Which Pen Company Makes The Best Rollerball Refills?

[Melchott]

@Valkyrii , thank your for complete and useful answer. I didn't know Ranga bamboo, it reminds me of my Monteverde Laguna, it is really a nice pen, maybe I will try to have one.

 

I am not sure if they were intended to be questions to be answered or you were just giving some outlines, but anyway:

 

- What kind of pen do you like.

I have been using rollerballs more often than fountain pens as I am left handed and when using fountain pens my fingers take the ink toll... But some months ago I decided to purchase severeal inks from Diamine and I have been using some fountain pens again.

- What kind of refill do you like (medium, fine, xtra fine, broad)

With Parker I am happy with their medium refills (it states 0.7 mm). With the Schmidt I have been using medium it is OK for me. I am about to try with OHTO 1 mm ones, I will let you know.

- What color do yo like (many mfrs have great blacks and horrible blues, and so on.)

If we keep talking about rollerballs, I love Parker's blue, it is the colour I am using the most, but after going back to fountain pens, I found a wonderful blue black that made me curious about the Monteverde refills. After their bad performance, I will try now OHTO blue black.

If we include fountain pen inks, besides dark blues I like dark greens. I will try now Evergreen from Diamine.

- Are you patient and can order via internet or need right away

I am very patient and I use to order all the things related to this hobby by internet (anway I live in a small town and I can't find many options close to home)

 

@Zookie , those Avant refills sound great, but after some preliminary search it seems very expensive to get them in Europe.

 

I had also bad experience with Pilot G2, it was some years ago but I haven't insisted in using them. Maybe I should try again.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Melchott

[Melchott]

@ elysee , thank you for your complete answer too, for what you say I understand that Monteverde refills suit you and that you have not noticed the problems I am suffering.

 

I have been using British Parker refills and I have enjoyed them a lot, as far as I can remember I only have leak problems in one of them, but this scratchy feeling is exactly what I feel with the two French refills I am using right now, and that make me worry about the future of my collection of Parker rollerballs.

 

I also love Sonnet rollerballs, their balance is perfect for me. I understand that you trying to use ballpoint refills in them, but not rollerball refills with the international size.

[Valkyrii]

If we include fountain pen inks, besides dark blues I like dark greens. I will try now Evergreen from Diamine.

Yes they were all questions

 

I love the Diamine Evergreen. I use it frequently in various fountain pens and also a Zebra R-301 Rollerball ink cartridge pen. I refill the cartridges with a needle from Goulet pens and it makes a great rollerball with a unique color for general applications.

[Melchott]

Yes they were all questions

 

I love the Diamine Evergreen. I use it frequently in various fountain pens and also a Zebra R-301 Rollerball ink cartridge pen. I refill the cartridges with a needle from Goulet pens and it makes a great rollerball with a unique color for general applications.

 

I didn't know this Zebra R-301, if I have understood it correctly, these cartridges are not international sized and it is more practical to refill them with a needle. Do you think that this Goulet system could work with other cartridges? I am starting to use a Pilot Vanishing Point pen that writes wonderfully but if I can use some way to refill the cartridges I would not be tied to Pilot cartridges.

[Algester]

I absolutely love the Uniball Signo 207s, especially with the .5 mm tip size. I hadn't heard they're being phased out...is the 307 an improvement, does anyone know?

uni-ball Japan has stated they are phasing out the 207 other than that I'm not sure where the 307 is aimed at because mpuni doesnt state anything about the 307 only the RT1 is left though...

[dadbar]

Maybe I'm not fussy....I have Parker Sonnet, Cross Century and Monteverdi rollerballs....I like them all. In many ways, they are more functional than my fountain pens and I use them more often for day to day work in the office (editing documents, making notes on the train etc).

 

The cross refills tend to dry out quickly so there is no point to stocking up on these. I have actually been using the Monteverdi refills with my Cross Pen.

 

One funny oddity- the last time I bought my Monteverdi refills on line, I actually bought the short stubby ones by accident. They still fit well in the pen, but I cut a small piece of dowel with a scissor to take up the extra space.......works fine.

