What converter should I buy for my pen?

Sadly, many manufacturers don't supply converters with their pens as a cost-saving measure. We make up for this by bundling a converter free of charge with pens we supply or offering a discount when you buy a converter with a pen. Some brands of fountain pens need a brand-specific converter see below.

If your pen was not supplied with a converter, it may be that the barrel is too short to take one. Examples of such pens are the Kaweco Liliput, Sailor Sapporo Mini, Yard-O-Led Pocket Viceroy and Conway Stewart Dinkie.

Standard Size Converter

If you know that your pen takes standard-size cartridges then a standard-size (aka international standard) converter will fit if the barrel is long enough.  

Check the pen barrel's inside length and diameter before ordering. Not all converters are created equal and we can't accept returns of converters if they have been fitted.

Photo: Schmidt K5 piston converter

Examples of suitable converters can be found on our website by selecting the 'standard size' cartridge/converter format filter on this page. However, some pens that take International Size cartridges may not accept a converter because the barrel is either too short or too narrow.  Here is a list of pens that take a standard-size converter (depending on barrel length).

• Bexley
• Caran d'Ache
• Cartier
• Conklin
• Conway Stewart
• Daniel Hechter
• Delta
• Diplomat
• Edison
• Elysee
• Esterbrook
• Faber Castell
• Franklin Covey
• Graf von Faber Castell
• Grifos
• Herbin
• Jörg Hysek
• Kaweco
• Laban
• Lalex
• Manuscript
• Messenger (WH Smith)
• Midori/Traveler's Company
• Montblanc*
• Montegrappa
• Monteverde
• Nettuno
• ONLINE
• Onoto
• Pelikan
• Recife
• Retro 51
• Rotring
• Senator
• Sensa
• Sigma
• ST Dupont (not Classique, Gatsby, Montparnasse, and Lady; these take an earlier Dupont proprietary cartridge)
• Stipula
• Tombow
• Traveler's Company
• TWSBI
• Visconti
• Waldmann
• Waterman (models from past 40 years or so, not the CF model)
• Yard-O-Led

The above list is by no means comprehensive. If you have any information that could help us develop the list then we would be pleased to hear from you.

* some Montblanc cartridge/converter pens have a narrow front section that prevents standard cartridges from fitting. Montblanc's own "standard" cartridges have a slimmed-down portion near the front. If the front section of your pen is tight around this slim portion of the cartridge then true standard-size cartridges will not fit, unfortunately.

Proprietary Converter

If your pen does not take standard cartridges, you'll likely need the manufacturer's proprietary converter.  Some brands of fountain pens need a brand-specific converter - the pens listed below will only accept their own design cartridges and converters. Attempting to fit another type of cartridge will at best result in leaks and at worst could damage your pen.

• Aurora
• Cross
• Lamy
• Parker
• Pilot
• Platinum/Nakaya
• Sailor
• Sheaffer (not the Sentinel model, this takes a Sailor converter or cartridge)

Lamy, Aurora and Parker converters are interchangeable to a degree. Whether converter A will fit pen B though will depend on the overall dimensions of each so this is not a universal rule.