Cheap disposable pens...that refill

[lascosas]

I am a big fan of supposedly disposable fountain pens that can be refilled. For years my favorite has been Varsity. I have a few of those filled with various Noodler's permanent inks, like Baystate Blue. For years those pens have had the same ink and always start immediately. The problem is that the Varsity pens are ugly. So...I seem to have found a replacement that I prefer.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Disposable-Fountain-Assorted-Lettering-Sketching/dp/B09JG38P5W/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2CV0VPY4RG4DY&keywords=Marspark%2Bfountain%2Bpens&qid=1676073529&s=office-products&sprefix=marspark%2Bfountain%2Bpens%2Coffice-products%2C137&sr=1-1&th=1

 

Unfortunately it seems to only come in packs of 26, though this one looks identical for 12:

https://www.amazon.com/Disposable-Quick-Drying-Smooth-Writing-Multicolor-Calligraphy/dp/B09DCQ936T/ref=pd_day0fbt_vft_none_sccl_1/147-4322757-7473311?pd_rd_w=BTAgl&content-id=amzn1.sym.3c994a31-f452-4c52-a22c-87246b78a3b3&pf_rd_p=3c994a31-f452-4c52-a22c-87246b78a3b3&pf_rd_r=V8P8TNK1670KR8RKNDA7&pd_rd_wg=DmzQx&pd_rd_r=ae7cf41d-fadd-4bdb-956d-ed2144a25030&pd_rd_i=B09DCQ936T&th=1

 

I am a complete klutz, and even I had no trouble removing the Lamy-like nib and then the feed, cleaning and filling the pen & reinserting the feed and then the nib.

 

PRO:

-easy to fill (for a supposedly disposable fountain pen)

-all transparent (except for cap finial), including the feed

-bouncy, wet nib

-the pens come filled with nicely saturated ink

-$.73 USD each

CON:

-You must buy it in multiples

-Clip is cheap bendable plastic

-Plastic for the body and cap are cheaper than the Varsity

-I call the nib bouncy, others might call it cheap

[inkstainedruth]

I don't know anything about either of these brands.  And am a bit concerned that there doesn't seem to be any indication about where these pens are manufactured.  If I were to consider buying these (which I'm not) I would read ALL the reviews -- not just the positive ones -- before ordering.  

I'm also not keen about them coming with ink already in them.  I'd much prefer to use my OWN inks.  
I'd say pay a little more and get a Platinum Preppy or a Noodler's FPC (not sure if you can buy a Noodler's Charlie on its own).  And use your own inks.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[lascosas]

These are $.73 Chinese cheapy pens that come with ink but are very easy to refill with your own inks, which is why I bought them.  And in my opinion, WAY nicer than Noodler Charlies which are dry nails. 

[dipper]

2 hours ago, lascosas said:

....... The problem is that the Varsity pens are ugly......

I rather like the no-nonsense functional shape of the Pilot Varsity/V-Pen.

 

Not so the colour "decoration" on the pen body! The Pilot branding, logo, and other graphic designs that are screen printed (?) onto the pen body do not appeal to me.

 

Good news is that the Pilot paint-job can be removed.

 

Rubbed with Acetone and Cellulose Thinners, working one small area at a time and avoiding damaging the plastic body by stopping as soon as the paint has been removed from one area ..... I now have two demonstrator V-Pens. One is currently in use, refilled with Platinum Black ink, and one is flushed, dried, and empty:

 

When rubbing with solvent nothing seems to be happening at first.

Continued rubbing eventually shows evidence of paint removal onto the rubbing cloth, and then the paint lifts faster until the worked patch becomes clear. At that point I transfer the action to an entirely separate patch of the pen body, aiming to allow any solvents that might have begun to diffuse into the plastic body in the previously cleaned area to evaporate away.

 

Cleaning one Varsity/V-Pen might have taken ten minutes or so.

I think that I worked once over the whole pen, in patches. Left the pen to "air" for a few minutes, and then repeated the operation to remove the last few smears of paint.

 

Memory is slightly fumed and hazy though... I should have done this work outdoors!

[Dip n Scratch]

I like the blue ink of the stock V-Pen. Seems like Baystate Blue would be a fine match  for the OE blue ink. BSB stains like no other ink. Filling a V-Pen with the troublesome BSB ink sounds like a perfect solution.

 

What does the nib off the Pilot pen fit? I was wondering about a nib swap on a Wing Sung 3008. It would be nice to re-use the nib when the pen it too worn internally to be ink-tight.

[mke]

Why not using Platinum Preppys?

 

Some made eyedroppers from them, I didn't, just removed the branding.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CH6wuyaDyvq/

[AceNinja]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:24 AM, lascosas said:

 

 

This is essentially a Pilot Varsity's clone!  the nib and feed is essentially the same as the pilot v-pen / petit1's type.  The feed also has the wick string, same as varsity and petit1.

 

 

[lascosas]

The Pilot V/Varsity is definitely close to this new pen, but not identical.  See the attached photo.  While Dipper has explained how to remove the paint from the body of the Varsity, that takes time & you still have a colored cap and black feed.  With the new one, you have everything transparent automatically.  And the Varsity is three times the price.

 

I don't eyedropper Preppies.  Too easy to forget it is a pull cap & in trying to unscrew the cap, unscrew the body.  Personal experience.  And the Petit1 I find too small.

 

But the real reason for calling this pen to people's attention is not as another eyedropper.  It is to point out that you can make your own sealed fountain pen that stores 3 ml of ink, for a very small investment.  As I said in my first post, I will only use waterproof, indelible ink in sealed pens. And every sealed pen I've encountered was called disposable.  I manage to drip ink everywhere (see above for Preppy ED experience) and the Varsity is a pen where you can permanently store an ink that is not going to leak or dry-out.  So for me the Varsity has always been a limited purpose pen.  And for that purpose, I now prefer this pen. 

[dipper]

I see from the two links given in the original post by @lascosason Amazon USA that two brand named are used, "Marspark" and "Clabby".

 

Searching on Amazon UK the same pens appear again, now in packs of 8 pens, with yet another brand name "Dacitiery".

 

All three links do look to be exactly the same pen though.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dacitiery-Disposable-Sketching-Journaling-Calligraphy/dp/B09YV5LXQZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_19?crid=1WANEOLNCGSNF&keywords=disposable+fountain+pen&qid=1676350618&sprefix=disposable+fountain+pen%2Caps%2C5273&sr=8-19

 

I may give these a try. At less than £1 each!

 

[lascosas]

This is also the same product 64 for $27, $.42 each Prime:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QSRS6C6?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

How do I know...because I bought this set also to do something I've wanted for years.  I several years ago bought the entire, at that time 75, Sailor Kobe bottles of ink, and I've wanted a way to easily go between these inks without either using a dip pen or constantly filling and cleaning pens.  So far I'm happy with this solution.