Pen Refills

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT REFILLS

Now available for the first time ever are refills in new liquid ink technologies with up to ten color choices. Read on to learn how a standard ballpoint refill is now available in Gel and Liquid ink technology. Roller Balls and Fineliners are now available for most brands in ten colors.

There has never been up to ten color choices in multiple technologies for brands such as Montblanc, Cross, Waterman, Waterford, Delta, Aurora, Sheaffer, Monteverde, Romet, Libelle New York, Cartier, Retro, Pelikan and many, many more.

To learn all about these new refill technologies and the world of color choices read on. When you’ve learned all about your opportunities, click the blue circle to proceed.

Fountain Pen Refills

(1) Which ink can I use?

(2) Does my fountain pen require a specific brand or may I use other ink brands in my pen?

(3) What is the clear plastic thing in my new pen?

(4) Cleaning your fountain pen is required. Do you know how?

Roller Ball Refills

(1) Do I have a roller ball or ballpoint refill?

(2) What is roller ball ink? What is different from ballpoint ink?

(3) How do I choose the correct roller ball refill for my pen?

Ballpoint Refills

(1) Do I have a ballpoint or roller ball refill?

(2) What is ballpoint ink? What is different from roller ball ink?

(3) How do I choose the correct ballpoint refill for my pen?

(4) What new colors or technologies are now available for ballpoint pens?

Fineliner Refills

(1) What is a fineliner?

(2) What fineliner will fit my pen?

Pencil Refills

(1) The basic lead/graphite story

(2) Erasers

Multi-Pen Refills

(1) Which refill does my Multi-Pen require?

(2) What options in Multi-Pen refills are available

(3) Maximizing your multi-Pens’ usage

FOUNTAIN PENS

Which ink can I use?

Does my fountain pen require a specific brand or may I use other ink brands in my pen?

Many customers ask us if they can use Pelikan ink in their brand Libelle New York fountain pen? In our experience, yes! If the refill fits you should be fine using any brand cartridge.

Most fountain pens can use a cartridge or bottled ink with your converter. A few brands such as Pelikan, are bottle ink primarily. They have their own reservoir inside the pen which holds the ink for you. These types of pens have their own twist fill mechanism to draw the ink from the bottle into the pen. Although rare, this is true for some Pelikan and a few Montblanc.

Some customers want to use Cross cartridges in their Parker fountain pen. HOLD ON! If your pen brand requires a proprietary cartridge you can only use that brand. Sometimes we get Lamy cartridges returned to us with the comment:

“I love the Lamy ink color violet and bought some for my Montblanc. They DON’T FIT! What should I have done differently?”

Please review the list below to see which cartridge your brand of pen requires. If you have a proprietary brand then it can only be used within that brand. It will not fit anything else.

Brands that use a ‘proprietary’ cartridge:

Aurora     

Cross      

Lamy       

Parker     

Waterman

Pilot        

Sheaffer  

Brands that use the ‘International size’ cartridge:

Most fountain pens sold in the world utilize the International size standard cartridge. Below is the size and shape of this cartridge. This size cartridge is made under many brand names from Montblanc to Pelikan can use the International Standard Size cartridge. See the list below:



‘International Size’ Cartridges can be used with these brands:

Acme Bossert & Erhard Caran d'Ache Cartier Colibri Conklin Conway Stewart Delta Dunhill

Elysee Faber Castell Inoxcrom Itoya Jean Pierre Lepine Jorg Hysek Libelle New York Montblanc Montegrappa Monteverde

OMAS Pelikan Recife Retro 1951 Rotring Schmidt ST Dupont Stipula Visconti

-Top- The ink converter. What is it?



Almost all fountain pens can use bottled ink. The converter ‘converts’ your pen from ink cartridges to a fountain pen which can now draw ink from any bottle into the converter. The majority of our customers go in the direction of replaceable cartridges.

Let’s look at the converter that came with your pen. Notice the little rubber piston inside the converter? Twist the top piece of the converter (usually black) and watch the piston move up or down. The rubber piston needs to be positioned at the bottom of the converter.

