Long Term J.herbin And Noodler Rollerball Experience?

[BHall]

I've been reading recently lots of reviews of the J.Herbin and Noddler made rollerballs. There are mixed views tending towards being favourable all things considered, but a constant negative has been cracking of caps and barrels. I saw comments from a few of a month or two with no cracking but how typical is this I wonder? On forums you generally hear more from the people with problems than those with no problems.

 

Have any of you knowledgeable folk out there had either of these fountain ink refillable rollerballs for say a year or more? If so can you give me your opinion on how practical these are to own long term?

 

I feel a bit guilty posting a thread about rollerball pens on a fountain pen forum but my excuse is that I wish to use one with my favourite fountain pen inks for certain situations at work when I have no alternative. I've often wondered what the view is here on FPN on people posting threads about rollerballs. Is it allowed but frowned on or are all embraced together in a FP ink group hug?

 

Thanks guys.

[Tas]

Sorry, no.

However, I've had a Kaweco Rollerball thingy for 2-3 years.

Whilst it only comes out every month or so it shows no sign of wear and behaves quite well - needs a little lick and a scribble to get it started but that's only to be expected considering how little it's used.

[Ursus]

I gave my wife an Herbin half a year ago and she really enjoys it. I don't know the laws where you live, but in many countries it is possible to return pens when they break during normal use during say the first six months.

 

They are sold so cheaply that high quality is more or less impossible - and people may even treat cheap pens rather roughly too.

 

My advice would be to buy one and use it intensively, and if it breaks within half a year return it - and otherwise keep it and enjoy it.

 

Best regards

Ursus

Edited January 18, 2014 by Ursus

[Rita_K]

I got a J. Herbin rollerball when they first were released.

It's a small lightweight pen that I used for sketching because it wrote with a nice fine line.

I'm pretty easy on my pens but the barrel on mine cracked near the threads very shortly after I started using it.

It's still useable so I didn't bother to return it. Sorry, I have no experience with the Noodler's rollerball.

[holgalee]

I've had the older Herbin rollerball--doesn't have the brand name printed in red--and the Noodler's rollerball that was first released, and disliked both immensely.

The Herbin laid down a wide line of around 0.6-0.7mm, squeaked while writing, and was a pain to clean out when changing inks. The Noodler's also wrote a wide line and was scratchy right from the begiining; in fact I bought two of them at the same time and one of them lost it's "ball" tip and the other's tip rusted in less than a year.

 

In all fairness, I've not tried the latest iteration of the Herbin rollerball pen and as for Noodler's, the tips can be replaced cheaply and the quality might have improved over time. So other people's experience with them may be different.

 

As a fan of the Pilot V5 pen, I've tried refilling one of my older pens with fountain pen ink before, and it wrote well until I neglected to use it and the ink ended up evaporating. Pilot has released the Pilot V5/V7 cartridge pen and Cult Pens has a blog post about its review cum experiment : http://www.cultpens.com/blog/pilot-v5v7-cartridge-system-experiments/. The pen can also be ordered from a shop on ebay, which I did earlier this week but haven't received yet.

[View from the Loft]

I have the Kaweco sport rollerball and use it when I just can't use an FP. It is carried around every day, and looks as good now as when it was bought two years ago.

 

My middle son was given a Herbin plastic rollerball in December 2012, which has been abused at school and college (he is doing vehicle engineering and a workshop is no place for an FP). The pen looks well used, it is still going strong.

[BHall]

Thanks guys for the advice.

 

I think I can probably justify buying a Herbin to try at the risk of it not lasting long but I wouldn't really want to spend any more for work. I'll come back when I get one and give my impressions.

 

Cheers.

[Newjelan]

I have a Kaweco Rollerball and one made by J. Herbin. While I haven't had the J. Herbin for more than 6 months, I rarely use it because the Kaweco is vastly superior in every way. I use my Kaweco about once or twice a week. It's comfortable, smooth and the ink always flows well. It starts first time every time, and never skips, while the J. Herbin rollerball is more temperamental and can feel scratchy at times.

[Stephen2020]

The J Herbin looks great but mine feels a bit micro-gritty sometimes when writing. I like it, but it's not big on quality.

[Muncle]

I got a Noodler's Rollerball. The biggest problem I had with it was that it seemed to constantly leak from the area near the tip that was used to suck the ink. After a day, the cap would fill with ink. It seemed that I would have to wipe the section off every time I wanted to use it. I have no idea if this is commonplace.

 

It still sits in its box in my drawer.

[Drone]

I got a Noodler's rollerball and a couple of extra ball units. The section cracked in next to no time. Then the thing started leaking in the cap. All the rollerball units I tried felt strange and kind of rattled when I wrote. I used the thing (or tried to use it) for a couple of weeks, then cleaned it up and stuck in the "retired" bin. Maybe I'll resurrect it and give it a second chance. I have some new inks that may be fun with a rollerball.

[Ursus]

I believe that I have seen the Herbin pen in metal. That should probably keep it from cracking.

[BHall]

Last night I went ahead and ordered the clear plastic Herbin rollerball and some ink cartridges from Cult Pens. I am treating this as touching my toe in the water so see how well it writes, how long it lasts and if I have a need for it when the novelty has worn off? Once I find out what I think of it, it may be worth paying more for a metal version or perhaps try the Noodlers rollerball.

 

When you are interested in FPs and ink and on a tight budget, any spending on rollerball pens is potentially taking money from a better investment. I've had an email from Cult Pens to say my order is on the way but as it is my birthday present I won't get it for a few days. When I've had a chance to try it I will return with my views.

 

Thanks again gents.

 

 

[bluebellrose]

Sorry for the nerco thread revival but I have some input uh years later. I got my little j herbin rollerball in June 2019. So far, I've dropped it multple times at work. I work as a cashier and I'm forever dropping my j herbin rollerball and the pen cap. It seems to be surprisingly robust. The pilot precise v7 rollerball, I've been using has developed a small hairline crack in the section while the j herbin is kicking.