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How Do You Make The Power Ball Gyro work without using the string to get it started? | |
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I needed to use a start string for only a few times but ended up spinning the ball on my leg, starting up around my hip and snapping the ball down along my pants leg toward my knee. Once the ball starts going, then the trick is to just "work the gyro" until you "feel" the gyro starting to go and then you'll get the hand and arm workout of your life! |
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How do I change the lead in my Multi Action Pen? | |
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To replace the lead inside your Triple Action Pen, you just unscrew the finger grip from
the barrel and locate the pencil tube. You grab this silver tube and pull it straight off. The pencil lead feeds into the tube that protrudes from the barrel. You can load about 3 or 4 sticks of lead into this tube. |
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Please explain the difference between roller ball and ballpoint pens and their inks (water-based, etc.) | |
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Thanks for the suggestion to explain the difference between the two inks. I'm used to contrasting the Space Pen ink, which is thixotropic (very high viscosity) and activated by the friction when the ball point comes in contact with a stationary surface. The Space Pens ball points are machined with extremely high tolerances. The physical ball is made to 3/1,000,000ths of an inch and the ball housing (what the physical ball fits into) is made to 2/10,000ths of an inch. When the Space Pens ball point is examined under a microscope the topography is a cylindrical grooved pattern with highly pronounced with almost ""mountain-like"" peaks and valleys. This rough surface is what provide the ""shearing action"" which breaks down the chain-polymers of the ink. Again, with the Space Pen ink being as thick as chewing gum, this precise ball point is mandatory to produce the smoothest, darkest ink lay-down in a ball point pen. Rollerball pens use a liquid, water based ink which is why they lay down such a thick, wet line that many enjoy. The down-side to the rollerball ink, of course, is how limited the ink supply. The Space Pen ball point refill has about 12,000 to 15,000 linear feet of write-out whereas the rollerball has about 2,800 linear feet. The new Gel Inks have some improvement in the longevity of the write-out but their main feature is the chemical inside them that keeps them from drying out when the cap is left off. We have several ""Capless Rollerball"" pens that have a one year ""cap-off time"". Fisher does make a refill called the ""Space Ball"" refill which will fit over 30 different models of rollerball pens. The Space Ball is NOT a water-based ink and contains Space Pen (thixotropic) ink that is pressurized to about 45psi. The Space Ball refill has over 30,000 linear feet of write-out and was made for those rollerball pen owners who are tired of changing their refills every week or two. The Space Ball has both a Fine and Bold point where most enjoy the bolder point because it emulates more of the dark, thick ink lay-down like the rollerball. The page for the Space Ball refills is located at:
http://www.thewritersedge.com/visit.cfm?e=refills%2Emenu&a=refills%2ESSBR%2DxB Jim Jobin, Owner. |
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During the heat of the space race in the 1960s, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided it needed a ball point pen to write in the zero gravity confines of its space capsules. After considerable research and development, the Astronaut Pen was developed at a cost of about $1 million US dollars! The pen worked and also enjoyed some modest success as a novelty item back here on Earth. he Soviet Union, faced with the same problem, used a pencil. | |
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I've been forwarded this tidbit for years. This is not a factual story and has never been published. Whomever created this didn't understand that NASA didn't create the space pen, it was Mr. Fisher. It was NOT NASA that invested 1.5MM in the space pen, it was Mr. Fisher at ZERO cost to the American taxpayer or consumer. Also, pencil lead, breaking off in a zero-gravity environment could be harmful if ingested, and would be be detrimental if the broken lead became lodged inside the Shuttle's computer equipment. The graphite inside a pencil can be conductive with electricity, which is not good inside a computer system.
This story always makes the USA, NASA and Mr. Fisher look stupid while the Russians are so ""smart"". I have personally seen and held a Vienna Austria newspaper from 1967 (given to me by Mr. Fisher) where the Russians claimed to have ""invented the Space Pen"". If they were so keen on using pencils, why would they had made this claim. As final proof, please go to http://www.thewritersedge.com/story.cfm and you'll see Russian astronauts using the Fisher AG7E Space Pen. I've had Russian Cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev in my home after he flew this mission and he told me that the Russian space program has used the Fisher Space Pen for as long as he's been a Cosmonaut. In his words ""pencil lead breaks...and is not good in space capsule; very dangerous to have metal lead particles in zero gravity"" Jim Jobin, Owner. *** Special thanks to Jeff Fink, formerly with General Electric's Special Materials Dept. Jeff provided some of the compositional background on graphite and it's physical attributes. |
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How come my Bullet Space Pen has a slit (or cut) in the O-Ring? | |
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This is normal and part of the mold that makes the O-Rings for the Bullets. If this little notch was not in the O-Ring, the air would not be allowed to escape when removing the cap and the cap would be "frozen" on to the bullet. |
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My Space Refill Sure Didn't Last Long! | |
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A new Space Pen refill normally has about 2.5 miles of write-out. This length is a misnomer however, because the time you get out of a refill depends somewhat on how much you write. The average person who writes a lot during the day will go through a space pen refill in about 3 to 6 months. I drain mine in 3 months because I'm writing constantly.
