Please help identify a type of pen...

[Joel Sauder]

I need some help finding a pen kit that will take a specific ink refill cartridge. Here is the story.

I am a biologist, which means that I use pens in all sorts of strange weather and write on strange stuff (the most regular being wet paper). There is a brand of paper and wrting products by the name of Rite-in-the-Rain that I use regularly because it writes on just about anything, in any condition. Their pens are a basic clicker type that use a pressurized ink cartridge that is 3.5 inches long (see the included picture).

I would like find a pen kit that would use this cartridge so I can make some nice pens for me and my biologist friends. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Joel.....There are a number of websites for pen turners. Do a search here in the turners forum and find the links. Go there and post I'll bet you'll have some more responses.Good luck!PS.....How's that new lathe doing?

[Mike Vickery]

The standard rollerball refill is a little over 4 1/4 inches.

You have a couple choices
1. make closed end pans where you can make the hole any size you want.
2. Go to ace hardware and find a longer spring to put in the bottom of any rollerball kit.
3. Use something as a small shim to put in the pen before the spring. It would have to be the same about 3/4 inches (difference in refill size). The small plastic cap that comes on the pen refills are a great size for using as shims, just cut them to length.

[Paul Heely]

The refill looks similar to the one that the is sold for the "Space Pen". On the spacepen.com website under refills it says that there is a parker style adapter available. You might get a hold of the and see if you can get just the adapter and see if that will work with your refills. If it does then there are a bunch of kits that use the parker style refill.

Good luck.

[Barry Stratton]

I used those "space" pens many a day in the rain, great pens!

If the Parker adopter will work, those would be downright awesome in ANTLER!

[Grant Wilkinson]

I've been able to substitute the space pen refills that LV sells in my flat top ballpoint pens, with no adapter or anything special. The flat top takes the Parker refill usually.

[Joel Sauder]

Thanks for the help guys. I took a close look a my Rite-In-The-Rain Pen and they actually say Space Penn too. Your tips should be just the ticket to get them to work in a pen kit.

Joel

[M Toupin]

Joel,
Fisher Pen Co, the maker of the "space Pen", has refills for most standard pen types including the cross that fits most pen kits. The refills are a bit pricey at about $4.00 each, but it's a great pen. I spend a lot of time outdoors in some pretty crappy weather and I wouldn't be without mine!

http://www.spacepen.com/Public/Products/PenRefills/index.cfm

Mike

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Joel.......If you really want to make some pens that will last through some pretty harsh conditions, you might consider using corian. The only set of corian pens I've made were last photographed in Kuwait.

If you want to use corian, I have a small mixed supply Joel...give me a call and drop by....