Are There Ballpoint Pens That I Can Refill With Fp Ink?

[Ebberman]

I wonder how much writing you intend doing whilst away. A fountain pen with an extra fine nib seems to last me for ages. If you want a rollerball, why not go to ebay and buy 10 empty pen tubes for £1 and twenty gel refills for £1. It breaks my heart that the more important part is the cheaper. Anyway, those two items should let you write for at least a year without a pause.

[Mulrich]

I originally got into fountain pens while trying find a way to save money by refilling rollerball cartridges. I never ended up refilling the cartridge and have definitely NOT saved money.

[Ebberman]

You don't have to fill a fountain pen cartridge to save money. On eBay, I can buy 25 cartridges for under £2 and receive them quickly, or I can buy much cheaper if I wait for them to arrive from China. I have a load of cartridges but I sometimes refill only if the pen is fussy about which ones fit. Why bother with a rollerball when you have something superior?

[Inkling13]

I just completed my experiment with Copic markers, and if you can tolerate a plastic tipped nib, like those on a Pigma marker, the Copic makes an excellent choice. Replaceable nibs, durable body, holds up to 3ml of ink, and refillable. The Super fine nibs are truly super fine, comparable to a .5mm Pilot G-2 pen. The regurlar fine tip is more like a .8mm line.

[Ebberman]

How long would a plastic tipped nib last? My Platignum and Osmiroid metal nibs have lasted me 50 years so far and are as good as new. I hadn't heard of Copic markers, so I looked them up just now. They cost more than a budget fountain pen. What is their intended use? Are they for art or for writing on boxes for delivery? Would they take fountain pen ink?

[SoulSamurai]

Copic markers? Do you mean the alcohol based colouring pens? Or do you mean the permanent liner pens?

[Ebberman]

I'm asking Inkling13 these questions. Please refer to the post before mine.

Sorry, I've just realised that you might be communicating with Inkling13 and not me.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Ebberman

[Inkling13]

How long would a plastic tipped nib last? My Platignum and Osmiroid metal nibs have lasted me 50 years so far and are as good as new. I hadn't heard of Copic markers, so I looked them up just now. They cost more than a budget fountain pen. What is their intended use? Are they for art or for writing on boxes for delivery? Would they take fountain pen ink?

I am talking about the Copic markers: Classic or Sketch. They both come in empty markers, so you can in theory mix your own alcohol based Copic inks and fill them with them. However, it works just as well with FP ink, from my brief trial. They come double sided, with a generous chisel tip and a finer bullet tip. As with all capillary markers and the like, the tips do wear out, but at 5$ or so for 10 tips, and a marker running around 6-7$, I would be hard-pressed to find many entry fountain pens cheaper that is built for "life". These markers are certainly made to last and last, even in their intended use.

These markers were initially intended for graphic designers and technical drawing, but manga artists and others have taken these pens as their weapon of choice.

I used Noodler's Blue Ghost which has worked well. I plan on making a Baystate Blue marker as well.

With the chisel tip, you can certainly use it for writing on delivery boxes. The standard fine and superfine tips would be more suitable for everyday writing.

As for a "pen", this is the fastest set-up I have had. Pull the nib from the thick end of the marker, fill with an appropriate volume of ink, and put the nib back. Wait for the ink to wick its way through the pen, and you are good to go. A bit harder to do with Blue Ghost, just cause you can't see where the ink is without a black light.

 

Copic markers? Do you mean the alcohol based colouring pens? Or do you mean the permanent liner pens?

I am referring to the alcohol based markers. AFAIK, the permanent liner pens and their disposable FP's don't come in an empty format for you to fill with an ink of your choice.

 

I'm asking Inkling13 these questions. Please refer to the post before mine.

Sorry, I've just realised that you might be communicating with Inkling13 and not me.

HOLD YOUR HORSES. I am a one-man show, but I'll do my best in answering questions in this uncharted territory.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Inkling13

[SoulSamurai]

Fascinating, I had never considered using other inks in Copics. Thanks for sharing the idea!

[bluebellrose]

empty copic markers would probably do great as an highlighter

[californiabob]

back to original topic

 

zebra r301 - uses special carts but used lamy carts fit, lamy converters are too long

 

monteverde invincia - have built-in converters for their RB pens

 

herbin clear plastics use international carts and maybe a special small converter

but there are metal versions that work beautifully

 

old kaweco uses international carts

new Kaweco RBs use special carts but are refillable

 

buy rb tips and replace FP tips in certain pens

[bluebellrose]

back to original topic

 

zebra r301 - uses special carts but used lamy carts fit, lamy converters are too long

 

monteverde invincia - have built-in converters for their RB pens

 

herbin clear plastics use international carts and maybe a special small converter

but there are metal versions that work beautifully

 

old kaweco uses international carts

new Kaweco RBs use special carts but are refillable

 

buy rb tips and replace FP tips in certain pens

You forgot pilot v5/v7 cartridge rollerball pens

[Ebberman]

Regarding J Herbin pens, as mentioned by the original poster, I bought one for about £5.80 in see-through plastic. Overpriced for what it was and compared with fountain pens costing £1 or less. They also sold a metal one, so I bought that. It turned out to be the very same pen but with a metal cap and barrel. That was £15.50 Very overpriced. They could accommodate a long cartridge although the shop assured me they couldn't

Being a slow learner I then bought a Schneider, also a cartridge rollerball. That was about £8.90

It was longer. It could take longer cartridges or converter. A smoother writer but with a thicker line than I wanted. I think it was 0.7mm.

Then a dream came true. I went to a British bargain shop/store (400 branches) called Home Bargains and bought a card holding a fountain pen, rollerball and 9 ink cartridges - all for 99 pence. I bought it for the fountain pen, a nut like me can never have enough, but the surprise was that the rollerball used the cartridges. It was normal pen length and could take 2 short cartridges (one as spare) or an International Standard converter. I had to go back and buy more.

If you find yourself in Britain seek out Home Bargains. A cartridge rollerball for pennies.

In the USA does Walmart do this sort of thing? Small shops go to HB because it's cheaper than their wholesalers.

[flatline]

I have some Uniball AIR rollerballs that have cartridges that I can access by unscrewing the grip. When I run out of the original ink, I'll try refilling them.

 

--flatline

[Ebberman]

Are they Uni-Ball AIR Micro - 0.5mm Fine Rollerball UBA-188-M? If so, I'll buy some.

[Restored]

I have a Uni Ball Vision Elite that looks like it has an ink cartridge in it.

[Ebberman]

Restored - can you get at it?

[flatline]

Are they Uni-Ball AIR Micro - 0.5mm Fine Rollerball UBA-188-M? If so, I'll buy some.

 

I think they're 1mm tips. I'll look at them tomorrow to see if they indicate thier model.

 

--flatline

[Restored]

Restored - can you get at it?

 

It's sitting beside me but Amazon seems to imply it is not refillable although it looks to me like a syringe would work. .

[Holon]

The german company "Online Pens" has different fountain pens which can be transformed into a rollerball that takes international standard cartridges/converter.

One of their rollerball replacements has the same housing as #5 Schmidt Nibs (because they use #5 Schmidt nibs in the fountain pen, they call it Easy Change System ECS).

 

But I don't know if Online-Pens are available anywhere else in the world.

 

The chinese PenBBS 323 had a rollerball replacement. At least the older modell, I don't know about the updated version. But the old version is still available on ebay.

 

edit: added links

Edited January 17, 2019 by Holon