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Save $200 in 2 Minutes and have the World's Best Writing Pen

video Save $200 in 2 Minutes and have the World's Best Writing Pen

Hack together your very own Mont Blanc writing pen for only $15 in about 2 minutes! This video is entirely based upon the awesomely successful Instructable Save $200 in 2 minutes and have the worlds best writing pen.

Mont Blanc pens employ some mighty fine technology and are widely regarded as one of the best writing implements in the world. So what's the problem? They typically cost between $200 and $300 - a little too expensive of a pen for most of us. What's the solution? Modify the ink refill cartridge in 2 minutes of course so that it fits in a regular old Pilot G2.

We're such a fan of kingant's Instructable that we decided to make a little video about it!

177 comments

1-40 of 177

Feb 8, 2011. 6:58 AMMr.Unknown says:

$200... for a PEN!!?? that is incredibly overpriced, but that not even the part that writes. the part of the pen that does all the work is the ink cartridge writing and all you know Why is so much crap overpriced these days! Go back a couple hundred years and you could buy whole countries for the cost of that pen : P wait, now wityh that thought i will take the $200 in my piggy bank and build a time machine. then after that i will buy a country... Instead of STUPID OVERPRICED PEN : ). who needs such a fancy pen anyway i am fine with a regular old ballpoint pen thats like $5 for a 25pack. darn business making pens 200 dollars!

Mar 27, 2012. 9:08 PMaccount3r2 says:

I can get 30 pens for 99 cents... and also, the ink tube is so big, you can write without the rest of the pen as long as you don't mind it not retracting... That's what I do with some of the G2 ink tubes I find or take out of the rest of the pen...

Oct 23, 2011. 6:05 PMzazukain says:

How is the different from $1000+ watches? They all tell the same time, just like how all pens (for the most part) write.

Nov 7, 2011. 5:28 PMRolexpert says:

I didn't have access to a razor blade or exacto knife set so I used my girlfriends nail file (emory board) to sand down the plastic to perfection. The pen retracts perfectly. I would suggest the sanding method to ensure it precise. If you cut it, you might cut to much off etc. Here it is finished!

Sep 22, 2011. 8:00 PMrbohringer says:

That's genius.

Jun 11, 2010. 4:54 PMGreen Silver says:

And everybody looks at the pen you have and thinks " That cost less than $5" LOL The Americans developed a pen that would write in zero gravity, cost... $10,000 to develop. The Russians used a pencil! Russia ONE, America NIL... The same as this instructable! Oh Btw. Did the cheap pen work?

Sep 9, 2011. 1:23 AMTomasauk says:

Apparently old ballpoint pens had pistons in them to push the ink into the ball, but they got rid of that. I think that is how the space pen worked.
Also when you write down scientific stuff it is preferable to use a pen, because it can't be erased.

Oct 25, 2010. 6:32 PMmechanixman says:

okay im tired of hearing this saying. its INNACURATE. russians AND americ ans used pencils in space, but the lead was too fragile for this use, so the americans spent $50!!!!! to make this pen not $10,000 not a million. plus, everyone uses this pen in space. and dont think im ragging on the russians, becomes i am russian-american

Dec 29, 2011. 12:45 PMUberPest says:

Not to mention it was the Fisher company, a private company, who developed the pen, then marketed it to NASA.

Jul 19, 2010. 4:28 PMsway says:

That's rude

Jul 19, 2010. 7:27 PMGreen Silver says:

I beg to differ, the only person that will know you have a posh pen refill is the person whom modified the pen. The expense of this pen is the actual pen build, and not the ink refill, hence the price of the seperate parts.

Sep 17, 2010. 11:01 PMcronic5 says:

Who cares what other people think? The point is that it is a smooth writing pen.

Oct 26, 2010. 4:25 PMmr.noris says:

just use a normal pen

Oct 26, 2010. 5:20 PMGreen Silver says:

You can't beat a cheap or even free pen, you can chew the end, scrawl on the bench and it it breaks.. What have you lost? Absolutely nothing apart from a worthless pen, which can be replaced for nothing...

