This is my favorite pen mod! I like to have a pen and a few index cards in my pockets at all times for fleeting notes. A Fisher Bullet Space Pen is a convenient size to fit in my pocket easily, it looks nice, and it is comfortable to use. Unfortunately the refill it comes with is an awful ballpoint! I have a strong preference for gel pens. Refills are not a standard size, so swapping in a gel refill takes a little know-how.
One of my favorite gel pens is a Pilot Hi-Tec-C. Oddly Pilot doesn’t make refills for the full-sized version. But there is a multi-pen version, the Hi-Tec-C Coleto, with refills that are small and skinny enough to fit into a Space Pen pretty well. I cut 4mm off of the back of the refill, and with a little fiddling it fits.
Or for another option there are instructions for using a Zebra JK refill here.
There are downsides. The gel refill doesn’t have any of the unique capabilities of the pressurized Space Pen refills, like writing upside-down. The tip of the Hi-Tec-C Coleto refill is a little wobbly. And the multi-pen refills have a lower capacity than most refills, so they don’t write as long. This mod is best for an occasional-use pen that you always have on hand. (I keep my main pen with my journal because it’s too big for my pocket.)
Why have I never through about modding a pen before? This is so cool! That pen looks really smooth and comfortable to write with. Do they use that type of pen in space for real?
I’m pretty sure it’s called a Fisher Space Pen because Fisher developed a pen for the Apollo astronauts.
I don’t believe the commercial product is the exact same thing, but it does use a sealed, slightly pressurised (I think) body.
Edit: Fisher developed it, but not specifically for NASA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Pen
Its essentially the Parker pen refills, explains why they work consistently.
oh, neat! Yes, it seems to have a slight pressure since it’s sealed. Makes sense :D Now I kinda want one haha
