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Last year I found a beaten up a black Rotring 600 fountain barrel (of course with the mandatory crack), section, nib but with no cap. After some time I tried my luck and bought a seemingly NOS 600 rollerball cap that had an almost invisible crack. Fastworded around 2 months and the crack on cap grew considerably. I never dropped it, it was kept in a drawer, it had no exposure to higy humidity, extreme low / high temperatures, it was constantly at around 22 grades C. I have a video (link here: Rotring 600 fp review) where I have the unboxing of the cap when I received it and the rest of the video where the crack is much larger. Did anything like this happened to your black 600? My first impression was: was I so sleepy that I was not able to see this crack or did it really just grew in a couple of weeks? In my case the rollerball cap fits perfectly the fountain pen. Even though it is sort of a frankenpen pen, I like it even better. I do not own 5 or more black 600 fountain pens that are all inked up and I need to remember the nib size. It makes much more sense to remember the ink color rather than the size, like in the case of the 600 mechanical pencils, the lead thickness is marked on the cap, and the selector is for the lead grades B, 2B, H, ... Is this happening only to the black version or also to the silver one? The majority of black ones have the cracks on ebay while the silver ones seem to have no issue with this.

Once upon a time, around 1980, I owned a rollerball that I’m trying to identify. Rollerballs we’re still pretty new; I don’t remember much about the pen’s ink, but it might have used fountain pen ink (cartridges). What made it uncommon, though, was having a long-short style construction like you see on Pilot Elite, Platinum 200, and several other Japanese fountain pens. Does anyone know of a long short style rollerball from the past? Thanks! Al C

I have, I think, just completed my baby collection of pens etc. with a Retro 1951 rollerball. Apart from a Kaweco Sport EDC (kept in a Kaweco tin), I have six ‘standard’ fountain pens and six ‘other’ writing instruments, of which 2 are FP demonstrators and one is a semi-retired Sheaffer Prelude FP (gift). The ‘standard’ side The ‘non standard’ side The second group includes a Sheaffer ballpoint, a ‘Kerry’ mechanical pencil and the rollerball. Here is the rollerball on its own: The ‘Tornado by Retro 1951’ “Albert [Einstein]” in all its glory. My Tornado came from Cult Pens UK and so was very well packaged, arriving in a sealed dedicated cardboard box-cum-stand, with instruction booklet. I even got a promotional Retro key ring thrown in, along with the trademark Cult Pens sweets! The pen is all-metal construction and so fairly heavy. The action to extend and retract the rollerball itself is smooth and consistent, if somewhat heavier than my Sheaffer Prelude ballpoint. In the hand, it is slightly top-heavy: not an issue for me, but it could be a problem for someone with small hands. It is tapered to enable comfortable holding, but this is not as well achieved as, once again, the Sheaffer, which is always a pleasure to hold. By contrast, with the Retro 51, after a period of intensive writing (to test it) I found my hand becoming rather fatigued. This is not a major issue for me, as I bought it mainly for use on envelopes and in situations where a normal fountain pen might end up smudging - or worse. Extended writing is not really on the agenda - that’s what my fountain pens are for! The supplied OEM (Schmidt) rollerball is surprisingly good. I’m strictly an F or EF sort of person with fountain pen nibs, but this M rollerball was lovely. Smooth, no skipping* - even with Clairefontaine paper - and no feathering or bleed through to speak of, even on cheap and nasty paper. I was pleasantly surprised that the ink, once dry, tolerated being wiped with water-soaked tissue paper - there was some greyish smearing but the writing remained perfectly legible. Overleaf, on the same piece of paper, there was quite a lot of bleed through from the wetting, but that is not surprising. So, not ‘waterproof’, but certainly ‘water-resistant’ enough for use on envelopes, unless they are going to the Tropics! From my perspective, this rollerball makes a nice decorative and very practical addition to my modest collection. * I write with an angle of about 30 degrees, using very little pressure. Mostly cursive script, but not textbook perfect (i.e. never lifting the pen). It would seem, from a few experiments, that many variations on these conditions do produce significant skipping on some smooth papers, so Caveat Emptor.

Hello Everyone, first post for me....been trolling and know this is a topic that has been discussed before...but wanted to dust off and see if any new developments/learnings are out there to share.. just purchased a le grande rollerball...love the pen and love the rollerballs (more practical for daily work use than my le grand fp).....but don't love the lifespan of the rollerball refills....looking for alternatives... seen refilling the MB cartridge hacks....i'm more inclined to using a G2 refill (decent writer, much better lifespan, more color choices), but have not found a good way to make it fit into the le grande..... any recent hacks/innovations in this sphere? PS: i've seen the reverse hack online, trying to use a MB rollerball cartridge in a G2....dont understand this, since this is essentially a value play and the MB rollerball does not provide as much value as the G2 cartridges.... Bruce

Like so many of us, I like the Pilot G2 rollerballs. But is there a fine pen that takes this refill without having to pull out the Exacto knife, tape or glue bottle to adapt it? I’m searching for a pen I can use at a business meeting that has a bit of weight to it (literally and figuratively). I would prefer a twist or push button pen (capless) but would also consider a capped rollerball.