Dec 18, 2010. 6:48 PMshaneomacmcgee says:

"I bought a seven dollar pen because I always lose pens and I got sick of not caring." --Mitch Hedberg

Jan 9, 2012. 2:42 PM

pdub77 says:

Classic Mitch. Miss that guy. . .

Jun 24, 2010. 7:51 PMSyera says:

Actually, both the Americans and Russians used pencils in the early days. The reason NASA developed a pen was because the bits of graphite that went flying around could be dangerous - they could get into the machinery or into the astronauts' eyes.

Aug 31, 2011. 3:40 PMthomasthetankengine says:

Wrong. $195.00 in 2 minutes. =P

Aug 28, 2011. 5:45 PMlgotingco says:

Does it have to be the pilot G2- 05

Aug 22, 2011. 12:45 PMterribug says:

Uh. Not to be awful, but what could you possibly be writing that could be worth that kind of money? Really. For most uses, go to Target or Walmart during the Back to School sales and pick up a pack of Bic 10/$1 and go spend your money on something that will actually do somebody some good.

May 12, 2010. 7:15 AMimaMaker says:

What a waste of $13 for two Monte Blanc refills. It worked fine for a couple hours and has been skipping ever since. Neat idea but it just doesn't work.

Jul 18, 2011. 3:57 AMfasil says:

Cool trick, but the same happen to me. both Mont Blanc are dead for good, Tried a few tips, hot water, eraser, anyone with a great solution ?

Jun 29, 2010. 1:58 PMRetroTechno says:

Mine works just fine. It really is the best ballpoint pen I've ever used. Maybe you got a really old refill from the store or something. Don't get me wrong, I don't think this pen is $200 good, but it's definitely $12 good.

May 20, 2010. 8:29 PMpbonk says:

I've had the same thing happen with 4 Mone Blanc refills. Thankfully office depot has a decent return policy.

Apr 11, 2011. 10:14 AMyasminekke says:

You can also just ask a pen in class and never give it back, secretely take a pen out of someone's pencil case ^.^
But in lot of stores, bares.. you can take free pens, sometimes they write verry good

Jan 21, 2011. 2:28 AM

saint.jude says:

Well great idea but honestly, the Mont Blanc ink isn’t the best ink for writing, what makes the pen is its great shape. If you really want the best writing ink you should go for ViscoGlide-ink it’s priced around 5$ but you’ll never wrote like this before! (It even fits into a Mont Blanc Pen because some people prefer this ink They have it in several sizes or as a standalone pen without exchangeable ink)
Check my review here:
http://hubpages.com/hub/best-writing-pen

Dec 15, 2010. 3:47 PMjimdkc says:

I tried this, and it was great... for about a month. That's when the Mont Blanc refill dried up and quit working. You see, that's the thing about most rollerball pens: they have to be capped to keep from drying out. Mont Blanc pens included. If you look at the actual Mont Blanc rollerball pens, you'll see that they all have a removable cap.

But, I may have a solution: A bit of internet research and I found Schmidt Capless Rollerball Refills. They come in short and long versions. The long version looks like the same length as the Mont Blanc refills (4 1/4"). They sell for around $4 each, and appear to be quite similar to the Mont Blanc refills... they may even be made in the same factory in Germany!

Jan 3, 2011. 10:03 AMjimdkc says:

No go... The Schmidt refills are too large in diameter to fit most G2 pens (standard G2 and G2 Limited), and on the G2's where they're not too fat (G2 Pro), they have a slightly different tip configuration.

Aug 26, 2010. 7:28 PMDJJazzyj987 says:

I tried this and it worked perfectly, thanks!

Jul 3, 2010. 8:44 AMApple_4_life says:

I've gotta try this, I even have a G2 at the ready, now all I need to do is visit office depot... 5 stars!

Jun 28, 2010. 7:14 AMTheClock says:

Great idea!!!

Apr 28, 2010. 6:17 PMsouske25 says:

what is so special about this mont blanc ink?

Mar 3, 2010. 3:45 AMSparoc3 says:

well i live in india ....so $200 is definately very huge amount for a common man
but...i'm student so even $12 is too much ...i can get a parker roller for 5-6 $ ..so good for high earning people...not for all...

Apr 23, 2010. 10:27 PMppsaheed says:

it's right or not !!!!!!!!!!!!