Do you have ball points that "quit" frequently?

[Heirloom Woodturnings]

Is it just me or do others have problems with ball point refills that come with their kits? As with most of you I expect, I carry around my own products every day and use them at home and at the office. I have a multitude of pens in different styles and with the kits from different sources. Some the parker style refil and some the cross style refill. The one common thing I seem to see is that they often quit on me. This is often after a short pause in my writing, not during continuous writing. If I pause for a minute and then go back to writing, nothing comes out and I have to scribble in the corner of the paper for a second to get the ink flowing again. At first I thought that it was the notebook paper I use most frequently at work, but I've noticed that it happens on other papers as well. I've never had a pen quit altogether, but it is frustrating to seem to have to "restart" it so frequently. Anyone else out there have the same problems? It doesn't seem to be restricted to a certain kit or manufacturer, or batch. I have kits from CS Bill Baumbeck, Woodturningz, and Penn State. So far I have had no complaints but I'm afraid that customers will think that my pens are unreliable if they encounter the same problem as me. The only ones that I never have trouble with are the gell or liquid rollerballs and fountains.

 

[wdcav1952]

Keith, interesting post. Another member is ready to give up on fountain pens. Me, I love fountain pens, and write with my gold titanium El Grande every day at work. Some have suggested spending the extra money and buying the brand name refills. Your pen price would of course reflect that, and you could perhaps find a school to donate the kit refills to as a public service. I have not had complaints about the writing quality of my pens; so this is all supposition rather than fact. Those who know me will assure you that I am better at suppositions than I am with facts! ;->
Hope this helps, or at least gives you something to read.

 

[dougle40]

I've had that problem at times with the re-fill that came with the kit but when I switched it for a "Cross" re-fill the problem seems to have gone away . I've contributed the problem to the "off shore" re-fills .

 

[wee willie]

never had a problem except that the "offshore" refills do not last as long

 

[wicook]

Actually, I find that the refills that come with the Berea kits (from BB, of course) write better and last about the same as the genuine Cross refills. I've always found that the genuine Cross refills tend to leave blobs of ink on the paper every so often.

On the other hand, the blue refills that come with the Lee Valley kits are pretty much a waste of time.

As one of our fellow penturners says, your mileage may differ...

 

[KKingery]

I like ball points, but honestly, if I can change it over to a gel refill, that's what I do.

 

[Daniel]

I.ve only had t his sort of problem with one or two of my Ballpoint pens. So few that I considered it a fluke in those particular refills. nothing consistant where any particular kit or supplier is concerned. and then of tcourse there si the variaton in how I kept or handled the refill myself. some of them have been exposed to extreme cold etc.

 

[Rudy Vey]

This is quite interesting! Never had this problem, so far. My experience is that the refills coming in the kits are very good! I made this statement already here and on Yahoo several times. Some of my customers are even calling me for some refills since the brand name refill they bought are not as good as the original outfit.

Rudy
SE Mi

 

[Travlr7]

I haven't had the problem with a "Ballpoint" but constantly have it with "ROLLERBALL" PENS. I replaced it with a Gel refill and love it.

Bruce

 

[Gary]

Well, let's see...we are having problems with fountain pens, ballpoints, and rollerballs. LOL! Anybody having a problem with their wooden pencil? [8D]

 

[PenWorks]

Yep, can't seem to find my pencil sharpener []

 

[Rifleman1776]

Any ballpoint can quit if not used for a while, even the 59 cent store bought kind. I just moisten the tip of my finger and touch it to the ballpoint to reactivate. After all, the ink is designed to dry on exposure to air.

 

[PenPauli]

My wife just told me yesterday that her ballpoint pen is doing the same thing. I guess its just something that happens.

 

[JimGo]

Keith,
I have a cigar pen that keeps doing that to me. Not usually mid-writing, but after I stop using it for a few minutes, or if I've been carrying it around for a while.