Refilling a Lamy M63 rollerball insert

[J-san]

I find myself using my Lamy 2000 rollerball often due to the need to write on duplicate/triplicate papers. I'm now on my third M63 insert and I'm sitting here wondering about refilling these. I have 2 empty inserts on my desk so I decided to pry the end cap off and try my luck. Turns out there's a little fiber ink holder inside like what you find in a Crayola marker. Took a syringe with a 2" needle and injected the thing with as much Noodler's Black as it could comfortably hold. Stuck it back into the insert and the pen actually writes! So now I've got a rollerball that puts down bulletproof ink! Only question I've got is how will the ink behave in a fiber sponge? I understand Noodler's bulletproof line uses cellulose reactive dyes, and I'm not sure the fiber stick is cellulose or not. Hope it won't create a mess and destroy the insert when I need it most. Anyone else try this before?

[Robert Alan]

I find myself using my Lamy 2000 rollerball often due to the need to write on duplicate/triplicate papers. I'm now on my third M63 insert and I'm sitting here wondering about refilling these. I have 2 empty inserts on my desk so I decided to pry the end cap off and try my luck. Turns out there's a little fiber ink holder inside like what you find in a Crayola marker. Took a syringe with a 2" needle and injected the thing with as much Noodler's Black as it could comfortably hold. Stuck it back into the insert and the pen actually writes! So now I've got a rollerball that puts down bulletproof ink! Only question I've got is how will the ink behave in a fiber sponge? I understand Noodler's bulletproof line uses cellulose reactive dyes, and I'm not sure the fiber stick is cellulose or not. Hope it won't create a mess and destroy the insert when I need it most. Anyone else try this before?

 

Hello! I have never tried this with my L2K rollerball, but I am intrigued by what you did, and I salute you for your experimentation. Please report on whether Noodler's black ink was a good choice.

I enjoy all my L2K writing instruments, but I would like the point on the rollerball to be finer. For my Pelikan 600 rollerball, since it has a Schmidt-type standard refill, I was able to use a Japanese Ohto Schmidt-type refill with a 0.3 mm tip and it is fantastic. Unfortunately, Lamy's cartridge is proprietary and the Schmidt fits into the tip and barrel, but it isn't long enough. I may rig up something that fits on the end of the Schmidt-type refill so the L2K rollerball end-cap can be screwed on to keep the refill in place. I tried an old Montblanc ball point end attachment that was used to adapt the standard MB bp refill for the Classic series of ball points, but that was too long. What do you think about removing the end of the Lamy refill and inserting it in the Ohto refill? The diameter of the refills appears to be the same. Of course, the end cap of the Ohto would have to be removed. What an operation! Perhaps there's an easier way to get an extra-fine point for the Lamy 2000 rollerball. Doctor Lamy, are you reading this?

 

Cheers, Robert

[J-san]

So far so good. The pens still writes normally and the ink is bullet proof as usual. I surmise whatever cellulose in the fiber sponge has been saturated with the ink and the rest simply flows out like normal. My next mod was to make a Fisher Space Pen cartridge fit the 2000. This one takes a little bit more work since the cart is skinnier and much shorter than the M63 cart. In addition it slides out too far from the tip of the pen since it lacks the proper shape. I used some masking tape to wrap around the body of the cart to fatten it up and keep it centered in the 2000 body. I also wrapped tape around the front to serve as a forward stop so the ballpoint tip wouldn't slide out too far. In hindsight, a clicker pen spring would probably do the job as well. Finally, the make up the rest of the length and keep the ballpoint from being pushed back into the body, I cut out a section of plastic tubing form a cheapie gel pen and sanded it down to the ideal length. So now my Lamy 2000 can serve double duty as either a rollerball enhanced with bulletproof ink, or as a Space Pen that can write upside down. I'll bet my 2000 fountain pen is feeling lonely right now.

 

 

Robert, I'm not familiar with the Ohto carts, but I do agree with the M63 point being a tad on the broad side. I'd like to yank out the tip from a fine point UniBall roller and fuse it onto the Lamy carts.

[J-san]

Didn't want to start a new topic, but thought I'd post a little FYI for all of you with 2000 rollerball pens. I found the Pilot G2 gel ink refills will fit in a 2000 body, but it is about 5mm short. I just cut off a piece of old G2 refill I had and placed it in the blind cap to keep the refill from being pushed back. The cool thing is the G2 inserts can be had in ultra fine (0.38mm), extra fine (0.5mm), fine (0.7mm) and bold (1.0mm) sizes. I also found you can use the Pilot needlepoint V5 RT (retractable) refills in the 2000 as well. It's the same length as the G2 and will need the internal spacer. The V5 give the 2000 a cool new look with the needlepoint at the tip! East meet West in this cool pen fusion experiment! Enjoy!

