The most horrifying words in the English language

[truepenny]

"I put it somewhere safe."

As You Know Bob, some weeks ago I broke both my fountain pens. (Or, to be slightly more fair, I bent the nib on my Phileas. Not quite sure what happened to the Sheaffer, but I don't think I can actually blame myself for it.) Waterman replaced the nib on the Phileas and returned it to me, oh, several days ago, and it's working like a charm. The Sheaffer arrived today, and, as one inevitably does, I went to fill it--and discovered an absolutely soul-searing, ego-shattering fact.

I use bottled ink (I wouldn't, if Sheaffer hadn't discontinued their Burgundy, but they did, and I do). This means that my fountain pens all have little widgets, called converters, that provide ink reservoirs. (The Phileas, btw, has by far the best widget of the three--Retro 51's is much the same but doesn't work quite as well.) When I was sending the Sheaffer to be repaired, I remember that I thought, There's no point in sending the converter. And. Then. I. Put. It. Somewhere. Safe.

That disturbance you sense in the Force is me kicking myself for being such a clueless and moronical bunny. You would think I would have learned by now not to do this sort of thing, but no. I go on happily putting things Somewhere Safe, and then weeks later am aghast when I can't remember what the FUCK I did with them.

It's not a very large widget, and there are an excruciatingly large number of places in this house--even in this room--where stashing it might have seemed like A Good Idea At The Time. I've tried the logical places, and the illogical but explicable-by-free-association places. I've even partially tidied my desk.

Things are looking grim, sports fans.

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I got my mom a Mother's Day present when I was 8. I put it somewhere extremely safe. I ended up giving it to her the year I was 10, when I finally found it.

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

When my mom sold the familial home, we got a few Xmas presents she'd put away some years previously. She was so good at hiding them!

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

Your widget is with my W2. They stole my refund, left me in debt to the IRS, and went to Tijuana.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

You can mail-order converters. http://www.swisherpens.com/catalog/fountain_pen_converters/sheaffer-converter-for-targa.htm

Yes, I lose things, too.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

This may be a silly question, but how do they work? And how well do they work? And is there that big a difference between that and my own slavery to the cartridge?

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

There are different kinds. The ones I have the most experience of are "piston converters" which are what my Phileas and Namiki VP take. They are little clear plastic cylinders about the size of a cartridge and they have a black "knob" at the end that you twist. Twisting the knob makes a little plunger (the piston) move up and down the interior of the cylinder. "Down" expresses air/ink, while "up" draws air/ink into the cylinder which then functions as your cartridge.

For images: http://www.swisherpens.com/catalog/fountain_pen_converters/parker-vector-fountain-pen-converter.htm

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

And you put them in your pen in place of the cartridge and submerge the nib section in ink before twisting the knob: first twist the piston down, to bubble out the air, and then up to suck in the ink. The dangers are: upsetting the ink bottle, dripping ink from the section before you have a chance to wipe off the excess ink, and getting ink on your fingers while wiping or disposing of whatever you wiped with.

The benefits are more options with ink: I'm committed to my converters because they let me use Noodler's *waterproof* fountain pen ink which assuages my fear that whatever I'm writing will fall in the fish tank or otherwise be obliterated by exposure to water.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

That is a good reason to switch. Now I must look at these things and see if some of them will work with my cheap, cheap, beautiful pens.

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

Do you know what brand your pens are?

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

Parker something, nothing special, and Sheaffer something, also nothing special. Are they compatible within brands, usually?

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

Converters have to fit the diameter and length of the barrel of your pen and form a tight seal when they are in place. Within-brand compatibility varies from brand to brand. Parker has at least two styles of converter and Sheaffer has at least four, so you'll need to know which line your pens come from to figure out which (if any) converter they'll take.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

Alas. Thanks!

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

But you *should* have a converter. I want you to have a converter. If I were the Converter fairy, there would be converters for everyone! In other words, are there no distinctive markings on your pens? You might see if there are any pen shops nearby that could assist. (Try checking for your location on Glenn's list: http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/review2.html)

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

Alas, there are none. Really, though, thanks-- it's good to finally know what these things are that I keep hearing about. And now that I know what they are, I know what to look for more and I can see if there's anything to fit my oft-dropped one, my extra-cheap one, and my strangely unclogged one. Yay for pens!

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Noodler's Ink (http://www.noodlersink.com/)

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

First look in drawers and small containers. Do you have a pencil cup/tray or a jewelry box that might have seemed like good places?

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Yes, and yes, and I did in fact look in those eminently reasonable places first. ::sigh:: I've also been through the drawers of both desks, checked many bookcase shelves, and even the downstairs bathroom, which is where I deal with ink and cleaning pens and so on. I found the toothpick for my Swiss Army knife, which I thought lost beyond recall several months ago, but no joy on the converter front.

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I lost my *glasses* this morning and spent twenty minutes peering mole-like (from a distance of four inches) at every possible place they could be, and then I called in the full-sited members of my family who found them in the bathroom. I have no recollection of leaving them in the bathroom and am quite perplexed by the whole affair. I'll go check there for your converter and sosostris2012's W2.

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

Which would be "full-sighted" if this weren't the internet ;)

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Yes, please do!

Suggestiuon

[dmsherwood53.livejournal.com]

Check if LEGASY sells converters

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's in the pot of rose-petals on the mantlepiece.

No?

Well that's where carandol once thought it was a good idea to put the glasses-screwdriver.

[katwrites.livejournal.com]

My library card has been missing for months, but since I know the number and most of the staff at my branch library (perks of being a volunteer) I limp along without it. I have decided, however, upon hearing your tragic, tragic story, that I am going to designate a special Someplace Safe tin for all such small objects that have been temporarily relocated from their permanent home. I did something like this a couple of years ago for all those scraps of paper with books I mean to read, and it's worked brilliantly. Now I clip out reviews or print out lj recommendation lists or random torn-off corners of napkins and paste them into my There Are ALWAYS More Good Books notebook. I'll report to you in a few months if the Someplace Safe tin actually works.

[franzeska]

What you need to do is walk around with your eyes shut waving your arms in the air. Eventually, you will connect with a shelf, sending a shower of books and the widget onto your head.