I have a friend with this Waterman roller ball pen. I'm not an expert on Waterman's but I've seen a few in my day. I've never seen this one and was wondering if anyone could help identify it by model and approximate value? It's new, in the box, never been used. Thanks for your help.Waterman Pen

When not using my Fp, my choice of writing on good paper has always been the Pilot V-Ball 0.5mm Blue . Yesterday I was in a stationery store and I picked up the Uni-Ball Eye Fine Blue, since i wanted to try it out and compare to the pilot's single use rollerball. I do not have any good photos, so I will explain the best way I can. ■External factors: ● Uni-ball Eye is thicker than the Pilot V-Ball and looks like it hold more ink ● Eye has softer plastic on the cap and tail than the V-Ball. ● Eye's clip, although is a little more dificult to use, secures the pen better than the V-Ball's clip. ■Internal factors: ● Eye's grip is a little bit larger than the V-Ball's ■Ink and writing ● V-Ball's ink is dark. Navy dark almost like blue-black. On the othe hand Eye has a lighter shade of blue, almost azure. ● V-Ball's line is as thin as expected from a 0.5mm pen. Eye's line is a tad thicker, which in return make the a pen a little smoother. ● In the particular paper I used Eye feathers more than the V-Ball and bleeds more, although this might be because of the thicker line it lays down. ■Waterproofness ● The Uni-Ball, just as advertised, performed well in my water test and less ink was displaced than the V-Ball, which also held quite good (although worse than the Eye) Which one do you prefer? I will do more testing to see which one works better for me.

I have a waterman carene rollerball pen. I wonder if I can convert the Rollerball pen into a fountain pen. Think about how I was the messages before the search and modification. Are you sure that the Carene fountain pen cap fits the Carene roller ballpen cap? Wouldn't it be compatible if I put the carne fountain pen cap in the rollerball pen barrel and put a very small cartridge about 3.7cm sold by Waterman into the rollerball barrel?

While I use my smartphone for many things, I still manage tasks the old fashioned way -- on paper in a notebook. I find that the physical act of writing with a pen keeps things in my head better than typing them into a digital task manager. I mostly use my fountain pens for this (various colors for different purposes), but I like to have a rollerball or two on hand for back-up in case a pen has dried a bit or is acting finicky. I've been attempting to use Cross rollerballs for this -- in part because they offer purple and red as well as blue and black. However, lately I have found that these refills are beyond dreadful. Dreadful -- as in they won't write consistently within five minutes of opening the package and installing the refill in the pen. I know there are a lot of other rollerball options out there (indeed, I use many others). But I can't believe how bad these refills have become. Cross really ought to be ashamed to have these things on the market -- at least in my view. Anyone else seeing the same thing?

Hi, Is a Phileas rollerball barrel compatible with a Phileas fountain pen section? Silly question, but I have got a section in my junk box, and would like to make some use of it. Max

​I am officially in love with the Schmidt capless rollerball refills (8127 and P8127). I've purchased a couple of Tornado pens to use with them, but the Tornadoes are a little small (short, really) for my hand. What larger, high quality pens will fit this refill?

I introduce you today to Unbranded Bob.. please make him feel welcome while I attempt a brief review. A Jinhao 599, a Hero 359, and a Lanbitou 757 all walk into a bar.. that's what this pen puts me in mind of, the start of a well known anecdote. But the ending may surprise you. Unlike all the other ink rollerballs I have read about, this one is neither dry nor scratchy. It's not the smooth skate of a fine fountain pen nib, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good it writes. I would choose it over both a Uniball and my runner up favorite, an Inkjoy. The Pro's : Good writer, extra fine tip of .4mmCheap ($9.95 shipped)Comes with a piston converter for using bottled fountain pen inkCan use cartridges ** (see note, below) if that is your thingSturdy construction, on par with a decent knock-off of a Lamy VistaHas a usable clip that stays clippedThe Con's : Unbranded, so finding a tip replacement in the future may be difficult I have a Jinhao 599 fountain pen that I use daily and like. This rollerball (let's call him Bob) is an almost perfect clone except for the clip. Bob also looks like the clear Lanbitou 757 and has obviously stolen the Hero 359 clip. Unlike my Jinhao, Bob has no cracks and his cap snicks shut perfectly. Perhaps some abuse on my part may change this in future but so far he's held up better than the Jinhao did in the same time period. I consider Bob to be a clone of a clone but a successful one. ** A note about cartridges. I'm a cartridge fanatic because my pens get used on the go far more than they do at home. I wanted a rollerball that used cartridges! Bob's little ink puncture thingie did not work with an international cartridge. But a Platinum cart snapped in just fine. I have the adapter that came with one of my Preppy's (currently stuck inside the pen) that converts to international shorts. As soon as I find some needle nose pliers or when I give up and just buy another adapter, I am pretty sure I will be able to use international shorts without issue and will update this review. I apologize for my lack of reviewed ascetics, but my criteria for fountain pens is similar: does it write well, can it use carts, and is it cheap. Bob checks all those boxes for me. And for those who subscribe to the size matters criteria, I include the following picture. From the top: Unbranded Bob, a Jinhao 599, a Platinum Preppy (yes, that's scotch tape holding a cracked cap together, I get attached to my pens) I have smallish hands and hate giant pen barrels. Unbranded Bob is infinitesimally smaller in barrel girth than the Jinhao, which is at the top of my comfort zone, and right about the same as the Preppy. If you feel the urge to adopt an Unbranded Bob of your own, I bought him on flea-bay from US Pens for $9.95 US, shipped. This is my first review of anything here. Hope this proves useful to everyone.

