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Pen Refills Guide
- dehrmann 7y agoThis would be incredibly useful if I didn't always lose pens before they run out of ink.
- redwall_hp 7y agoI've found pens to more commonly break before they run out of ink anyway. And my preferred roller ball pens (Uniball Air Micro) aren't refillable anyway. But I've taken to using a Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen more often anyway, and that's easily and cheaply refillable from a bottle of ink.
- hungrynerd 7y agoOne of us! one of us! (the fountain pen ppl)
- nstart 7y agoHeh. I've found that my odds of breaking a pen are negatively correlated to the price of the pen. I switched to using pigma microns at the beginning of the year. Just starting on my 3rd pen. The first two are not only not broken, but they are also neatly arranged in my stationery drawyer. Marked as finished. Wish they had a way of refilli g the inks on these pens. I wanted to try fountain pens but couldn't find archival quality ink (waterproof + smudge proof once dried) for them.
- bsdubernerd 7y agoI'm switching frequently between Pigma Micron and Pilot Drawing Pen. I like the ink of the Micron, overall the feel are similar enough that both are fine for me, but the Pilot simply lasts longer. I've a set of both, and what I've found is that when unused for a while (despite being neatly capped) the Micron will simply dry out and stop working. I've almost never had this with the Pilot. For oddball diameters and colors which I use rarely it's a nuisance.
- snazz 7y agoNoodler’s Bulletproof Black is pretty darn archival-quality. I bought a bottle when I was briefly fascinated with fountain pens (it’s cheap too!) and tested the strength claims by soaking the paper overnight. No ink loss, though the paper came apart when I tried to get it back out.
- tech2 7y agoAs snazz says, Noodler's bulletproof is pretty good, smudging is still a possibility with it but depends more on the paper you use. Another good one is De Atramentis Document Ink (better than the Noodler imho)
- King-Aaron 7y agoAs an aside, a little tip my father taught me was to always carry a handkerchief/towelette sort of thing in your pocket to clean the nib of your pen before you write. That'll take away the smear of leftover ink that collects at the tip, and makes your writing generally turn out neater/ with less mess.
- hungrynerd 7y agoIf it ever seems like the refill/pen is dried but you can clearly see ink still in there on a rollerball or gel pen, dip the tip in some really hot water for a few seconds and it'll revive most refills.
- clairity 7y agozebra sarasas (cobalt color) are my faves! they smear less than other gel pens like the G2’s, which is good for lefties. great to know they’re an ISO standard size (parker-style G2).
- drivers99 7y ago+1 for Zebra Sarasa. (I was excited to see it mentioned as well.) I'm a fan of them (for 15+ years) since someone I knew who owned an office supply store introduced them to me. They look a lot like G2's but if you look closely at a G2 you see a brown smear of color at the top of the refill which Sarasa doesn't have. However, I cross out things often (to do lists), and sometimes draw a line across the page (as a divider), and if you do that, you will get a big blog of ink on the next letter you write. Another issue I've had is that some batches I've gotten were unreliable. I recently got into fountain pens (which I thought this article would mention; figuring out refills was confusing for me at first). I have a cheap one (as far as fountain pens go, $18 but it's refillable (Sheaffer VFM)) and it's really great: no more blob issues at all.
- clairity 7y agoyah, blobs seem to be an issue with many ink pens, gel or otherwise. when i need to draw lines, i usually pull out a tissue or napkin to dab off the extra ink after each line.
- elSidCampeador 7y agoYou might wanna try out Pilot Vpen [1] - its a disposable fountain pen available in a couple of colour options. I've been using them for 3 years now without issues, and no blobs form (generally, unless the paper was a tissue paper or smth) [1] https://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Vpen-Disposable-Fountain-Pen-Black-Medium-Nib/pd/6673 https://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Vpen-Disposable-Fountain-Pen-B...
- pivic 7y agoHave you tried the Pilot 78G? It's a quite reliable and yet cheap fountain pen: https://www.penaddict.com/blog/2013/11/27/pilot-78g-fountain-pen-review https://www.penaddict.com/blog/2013/11/27/pilot-78g-fountain...
- echelon 7y agoRotring makes the best pens and mechanical pencils, bar none. They're well-built, stylish, and incredibly durable. They do not look or feel cheap, and they're perfectly weighted. After years of experimenting with different models and refills, I've found the one brand I'll stick with forever. Do yourself a favor and look them up.
- pujjad 7y agoI own a rotring 600 which my father used 40 years ago - indestructable. However my Pentel GraphGear 1000 is so much better: metal body, rectractable tip (so I can carry it in my pocket), great grip, great balance.
- echelon 7y agoTry the Rotring 800. It's all of those things. It's a bit more expensive than the Pentel, but if you're not prone to losing pencils, I think you'll like it.
- traderjane 7y agoThat has a lead breaking issue; have they fixed it? I own the 800 and would recommend against it.
- pujjad 7y agoYes have eyed that up already, but much more expensive. I can loose the Pentel knowing it's "just" another £8.
- mrob 7y agoRotring also makes a version of the 600 with a plastic body: the Rotring 500. It has the same excellent mechanism and very similar grip, and it's lighter, which some people prefer. It's also less than half the price. It's my favorite mechanical pencil.
- lscotte 7y agoI own a couple GraphGear 1000, and likewise is by far my favorite.
- ThePhysicist 7y agoI've been writing with Mitsubishi ball pens before but switched to a fountain pen - a simple Lamy with a fine feather - and I can really recommend it. The writing experience is very nice as the pen requires very little pressure to write and with a little practice the result looks very good. I also bought a small flask of black ink and an ink converter (a small ink cartridge allowing you to draw ink from the flask into the cartridge via the pen) to refill it, which I have to do roughly every two weeks. I've been almost exclusively writing with the pen since more than a year and went through less than a quarter of the flask so far, so it's more economic than using ball pens as well I'd say.