Place the converter into your pen exactly like you were inserting a cartridge. Place the fountain pen nib into your bottle of ink and twist the converter’s top so that the piston rises in the converter. This will draw ink from the bottle, up through the nib/feed section and deposit it into the converter. You have just essentially filled a ‘cartridge’ of ink.


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Cleaning your fountain pen is required. Do you know how?

The single most important issue regarding fountain pen usage is keeping your nib clean. This will provide an ongoing free-flowing ink experience. Our rule around the office is to soak your pen’s nib section (known as the ‘nib block’) in cool pure water after every two or three cartridges at the most. After a 12- to 24 hour soak, run the nib under tap water flowing very slowly. Touch the nib’s tip to a paper towel and look for there to be no pigment present. At this point, your nib is clean and ready for more ink.

Never flush with hot or very cold water.
Never use anything but clear water.
Ink stains. Be careful.
99% of pens returned to us because, “they don’t work” are in need of a simple cleaning.

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ALL ABOUT ROLLER BALLS

What Is A Roller Ball Refill Specifically?

A roller ball refill is a liquid ink filled tube which has a golf ball like dimpled ball which delivers this liquid ink to the paper. Roller ball liquid ink is similar to liquid fountain pen ink. It is very different than ballpoint ink which is waxy and requires thrust to push the ink from the tip. A roller ball liquid ink refill flows as if a wick is touched to the paper. Paper (or a shirt pocket) will literally wick the ink from a roller ball refill in minutes. There is a wick inside the tube.

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Do I have a roller ball or ballpoint refill?

Let’s decide.

(1) Does the pen require that you remove the cap to write?

ANSWER: Roller Ball refill

(2) Does the pen require that you twist or click the pen to begin to write?

ANSWER: Ballpoint refill (see below ‘Ballpoints’)

If you have a roller ball pen you generally must remove the cap of the pen to expose the writing tip. Just like a fountain pen it has a separate cap. So, if you must remove your pen’s cap to write, then you more than likely have a roller ball refill in your pen.

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How do I choose the correct roller ball refill for my pen?

To determine your exact fitment you should ignore your refill's tube color. See the three or four numbers? Ignore those as well as you will never see them again; they are production dates and mean nothing.

You need to be concerned with the total length of your refill as shown below and the fitment area from the tip to the barrel of the refill.

The most commonly used roller ball shape refill looks like this.



The top of the refill will either have a little hat (as shown below in green) or be flat (as shown above). You need to match this as well.



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Why does the Schmidt and or Monteverde look exactly like my expensive branded refill?

Notice how this Cartier branded refill appears exactly the same as the Schmidt refill shown above? It is exactly the same fitment. Your Cartier pen (or many other popular brands) can use any of our replacement refills or the Cartier branded refill. Your choice. Odds are that your branded refill was made by Schmidt of Germany.

ALL ABOUT BALLPOINTS

So how do we decide if the pen you desire to ‘re-fill’ is in fact a ballpoint?

(1) Does the pen require that you click to begin to write?

(2) Does the pen require that you twist the pen to begin to write?

If either of the above are true, you have a ballpoint pen.

The ballpoint refill shape most commonly used around the world is referred to as the ‘Parker Style Ballpoint’ The body shape, length and ‘crown’ shown here is probably your ballpoint refill’s shape.



Many brands of pen will accept the above refill. However, some ballpoints are not at all the shape shown above. Here is an example of another ballpoint shape. This is a ballpoint commonly found in Multi pens (two to five differently colored refills which deploy upon your command):



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Although the ‘Parker Style’ (shown above in silver and blue) is in 99% of all ballpoint pens there are always exclusions to every rule.



Here are some exclusions based upon the brand pen which needs to be re-filled:

Cross ballpoints are very different.



Lamy ballpoints are quite odd:



Not to be outdone by Fisher (who pressurizes their ballpoint refill so it flows in space as well as upside down):



Sheaffer supports their own design:



And finally, Waterman’s take on the ballpoint refill shape:



None of these refills: Cross, Lamy, Fisher, Sheaffer or Waterman will fit in your pen unless it is the same brand. In other words, we have 500 refills for sale of which one correct body shape will fit your pen and 499 which will not.

