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

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.

Fits Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pens. Allows you to use your choice of bottled ink. Not for use of India Ink.

I bought this for my Pilot Metro, and it has done wonders for me. If you're having the same issues I was, this will solve your problems. (Details at bottom if you're interested.)Pros: NO LEAKING, can see ink level, easy to use*Cons: None yet:)Indifferent: relatively small capacity, but I'm getting about the same amount of time between fills as the squeeze converter. Nothing noticeably different.; I can hear the metal balls moving around sometimes, but it isn't distracting and it's quite soft. I don't hear them when writing -- only when i flip to pen over or set it down or something*I've seen where many people are having issues filling it all the way. You have to fill it, push the extra air back out, and then fill that leftover space again. Goulet has a good video explaining itI've had my metro for several years, and I've always used to squeeze converter that came with it. It leaked TERRIBLY -- so much that I stopped using the pen for a while and ended up buying a different brand pen. I scoured the internet for ways to keep the converter from leaking into the pen barrel and subsequently all over my hands, and I never found a solution. The common consensus is the squeeze converter doesn't have a tight seal, so it leaks. I bought this converter and BOOM problem solved.

Works well, does not leak.The only draw back is the volume it contains. I write daily and find that I am filling this every other day.If it held a bit more ink I would be thrilled bower it’s still a high quality product.Would recommend.

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.

This is a good convertor, however ink capacity is on the low side, if you will be drawing ink from the bottle. The best way to fill it up completely is with a syringe. When using Fine/ EF nibs, this will not be an issue, however with medium, broads, and other nibs you will need to refill more than you usually have to, especially if you have not filled it up 100% using a syringe or other method.

I wanted to really like this converter, as I’m very new to fountain pens. I’m using this in a pilot metropolitan with Diamine Aurora Borealis ink. The main problem I kept running into was my pen running dry mid-session, usually halfway down a journal page.The problem is that the small metal structure that keeps the agitator beads from falling out often does not let ink through, and forms a large bubble. I solved this with a long pair of tweezers and a bit of pulling to get the small piece out.The pen now writes much better and very consistently. I wish I didn’t have to remove a piece of the converter but what can you do

Really good for shimmer inks, the little stainless steel mixing balls do a good job keeping the shimmer particles mixed in the ink. Have it in my Kakuno with an ink heavy on the shimmer (Diamine Pride from Cult Pens) and it works wonderfully. Absolutely no clogs in the feed/nib. Wish all fountain pen companies put them in their converters- looking at you Kaweco! 😬