Dissapointed With Mb Rollerball Refill

[Albinoni]

Well yesterday I bought a brand new Montblanc Starwalker Rollerball pen here in Perth Australia (black resin with platinum) costing me AU $580.00.

 

While it came with a fineliner refill in the box, I decided to also get a box of the Montblanc Mystery Black Rollerball refills (2 in the box) as this pen accepts both rollerball and fineliner refills, mind you the fineliner seems to write quite nice.

 

Now here is my rant, having paid a lot of money for a pen and being a Montblanc I would expect their roller ball refills to write like a dream or at least smooth and nice, to say the least its one of the worse and roller ball refills I have ever used, and I am serous, I have used cheaper roller ball refills that have written better and smoother, and coming from a well reputable company like MB I would of expected something better.

 

Points and facts:

 

1. These refills are a medium size, feels like I am almost writing with a pin, it does not even feel like a medium, I would not say its scratchy, even my Pelikan M600 ballpoint is more smoother, yes thats a ball point and it writes more smoother than the MB.

 

2. Wow made in Japan, didnt know MB made some of their roller ball refills in Japan.

 

3. Can I use another or better brand refill in this pen, also I noticed this pen wont take the LeGrand refills, too big.

 

4. The Fineliner refill to be honest is not that bad actually.

 

Montblanc, seriously if I pay $590 for a pen I do expect better than this, the pen itself is nice just the refill is not at all smooth, NOT HAPPY.

[ncpenfan]

you are not alone! I have the same issue with the refills. A cheap Pilot G2 seems to write better.

 

One thing I have noticed, however, is that with some of the older refills, you can pull out the back and refill the sponge with ink. I have a few refills that I have done that with to make them last longer. Unfortunately, once the refill tip finally wears out, you are left with chance to see if the next refill will actually work.

 

Jinhao makes a refill that will fit in MB rollerballs. It even has the screws at the tip. These refills are very inexpensive and work great! Unfortunately, they will run out faster than a Pilot G2 refill. The low price point makes it worth it.

 

It is too bad that the MB rollerball doesn't always live up to expectations.

[JonDoh]

I agree. I have a MB rollerball and it just sits in my pen case. The refills are expensive, don't write all that smooth and don't last long at all. I have a couple of Cross rollerballs and they are much smoother writers. The refills are a lot cheaper too. So, when I carry a rollerball it's a Cross.

[Wolverine1]

The biggest mistake you made was that you spent $580.00 (AUS) on a rollerball pen. Use your money wisely the next time and but a MB fountain pen.

[Kalessin]

Not every writer prefers to write with a fountain pen, or can use one in every situation. Luckily, for fans of the brand, over many years Montblanc has been making pencils, ballpoints, rollerballs, document markers, sketch pencils, etc.

 

While this is the Fountain Pen Network, the MB Forum is for all MB writing products.

[Kalessin]

While I don't know if they're available in AUS, and don't know if they'd be better or worse, Monteverde makes refills that are compatible with MB Starwalker pens, including the threads that screw into the gripping section.

[koolpep]

I tinkered with my Starwalker Rubber Fineliner to hold ballpoint refills and never looked back.

[jsolares]

I quite like the ballpoint refills, but most rollerballs look better than the ballpoint version.

[dubhe]

The newer capless rollerball refills are much better than I remember my LeGrand RB being.

[Sasha Royale]

Welcome to the Rollerball Pen Network !

 

$580 Montblanc rollerball pen, with an $11 Montblanc refill ?

So, the $11 refill would function the same in a $400 Montblanc ? A $200 Montblanc ? Wrapped in duct tape, without any Montblanc ?

 

What does one get for the additional $569 ? I might believe that, if a Montblanc is not a fountain pen, it is jewelry.

 

When people say, "Sasha likes pens.", they are wrong. Sasha likes fountain pens. However, any of my 100+ fountain pens will write poorly, if the ink is dried out.

 

There must be some kind of date code on the package. When was the refill manufactured ? Can anyone in the membership advise on translating the date code, please ? Try a same-size refill, Montblanc or otherwise, that is freshly produced.

[penmanila]

despite being a long-time FP collector and user, i keep a couple of RBs (an MB 100th anniversary historical and a conway stewart dandy), especially for when i travel, to fill out those immigration forms that often require pressure for carbon copies or are printed on cheap paper that feathers horribly.

 

i've had the same problem as the OP with MB refills being dry and skippy; i've learned to use monteverde refills for my RBs (you can find them cheaply online)--they're wonderfully smooth and write consistently in my experience. just make sure you get the right model. (since i live far away in the philippines, i order a few at a time.)

[888007888]

I'm also rather disappointed in the MB medium rollerball performance. I feel like they write similar to an EF fountain pen. Really sharp and unpleasant. I own about 11 MB StarWalker rollerballs, maybe more, and don't use any of them. I fell in love with the SatrWalker design years ago and still collect them when I find a design that catches my eye. As of late, I only pick up the FP and Ballpoint versions. My rollerballs just stare at me from their display cases these days. Sad. I know.

I used to refill them by taking out the plastic plug on the back end of the refill, using pliers to pull out the sponge, and soaking it in a bottle of ink. Worked just fine. Refilling doesn't take long. It was fun. But that didn't change the writing end of the pen. Wishing someday MB will make a gel refill similar to the G-2 refill.

I occasionally switch out my BP refills for Monteverde Capless Gel refills, but they don't last very long and I have had skipping issues. Best refill IMHO is the MB Broad ballpoint. You can even get some line variation by varying writing pressure with the broad ballpoint

[luckduck369]

How about trying some fine-liner refills? I find them quite good.

[koolpep]

I just love the broad ballpoint mines. It's what brought me to MB in the first place. I put them in anything I can except fountain pens :-)

[FredRydr]

... Monteverde makes refills....

 

 

Those are what I prefer for ballpoint refills that fit MB pens.

 

Fred

[Albinoni]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I went back to the shop where I bought this pen from and the lady in the shop told me that I should keep scribbling on a piece of papert with the rollderball to get the small ball rolling/moving until it soaks itself in the ink, and after doing so, it should feel and write much better, probably the roller ball tip is still a bit dry and needs to be more wet.

 

The fineliner or felt tip writes very nice, personally to be much nicer than the rollerball refill (so far), but coming back their roller ball refills, mine is a medium and seems that I am writing with a EF or F, I expect the line variation on a M point for a rollerball to be at least a bit more wider, bit in my case it isnt.

 

Now the other question here is, I also have the rollerball mystery black refills and I have noticed that they are made in Japan, so the question here is, who is really making the rollerball refills for MB.

[Kalessin]

MB is probably contracting rollerball refills out to one of the Japanese rollerball makers like Pilot, which would be more cost-effective than making them in-house.

 

Some manufacturers use Schmidt to make refills, and I'm sure there are other contract suppliers for "official" refills. It's sometimes possible to figure out who by looking at small construction and finishing details.