Mont Blanc + G2 Hack: Use With Caution

I learned about the Mont Blanc + G2 hack soon after I became interested in pens and other writing instruments. This hack is very popular, has been around for years, and many others have written about it (see, for example, here and here). I succumbed to the peer pressure and tried a black Mont Blanc rollerball refill (fine) in a Pilot G-Knock body, and a blue Mont Blanc rollerball refill (medium) in a Pilot G2 body.

Mechanically, both pens worked as advertised. I especially liked the feel of the additional weight of the Mont Blanc refill. Initially, both pens worked well and wrote smoothly, and I really liked the color of the blue refill. The medium blue refill was actually a little too wet for my liking; it would bleed through my standard office paper. Both pens performed in an awesome manner for a couple of weeks.

Why am I using the past tense here? Past tense is appropriate because both refills are no longer with me - they both started to dry out and skip on me after about two weeks. I admit that I didn't use the pens on a daily basis, or even regularly. That may be why they both started to dry out. I don't own a real Mont Blanc pen, but I suspect that they are capped to prevent the rollerball refills from clogging. I seriously doubt that both refills actually ran out of ink . . . my theory is that the tips just got all gunked up due to lack of use.

I enjoyed the pens while they lasted, but I won't be buying more Mont Blanc refills unless I can use them in a capped pen. I'm not certain that they were designed to be used in a retractable pen that leaves the tip open to the air.

All of that said, if you only use one pen at a time on a regular basis, then the Mont Blanc + G2 combo might work well for you. If not, then proceed with caution!