[Melchott]

I love the Diamine Evergreen. I use it frequently in various fountain pens and also a Zebra R-301 Rollerball ink cartridge pen. I refill the cartridges with a needle from Goulet pens and it makes a great rollerball with a unique color for general applications.

 

Hello Valkyrii, I have already a Zebra R-301 ink pen, and I must thank you, it is really splendid, it writes very very smoothly. I will try to refill the cartridges too with Evergreen, I have also purchased this ink and it is great!!!

[Melchott]

While I find my many Parker Duofold rollerball pens and Parker Sonnet rollerball pens to absolutely beautiful, the Parker rollerball refill (as well as the Monteverde refil for Parker rollerball pens) detracts from what should be an enjoyable writing experience. I am currently working on a way to fit a Parker style ballpoint refill to my Parker rollerball pens (creative use of pen springs and removable space filler) so that I can use the broad/bold refills (Parker style ballpoint refill options) available from Schmidt, Schneider, Visconti, and Monteverde in these pens.

 

Hello elysee, for the moment I would like to share with you that Ohto rollerball refills fit in a Sonnet, it is splendid as it will allow me to keep using my beloved Sonnets avoiding the disappointing French Parker and Monteverde refills.

About Ohto refills for the moment mixed feelings, I have tested four black C-305 with splendid results so far, a blue C-310 even more nice and a blue-black C-310 (that I was looking forward as my new refill) with a very irregular behaviour, it is very dry and it takes some attempts before writing. Once it does, it is splendid too, but is far from reliable.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Melchott

[Melchott]

In regard to my other rollerball pens such as my Elysee, Waterman, Montblanc, Caran D'Ache, Cross, Cartier, ... rollerball pens, I use the following refills, some with added tape to create the necessary missing "bump" and others with added pen springs:

• Schmidt Safety Ceramic Roller 5888 B (broad) refill,
• Pilot G2 gel ink Bold refill,
• Cross Select Tip gel ink refill, and
• Monteverde Broad gel ink refill for Pelikan rollerball pens.

All of these are great writers, providing a smooth, enjoyable writing experience with beautiful ink curves.

 

Hello again elysee, I think that I will give a try to this Monteverde Broad for Pelikan, it is the K24 model, right? Any suggestion where to get it at a reasonable price in mainland Europe? I have seen that is rather expensive at Amazon.

[asparien]

Hi All

 

I recently purchased a Parker Urban Premium rollerball pen. I find that the genuine cartridge that came with the pen works like a dream. Very smooth with no skips, blotches or other issues at all so far.

 

I did however purchase some of the Luxor manufactured parker rollerball refills and found that they do not fit the pens properly. The black feed section at the front of the refill is approx 1.5mm shorter on the Luxor refill compared with the UK made parker refill. this means the tip appears recessed within the pen and leads to a completely different (and quite unpleasant) geometry whilst writing. I contacted Luxor directly to explain the issue and they replied that the difference in length is a defect which they will rectify and send me replacement refills. They havent arrived yet but I'll post an update if and when they get to me. Writing performance with the Luxor refills was quite satisfactory with regards to smoothness and lack of skips etc.

 

http://imgur.com/0nvvOCQ

http://imgur.com/Rqzq9Oq

http://imgur.com/ClHRxAS

 

Cheers,

 

Asp

Edited February 19, 2016 by asparien

[tonybelding]

I don't know if this is still the case, as it's been A While since I used any, but. . . some years ago my favorite rollerball refill was the Zebra JF-0.7 black. It performed similar to the ubiquitous Pilot G2, but seemed to flow a bit more consistently, and the ink dried to a more matte black. It fits many (but not all) of the same pens. I used Zebra JF refills in my great Aurora Talentum rollerball, though I actually had to drill a small hole to vent the pen, otherwise a vacuum would form and stop the ink from flowing!

[pajaro]

I like the Montblanc rollerball refill. I have one on a MB 163R that has been working for three years. I lost the MB cap for the pen, but a Parker 45 cap works perfectly.

 

I have tried a number of other rollerball refills, and Parker and Pelikan seem to last best.

