Parker Rollerball

January 5, 2016

I have several Parker Duofold rollerball pens as well as Parker Sonnet rollerball pens; I like to have pen sets -- fountain pen, rollerball, ballpoint pen, and pencil. Of all the writing instruments that I own (fountain pens, ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils, and rollerball pens), I find the Parker rollerball pens to be the most irritating due to the rollerball refill. The Parker rollerball refill is scratchy, the ball does not roll smoothly, and there is no broad/bold option. I tried using the Monteverde refill but it is equally irritating. It amazes me that there is no broad Monteverde refill to fit Parker rollerball pens considering all the great broad Monteverde refills that are available.

I have been able to devise ways in which to fit smooth-wriitng broad refills (such as Schmidt Ceramic broad refills, Cross Gel ink rollerball refills, and Pilot Bold G2 refills) to other rollerball pens -- those for which they were not designed -- via addition of rollerball springs, creative use of tape to create necessary ridges, and fillers for space-gaps but I have not been able to do so for my Parker Duofold rollerball pens or my Parker Sonnet rollerball pens due to the construction of the nib-end of the pen body.

I would use my Parker Duofold rollerball pens and my Parker Sonnet rollerball pens more if the Parker rollerball refills were smooth writers. As it is, I can only tolerate using them for brief periods of time. Sadly, this makes them beautiful wastes of money since they are not in the regular rotation due to the refills' being poor and undesirable writers.

Edited January 5, 2016 by elysee

February 16, 2016

I have several Parker Duofold rollerball pens as well as Parker Sonnet rollerball pens; I like to have pen sets -- fountain pen, rollerball, ballpoint pen, and pencil. Of all the writing instruments that I own (fountain pens, ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils, and rollerball pens), I find the Parker rollerball pens to be the most irritating due to the rollerball refill. The Parker rollerball refill is scratchy, the ball does not roll smoothly, and there is no broad/bold option. I tried using the Monteverde refill but it is equally irritating. It amazes me that there is no broad Monteverde refill to fit Parker rollerball pens considering all the great broad Monteverde refills that are available.

I have been able to devise ways in which to fit smooth-wriitng broad refills (such as Schmidt Ceramic broad refills, Cross Gel ink rollerball refills, and Pilot Bold G2 refills) to other rollerball pens -- those for which they were not designed -- via addition of rollerball springs, creative use of tape to create necessary ridges, and fillers for space-gaps but I have not been able to do so for my Parker Duofold rollerball pens or my Parker Sonnet rollerball pens due to the construction of the nib-end of the pen body.

I would use my Parker Duofold rollerball pens and my Parker Sonnet rollerball pens more if the Parker rollerball refills were smooth writers. As it is, I can only tolerate using them for brief periods of time. Sadly, this makes them beautiful wastes of money since they are not in the regular rotation due to the refills' being poor and undesirable writers.

Hello elysee, I have answered in part following another thread, but I can confirm that using Ohto or Pelikan refills (these are very expensive and according to Cult Pens are made by the former) it is possible to have a very smooth Sonnet writer. I have not been able to do the test in my Duofold for the moment.

Ohto refills are more narrow at the point and the exit the nib section of the Sonnet, not as much as the Parker refills but enough to write. That is not possible with the Schmidt type refills as the point has the plastic part closer to the tip. With a spring or even the Parker plastic bottom end cut in order to adapt to the Ohto refill, you would have a smoother Sonnet.

About the Ohto refills, as I said in another post, mixed sensations so far: I have tested four black C-305 with splendid results so far, a blue C-310 even more nice and a blue-black C-310 (that I was looking forward as my new refill) with a very irregular behaviour, it is very dry and it takes some attempts before writing. Once it does, it is splendid too, but is far from reliable.

If the Monteverde refill for Pelikan has the metallic tip that Pelikan and Ohto have, it should be possible to fit the Sonnet.

I look forward to your comments.

February 21, 2017

I recently dug out my Duofold rollerball again and was immediately reminded how God awful Parker rollers are. Due to the proprietary fit the only alternative I could find online was Monteverde, which wasn't much better. I set upon it myself to devise an alternative. Fair warning, this is a messy process and outcomes could vary. I had a handful of Parker roller cartridges to experiment with for this and needed them:

1) Cut the Parker style roller cartridge in half. I used wire cutters.

