Currently Inked for May 8, 2023: Demonstration of Three Caran d'Ache 849 Ballpoint Pen Refill Hacks

Today's "Currently Inked" video is a visual demonstration of three different refill hacks for the Caran d'Ache 849 Ballpoint Pen. I originally filmed this video for Stories, and as a companion to the main blog post, so there's no voiceover.
View the main blog post here: www.gentlemanstationer.com/bl...
Refill Hack 1: Paul Smith x Caran d'Ache 849 Ballpoint Pen with .5mm Ohto "Flash Dry" Needle-tip Refill, which can be hacked by removing a small piece of the clear plastic tubing. (If you remove too much, you can add length back to the refill by wrapping a small piece of washi tape around the end of the cartridge.)
Ohto .5mm Flash Dry Needle-tip Refill can be purchased in our shop: www.gentlemanstationer.com/cu...
Refill Hack 2: Paul Smith x Caran d'Ache 849 Ballpoint Pen with Caran d'Ache Parker-style Rollerball refill, which fits this particular ballpoint pen without any modification.
Both the Paul Smith x Caran d'Ache Ballpoint, 4th Edition (www.gentlemanstationer.com/th..., and the Caran d'Ache Rollerball Refills (www.gentlemanstationer.com/cu..., are available in our shop.
Refill Hac 3: Caran d'Ache 849 Black Code Ballpoint Pen, with Jetstream SXR .5mm Low Viscosity Refill, which fits the Caran d'Ache 849 Ballpoint Pen if you slightly loosen the knock by reversing it one or two turns. Simply adjust the knock to adjust the length of the tip.
Caran d'Ache 849 Black Code Ballpoint Pen: www.gentlemanstationer.com/th...
Jetstream SXR .5mm Low Viscosity Refill: www.jetpens.com/Uni-SXR-600-J...

[@lesliechiang1710]

There is no hack at all. Those refills are all standard Parker G2 style refills made by different suppliers. In most older (I mean 20yrs old etc) pens, you probably need to loosen cap by reversing one or two turns to retract the tips into the body. Otherwise, they work most of the time.

[@TheGentlemanStationer]

Even on the modern Caran d'Ache 849, you still need to loosen the knock by a turn or two to get the tip to retract. This may vary depending on the refill (I've found that not all G2s are identical). While it's not a true "hack", I've had several people contact me saying that it "doesn't work" because the tip extends past the opening when the refill is retracted. I play it safe and call it a hack if an adjustment is usually required...