LK&T
Member
So, my first pen was a slimline kit from Woodcraft. Finished the pen and quickly found out the provided "Cross style" rollerball refill isn't exactly what you call a fine writing instrument. This evening I rolled down to my local Office Depot and picked up a Cross refill off the shelf (medium, black ink). Came home and found out the refill will not fit through the transmission mechanism. It looks like there is a shoulder in the bore of the mechanism that probably steadies the..... barrel? reservoir? pen? shiny part that holds ink?....... of the refill. So much new nomenclature! Anyway, the thing won't fit. My first questions- has anyone else had this issue? Is it unique to the Woodcraft pen kits, or are all "Cross style" kits unable to take a genuine Cross refill? My first inclination would be to think this is done on purpose to keep Cross from throwing lawyers at folks for making pens that use their refills and violating patents, copyrights, blah blah blah legalspeak blah blah blah.
I poked around the forum a little and found some great info on better quality refills that seem to fit fine. Looks like I'll have to explore some of those options. I don't like the idea of giving pens as gifts or selling pens with the crummy stock refills. Another question- are any of these better quality refills available in retail stores, or are they only available online from sites that support the pen making nerds of the world? Asking for a friend....
Lastly, and just because I can be very stubborn and like to buy in person instead of order online, has anyone modified a slimline kit to take a genuine Cross refill? I have a drill press, access to any drill size I want/need, precision measuring tools and a willingness to absolutely trash the pen I just made. If you've done it, I'd like to hear your story.
Thanks everyone!
I poked around the forum a little and found some great info on better quality refills that seem to fit fine. Looks like I'll have to explore some of those options. I don't like the idea of giving pens as gifts or selling pens with the crummy stock refills. Another question- are any of these better quality refills available in retail stores, or are they only available online from sites that support the pen making nerds of the world? Asking for a friend....
Lastly, and just because I can be very stubborn and like to buy in person instead of order online, has anyone modified a slimline kit to take a genuine Cross refill? I have a drill press, access to any drill size I want/need, precision measuring tools and a willingness to absolutely trash the pen I just made. If you've done it, I'd like to hear your story.
Thanks everyone!