Alternative refills for Caran D'ache clasic ballpens

[deepocean]

Hello,

 

 

I get the feeling that the Caran D'ache refills are getting empty pretty fast. If I am not mistaking every refill lasts about 12 days or so. True, I write a lot at the university but is this normal? I pay 4.75 Euro for each refill. I think this is quiet expensive. But I really love these pens because they have perfect dimension and I don't want to go back to Parker pens which had 'fat and dirty' points all the time.

 

Are there good (points: smooth and not easily getting dirty) alternatives for these fillings? And where can I buy them in large quantities so I can only order once.

 

thanks

 

[aderoy]

The refills are rated for approx 600 A4 pages hopefully you are not writing that much in 12 days!?!

 

I have never found any replacement for these. Normally only have to buy 2 or 3 (bold size) refills a year.

[gregoron]

You can use Parker refills, or these Schneider Express 775 stick refills ( http://www.passion4pens.com/site/735447/product/302-9412494 ) for CD'A Classic, Metal, or 849 ballpoints. Schneider refills write more smoothly and leave darker lines. They are also archival (waterproof and fadeproof) just like Parker refills.

 

With some 849 pens, the Parker refills, or Parker-style refills, may be a bit too long so you would just need to NOT fully screw in the cap activator. I like these pens because they're solidly built, cool looking, and very versatile.

Edited February 13, 2008 by gregoron

[deepocean]

I write about 150 to 200 pages depending how much I want to practice etc.. I am sure I did not wrote more than 100 pages with that pen filling.

 

I just tested my Parker fillings in Caran D'anche and they are a bit too long although I can still use which is useful because I have a couple of Parker fillings lying around doing nothing.

 

Also, those Parker filling go around much longer than the Caran D'anche, I am sure. I have used Parker for years. The Schneider looks nice and promising but seems to be more expensive than Caran D'ache it self. Are there no cheaper, than caran d'ache' alternatives other than parker?

 

How about 'gel' refills btw?

[gregoron]

You can cut the ends of Parker refills using a pen knife to suit the size. Those Schneiders come in 10 per box, so that's around $1 per refill. The CD'A refills cost $5.80 each from the same website. I guess it's cheaper there in Europe.

 

Another alternative are those Sheaffer refills. I like these because they write smoothly (especially the fine points) and is a blue-black ink instead of black. You just need to add a plastic spacer at the end because it's shorter than the CD'A refills.

 

I write about 150 to 200 pages depending how much I want to practice etc.. I am sure I did not wrote more than 100 pages with that pen filling.

 

I just tested my Parker fillings in Caran D'anche and they are a bit too long although I can still use which is useful because I have a couple of Parker fillings lying around doing nothing.

 

Also, those Parker filling go around much longer than the Caran D'anche, I am sure. I have used Parker for years. The Schneider looks nice and promising but seems to be more expensive than Caran D'ache it self. Are there no cheaper, than caran d'ache' alternatives other than parker?

 

How about 'gel' refills btw?