I am looking for a part for an Eversharp CA ballpoint pen. This early ballpoint pen had a screw out metal section that contained the ballpoint metal section. (Think of a BIC or PaperMate pen with the long plastic tube that stores ink.)

Since the ballpoint section is obviously not available anymore, many people have modified their pens to work in one of two ways:

1. By replacing the writing portion of the pen with a modern BIC ballpoint stick, OR

2. Using a machined metal adapter that fits onto the end of the pen, which will then allow the use of a Parker gel refill, or something similar.

I am looking for someone that sells this metal adapter for this pen. I'd swear that I saw someone selling these on their website, but I can't find it now. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,
TMann

Here's a picture of the pen that I'm talking about. (This photo is from the PenHero website.) This particular pen has been retrofitted with a BIC pen insert:

Hi Ted,

How ironic for the Eversharp CA to have a modern Bic refill in it after all these years!

Pendemonium sells a brass "widget" adaptor (near the very bottom of this sales page here) for old Sheaffer ballpoint pens that had the threaded refills, but I have no idea if they would fit your Eversharp CA ballpoint. You could ask them about it. Perhaps that was the place you were thinking of...

I think the pen looks rather nice as far as ballpoints go, but it saddens me to think that the CA's poor engineering (leaking ink, skipping---refill problems in other words) signalled the beginning of the end of the Eversharp company

Hi Maja!

Thanks for your reply. I think that the Sheaffer widget is the part that I was thinking of. I have e-mailed a number of people who all told me that they'd never heard of such a part being made.

Richard Binder actually took the time to write me back, and told me that he had drilled out his own part for his Eversharp CA. His pen now is able to use a gel refill. I may try to do the same thing myself.

TMann

I'd dare say it'd be worth a bit of work (trying to find or make a widget) to put a Parker refill in there rather than a Bic (or even Paper Mate) tube. All ballpoints are not created equal, and while to be fair I understand that the Eversharp CA's cartridge wasn't all too great, it's still a beautiful pen and deserves a good insert that is actually comfortable to write with.

Here's a diagram that Mr. Binder sent along with his e-mail to me. (Richard, I assume that it' okay for me to share this with everyone. If it's inappropriate to post this someone please let me know and I'll pull it ASAP.)

TMann

Thanks to Richard and Ted for sharing the info on adapting the refill end to accomodate a gel refill (they write so much better than regular ballpoint ink refills.
As JeffTL says, the CA ballpoint is a handsome (to me, anyway) vintage ballpoint and is definitely worthy of something a bit more exciting than a Bic refill

One of my projects for this week is to do the "Binder-retrofit-modification" that I mentioned in the above post. In the meantime, though, my Eversharp is pulling duty with a lowly, but functional BIC refill.

I must admit that the Eversharp is starting to grow on me. I actually picked up this little guy on a impulse eBay bid. It went for a super cheap price, ($15 including shipping,) but now I think that I'm going to start keeping my eye out for a nicer one.

Ahh...there's always another pen to catch our eye, isn't there.

TMann

You definitely need one of those now...

Well, well...it works! I spent about an hour and a half this evening "retrofitting" my Eversharp CA to take a Parker refill. It wasn't TOO hard of a job, though, I did manage to make a couple of small, but not noticeable dents in the metal tip. I didn't have a Parker gel refill, so the pen insert you see in the photo is of a Parker ballpoint refill. I should be able to stop by the store tomorrow and get one of the gel's, though, to complete the restoration.

Thanks, Mr. Binder for all of the advice. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to PM me.

TMann

That's really cool. The Parker ballpoint refill just looks better in there than the Bic did -- the use of the old nosecone helps, and also the knowledge that it's actually a nice writing instrument that will only get nicer with a gel refill in it.

How's the feel? Obviously it writes like a Parker ballpoint, but how comfortable is it?

