Vintage Review: Esterbrook Ballpoint Pen Brought Back to Life

Review by Jessica Coles It’s no secret that I (Jesi) love Esterbrooks.  I believe for the price and quality, there is no single pen better as an introduction into vintage pens.  Of the Esterbrook models, the one that is most prolific on the market today is the J series due to its popularity at the…

Zebra Sarasa Prefill: Shiny Metallic Gel Refills!

Zebra Sarasa Prefill: Shiny Metallic Gel Refills!

Since my Pilot Juice Metallic Pen Set glee, I decided to refill my Prefill (my Zebra Sarasa Prefill, that is) with some of the metallic refills that are now available. I chose my favorite colors: metallic green, metallic pink and silver plus the pencil for an entirely non-work appropriate set. Who’s going to stop me,…

Review: Monteverde Soft Roll Refills

Generally speaking, I tend to avoid ballpoint refills because I don’t often have very good luck with ballpoint ink. Being left-handed, it tends to smear more often and hard start more often for me than most people. But when Bert at Bertram’s Inkwell insisted I try the Monteverde Soft Roll refills in my Retro 51s…

The Epic Refill Reference Guide: Rollerball, Gel and Ballpoints

Lots of pens available these days accept either a “Parker-Style” G2 refills, a Pilot G2 refill (adds to the confusion for sure) and the Pilot Hi-Tec C style refills.  I thought I’d try to come up with a list of refills that fit into these categories. This is by no means a definitive list but…