Ultimate Fountain Pen Ink Capacity Comparison: 51+ Pens
Fountain pen ink capacities vary widely, with some needing a refill ever 10 pages, while others will write more than 100 pages. Below, I'll list more than 40 pens to make comparing them easy.
Most fountain pens hold between 0.7 and 2.5ml of ink. The total ink capacity largely depends on the type of filling mechanism: cartridge pens hold either 0.7ml or 1.2-1.5ml (short and long cartridges); piston-filler pens hold on average 1.2ml of ink; eyedropper pens hold on average 2.5ml of ink.
Eyedroppers easily hold the largest ink volume of all of them, but piston and vacumatic fillers are a very close second, with some even outdoing their eyedropper counterparts.
Exact Ink Capacity of 51+ Fountain Pens Compared
Below you'll find a comparison of the ink capacity of over 51 fountain pens. Among them are all sorts of filling mechanisms, although most of them will be eyedropper, or some sort of piston or vacumatic filling system. These numbers are sourced both from reliable sources on the internet and my own measurements.
Fountain pen | Ink capacity | Remarks |
---|---|---|
Aurora 88 | 1.1ml | |
Aurora Optima | 1.43ml | |
TWSBI Eco | 2.5ml | |
TWSBI Vac Mini | 2ml | |
TWSBI Diamond 580 | 2ml | |
TWSBI Diamond 530 | 1ml | |
TWSBI Vac 700 | 1.7ml | 1.4ml on one plunge |
Montblanc 146 | 1.4ml | |
Montblanc 149 | 2.1ml | |
Opus 88 | 2.0ml | |
Pelikan M200 | 1.3ml | |
Pelikan M205 | 1.2ml | |
Pelikan M400 | 1.4ml | |
Pelikan M600 | 1.3ml | |
Pelikan M800 | 1.3ml | officialy 1.2ml |
Pelikan M805 | 1.52ml | |
Pelikan M1000 | 1.5ml | |
Moonman Q1 ink capacity | 2ml | |
Moonman C1 ink capacity | 4ml | |
Moonman M2 | 2.5ml | |
Parker 51 Vacumatic | 1.6ml | |
Parker 51 Aeromatric | 1.1ml | |
Parker Duofold | 1.9ml | |
Parker IM | 0.6ml | uses Parker converter |
Parker Sonnet | 0.6ml | uses Parker converter |
Pilot Custom 823 | 1.3ml | |
Pilot Custom Heritage 92 | 1.2ml | |
Pilot Vanishing Point | 0.4ml | uses |
Sailor 1911 | 0.6ml | large converter |
Sailor Realo | 1ml | |
Sheaffer Snorkel | 0.7ml | |
Sheaffer Snorkel PFM | 0.95ml | |
Wing Sung 699 | 1.3ml | |
Wing Sung 601 | 1.5ml | vacumatic |
Visconti Homo Sapiens | 1.51ml | |
Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze | 1.3ml | |
Pelikan 140 | 1.5ml | |
Pelikan 120 | 1.5ml | |
Pelikan 400 | 2.0ml | |
Kaweco Sport | 0.7ml | uses standard converter |
Kaweco Sport | 2.5ml | eyedropper |
Lamy Safari | 0.8ml | uses Lamy Z29 converter |
Lamy AL-Star | 0.8ml | uses Lamy Z29 converter |
Lamy 2000 | 1.35ml | |
Pilot Metropolitan | 0.9ml | uses sack converter |
Platinum Preppy | 3ml | eyedropper |
Pilot Custom 74 | 1.1ml | uses CON-70 converter |
Noodler's Flex Pen | 1.5ml | |
Noodler's Charlie Pen | 2.5ml | |
Montblanc 14 | 1.6ml | |
Montblanc 24 | 1.5ml |
Ink Capacity per Filling Mechanism
As you can see, the number varies widely, and mostly depends on the filling mechanism. For a large ink capacity, eyedropper and piston fillers seem to be the logical choice. For decent filling capacity, long converters or cartridges are the best choice. Small cartridges and converters really hold little ink compared to the alternatives, but are still very usable, since a standard international cartridge will write for 45 pages with a fine nib.
If you're interested in comparing the capacity of different cartridges and converter types instead of pens, I have a similar overview for those. Go to my detailed overview of cartridge and converter ink capacity if you need those.
Fountain Pens with Large Ink Capacity
Thanks to this extensive comparison, we can now pick out high-capacity fountain pens. I really enjoy fountain pens with large ink capacities. An affordable one with the largest ink capacity I've found so far is the Moonman C1, an eyedropper with a remarkable 4ml capacity. It has a lovely no. 6 fine nib, which is smooth and pleasantly stiff. But there are many more to consider, which you can find here.
You can find my full list of interesting large-capacity fountain pens here.
Which fountain pens hold the most ink?
The fountain pen with the highest ink capacity is the Moonman C1 with a total capacity of 4ml. Typically, eyedropper fountain pens hold the most ink, with an average of 2.5ml. Piston-filling pens are second with an average of 1.2ml of ink. Standard cartridges or converters hold between 0.6-0.9ml.
How much ink does a Pelikan M800 hold?
According to the manufacturer's specifications, the Pelikan M800 holds 1.2ml of ink, although many people have reported that it could hold up to 1.3ml of ink with the right filling technique.
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