Esterbrook Ballpoint Writes Again!

[BamaPen]

You can break off the space pen refill to appx. 2 5/8" which is the same length as the mini refill, if I remember correctly.

That sounds about the same length...so if the diameter is right, you should be able to make it work. It may require a little "adjustment" with a small drill bit. Keep us posted.

[BamaPen]

I was surprised at the number of these adapters that have been ordered from the "store" on shapeways.com It seems that a good many pen lovers had the same problem that I did: a really nice pen and no way to make it write. The 3D printed adapter seems to have solved the problem.

 

Thanks to all who have ordered them.

 

John

[gregamckinney]

Working great in my LK Deluxe!

 

greg

[corgicoupe]

After a lot of fooling around with the two ballpoints I had, I threw them away to keep from wasting any more time on them. Then this comes along. I think this is some part of Murphy's Law.

Just click on the "trash" & drag to your "desktop".

[pneil100]

Hi everybody. Just wanted to add that I have been using the esterbrook adapter (printed from shapeways) for over three years. I use the pens everyday and click in and out with no problems. I have noticed that the odd pen gets stuck but the fault lies with the pen - not the refill. I have my suspicions that the problem is one of alignment. Possibly from somebody pushing down on the cap too hard and damaging the internal mechanism. Or it is gunked up with the original ink which is foul, sticky and thick (maybe try some ammonia). I have managed to fix a few but the odd pen just never seems to work properly again. I just finished three years at Uni and the refills took a hammering there. So I can attest to their longevity. The last batch I had done were in a smooth plastic and they seem to be equally robust. I have maybe 60 Esterbrook ballpoints. Everything from Wordathons in every colour (including plain black), Deluxe Wordathons (stacked coin), Scribes, bingo pens, desk ballpoints and pen/pencil sets in solid silver and gold. The Wordathons are great everyday pens with effective grip rings and nice plastics. These adaptors made them useful again. I tend to use Ohto needle-point refills (0.5 & 0.7 mm) which make for pretty specialised instruments for extensive note-taking. I just get real pleasure from something as beautiful as the old Esterbrooks with a state of the art refill. Well done to BamaPen for making these available to his like-minded (high-minded) brethren. I would be fascinated to know how many have been ordered now.

[BamaPen]

Esterbrook ballpoint friends,

 

A number of you have ordered through Shapeways and received the 3D printed adapter that allows use of a modern D1 (mini) refill in the older Esterbrook ballpoints. Shapeways does not allow me to find out who actually purchased the adapters, only how many have been purchased. I'd be interested to hear from those who have tried the adapter regarding their experience with it. Please post your experience/thoughts here.

 

John

[gregamckinney]

Worked well for me until the refill ran out. I have not yet replaced the dry refill with a fresh one, but will soon.

I'm very pleased with the adapter!

greg

[gweimer1]

I bought two. One of them is in use, and works just fine. I'm waiting for a pen on the second one. Be prepared...

[BamaPen]

Worked well for me until the refill ran out. I have not yet replaced the dry refill with a fresh one, but will soon.

I'm very pleased with the adapter!

greg

The limited capacity of the D1 (mini) refill is the only downside I've found with this adapter. Unfortunately Esterbrook's original design for their refill doesn't leave us any other options.

[Bill M]

I bought two. Using one now. Still working great.

[BamaPen]

Esterbrook ballpoint fans (FJ and Wordathon) have now purchased 100 of the adapters that allow use of a modern D-1 refill in these pens. If you have one of these ballpoints and want it to write well and the click-action to work properly, then you need to visit my Shapeways store.

 

The URL is https://www.shapeways.com/shops/bamapen

 

I've also recently tried the adapter in the Deluxe ballpoint, which uses the same refill as the FJ/Wordathon, and it works fine there, too.

 

By the way, my favorite D-1 (mini) refill by far is the Uni Jetstream SXR-200-07 or SXR-200-05 and you can find these for sale at Jet Pens or on eBay.

Edited March 10, 2018 by BamaPen

[qvxb]

The use of a D1 refill is great. This size is available with regular and hybrid inks in many colors.

 

I hope that adapters will be made for other makes of vintage ballpoint pens, allowing them to be used again.

[BamaPen]

The use of a D1 refill is great. This size is available with regular and hybrid inks in many colors.

 

I hope that adapters will be made for other makes of vintage ballpoint pens, allowing them to be used again.

We are working on that very sort of thing. We've just done one for the original Sheaffer Stratowriters to use a D1 in both the RA-1 retractable and the capped pens with the screw-in refill. Works well, will be available very soon.

 

What other vintage ballpoints would people like to have and adapter for?

[BamaPen]

It has been a little over a year since this thread was active, so I thought I'd give it a "bump" to remind folks that the adapter for the FJ/Wordathon ballpoint pens is still available from my shop on Shapeways. I've sold well over 100 of these and people seem to like them, so that is the best reference I can give. For more information, read the older comments in this thread.

To order, click this link to go to my Shapeways shop.

[welch]

Everyone must have ordered, and received, theirs on the same day! I also got mine yesterday, and it works nicely. This was my first time actually getting a ballpoint working (I never threw mine away ), and the only difficulty I noticed was getting the ink cartridge into the holder. A quick run of a drill bit might smooth things out a bit, but I'm happy with this. There's only one problem....I now have a copper pencil (with advertising), a copper ballpoint...but I don't actually have a copper fountain pen in my little collection.

 

Oh, the irony.

 

As one of our mealy-mouthed just-passing-through young managers explained, "That's not a problem. It;s an opportunity".

[pajaro]

 

As one of our mealy-mouthed just-passing-through young managers explained, "That's not a problem. It;s an opportunity".

 

A cliché for every occasion.

[pajaro]

I might have missed this in one of the posts, but does this adapter work in an Esterbrook desk pen? I found one of the desk pens today. Must have missed it when I threw the other ballpoints away. These desk pens have the point of the refill out all the time.

 

I ordered the adapter on the chance it will work. If not I guess I will have to find one of the retractable point pens.

Edited June 9, 2019 by pajaro

[BamaPen]

I might have missed this in one of the posts, but does this adapter work in an Esterbrook desk pen? I found one of the desk pens today. Must have missed it when I threw the other ballpoints away. These desk pens have the point of the refill out all the time.

 

I ordered the adapter on the chance it will work. If not I guess I will have to find one of the retractable point pens.

 

If the desk pen uses the same refill as the Wordathon/FJ ballpoints, then the adapter should work just fine. I don't have a desk pen to try it, so please do report back on the outcome. If it works for you, then I'll add that information to the Shapeways listing.

 

If it doesn't work and you want one of the retractable pens, check with Jesi Coles jesi@vintagepenshop.com because she usually has those in several colors.

[pajaro]

Thanks.

[pajaro]

I received this adapter in the mail today.

 

 

 

 

 

So you can see that the adapter works for a desk pen.
This is actually almost thrilling to see this work.