger back. Be careful now if your ink bottom is full you can push the plunger nearly all the way forward before submerging the nib as this action will expel air and if the bottles full you’re going to get bubbles followed by a mess. If it’s not a full bottle, submerge the nib fully into the ink bottle and push the plunger down. A pro tip now you can do a “power fill”. This is a term coined by the community. It’s not newbie friendly but once you have done it or seen it done you’ll understand. Proceed with caution. What you do if you need an absolute full pen is hold the nib up right and pull the plunger down again. Slow push the plunger up with the nib is still facing up in the air, DO NOT push the plunger all the way, get close to the break point but don’t risk getting to close! Once you’ve let out a decent amount of air, with pressure still on the plunger flip the pen over, dip the nib, and finish the plunge. You will have an extremely full pen at this point. Curious about this type of pen? Check out Gravitas Ultemate Vac Fountain Pen! Or the Pilot Custom 823.
How to refill an eyedropper fountain pen?
Eyedropper fountain pens tend to come with an eyedropper tool in the box when you buy them; like the Opus Omar Demonstrator Fountain Pen. This system offers some of the highest ink capacities per fountain pen. Detach the nib from the barrel, usually this is done by unscrewing the grip, grab your ink bottle, draw ink with an eyedropper or a blunt syringe then carefully release the ink into the barrel. Watch that it doesn’t overflow then carefully screw the upper section back. It’s always better to be safe than sorry so do not try to fill the ink all the way up to the max as the grip or nib will have to screw back in and that’ll elevate your ink levels.
Tips for a Mess-free Fountain Pen Ink Refill
Now that you know how to refill the most common types of fountain pen filling systems, here are a few important tips to remember before you go.
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Don’t have a blunt syringe? You can find them at a stationery shop or your local arts and crafts store. It’s the same tool we mentioned earlier that can help you refill a fountain pen ink cartridge. It allows for quick, clean, and convenient ink refills! It’s going to be one of your best friends when you turn a new page with fountain pens!
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Prepare a cloth or paper towel. This will help with the clean-up when you have to wipe off excess ink on your nib or more often your hands! Avoid spilling your precious ink, but in case of an accident, it’s a life-saver. I personally use those blue shop paper towels I get at Walmart on my modern pens.
- Let your fountain pen prime after inking. After a successful ink refill, let the capillary action work. Allow some time to pass for your pen’s feed to soak up the ink and flow to your nib. Usually you shouldn’t have to wait any longer than 5 minutes and the ink will easily flow as you write.
- Shut off valve on vacuum fill: If you are traveling vacuum fill fountain pens have the advantage of when the back of the pen is spun and closed your valve is closed which prevents more ink going down to saturate your feed. This can be useful on an airplane or if you’re carrying the pen in my pocket at an active job.
Summary of Pros and Cons of Different Ink Refilling Systems
Now that you know fountain pens better, you can have a quick overview of the advantages and disadvantages of each fountain pen ink filling system.
In case you haven’t got a fountain pen yet or are thinking of getting another, knowing how to refill different kinds of fountain pen can help you decide which fountain pen to get! So whether you prioritize the convenience of a fountain pen ink cartridge refill or a large ink capacity, there’s a kind of fountain pen for you!
While the best refillable fountain pen is debatable, you can browse through EndlessPens and see a wide collection of available fountain pens and fountain pen ink refills.
By Some Folks at EndlessPens
