What is this refill, and what are the advantages?
thx,
Bil
thx,
Bil
Space Pen Refill
- Thread starter wherndon
- Start date
Well in my humble opinion it writes like any other ballpoint, possibly a little smoother. The benefit comes with being able to write upside down, in extreme cold and hot, and on greasy or wet surfaces.
It's pressurized and engineered to withstand abnormal writing conditions. I always carry one with me but find myself using it less and less for some reason.
FWIW, I've tried several of the refills and wasn't really satisfied with the way most of them wrote. They're OK and function as they need to, but they tend to look a little diluted unless you write with a lot of pressure. The one that writes best is the plain black medium point that most of them already come with.
FWIW, I've tried several of the refills and wasn't really satisfied with the way most of them wrote. They're OK and function as they need to, but they tend to look a little diluted unless you write with a lot of pressure. The one that writes best is the plain black medium point that most of them already come with.
Space Pen = Great functionality, zero soul!
I do carry one when I'm out bird watching and listing my sightings in a waterproof "Rite in the Rain" notebook (although lately I'm doing most of that on an iPhone app!). The advantages are the ability to make a mark on paper in just about any environmental condition. The disadvantages are the same as most ballpoints...boring, blotchy writing; pressure required to lay down a consistently dark line; cheap feeling; lack of ink color choices, etc. I'd probably do just as well, if not better, with a pencil.
I do carry one when I'm out bird watching and listing my sightings in a waterproof "Rite in the Rain" notebook (although lately I'm doing most of that on an iPhone app!). The advantages are the ability to make a mark on paper in just about any environmental condition. The disadvantages are the same as most ballpoints...boring, blotchy writing; pressure required to lay down a consistently dark line; cheap feeling; lack of ink color choices, etc. I'd probably do just as well, if not better, with a pencil.
I'm a lefty and find the fisher ink smudges, but I do carry a cheap cap-o-matic for jotting notes (its small, cheap, but still decent looking and well made).
For me, the biggest benefit is the writing upside-down as I often find myself leaning on a wall, so the pen tends to be angled slightly upwards - a normal pen stops working very quickly like this.
The down-side is I only get about 4-6 weeks out of a Fischer refill, whilst I can make a humble Bic Crystal last for at least 3 months (assuming I don't lose it!)
The down-side is I only get about 4-6 weeks out of a Fischer refill, whilst I can make a humble Bic Crystal last for at least 3 months (assuming I don't lose it!)
Lots of different experiences. I was using Fisher refills in my Parker Jotters for a number of years before I started using fountain pens instead of ballpoints. I still generally have a bullet style Space Pen with me for emergencies and jotting things down in awkward positions.
My favorite Fisher refill is the blue fine point, and the standard black medium is good too. I've found both to be smooth writing, and not to require excessive pressure as ballpoints go. The Rite in the Rain paper mentioned above does need a fair amount of pressure from any ballpoint, and is hopeless with fountain pens.
They make more colors of ink than you'd expect with ballpoints. Besides blue and black, I know they have turquoise, green, purple, a couple of reds, brown, and silver. I have no idea why anyone would want the silver.
They also make some differently styled pressurized cartridges that fit other pens.
Well, I still prefer fountain pens and gel rollerballs. Fishers were my main ballpoints for a lot of years, though.
My favorite Fisher refill is the blue fine point, and the standard black medium is good too. I've found both to be smooth writing, and not to require excessive pressure as ballpoints go. The Rite in the Rain paper mentioned above does need a fair amount of pressure from any ballpoint, and is hopeless with fountain pens.
They make more colors of ink than you'd expect with ballpoints. Besides blue and black, I know they have turquoise, green, purple, a couple of reds, brown, and silver. I have no idea why anyone would want the silver.
They also make some differently styled pressurized cartridges that fit other pens.
Well, I still prefer fountain pens and gel rollerballs. Fishers were my main ballpoints for a lot of years, though.
dlegros, they have one model now guaranteed to last 80 years without running out of ink. The company I work for makes parts for Fisher, and they are just down the road from me in Boulder City , NV
Don't know much about the refills but I did hear a good story concerning the pen.
NASA spent a fortune designing the pen. The Soviet Union had a cheaper solution for their cosmonauts...
a pencil...
NASA spent a fortune designing the pen. The Soviet Union had a cheaper solution for their cosmonauts...
a pencil...
This is actually a frequently quoted urban legend. It's one of those things that just seems so plausible, but see Snopes.com, for example.
Brief summary. Both Americans and Soviets initially used pencils, but there were concerns with little bits of lead breaking off and floating around in the tiny, enclosed, weightless environment. Fisher developed the Space Pen entirely on his own, and then sold it to NASA at a reasonable price. Of course, the resultant advertising must have been valuable to him.
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The comparison is part of a Dennis Leary skit. The Cliff notes version is:
"Sure a pencil works in space but we want to write in pen. In space. So we figured out how to. Because we're 'Merican!" And more 'Mericans are great examples.
"Sure a pencil works in space but we want to write in pen. In space. So we figured out how to. Because we're 'Merican!" And more 'Mericans are great examples.
