Damn good rollerball?

[hatherton_wood]

I have not tried the Uniball but the Sheaffer rollerballs seem better than the Parkers but now production has moved to China this may have changed. Otherwise definitely go for a Parker Jotter with a gel refill.

[J English Smith]

I brought my black Lamy Accent to work today so I can report that it is the M62 rollerball refill that goes in this one. A very smooth and wet line and a little broader that you get with a Parker Gel refill. Decent life, IMHO.

 

It also has a nice design quirk - a little ball bearing that you can hear when you shake the pen. I don't know why it is in there, but I am guessing that it somehow agitates the ink near the top of the channels, because if you shake the roller, it almost always has a clean start. (Most people wouldn't care about this, but a FPNer probably would.)

Edited July 4, 2007 by J English Smith

[Werpon]

The Uniball Eye is not bad, but the Uniball Vision elite is way better (IMHO). More consistent line, less feathering.

 

Nowadays, when I'm not using a fountain pen, I usually write with my Stabilo Bionic. Smoother than any Uniball I own, but it sometimes scratches just a little (compared to my FPs). Sadly, I don't think these are sold outside Europe.

[michael_s]

At work I use a blue Pilot G2 Pro. It looks better than the original G2, but isn't "classy" enough for someone to bother stealing it --- even then, I won't cry since it's quite cheap. It accepts standard G2 refills. Its girth is wider than the original G2 and a Parker Jotter, so I find it more comfortable to write with.

 

-Mike

 

Photo borrowed from Pilot's website:

 

Edited July 4, 2007 by michael_s

[Opus104]

Ditto the G2 refills. My Waterman expert rollerball accepts the G2 refill - so I get the best of both worlds. That being said, I have really switched to using fountain pens in almost all situations.

[handlebar]

My Omas Milord RB does very well and i have recently learned that the Retro 51 refill fits it perfect.No more $9 refills.Now $3.50

Should be able to pick up an Omas RB for a very good price.

 

 

JD

Edited July 5, 2007 by handlebar

[extrafine]

Actually, what I'd really like to see is a FP with the blind cap replaced by a tiny cap that opens up on a tiny ballpoint pen, with a refill made of a shortened standard "clicky" refill (so that when they can't be found, they can be home-made easily). If a manufacturer is reading this: feel free to "copy" my idea... just be nice and send me a tester :-).

 

This would solve a few problems for which a BP is really needed: signing the back of credit cards, people who want to borrow your pen, writing on newsprint, etc.

 

 

But I need an everyday workhorse rollerball for when my FP just isn't an option (no arguments that there aren't such times, I'm set on this).

 

[MYU]

The pen is irrelevant. The refill is all that matters, in terms of smooth writing. I've found Schmidt roller ball refills to be really good--the ones for Capless roller ball pens. These refills are wet writers. The lines they leave behind will smudge if you don't allow them to dry for about 10-15 seconds, like a fountain pen. In fact, comparing one to a firm fine nibbed pen makes it difficult to tell the difference.

[beezaur]

What kinds of refills will work in a Lamy 2000 RB?

 

Scott

[jonro]

Have you considered the Pelikan PEL-R458-RD? It's an inexpensive rollerball that writes with fountain pen ink. It uses standard short international cartridges and Pelikan converters.

[Garageboy]

Uniball Vison Elite, 207, Fusion (yea, clear ink that turns color)

Pilot V7 and P700 (not a G2 fan, sorry)

Staedtler liquid point

 

Retro 51 Tornado

[tycosiao]

my recommendation, lamy 2000 rollerball. 1 word to describle the pen, splendid!

[marklavar]

No shouting, I know this is an FP site!

 

But I need an everyday workhorse rollerball for when my FP just isn't an option (no arguments that there aren't such times, I'm set on this).

 

I'm looking at a Montblanc Legrande (big refill). I love the pen, but how is the $6 ink refill???

 

Anyone want to recommend the daddy of rollerballs... for writing ease, reliability, ink, and longevity?

 

I like the MB style, or I'd stick with my current favourite: the cheap Mitsubishi Uniball Eye.

Ideally, I'd like this standard of ink, or a gel ink type, in a refill to fit a pen of class!!!

 

 

My recommendation is the Uniball Jetstream. It's a mix of rollerball and ballpoint, but writes very smoothly indeed.

 

[marklavar]

When not using a fountain pen, I actually prefer using a fineliner rather than a rollerball. My favourite is the Pilot Razorpoint.

[gregoron]

Don't know much about MB rollerball refills but I have some comment on the following rollerball or gel pens and refills - in order of preference:

 

1. Lamy M66 - best rollerball refill I've tried. Smoothest of the bunch, but still not as smooth as my Pelikan or Esterbrooks fp's. I gauge smoothness by writing a straight line with the pen using it's own weight only - a fountain pen nib smoothing technique. It doesn't skip even with my super light Lamy Tipo. The refill is expensive at $5 a pop, but I think you get what you pay for. Don't know if it's archival, waterproof, or chemical proof. Rollerball refills that are archival or used for documentary purposes (acid-free and fade-proof) have the ISO 14145-2 certification on the refill body or package.

