My pen needs ink

November 2, 2012 1:50 PM

Where can I find a ballpoint pen refill to replace this one? I can find short refills, and twist refills, but not short twist refills.

It's from a promotional light-up pen that I got a few years back. I finally managed to get some cheap button batteries to put in it, only to find that it's dried out and won't write.

posted by ckape to Shopping (5 answers total)

does the part with the screw threads come off the refill? it may just be a regular refill with some kind of screw guide on it.
posted by koroshiya at 2:04 PM on November 2, 2012

Yeah, that looks like the Zebra TP18 refill with a cap stuck on the end. The TP18 refill is 2-5/8" long, which looks about right if that cap was slid over the end.
posted by xedrik at 2:22 PM on November 2, 2012

Response by poster: I've tried pulling off the screw thread part, but I haven't had any success. I've seen full-sized refills that come with the threaded cap on, but not short refills.
posted by ckape at 4:17 PM on November 2, 2012

I'm still betting the tail piece was an add-on. I just went through our entire refill catalog (office supplies retailer here), and found nothing that matches what you've got. The rest of the refill really looks like a Zebra TP18 (may also be listed under Yasutomo/Niji or Y&C). It's darn near the same size as a Monteverde D-1.

A lot of promotional pens modify existing widely-available cartridges to make them fit the pen design. Sometimes those modifications are removable and transferable to another cartridge, sometimes not. :(
posted by xedrik at 7:19 PM on November 2, 2012

The tail piece is probably glued on. Maybe you can try heating it with a hair dryer or using a solvent to loosen it.
posted by orme at 12:55 PM on November 3, 2012