Occasionally people run into an issue where they have a vintage Montblanc ballpoint pen that originally came with a “Giant Refill” filling aka “Riesenmiene”. The thing is that at some point Montblanc decided to reduce the size of the fillings for their new pens. For a while they delivered these modern fillings with a plastic extender to make them longer, these extenders could be taken off if needed. However they have stopped delivering these extenders and without this additional length vintage ballpoint pens became defunct.
Size comparison between the modern filling with extender and the Riesenmiene.
However there is an easy fix if you have some simple tools at hand. We start off with a modern Montblanc ballpoint refill, please note that these come delivered with a black plastic cap.
The original extender added 14 millimeters of length to the filling. Using a ruler measure this same distance measured from the closed side and mark it using a knife or some other means.
Now use a pair of cutters or a boxcutter and cut the cap at the mark.
If you did it correctly the combined length should be equal to the Riesenmiene
If you think it is the right size just let the shortened cap fall into the pen with the closed side head first.
As a final check just notice if the tip of the filling remains inside the pen. If it sticks out in retracted position you will need to cut off a bit more of your home made extender or grind it down to the desired length.
If all is well the refill will go in and out smoothly and will remain in position when writing. Well done!