- Nursie 7y agoI tend to write with cross fountain pens these days, because I like the look of the Century I and II ranges mostly. I have converters and pots of black and purple ink, and I think some blue cartridges hanging around. Always liked fountain pens, they slow me down a little which makes my writing so much more legible.
- criddell 7y ago> refill it, which I have to do roughly every two weeks Why is it that a fountain pen needs to be filled in a matter of weeks and a cheap Bic Cristal never runs out of ink? I have an inexpensive Pilot Metropolitan that I do like writing with, but the amount of ink I put through it seems crazy for how much I write.
- Nursie 7y agoThe ink is very different. A Bic crystal uses a very oily, very pigment-dense ink compared to the water-based, free-flowing ink used in fountain pens. Used to use the pilot disposable fountains myself, they're pretty good.
- criddell 7y agoI guess the ink, since it is water based, would also evaporate. I keep my pen firmly capped, so that's probably not a huge factor.
- y2bd 7y agoAlso strongly recommend cross-referencing the guide on Well-Appointed Desk: https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/2014/06/epic-refill-guide-rollerball-gel-and-ballpoints/ https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/2014/06/epic-refill-guide-... The OP article has a good focus on the more technical details, while the guide I linked above gives large lists of specific pens/refills compatible which each refill.
- MegaDeKay 7y agoA list like that is not very useful because there is a wide variation in quality between refills of the same size. Better to find a comparison between refills of a given size, like this one for D1s. https://penpaperpencil.net/comparison-of-d1-refills-part-two/ https://penpaperpencil.net/comparison-of-d1-refills-part-two...
- pivic 7y agoSpeaking of which, I have to give Wancher a shout out for publishing this guide on how to refill Japanese vintage fountain pens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejuLvB08-nA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejuLvB08-nA
- nsomaru 7y agoAny one else prefer writing with an extremely fine felt tip? My preference is the artline series. Gives the benefits of fountain – no pressure required, but also gives control and speed
- beat 7y agoI sometimes use Micron art pens, and the Sharpie pens aren't too bad either. But I'm a fountain pen user 90% of the time, so I'm spoiled.
- hestipod 7y agoHere is another similar one I had saved: https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/2014/06/epic-refill-guide-rollerball-gel-and-ballpoints/ https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/2014/06/epic-refill-guide-...
- beat 7y agoOne nice thing about refills is that it gets you into a much nicer class of pen body - it's amazing how much difference a nice texture and better weight and balance can make. Of course, then you need to be careful to not lose them! I habitually carry multiple pens - at very least, a fountain pen and a disposable ballpoint that I like (Uni-Ball Jetstream). The ballpoint is for signing receipts mostly, so I don't have to use whatever they give me, and for loaning to people who suddenly need a pen. I assume I'll never get it back when that happens. I sometimes carry a fine Sharpie as well, for things where I want a wider line on whatever sorts of surfaces. And if I'm really swinging, I'll have other disposables. For a while, I was carrying a Retro51 Tornado (beautiful and affordable) with a Monteverde blue-black gel refill that is maybe the nicest-looking ink I've found. But it's a bit broader than I like, and they don't make a finer point. I also really love the Pilot Hi-Tec-C, but unfortunately, they don't really make proper refills for it, and the disposable bodies are trash, to put it nicely. Absolutely the best fine-line disposable writing experience, though.
- techwizrd 7y agoI also habitually carry fountain pens, a ball point or gel pen, and a mechanical pencil (Pentel Graphgear 1000). My EDC fountain pens typically includes a Visconti Homo Sapiens Maxi Bronze Age, Pelikan Souverän M805 Ocean Swirl, and a Lamy 2000 (inked with Montblanc Oyster Grey) in a leather pen case. I also carry a Kaweco Liliput with a Monteverde green refill when I'm traveling and it is impractical to carry/use my pen case. The vast majority of my writing, however, is in fountain pen. It may not be as convinient as a ball point or gell pen, but the writing experience is just far better--especially for more expensive fountain pens.
- beat 7y agoI'm mostly using a Super5 fountain pen, about on par with a Lamy Safari, with Monteverde blue-black ink. Totally agree on the writing experience... a fountain pen just feels so much better than any ball-type or felt-type pen. So my EDC is just the Super5 and a Uni-Ball Jetstream (mostly for receipts), but I really should carry another pen as a sacrificial "Hey, do you have a pen I can borrow?"
- 7y ago
- olah_1 7y agoWhat is the most environmentally friendly analog writing tool? How is ink made? Is it less invasive than mining graphite, etc?
- uurrnn 7y agoBlood? It's renewable.
- dwringer 7y ago> What is the most environmentally friendly analog writing tool? I don't know how practical it is, but the wax tablet[1][2] is perhaps the closest thing meeting this description that I've seen currently available [that I can think of, anyway]. No personal endorsement or any agreements or experience one way or the other with the seller, just something I found and thought was interesting. [1] https://www.scribalworkshop.com/shop/historic-wax-tablet https://www.scribalworkshop.com/shop/historic-wax-tablet [2] https://www.scribalworkshop.com/blog/2019/6/5/how-to-use-a-wax-tablet https://www.scribalworkshop.com/blog/2019/6/5/how-to-use-a-w...
- kps 7y agoWrite on vast amounts of acid-free paper, which will happily sequester some carbon for a thousand years.
- basicplus2 7y agoThe rise and fall of the pocket protector... https://www.americanscientist.org/article/rise-and-fall-of-the-pocket-protector https://www.americanscientist.org/article/rise-and-fall-of-t...