There are currently no refills being made that will fit the older J
series Esterbrook ballpoint pens, at least none that we've been able to
locate. However, with a little time and patience and a mini ballpoint
refill, you can get your Esterbrook ballpoints up and writing again!

You will need:

A sharp knife or small jeweler's saw
Rubbing alcohol
Lots of pipe cleaners
Mini ballpoint refill

This is a pretty messy procedure, although you may be neater than I am! Spread out some newspapers to keep the ink from the old ballpoint refill in check. Messy, messy!

First you need to saw or snip off the original Esterbrook refill point end of the old refill. Toss the nib part, keep the long refill portion.

Vintage Esterbrook Ballpoint Refill

The next chore is to remove the ink from inside the old refill tube, rubbing alcohol and lots of pipe cleaners work very well. It's important to get as much ink out of the old refill as possible because otherwise it tends to ooze out and makes a real mess. I know this sounds simple, but ballpoint ink, especially old ballpoint ink is oily and messy, it takes awhile to clean out the old refill.

Then you will need a mini ballpoint refill, we carry the Schmidt Mini Ballpoint refills, but there are a number of different brands out there. Take the Mini refill and insert it into the refill tube.

Congratulations! You now have a working refill, the point from the mini refill will look right (and write well) in your vintage Esterbrook J series ballpen.