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Okay, 'hate' is a bit much, I don't hate it, it's quite nice actually. The only thing that spoils it a bit for me is that the lines on the grid pattern are just a touch too strong - I like mine barely-there. And if you don't like grid at all, you're SOL when it comes to this notepad because the paper only comes in grid. There is a punch available (from Rakuten) but it only punches like one sheet at a time, not even business card thickness, so not something you could ever use to MYO refills. So, what to do? Get another A7(ish) wire bound notepad, cut off the rings to liberate the pierced paper, and bind it together with the lihit lab binding mechanism Here's the detailed how-to: You need: A pair of wire cutter pliers. Jewelry making weight should be all you need, no need to haul out the fence cutters Your Lihit Lab Twist Ring notepad (I'm calling it LL) Your refill notepad: it should be wire-bound in the twin-ring format, in a size that's about a7 - exact dimensions down to the mm are unimportant, it's the holes that matter most: the number and the spacing of them need to match the ones on the LL. I could go on in the abstract about how to do that by measuring, but really the most intuitive way to ascertain this is to get one sheet off the notebook you want to use to replace the aqua drops, and test it with the binding (that's step 1). Step 1: Make sure your paper fits the LL binding. Don't cut open the rings on your replacement notebook just yet, in case it turns out the holes don't match up - wouldn't want to destroy the binding only to find you can't reuse the loose sheets as a refill Start by separating one sheet from the notebook - to avoid getting the fluffed-out bits of paper where it was torn from the rings, don't tear it in the usual upward side to side motion, but pull outwards: Remove the extra bits that may still be stuck. Then just slide it up to the rings of the LL. This fits: This doesn't: Okay, you're all done with the tricky part Step 2: Liberate the paper. Cut open the rings with your wire cutter. Not much more to say than that - just go to town on the rings, it doesn't matter, all you need to do is make sure not to damage the paper and you're done. Step 3: Switcheroo Open the lihit lab and take the paper out - maybe the covers too if you want to ditch those. Replace with the liberated paper and covers from your other notebook, starting with the covers (one on each half of the open rings), then the paper. The only thing to mind here is not to overfill the LL. It takes less paper than most pocket A7 notepads, because the twist ring mechanism needs room to work. Done! Here's a list of the notepads I tried (because I had them on hand) and the results: These fit: Kokuyo CamiApp (note: if you want the Scanner feature to work you have to transfer the covers too because the black works as a frame for the app when you take the photo, otherwise it might not work). Midori Diamond Memo Small This didn't: maruman Mnemosyne 184 Roots (meh, this one sucks anyway - only one side printed, WTH?) If you try this, could you please list your results here? I would love to know how you got along as this is my first pen-related tutorial (hey, gotta start somewhere lol). I would also love to know if anyone tries this with any of the larger sizes of LL twist rings notebooks, like the B5 that Jetpens stock

Magna Tank Gel Pens. Even though they're cheap and no longer available, I love them, because they are ergonomic perfection for me, and of course, they're...tanks. I reached for my next-to-last blue Magna Tank Gel pen, and noticed the endcap was loose. In fact, it threaded all the way out, exposing the open end of the ink tube. Easy access! That got me wondering whether anyone here has heard of, or developed, a homemade gel ink replacement. A quick innerwebz search didn't reveal much. If you can refill stamp pads and markers with homemade solutions, why can't you refill gel pens? Anyone have an answer? Thanks.

When reading ink reviews I notice many people do ink swabs - I have been wondering if those of you who do ink swabs on occasion have a prefered method? I know you can make swaps using the back of the nib, q-tips and a piece of cardboard, but I feel somewhat uncomfortable sticking the later two into a bottle of ink, the cardboard especially (since I would need to cut it into pieces first with my sweaty little paws ). Do you remove some ink from the bottle using a syringe first? Currently that's what I consider doing, even when a bit more ink is lost that way. Also, what method gives the best results (in your opinion)?