The "Japanese eyedropper" filling system is elegant, convenient and easily holds 3.5 ml of ink – twice the ink capacity of a piston filler, more than four times the ink capacity of a cartridge or converter. The pen can be easily emptied back in the ink bottle when it's time for a color change.
FILLING AND WRITING INSTRUCTIONS
Uncap the fountain pen. Turn the shut-off knob (a) open a few millimeters. Unscrew the section (b) from the barrel (c).
Use the included eyedropper to fill the barrel with ink until about 10 mm under the brim. Only use fountain pen ink. Wipe off excess ink of the barrel if needed. Turn the section back on the barrel.
Hold the pen nib facing downward and wait a small amount of time or very gently shake the pen until the ink starts flowing and you can write. (This is only needed after filling.) Keep the shut-off knob open 1,5 to 2 mm to ensure a continuous ink flow (the valve will start to open after 1/2 to 1 turn). After use, hold the fountain pen nib upward, close the shut-off valve and turn on the cap.
When the ink level is low, air inside the barrel will increase ink flow and the pen may start to blob : refill the pen.
CARE INSTRUCTIONS
To ensure smooth operation of the fountain pen, please rinse the pen with cold water before ink changes and rinse and dry before storage. Do not soak the pen in water. Use a dry, soft cloth to clean the pen and refrain from using any commercially available polishing compounds. When necessary, a tiny amount of (liquid) paraffin can be applied to the o-ring between barrel and section (1), and to the titanium rod of the shut-off assembly (2). Never use silicone grease on urushi.
Strong UV light might degrade urushi over time. Do not keep your fountain pen in direct sunlight for a long period of time.
HISTORY
The first fountain pens are eyedropper fillers without shut-off valve. In 1905 Thomas De La Rue designs the first plunger-filler. By extending a fill knob, submerging the nib in ink and pushing the knob down firmly, a vacuum is created and subsequently released in the barrel and fills it with ink. Closing the fill knob closes the ink channel at the section, opening it a few millimeters allows the ink to flow. Japanese fountain pen makers quickly simplify this system by combining the simplicity of the early eyedropper with the shut-off valve of the plunger filler : the "Japanese Eyedropper" is born.