Refilling a camellia oil applicator: leave or remove cotton stuffing?

[chiffonodd]

I had a refillable camellia oil applicator long ago but lost it before refilling. I have finally gotten a replacement. Query: do you remove the stuffed cotton before filling?

Inside there is a wick, which obviously stays. But there's also some cotton stuffing:

You may say, Chiffonodd, you idiot, how are you going to fill the applicator with oil if you leave in all that cotton stuffing?

But hold your horses! What if the stuffing is supposed to stay in there to help prevent spillage, slow evaporation, and control the absorption rate by the wick??

For example, UK knifemaker Ben Orford (who makes killer bushcraft knives, by the way), has a pic on his website that appears to show him filling the applicator with the cotton stuffing still in place:

(Source).

So which is it? Leave cotton, or remove cotton? Please assist.

 

[Rangen]

The reason to leave the cotton in is that it is part of the original design, and must have had a purpose, even if you don't know what it is.

The reason to remove the cotton is...OK, I can't figure out any sort of reason for this side of the debate. What have you got?

 

[aporigine]

I’d leave it in. It keeps the wick saturated. It also encourages one to fill more often using smaller amounts of the oil. That way, what goes on the knife is fresher.

That said, I have a 20-year-old bottle of tsubaki that isn’t showing any age.

 

[chiffonodd]

The reason to remove the cotton is...OK, I can't figure out any sort of reason for this side of the debate. What have you got?

To fill it with more oil, and perhaps to facilitate more absorption by the wick.

Although I see that @aporigine is correct because the cotton keeps the oil in contact with the wick even as the oil level falls, acting as a medium of transfer between the liquid oil and the wick.

 

[thisisfed]

I am resuscitating a very old post. I was just wondering how long does a 100ml camellia oil bottle last, roughly?