Monteverde gel BP refills

[Vladpu]

Although I have been known to refer to ballpoints as tools of satan, I also refer you to the paraphrased "Man's prayer" from Red Green ... "I'm a [fountain pen] man, but I can change, if I have to."  

So, acknowledging the fact that BPs are just a sometimes necessity of life when filling in e.g. list of all your diseases from birth (a long list when you reach the "ancient" stage of life) at the Dr's office on cheap paper, I decided to assure myself what BP ink is the nicest to use.

Historically (meaning the last decade or so) I have gravitated to Parker Gel refills, and they are pretty nice.  But then I got enamored with Retro 1951 Tornado retractable roller-balls, and that is much nicer.  But I still want to be able to enjoy my Parker and Aurora BPs too.  I bought an array of brands that fit Parker T-ball size, including Pelikan (pretty good), the new Retro 51 9000 Gel in Parker size (which is in fact the same as Schmidt), and Monteverde.  The Retro 1951 ones are nice, but not the same feel as the retractable roller ball ones.  One thing I learnt about the Monteverde refills is that there are different types of ink options, so be careful about picking which Monteverde cartridge you want.  I decided the one for me is the Monteverde GEL, not liquid ink, refill which comes in black, blue and blue-black in a broad width.  The blue-black is very nice IMHO.  A BP 'broad" is about the same line-on-paper width as a Parker modern-day fine nib (which is wider than e.g. a 1940-50s fine).  There is also an array of other colours not in broad.  My wife, who does accounting, likes the violet and red fine.  

[Ron Z]

I'm glad you've posted this.  I have a bunch of Tornado pens.  Why, I'm not sure since they don't get used much, but if I have to use one, that's what I carry.  I like the short Schmidt refills, but the cost is high, and I've never run one dry.  I was just looking at the Monteverde gel refills, and was going to ask someone.     The EzFlow leave ink boogers on the page.

[Vladpu]

16 hours ago, Ron Z said:

I have a bunch of Tornado pens.  Why, I'm not sure since they don't get used much, but if I have to use one, that's what I carry. 

My wife and I have a plethora of Retro 51s, too.  Too many to use any one very much.  We actually started with the pencils, and were so impressed, we figured we'd try a pen.  And they too were really nice, so we started getting Christmas special Tornados as stocking stuffers every year, and now we have 10 each, and 2 more each to come this Christmas (the snowy evening Christmas one, plus the "gnomes" one.)  

If I carry a BP, that's what I usually carry, though once in a while a Duofold or Aurora.  It is very hard to beat the feel and flow of the Schmidt short roller.  Though it has cost me in shirts.  They include a warning in the instructions, and they mean it .... if you do not retract before pocketing, that shirt will never ever be presentable again.  I have a 1954-ish Parker 51 BP, but it is more decoration than useful pen in my hands.  The Tornados are substantial, and I have big hands.  Of Duofolds, my preferred is a 1987 (first year) model with the flat clip and click-activation.  The clip is near the top, without the twisty-knob sticking up, so better fits a pocket.  

[Ron Z]

if you do not retract before pocketing, that shirt will never ever be presentable again.

 

Yeh.  I have yet to have a shirt get an ink stain from a fountain pen, but I got a huge one from a Schmidt refill.