Twist Rollerball - Practical or risky?

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skiprat

skiprat

Passed Away Mar 22, 2022
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In this thread it was asked if you could get a Rollerball kit with either a Click or Twist mech. I don't think you can, but one of the replies was something I always agreed with until now. That was that a rollerball kit came with a cap to prevent the refill from drying out. It makes sense and there may be some truth in it. But I think that there is a bigger reason. Most of the refills ( Schmidt ) State that their refills are Non Drying and I've had refills laying around my shop without the little caps on them, for ages and they all still work no probs. ( Or at least with a quick scribble on a piece of paper. )

Take a look at the pic with the refills. If the rollerball tip is touching anything, it will syphon itself out. This ink leak was from about 15mins.
It's not the paper background 'sucking' it out either, because I've had new kits where the little protective cap has come off and the plastic bag is full of ink. I believe this is now the primary reason rollerballs have caps. The ink will keep flowing as long as the tip is in contact with something.

This pen is one I knocked up today. It's a rollerball in a modified kit with a twist finial mech. The kit nib and clip are chrome, the finial cover is stainless steel and the blank is titanium.
I'll keep this one in my truck to give it a hard life and hopefully I won't forget to retract the refill. :rolleyes:

.....slowly but surely getting back into it....:wink::biggrin:
 

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Nice pen Skippy. I've been working on one for myself as well. I think it is very practical when using the proper refill. Consider the G2. It comes in a click pen with no issues.
 
tim self said:
Nice pen Skippy. I've been working on one for myself as well. I think it is very practical when using the proper refill. Consider the G2. It comes in a click pen with no issues.
Click to expand...

I just had a quick try with a G2 refill. With just it's own weight, it didn't leak. I now have it in the same pen with the weight of the pen on the tip. I'll post a pic later. My new G2 refill did have the tiny protective 'ball' on that you need to crack off.

LagniappeRob said:
Scmidt makes "capless" rollerball refills... the 8126. 1 year with the cap off.
Amazon.com: Schmidt 8126 Capless Rollerball - Black Ink: Office Products
Click to expand...

Rob, the issue I'm investigating is when the tip is in contact with something.

At what point does a ball point become a rollerball??? Don't they ALL have rolling balls? :confused: The G2 pack says 'Rolling Ball Refill' not Rollerball.:wink:
 
Oooh, shiney! Very nice pen! If you need any testers...:biggrin: The Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 refills will wick out like the rollerball refills do. DAMHIKT.:biggrin:
 
I'm working on modifying a twist pen to take a rollerball. I mostly want it so I can just drop in a pilot G2 .38 refill in it without modifying it. I have people asking me all of the time for one, and I would sell a lot more pens if I had a twist kit that took one of those. I will post pictures once it's done but it might take a while. You don't have a lot of free time when you take 20 credit hours in college. That is a nice looking pen!
 
Ok, with the G2 resting at the same angle as the rollerball, it didn't make a mark. Here's a pic of it in the pen resting directly down on the tip and after about 8 - 10 mins. A small matchhead size smudge and nowhere near that of the RB. But I still wouldn't like it in my shirt pocket!!:rolleyes::biggrin:
Also a pic of the G2 little plastic protective ball.
 

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Seth, before you go modifying a kit, remember one of the fundimental differences between a RB pen and a Ballpoint.
People often 'think' they prefer a rollerball refill but in fact what they actually prefer is the comfort of the refill being sprung. A ball point is solid to the pen. :wink:
Unless you make your modification very long to include this 'comfort' spring then chances are it will feel like any other BP.
To make it work nicely, you will need both a 'comfort' spring and a weaker 'return' spring. :wink:
 
Steven:
First, THAT's a nice pen.

Secondly, I've been making both click and twist roller ball pens for over a year now. Your suspicions are spot on. The Pilot G2 refills work just fine. The Schmidt 5888 work fine too, EXCEPT, as you stated if the tip touches anything the ink WILL IN FACT siphon out.
 
skiprat said:
Seth, before you go modifying a kit, remember one of the fundimental differences between a RB pen and a Ballpoint.
People often 'think' they prefer a rollerball refill but in fact what they actually prefer is the comfort of the refill being sprung. A ball point is solid to the pen. :wink:
Unless you make your modification very long to include this 'comfort' spring then chances are it will feel like any other BP.
To make it work nicely, you will need both a 'comfort' spring and a weaker 'return' spring. :wink:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. The people that are asking for this kind of pen are looking for a cool looking Pilot G2. They like the .38 extra fine tip version. I have never seen a Parker or a cross refill with that fine of a tip. Most people like to stick with something they know that they like, and I'm trying to give them the best of both worlds. A cool looking pen and refill they already know and love. They don't normally use a normal rollerball with the comfort spring. They are used to a cheap click pen. I like the way the pilots write, that is why I just cut one down to the length of a Parker and modify the spring a little so it will work in my virage and my cigar pens, but I wouldn't sell one like that.
 
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