Hey all, I was just curious about your experience(if any) with the Estie Rollerball? Thank you!

I recently purchased a Retro 51 Deluxe Stealth Tornado Rollerball (the all-black one), which I'm enjoying. The refill says "Retro 51" on it, but is this actually made by Schmidt? My favorite roller refill is the Schmidt 8127 Long Capless Rollerball Refill in medium, blue, but that won't fit in this pen. Is there a substantially similar Schmidt that will fit the Volcano? Thanks, Gary

I had just started using fountain pens around 1999/2000, right around the time Sheaffer came out with the Whale Shark Intrigue. I really wanted one but the price on the FP was more than I was willing to spend. I stay below $100 (under $50 most of the time) so I long wrote it off as something I'd never have. When I got back into pens recently I looked at what was available on the Bay and found a new old stock rollerball and couldn't pass it up. I'm less strict about everything having to be a FP now than I was then and I'm really glad because I dig this one a lot.

What is the most fluid-writing, smoothest capless rollerball that fits standard Parker-size pens? Thanks! Gary

I've become a big fan of the Schneider Ray rollerball that takes standard fountain pen cartridges. It's fabulous! But does anyone know of a CAPLESS rollerball that also takes these cartridges? Either a push-button or twist rollerball would be fine.

I love the Pentel EnerGel rollerballs. But is there a fine pen that takes this refill without having to adapt it? Needs to be a pen that has weight and elegance. I would prefer a twist or push button pen (capless) but would also consider a capped rollerball. Thanks!

Refill Parker Roller Ball cartridge using syringe and vacuum method. Refill Parker Roller Ball Cartridge using syringe vacuum method V2 How to refill Parker rollerball Thank you, dear Kenneth Lee and dear Dhruv Upreti!

Hello, I tried the 1912 Heritage Roller time ago and it seemed to me smoother than the Pix i am using. Same thing for the M that uses the same refill;the line also were bolder and more saturated. Was it only my impression or they are really smoother? How does this pen behave for long writing sessions? I d like such a refill to be offered for capped rollers too.

hi all bought this pen some 20 years ago in singapore at montblanc boutique and no longer have the box and tags. i've tried to get help identifying and getting the specs but cannot get much other than some contradictory info online. montblanc hasnt been very helpful, unfortunately. does anyone know about this pen? any info and/or background on this pen would be greatly appreciated. thx and cheers!

Hi, The only brown ink rollerball refills I've found are made by Montblanc. Since I can't afford a Montblanc rollerball pen, I was wondering if 1. anyone knows of brown ink refills made by anyone besides Montblanc; or 2. if anyone has personal experience with Montblanc rollerball refills fitting their non-Montblanc rollerball pens. The dimensions listed for Montblanc rollerball refills (brown, medium-point) are "6.1 x 0.4 x 0.4 inches" whereas the dimensions all other rollerball refills made by other brands (Sheaffer, Monteverde, etc) are different. Thanks in advance!

Hi, Finally figured out how to refill an empty parker roller ball cartridge with fountain pen ink and have made a short 3 min video describing the process. It's a variation of the syringe vacuum method used to refill a pilot varsity pen. https://youtu.be/uMtBMEE7tas Let's see how many times the roller ball cartridge can be refilled and report back what caused it to finally fail. eg: ball dropped out. Enjoy! weemeng

Hi Sometimes I have to use a non-fountain pen so I have a Mitsubishi UB157 rollerball and a Pilot G2. While the ink is great, the point is not exactly small so I have to write very fast to avoid that my letters get tangles together. Is there a way to reduce inkflow on these rollerballs so I can write a bit smaller?