Refilling the Pilot V5 & V7 Hi-Tecpoint Rolling Ball Pens

Submitted by  Teoh Yi Chie on  July 8, 2013 - 12:05 pm

Before you read on, you should know that I've switched to using Uniball Vision and the Uniball Needle because they are disposable pens with pigment ink. They are straight out from artists' dreams. I use them for pen and ink watercolour sketching.

The Pilot V5 & V7 Hi-tecpoint rolling ball pens are among my favourite drawing pens. They are with me for every trip just in case other pens fail me.


They are sometimes sold under the name Pilot Precise. The tip size comes in extra fine of 0.5 and the fine of 0.7.


These are my two pens. The wear and tear you see is from sandpaper. I like my pens smooth to touch so I sanded off the surface. And it's easier to see how much ink is left inside. The 0.7 pen has darker plastic so it's more difficult to see what's left inside.

They are meant to be disposable but you can actually refill them. That's how I can be using the same pens for months.

Here are the steps to refilling (with reference photos below).

  1. Use a piece of paper, folded a few times, to cover the plastic part of the nib. It's to protect the soft plastic.
  2. Use the plier, hold it over the paper which is over the plastic part, pull.
  3. Refill the pen with ink, either with a syringe, or in my case I refilled with Rotring ink that comes in a bottle with a tapered point for easy insertion into the pen.
  4. Put the nib part back.

I like the consistent lines from the point nibs. The rolling ball nib is extremely smooth to the surface. You can use them at almost any angles as compared to Rotring Isograph technical pens. They have a huge ink well so you don't have to refill constantly. They are as light as a pencil — I prefer lighter pens. They are cheap.

At the tip size of 0.5 and 0.7, I prefer them over the Rotring Isograph.

Do not mistake them for the Pilot V5 & V7 Retractable Rolling Ball Pens. I've tried refilling them and it seems to clog. Anyway, the simple Pilot Tec-point is easier to refill with no problems for a long time.

I've also refilled the Pilot VPen. Works well. But since it produces uniform lines also, I prefer the Tec-point.


Rotring Ink comes in small 23ml bottles, and in 250ml bottles. The big bottle is for refilling small bottles.

So why not just get the Rotring multiliner pens

Well, the Rotring Isographs are definitely more convenient, and in the long run more hassle-free. But I like tinkering with pens sometimes. LOL.

Availability

You can find Rotring Ink on Amazon:
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr

Pilot pens:
Pilot V5
Pilot V7

Tags
pilot pen
art product reviews
pen reviews
technical pen

Comments

Polytope (not verified) Fri, 13 Sep 2013 - 01:36

Hello! I am from India. I just refilled two pens - the Pilot V-5 Hi-Tecpoint (made by Luxor) and V7 Precise. Nice to know someone is doing the things I wanted to do since 1994. I was in standard 8 then, and my friend showed me how refill the Pilot V7 Hi-Tecpoint . He used refilled pens for many months.
But...can we use these pens for years if maintained well. Does the wear out after many months?

Ashutosh Tripathi (not verified) Sat, 28 Oct 2017 - 21:18

Thank you..the information you have shared is very good and helpful.

bluebell_rose (not verified) Thu, 11 Jan 2018 - 13:21

If you are doing it that way don't forget the silicone grease when you put it back together . Ideally you want to pull only the tip out and not touch the section at all and leave it attached to the barrel which is factory sealed

Sawai (not verified) Fri, 02 Feb 2018 - 11:50

Can the tip/tip mechanism be exchanged between pilot v5 and pilot v7 so can easily fill ink in 0.5 mm V5 ?? Can we do so

Teoh Yi Chie Sat, 09 Jun 2018 - 23:32

@Joy
Yes you can. But it's better to just use fountain pen. More convenient.
I don't refill pens like this anymore.

Debodyuti DUtta (not verified) Fri, 21 Sep 2018 - 21:56

The ink color is very light after filling with Hightechpoint ink. Any solutions? Is Rotring ink any better and can we use inkjet blue ink?

Dr. Syd (not verified) Wed, 24 Oct 2018 - 05:07

Damn!!! Thanks a lot.. I really love these pens for daily use after Parker n i am a spendthrift to b honest.. Love u man for d tip(no pun intended).

Raghunath Deore (not verified) Mon, 03 Dec 2018 - 07:09

Thanks for the help I was very confused.....
.....

Teoh Yi Chie Mon, 15 Jul 2019 - 07:58

@Mahin
I used to use Rotring but I don’t refill pens like this anymore. Just get a cheap fountain pen on eBay.

Marc Vesse (not verified) Thu, 24 Oct 2019 - 15:41

I thank you for this idea but after doing this ,the ink doesn't go throw the tip!
i have the impression that the tip is blocked;I can't write with the "new"refilled pen.
What can I do?
I thank you for your answer;

A (not verified) Sat, 28 Dec 2019 - 14:59

Very useful.
I just wanted to say to your latest comments of not refilling pens like earlier: it's more environmentally friendly, and I wish you would do that. Reduce, reuse and recycle, correct, for a better planet with less plastic. Don't wanna be preachy but actually want to endorse your earlier practice.

Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 21 Dec 2020 - 16:40

Heyyy....thanks dude....really hlpful content of urs....it hlped me alot....

Ronny Svedman (not verified) Sun, 18 Apr 2021 - 22:13

Worked flawlessly with ink meant to refill inkjet printers, pen in beter than new wit heven higher contrast

Bear (not verified) Sat, 30 Sep 2023 - 03:22

Thank you for the tutorial. I used Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, and it seems to be working well (just scribbled a bit to get the ink flowing). I use V5 at work and it’s cheaper and convenient instead of my TWSBI Echo, which I used to use until the barrel cracked in my backpack. It’s too expensive to replace for travel use, or if I left it at work, so I prefer the V5.

Shin Chan (not verified) Sat, 19 Oct 2024 - 19:47

Can u suggest me what ink should I use to fill up my uniball pen (rollerball pen)?

Teoh Yi Chie Sat, 19 Oct 2024 - 21:23

@Shin Chan
You can try Rotring ink.

Anyway, I would recommend just getting a cheap fountain pen which is more easy to review.

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