Edited February 19, 2016 by pajaro

[Arklawboy]

Good evening, folks. I was glad to see this topic. Over the years, I've used several different brands. To me, the Visconti performed particularly well; Parker came second; Waterman and Pelikan came next (although the Pelikan R805 in blue/black was the most lovely of the bunch). As others have noted, Monteverde were hit or miss.

 

However, at least from my recent experience, Cross is leading the way. I am almost exclusively using a few Cross Townsend rollerballs these days, and while I recognize I am probably part of a very small minority who feel this way, I absolutely LOVE the medium porous point (felt tip) refills. Nice, thick line; great for signatures. Because I enjoy the look of the ink on paper so much (and on just about all kinds of paper), I am willing to overlook the fact that they don't necessarily last as long as other rollerball refills,

[sandy101]

I just bought a Shaeffer Slim II refill for a rollerball pen, and it is rubbish. The inkflow, and spread of ink is utter rubbish.

[rofl]

I have tried Cleo Skribent and it's really smooth.

[sandy101]

I returned the duff Sheaffer refill (the advantage of purchasing from a B&M store) and the new one works fine.

[abdcolvinian]

I like the Parker Ones ,never used a Mont Blanc but would love to do so

[Melchott]

Hi All

 

I recently purchased a Parker Urban Premium rollerball pen. I find that the genuine cartridge that came with the pen works like a dream. Very smooth with no skips, blotches or other issues at all so far.

 

I did however purchase some of the Luxor manufactured parker rollerball refills and found that they do not fit the pens properly. The black feed section at the front of the refill is approx 1.5mm shorter on the Luxor refill compared with the UK made parker refill. this means the tip appears recessed within the pen and leads to a completely different (and quite unpleasant) geometry whilst writing. I contacted Luxor directly to explain the issue and they replied that the difference in length is a defect which they will rectify and send me replacement refills. They havent arrived yet but I'll post an update if and when they get to me. Writing performance with the Luxor refills was quite satisfactory with regards to smoothness and lack of skips etc.

 

http://imgur.com/0nvvOCQ

http://imgur.com/Rqzq9Oq

http://imgur.com/ClHRxAS

 

Cheers,

 

Asp

 

Hello Asparien,

 

Interesting remaks about Luxor refills, it is similar with what I have observed with Monteverde P22 refills, they are not short as the one you have purchased from Luxor, but they are too broad and for instance they don't fit in a simple Frontier rollerball. I couldn't recommend this P22 refill at all, but the ink with blue/black colour is really nice, so I have kept trying Monteverde blue/black refills.

 

My surprise is that I have tried this blue/black in fountain pen cartridge version and in K23 refill, and they are two different colours!!! The fountain pen cartridge has a nice bluish grey colours, a little bit too light for my taste, but nothing to do with P22 colour, and the K23 refill is a greenish shade, surprisingly very close to the Ohto colour of their blue/black refills. The lucky point is the this K23 refill writes very smoothly (the fountain cartridge of course does, but that is to credit to my Namisu fountain pen) and I can't blame Monteverde this time.

 

I will keep trying!!! Thanks for sharing your experiences lads!!!

[Melchott]

I just bought a Shaeffer Slim II refill for a rollerball pen, and it is rubbish. The inkflow, and spread of ink is utter rubbish.

 

Hello sandy,

 

I am totally agree with you, besides I have observed in both of my Sheaffer rollerball pens some design flaws that are very disappointing:

- In my Agio rollerball the refill doesn't fit correctly and the point is loose in the tip

- In my Imperial rollerball the cap drags the grip section and it unscrews every time you pull the cap...

 

I am afraid these will be my last Sheaffer rollerballs.

[Melchott]

Half a year since my last post in this thread, and I am still looking for the best option for replacing my Parker rollerball refills...

 

I was starting to love the blue black Ohto colour, but I have found up that this ink is not waterproof at all, and I would like to have a more lasting ink. I was wondering if it was time to shift to gel refills, some of you have told wonders of Pilot G2 and Uni-ball Signo 207, they both have a blue black option so I think I will give them a try.

 

Any other suggestion?