Cross ballpoints are commonly used in ’second tier’ brands. For example; the pen you were given at the office or by a vendor with ‘brand names’ which frankly you have never heard of before may use this common Cross ballpoint refill. More common though is the standard ‘Parker Style’ refill as shown at the very top.



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Hundreds of new choices: New Colors and Technologies

Never before in the history of ballpoint writing have this many new technologies in inks and ink colors been available.

If you have a ballpoint pen which uses the standard ‘Parker Style’ ballpoint you now can choose:

(1) The old standard wax-based ballpoint ink

(2) New Liquid ink ballpoints

(3) New Gel ballpoints

Liquid Ink Ballpoint:

Liquid ink refills use a water-based liquid ink as opposed to the oil-based inks found in ballpoint refills. This is essentially the same liquid ink found in a roller ball refill. These inks tend to saturate more deeply and more widely into the paper than ballpoint ink; a fine tipped liquid ink ballpoint may lay the same line as a medium standard ballpoint.

There are now eight fabulous colors available in Liquid ink ‘Parker Style’ ballpoint refills.



The liquid ink ballpoint refill was initially designed to combine the convenience of a ballpoint with the smooth "wet ink" experience of a fountain pen or roller ball.

A liquid ink ballpoint refill has two main advantages over a ballpoint refill. Less pressure needs to be applied to the pen to have it write cleanly which facilitates holding the pen with less stress on the hand.


Gel Ballpoint:

What distinguishes a Gel refill from a ballpoint are pigments suspended in a water based gel. Gel refills are favored by many writers for their bold colors and solid lines. Gel refills use the same basic roller ball mechanism as a roller ball pen, but the ink is noticeably thicker than standard roller ball refill ink.

There are now eight fabulous colors available in ‘Parker Style’ Gel ballpoint refills.



Another trait of Gel ink is that it resists common laboratory forensic analysis. The pigments in Gel ink do not dissolve, and therefore cannot be analyzed with thin layer chromatography. Many believe that a check’s signature is safer when written in Gel ink. We make no guarantees however.

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ALL ABOUT FINELINERS

A fineliner is like the old felt tip pen but technologically evolved. The writing tip is extremely firm and will withstand the test of time and remain strong and sharp. Consequently, writing points are usually offered in extremely fine choices.

If you have developed a habit of crushing the tip of your pen against paper, this is not your refill. If you have a standard ‘hand’ a fineliner using today’s tip technology may open up an entirely new world of writing pleasure. The inks are quick to dry and there is virtually no friction required to lay ink to paper.



What fineliner will fit my pen?

Many roller ball pens will accept a Fineliner refill. Please check under your pen’s brand for Fineliners which may be available. For example; this would be true for all Montblanc roller ball pens. Every roller ball can accept a Montblanc Fineliner (and vice versa).



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ALL ABOUT PENCILS

Graphite, or ‘lead’ is rather generic. Some of our customers get used to a certain brand but most are concerned only with the correct width. We offer all common widths from .5mm to 1.1mm.

Erasers need to be purchased based upon your brand and then the model name of your pencil. Most brands do not use the same eraser across various ranges of product.





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ALL ABOUT MULTI-PENS

(1) Which refill does my Multi-Pen require?

(2) What options in Multi-Pen refills are available?

(3) Maximizing your Multi-Pen’s usage

This category deals primarily with pens/pencils which featured two or more writing options. Typical would be a multi-pen which has four opportunities to fill. Most common would be three ink colors and a pencil. The refills for all of the possibilities are similar in fit so for example you can swap a pda stylus where there was originally a ballpoint refill.







Most Multi-Pens will use our Monteverde ‘mini ballpoint’ refill. This is a Liquid ink ballpoint. For the first time, there is a Multi-pen refill available in broad.

If you have a Multi-Pen which has up to five refill choices you could:

(1) Use three of the inserts for three different colors of Liquid ink ballpoints

(2) Use one of the inserts for pencil lead

(3) Use the last insert slot for a pda stylus tip.

If you have four, three or two choices, any of the above will fit. Any combination will work in your Multi-Pen. There have never been more than three colors available in mini ballpoint Multi-Pen refills: black, blue or red.

There has never been Liquid ink available.

There has never been a broad tip available in mini ballpoints.



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