Gentleman ballpoint problem

[belfast-popeye]

I feel a bit daft for asking but.....I picked up a very nice Waterman's Gentleman's fountain pen and ball pen set and i can't seem to change out the ball pen refill. Its twist actuated and i pulled the cap off to reveal the brass inside but the refill doesn't drop out, should it? I've also tried twisting and pulling the mechanism to see if it frees the refill but to no avail. Any help please.

[gvl]

Hi,

 

Have just checked my Gentleman ballpoint. When the barrel is unscrewed from the top, the threads should remain with the cap. The refill doesn't quite drop out, but it should pull out with minimal resistance.

 

I have had problems with Parker and Papermate refills, where the ink has leaked from the plastic part at the top of the refill and then congealed. Although, this has yet to happen with any of my Waterman pens, I would suggest that this is what might have happened in your case with the Gentleman.

 

With the Parkers and Papermates, I have managed to remove jammed refills by soaking in water overnight and then applying heat (steam from a kettle) over the affected area. Using reasonable force, and perhaps a bit of jiggling about to loosen it, the refill has then pulled free.

 

All that remains then is to remove old congealed ink from inside the cap, in order that a new refill can be inserted without sticking!

 

G.

[belfast-popeye]

Hi G, So you don't pull the cap off to reveal mechanism? You unscrew cap, yes??

[elysee]

I feel a bit daft for asking but.....I picked up a very nice Waterman's Gentleman's fountain pen and ball pen set and i can't seem to change out the ball pen refill. Its twist actuated and i pulled the cap off to reveal the brass inside but the refill doesn't drop out, should it? I've also tried twisting and pulling the mechanism to see if it frees the refill but to no avail. Any help please.

 

For the Waterman Gentleman, you may either unscrew the cap to reveal the refill(it will sit in the top portion ready to be removed) or you can pull off the cap and then unscrew the top portion. To unscrew this top portion (which appears to have three parts (small top section, shiny, movable middle section, and larger third section nearest to the lacquer bottom -- first and third section are ribbed), grasp the third section and the bottom lacquer section and unscrew them. The refill will sit in the top section: just remove it, replace it, and put the pen back together (screwing in the three part section and then replacing the cap or screwing the cap back into the bottom section if you only unscrewed the cap). It is best to simply unscrew the cap rather than pulling off the cap.

 

Be careful with your pen when using either method if someone has over-tightened the pen when replacing the refill. If the refill is stuck in some old oil/grease or ink (that may have come from the refill if it is at all damaged) then you may have to twist/giggle it loose. But, otherwise, you should be able to just pull out the refill from the top section (cap on or not).