I'm glad to see that Ted was successful in his retrofit. I've always had a soft spot in my heart (some people would say it's in my head ) for the lovely Art Deco styling of the Eversharp Fifth Avenue, and when a CA turned up in a pile of junkers I couldn't resist. Here are my men's Sixty Four and my CA together:





I also have a dead Skyline-style CA in my junker pile. Maybe someday I'll see if I can resurrect it; the two would make an interesting pair.

Ted, thanks for publishing my diagram. For anyone else interested, the rest of the process involves fashioning a plug for the back of the barrel to hold the refill at the right location. Slip a standard Parker Jotter spring over the front of the refill, screw everything together, and you're off.

Thanks again, Richard. Ted's pen looks great now (nice job, Ted)
As for the Fifth Avenue and CA...well, it's a case of "Love it!" or "Hate it!" in the pen world. Personally, I think the design is nice

Well, I managed to score another really cheap Eversharp BP off of eBay a few weeks ago. This second pen, a green Skyline, also received the "Richard-Binder-BP-Modification."

Pretty cool, huh?

TMann



Here's another photo with the Skyline next to my CA:

Hi Ted,
Wow, the Skyline looks great!

May I ask how you cut the end of the ballpoint in two places? (ie. what machine you used)

Thanks in advance!
~Maja

Umm...well, it was done with a simple garden variety hacksaw. It's not very sophisticated, I realize, but it worked just fine. The modification can be done in the following sequence:

1. Make a line around the tip of the BP refill, marking where the cut should be made.
2. Clamp the BP refill horizontally in a vise, below the level of the threads.
3. Holding on to the tip of the BP with a small pliers, cut the tip off with a small hacksaw.
4. Reorient the BP refill vertically in the vise and then drill out a hole in the center.
5. Saw off the back part of the BP refill, just behind the metal threads.
6. Use some fine grade sandpaper to smooth out the cut surfaces.
7. Screw the newly modified tip back into the section and you're off!

TMann

Thanks very much for the info, Ted. I have to admit when I saw Richard's diagram and saw the word "drill", my heart sank. I don't like bits of metal moving around at high speeds My Dad has lots of different shop & garden tools, so I will ask him for his help.

The pens look really great---super photos! <thumbs up>

I'd be glad to do it for you if your dad doesn't. A very small token of appreciation for all you've done for us.

Gerry

Hi Gerry,
Thank you for the compliment; that's very nice of you to offer .. To be honest with you, I don't have an Eversharp BP yet, but I am sort of looking around for one casually. No rush, though, but thanks again. I know you are a bit of a "drill whiz" from your posts on the matter!

Kind regards,
~Maja

P.S. I am just wondering if the adaptors that Pendemonium sells for $5 would fit in an Eversharp CA/Skyline ballpoint...

I don't think that they would fit. The threaded adapters that Pendemonium sells are for the Sheaffer Fineline ballpoints, (and other Sheaffers as well.) The threads on those pens are pretty wide, compared to the threads on the Eversharps.

I know that the repair sounds pretty complicated, but it actually ended up not being that hard to to. PM me if you ever pick up an Eversharp CA and we can walk through it together in more detail.

TMann

Thanks, Ted

Thanks for this guidance - I've used it on 4 pens already. Now I've got great news! I found a fantastic refill for these old Eversharps.

After drilling out the metal nose section with a #37 bit, I use a Duke rollerball refill ($1 @ ISellPens). The plastic shaft of the refill is just the right diameter to grip the original metal threads inside the front section. With some gentle forward pressure, you can get the threads to screw onto the plastic shaft - it fastens like it was meant to be that way. Even better, it doesn't need a plug or extension to fill the extra space. The fit is already close, and the threads in the front section are holding the refill secure.

For the Duke refill, does the cone still have to be drilled out?

Yes. It's the tip end of the original CA refill whose ball is still in place before you start. Here's my original "make it work" article, which is now not "officially" exposed on my site because I want to incorporate some changes that I've developed in order to produce a more professional conversion.

Yes.
The advantage of the Duke refill is that the pen is ready to assemble as soon as you drill out the metal cone with a #37 drill bit. The fit of the Duke refill is neat and secure - I think it gives it more of a "factory" feel.