2) Pull the tip and ball Assembly out of the plastic portion of the empty cartridge.

3) Toss the ink sponge and tip. You now have a Parker roller cartridge "shell".

4) Drill out the remaining and irremovable plastic portion of the plastic tip. I found a 1/16" bit did the trick.

The two metal ends of the "shell" will fit together over a Parker gel refill and can be inserted back into your pen as you would any other cartridge.

All it took was 10 minutes, some basic tools and two very inky hands and I now have a premium pen that actually writes like a premium pen should.

February 21, 2017

I have several Parker Duofold rollerball pens as well as Parker Sonnet rollerball pens; I like to have pen sets -- fountain pen, rollerball, ballpoint pen, and pencil. Of all the writing instruments that I own (fountain pens, ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils, and rollerball pens), I find the Parker rollerball pens to be the most irritating due to the rollerball refill. The Parker rollerball refill is scratchy, the ball does not roll smoothly, and there is no broad/bold option. I tried using the Monteverde refill but it is equally irritating. It amazes me that there is no broad Monteverde refill to fit Parker rollerball pens considering all the great broad Monteverde refills that are available.

I have been able to devise ways in which to fit smooth-wriitng broad refills (such as Schmidt Ceramic broad refills, Cross Gel ink rollerball refills, and Pilot Bold G2 refills) to other rollerball pens -- those for which they were not designed -- via addition of rollerball springs, creative use of tape to create necessary ridges, and fillers for space-gaps but I have not been able to do so for my Parker Duofold rollerball pens or my Parker Sonnet rollerball pens due to the construction of the nib-end of the pen body.

I would use my Parker Duofold rollerball pens and my Parker Sonnet rollerball pens more if the Parker rollerball refills were smooth writers. As it is, I can only tolerate using them for brief periods of time. Sadly, this makes them beautiful wastes of money since they are not in the regular rotation due to the refills' being poor and undesirable writers.

Hi Elysee, I just posted about this very topic. Should be write above this quoted post. You'll need some tools, but I think I can help with your problem.

Edited February 21, 2017 by bemon

February 22, 2017

I don't remember any Parker RBs coming my way that I haven't either converted to an FP or given away to someone or put it in my part bin for possible future use of the barrel and cap as replacement parts for FPs. I am not into RBs. I don't like BPs either.

February 25, 2017

Concerns about the refill performance of Parker RBs is one reason that the Pilot Execugel is prized by some as an everyday writer. It's basically a clone of the Vector Rollerball, with the substitution of a nice ball clip for the proprietary Parker arrow, and it utilizes the very smooth writing Pilot G2 gel refill. The pen was unfortunately discontinued a few years ago, but you can still find them popping up once in a while on merchandise clearance or auction sites. Pictures can be seen here:

http://writestowrites.blogspot.com/2012/05/pilot-execugel-discontinued.html

May 19, 2017

I recently dug out my Duofold rollerball again and was immediately reminded how God awful Parker rollers are. Due to the proprietary fit the only alternative I could find online was Monteverde, which wasn't much better. I set upon it myself to devise an alternative. Fair warning, this is a messy process and outcomes could vary. I had a handful of Parker roller cartridges to experiment with for this and needed them:

1) Cut the Parker style roller cartridge in half. I used wire cutters.
2) Pull the tip and ball Assembly out of the plastic portion of the empty cartridge.
3) Toss the ink sponge and tip. You now have a Parker roller cartridge "shell".
4) Drill out the remaining and irremovable plastic portion of the plastic tip. I found a 1/16" bit did the trick.

The two metal ends of the "shell" will fit together over a Parker gel refill and can be inserted back into your pen as you would any other cartridge.

All it took was 10 minutes, some basic tools and two very inky hands and I now have a premium pen that actually writes like a premium pen should.

I discovered a much simpler and cleaner update to this hack. I took the spring out of an old office ballpoint and used it to brace the Parker Gel Roller in place inside the Duofold's section. Then I just added a spacer to the rear of the Gel Roller and voila: I now have a pen that I get compliments over rather than complaints when I loan out.

Edited May 19, 2017 by bemon