 

2. Kaweco or KawecoSport Ink Roller with Noodler's Legal Lapis bottled ink. This rollerball pen was modified by Nathan Tardiff of Noodler's Ink to be refilled with your favorite bottled ink using an eyedropper. It writes smoothly and it even has the tonal variation in the written line that fountain pens have. It's not as smooth as the Lamy M66. It skips and the line is not as saturated as the Lamy's when writing under the pen's weight. It's archival, waterproof, and bleach proof when using Noodler's bullet-proof black bottled ink. The nice thing with the Kaweco is that you get line width variation similar to a fp depending on the pressure placed on the pen.

 

3. Uniball Jetstream refill in Uniball Jetstream RT (retractable) pen. Smoothest of the hybrid rollerball/gel ink refills. Ink looks like a ballpoint ink, but writes like a rollerball. Writes vaguely under the pen's weight. Archival, waterproof, and chemical proof.

 

4. Zebra JF 0.7 gel ink refills in Zebra Sarasa pens. Smoothest of the gel refills. Hardly writes under the pen's weight. Archival, waterproof, and chemical proof. Does not fit most rollerball pens taking standard RB refills.

 

5. Parker Gel 0.7 refills in Parker Jotter. Smooth gel refill. Does not or hardly writes under the pen's weight. Don't know if it's archival. It's not waterproof and chemical proof. Note: archival ballpoint refills are certified by ISO 12757-2 rating. Parker ballpoint refills indicate this on the body and are thus safe for documentary use.

 

6. Pilot G2 or G-2 0.7 refills in Pilot G-2 pens. Ho-hum gel refill. Does not write under pen's weight. Archival and waterproof, but not chemical proof. It fits most rollerball pens even my Lamy Tipo that takes M66 refills.

 

7. Itoya Aquaroller Refill (1.0 mm, Parker style). I bought these at swisherpens.com and expected it to perform well. I was disappointed to discover that it writes much like a ballpoint, but just a tad smoother. Does not write under it's weight even when I use it with my Metal X Caran D'Ache hex pen. Don't know about achivability or waterproofness. So far, it's the only rollerball refill that biro artists can use to draw half tones similar to a ballpoint - yet smoother. The Uniball Jetstream's hybrid ink cannot do this despite its ballpoint-like characteristic.

 

Well, that's about it. My ideal rollerball pen would be: writes close to a fountain pen (tonal variation, smoothness, angled writing), retractable, refillable with bottled ink (ink roller), not longer than a Parker Jotter, not heavier than a Pelikan M150, not more than $50. So far, my $10 Lamy Tipo has these qualities with exception of the bottled ink refillability. The Kaweco Ink Roller is a close 2nd.

 

By the way, as of today, these are the only rollerball pens in the market that can be refilled with fountain pen ink cartridges or bottled ink using a converter - as far as I know:

 

1. Kaweco Ink Roller (bottled ink only using an eyedropper) - see this comparison: http://listarchive.consultech.net/ZossPens/index.cgi?0::9318

2. Kaweco Rollerball

3. Monteverde (Yafa) Mega Ink Ball

4. Borghini Ink-O-Sphere models (in limited supply in US)

5. Daniel Hechter Rollink (now only available online from Australia)

6. Yafa Cartridge Rollerball

7. Pelikan Roller

8. J. Herbin Stylo-Roller

Edited August 31, 2007 by gregoron

[RayMan]

My favorites:

 

Parker Rialto BP pen with a Parker gel refill (Rialto's are discontinued, but fairly plentiful on EBay)

 

Waterman Kultur RB with a Pilot G2 refill.

[greencobra]

Late for this party but....I find the MB refills dry up very quickly. I have a Standard MB roller which takes a different MB refill than the larger MBs and heck, for 7 bucks (yeah, I pay 7 at my local store) it dries up very fast. But the good with the bad, I like the way the MB roller writes.

[PigRatAndGoat]

I find the MB refills dry up very quickly.

 

By dry you mean run out of ink fast, right? Or are you referring to sitting around too long and drying out? Maybe this was a dumb question.... :embarrassed_smile:

[elalan]

Parker, Parker, Parker. I have an Intrigue that is very, very nice as well as a cheap retractable that is also very good. As others have said, it is all about the refill, and the current Parker offerings (usually in every office supply catalogue) are good. For mass-produced, the uniball micro has and will always be a stalwart.

[quattro98]

For a basic rollerball, the various nicer ones from Pilot & Uniball work really well. The Montblanc refill is nice, so if that's what you want, just go for it. In higher end pens, I also like the Parker gel refill that you can use in any ballpoint that takes standard refills (Parker, Pelikan, Aurora, Omas, Caran d'Ache & others). The advantage of the Parker gel is that you get a capless pen, the major downside is that it only comes in a medium width, so if you want a very fine line, it won't work for you.

 

As others have mentioned, getting a rollerball which takes a standard sized refill gives you a lot of flexibility. Waterman, Aurora, Pelikan, Sheaffer & Caran d'Ache all take standard refills. You can use the manufacturers refill, a Schmidt ceramic, or a Pilot. Many people like the Pilot G2, but I find them to require a fair bit of pressure to write without skipping. The Pilot Precise V5 or V7 RT refill is a liquid ink instead of a gel & writes very smoothly while giving you a very fine line with the V5. This is my choice of refills. I keep the Precise V5 RT in my bag for general use & plan on using the refills in my Waterman rollerball once I use up my Waterman refills.

 

http://www.pilotpen.us/products/rollingball/#anchor_pv57r

http://www.pilotpen.us/products/accessories/#anchor_pv57r