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Retractable Ballpoints With No Wobble?


EllipticEquations

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Dear friends on FPN,

 

Call me mental but I really hate it when the refill wobbles inside the pen.

 

To solve this problem, I have already spent too much on ballpoints....I had two BaronFigs (the ballpoint and the roller ball), the Parker Jotter, the Cross click, the Caran D'Ache 849, the Stilform Kosmos....So far the best is actually the Uni Jetstream with Alpha Gel Grip, which still has a bit a wobbling....The worst is definitely the BaronFig roller ball. Writing with it is like playing a piece of music instrument with the refill constantly hitting the pen itself and making a noise.

 

I understand this problem can be solved with a thin tape, but I am wondering if there is a ballpoint without this problem? Any suggestions? I do like the convenience of retractable ballpoints.

 

I heard that those old style Rotring 600 made in Germany are extremely well-behaved. Is this correct? Maybe some friends here can share their experience? They are very expensive nowadays I do not want to take the plunge then get disappointed again...

 

Thanks!

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I have a lot of ballpoint, gel and rollerball pens.

The problem is my opinion the diameter of the inner hole of the pen matching the diameter of the refill to avoid wobbling. Also I have noticed that if the refill extend too much out of the pen it can create a slight movement too!

One quick and cheap solution is to change the spring of the BP/GP with a sturdier one. I had tape added to the refill's tip, but sometimes it has been caught in the spring and messing around the movement, until tape removed.

 

HTH

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I have a lot of ballpoint, gel and rollerball pens.

The problem is my opinion the diameter of the inner hole of the pen matching the diameter of the refill to avoid wobbling. Also I have noticed that if the refill extend too much out of the pen it can create a slight movement too!

One quick and cheap solution is to change the spring of the BP/GP with a sturdier one. I had tape added to the refill's tip, but sometimes it has been caught in the spring and messing around the movement, until tape removed.

 

HTH

 

Thanks! Still prefer a pen that does not require a fix though....

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I dont nave a rotring 600 but a couple of rotring tikky and they don't wobble.

 

That's good to know. Can I ask whether they were made in Germany or in Japan? Legend says there might be a quality difference?

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My fisher AG7 has about as little wobble as I can imagine being in a ballpoint that still manages to retract.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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Skillcraft pen? I have a bunch of these and one desk base for them. Some of the refills still work. I got out of the USAF on 6-28-74.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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That's good to know. Can I ask whether they were made in Germany or in Japan? Legend says there might be a quality difference?

There isn't anything written on the barrel, but I rather think there are made in China. I think so, because the third generation of tikky pencils moved from Germany to China and it should be the same for the ballpoints. Reference here: http://paperndigital.blogspot.com/2018/01/rotring-tikky.html?m=1

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I have never noticed a wobble on my MB 164 (or 161 before it) or any of my few Cross Century Classics. I use factory refills.

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Recently I have got 2 new pens:

 

rOtring 600 BP, new version Japan made. With rOtring original black refill and Schmidt Softline refill I didn't feel any wobble or noise while writing. Sometimes the clicker button makes noise, but not the refill.

 

Zebra Sarasa Grand (I have transplant the clip from Zebra F-402) with Pentel Energel and Uni Jetstream (SXR-7/10) refill doesn't shake/wobble at all, neither the clicker. This might be the pen for you if you get over the clip.

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Here's a suggestion: I make a 3D printed adapter that lets you use a modern refill in a Sheaffer Stratowriter retractable from 1946-48. The pen itself is beautiful, being all gold-filled, and my adapter mimics the original refill by fitting precisely in the opening of the pen. NO wobble!

 

Here's a link to a page on my site about the Stratowriter and the adapter. I have more Stratowriters than I'll ever use, so I could sell you one with the adapter. Look at the page, then contact me directly. My email address is on that page.

 

https://cigarboxpenstorage.wordpress.com/category/ballpoint-pen-adapters/

The Moonwalk Pen - honoring Apollo lunar landings
4-x-2-advertisement-copy-reduced-size.jp

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My husband is the BP user in the house because FPs simply won't work with his type of job. His daily work writer is one of the old Sheaffer VFM BPs, and even as hard as he is on that pen, it's not a wobbler. He recently handed it to me when I had to sign one of those thermal paper receipts that still pops out at businesses, and it wrote like a champ. It's the second VFM he's had (the first was stolen), and one of the better BPs out there for the money.

 

On the more expensive end of the spectrum, he got a Waterman Expert BP as one of those congrats on enduring us for so long gifts, and it's not a wobbler, either. It's quite a bit more expensive than the VFM, though.

 

My son has a recent-era Parker IM ballpoint that he loves to death. No wobble there, either.

 

I also had no wobble problems with Parker Jotter, Parker Vector and whatever the model is of that inexpensive Waterman retractable BP. They all worked great.

 

 

Notice that all of these are old school brands or imprints that have been around forever.

 

Maybe that's the key to getting a non-wobble pen. Go old school.

 

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I just tested a bunch of Ballograf pens. Two of the Epocas wobbled slightly, the other four didn't. They only take Ballograf proprietary refills. My only Rondo Soft did not wobble with the proprietary refill, and barely with a Parker style refill.

Слава Україні!

Slava Ukraini!

 

STR:11 DEX: 5 CON:5 INT:17 WIS:11 CHA:3

Wielding: BIC stick of poor judgment (-3,-5) {cursed}

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The Pilot Metropolitan Ballpoint has no wobble that I can see. It's a good, solid, metal pen that twists to open, but refills may be tough to source.

Edited by markofp
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