For most LAMY fountain pens, there are two ways to top up its ink – refilling with a cartridge, or refilling with a converter and bottled ink.
Refilling with a cartridge
The first and easiest way is using LAMY’s own T10 Ink Cartridge, which is suitable for all LAMY fountain pens (excluding the LAMY 2000 – more on that below). LAMY T10 Ink Cartridges are the only compatible ink cartridges for LAMY fountain pens.
To replace the ink cartridge, simply twist the back section of the pen anti-clockwise (as shown in the diagram below) to separate it from the front section. If you’ve already got a cartridge installed, remove the empty cartridge. Place the new cartridge in the back section of the pen, making sure that the long narrow end goes in first. Screw the front and back sections together again until secure, and you’re ready to keep writing.
Refilling with a converter and bottled ink
A fountain pen converter takes the place of an ink cartridge, allowing you to draw bottled ink into the pen. Cartridges are a quicker and simpler way to refill, but using bottled ink opens up an amazing range of colours to explore, and is well worth the extra effort.
To start, you’ll need a converter and some bottled ink [link].
The Z28 Converter suits safari, AL-star and Lx fountain pens, while the Z27 Converter suits most others. The LAMY 2000 Fountain Pen is once again the exception, because it features a piston-filling system that does the job of a converter.
For bottled ink, simply choose the colour that suits your needs best. LAMY’s range of bottled inks are all made in-house by LAMY, ensuring a great writing experience when used with your fountain pen.
TIP: Give the (closed) ink jar a shake before filling your pen to ensure the best writing experience.
To insert the converter, twist the back section of the pen to remove as you would when replacing a cartridge (see instructions above). Insert the converter where the cartridge would typically sit, and twist the coloured handle on the converter so that the plunger inside is as far down as it can go.
With the converter in place, take the front section of the pen and lower it into the ink bottle until the nib is partially submerged in the ink. Hold the pen in place, and gently twist the converter handle the opposite direction – the plunger should draw back up towards the handle, bringing ink with it.
Please note that there will always be a small pocket of air in the converter – this is normal, and will not affect the function of your pen.
TIP: to reduce the amount of air caught in the converter, twist the handle to push the ink out and then repeat the filling process.
Filling a LAMY 2000 Fountain Pen
The LAMY 2000’s piston-fill mechanism works in a similar way to the converter filling method described above. Rather than separating the sections of the pen, though, simply twist the tail section of the pen to prepare it for filling. Submerge the nib in the ink, and twist the tail section clockwise to draw the ink into the pen. Repeat this process to expel as much air as possible from the pen.