[worknhard]

So far so good. The pens still writes normally and the ink is bullet proof as usual. I surmise whatever cellulose in the fiber sponge has been saturated with the ink and the rest simply flows out like normal. My next mod was to make a Fisher Space Pen cartridge fit the 2000. This one takes a little bit more work since the cart is skinnier and much shorter than the M63 cart. In addition it slides out too far from the tip of the pen since it lacks the proper shape. I used some masking tape to wrap around the body of the cart to fatten it up and keep it centered in the 2000 body. I also wrapped tape around the front to serve as a forward stop so the ballpoint tip wouldn't slide out too far. In hindsight, a clicker pen spring would probably do the job as well. Finally, the make up the rest of the length and keep the ballpoint from being pushed back into the body, I cut out a section of plastic tubing form a cheapie gel pen and sanded it down to the ideal length. So now my Lamy 2000 can serve double duty as either a rollerball enhanced with bulletproof ink, or as a Space Pen that can write upside down. I'll bet my 2000 fountain pen is feeling lonely right now.

 

 

Robert, I'm not familiar with the Ohto carts, but I do agree with the M63 point being a tad on the broad side. I'd like to yank out the tip from a fine point UniBall roller and fuse it onto the Lamy carts.

 

Thanks for the post on refilling a Lamy M63 rollerball cartridge. The Lamy rollerball (Al-Star) is my favorite everyday use pen. Unfortunately I seem to exhaust the ink cartridge every 3 weeks or so. I have about a dozen empty M63’s laying around. After seeing your post I gave it a whirl… It seems to work great!

 

It seems the wick insert located within the barrel, that absorbs the ink, severely limits the quantity of ink that the refill can hold. Hence, the limited amount of use that I am getting from the Lamy Rollerball before going empty. Maybe all rollerballs suffer from this, I’m not sure. I also noticed when refilling, as the barrel was near full ink began leaking from what appears to be a vent hole down near the point -- at the black plastic section where the diameter transitions to a smaller size.

 

[Horace56]

Hello,

Am new to this forum and came on board as i was directed here in my search for alternatives to the Lamy M63 (or M62) refill in a Lamy Safari Roller Ball.

 

I know this is quite an old post but thougt my experience may help others.

 

I stopped using my Lamy Safari Roller Ball some 12 months ago as the M63 Refills were not lasting (2 to 3 weeks) and the cost had made it prohibitve (AUD$9.00/refill) to continue using this pen which I do like very much. I like my Safari ink pen a hell of a lot more but travelling on planes a lot, ink pens and me always seems to equal mess!

 

Also have an old Shaeffer ink pen which was my right hand extension until is was knocked from my grasp and yes, hit the floor nib first! I still have my trusty writing 'friend' and would dearly love to bring it back to life.

 

J-san mentioned the use of a Pilot G2 gel ink refill. Which got me thinking........ ...........and here I digress for a bit.

 

When I stopped using my Lamy Roller Ball I began using UniBall Vision RT UBN-176 Pens (6mm) and have found these to be excellent. They write well and come in various colours and ball sizes from 3mm to 1mm. The ink is also permanent / waterproof once dry and the Vision RT pens are designed not to leak. I can vouch for this. They DO NOT leak and refills last a long time. However as a pen they just do not feel as good in the hand as the Lamy Safari.

 

In my work i write, make notes, draw, sketch etc. etc. continuously and compared to an M62 I would say the UniBall Vision RT UBN-176 Pen lasts 3 to 4 times longer.

 

And the best part is that I can purchase boxes of 12 refills for the UniBall Vision RT UBN-176 on EBay (cannot by refills in Australia) for AUD$12.50 delivered to the door ex Hong Hong. It is interesting to note that boxes of 12 refills can also be readily purchased in the UK, USA and across Asia. I purchased 2 boxes last time in Houston for USD$10 each....... ..........which makes them very cost effective. Unfortunately we do get a 'raw' deal on lots of things like this here in Australia.

 

Well after that lengthy digression back to the topic..........

 

J-san's idea really got me thinking about the replacement of the last refill (an M62 I had as a spare) in my roller ball so tonight I fitted one of the UniBall Vision RT UBN-176 refills ino the body screwed the barrel on and.... .......it fits, YES IT FITS.........

 

It is not a perfect fit as the M63 (or M62) because the barrel does does not screw completely home by about 1.5mm but it fits and for me that is success.

 

In regard to the gap when the barrel is screwed home. I found that there is an 'O' ring within the end piece that helps the M63 seat into position when you screw the barrel on. If this is removed the closing gap will reduce to 1mm. To extract the 'O' ring insert the Vision RT refill screw the barrel firmly home then remove the refill and the 'O' ring should come with it. If not fish it out with a paper clip. Keep it in a safe place in case it is required in the future.

 

Am very happy with this outcome and thanks to J-san for the prompt that got my brain into gear as i had all but given up on using my Lamy Roller Ball ever again.

 

Now all I need is a new nib for my old friend 'schaeffer' and i shall be a truely happy writer again.....

Edited December 22, 2013 by Horace56