Sometimes, the refill cartridge might not have received a ""full shot"" of ink on the production line. With the refill line being one of the only production areas that is automated, it's difficult to say if your refill received a full shot of ink AND did it receive the full 40 PSI shot of nitrogen. With the cartridge being brass, we can't see the physical ink supply inside. There are situations where you're refill might have had a problem and I will make it right; especially if you one of our customers and purchased your Space Pen from us. If you're not a current customer, we'd still like to make this situation right. Email me so we can make this right. Jim. |
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Why Does My Space Pen Refill Oooze Sometimes? | |
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When a space refill begins to run out of ink, the ""oozing"" becomes more pronounced.
The ""oozing"" phenomenon is characteristic of a space pen refill that is sealing itself yet in a small amount - not a large blob that requires wiping before every writing situation. With 40psi of constant pressure forcing the space pens visco-elastic ink to the point, the point tolerances of a space pen are very precise. Within these tight tolerances, there needs to be just enough ""room"" if you will, to allow the ink to attach itself to the ball that distributes the ink to the writing surface. Now the real weird part. Not unlike human blood clotting, the thixotropic ink must ""seal itself"" quickly (and most often not noticeable to the user) with a small amount if residual ink at the point. This way, you won't have a pocket-full of ink. If this ""sealing"" process produces amounts of ink too large on the ball point, then something must have been wrong with the viscosity (or thickness) of the batch of ink that was used in your refill. If you would like a new refill, please email me and I'll give you the details. Sorry for my long explanation yet the life-blood of the Space Pen is it's refill. Jim |
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I'm trying to find a Space Pen distributor in my State, City, Town or Country. | |
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Sometimes Space Pens and accessories can be tough to find. I am not familiar with retail locations that sell Fisher Space Pens and associated refills. I do know one fact, and that is our stores are the only ones in the WORLD that sell EVERY model of Fisher Space Pen and refill made by the company. The downside is that our stores are currently only available on-line. At one point, we operated 5 retail stores in the Las Vegas area yet now we serve our 35,000+ customers from one automated distribution warehouse in central Florida.
If you continue to have difficulty finding the items you want, as a last resort, we can always serve you directly. Shipping in the USA ranges from $1.50 to $6.00. International and Canada shipments stay in the $10.00 range and arrive in approximately 7 business days. We've tried to be fair for our international customers. There really isn't a weight restriction on the amount you order so, if you live far away, it might be a good idea to stock up since the shipping charges really don't fluctuate much until you go over 2-3 pounds in weight. We look forward to serving you should the opportunity present itself. Jim Jobin, Owner |
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How Do I Change the Refills in the Power Glow Pen? | |
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Here's how you change the refill for the Power Glow pen:
Grab the Power Glow's finger grip and pull it right off the barrel to expose the area where the refill can be found. You will see a little white plastic cap that must be unscrewed counter-clockwise. The white cap that fits on top of the refill must be pulled off the existing refill. Now, unpackage the Fisher Universal refill and you'll notice 3 sections which are separated by little ""break points"". Break the refill at it's first stage, (stage closest to the point) which is where the ink is located. Take the little plastic cap that you removed from the old refill and press it FIRMLY on the new Fisher refill. Make sure you press this white cap firmly onto the back end of the refill. I usually press the cap on while the refill's point is on a hard table top surface so I can press down kinda hard. You should feel the cap go down over the back of the refill. Now you can screw the white cap back into the Power Glow's finger grip and reposition the finger grip back onto the barrel of your Power Glow and you are back in action. Please let me know if you have any challenges replacing this refill and I can try and explain further. Jim |
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Customer Service. | |
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We have a passion for the customer that many corporations rarely share. We prefer to be in the position where we can directly serve the customer with respect and dignity. Next to God and family, one's money is very ""near and dear"" to their heart; as it provides the sustenance to keep the ""lights on"" and ""water hot"". When you part with your hard earned money and share it with us, we take this responsibility VERY seriously and feel our job has just BEGUN. Many corporations feel they've ""beat you out of your money"" and they've WON as soon as you part with your hard earned money. This is a terrible business model to adopt yet corporate america is often run by ""earnings per share"" and ""stockholders equity"". We, are not. Doing what we love to do and paying our bills is satisfaction enough for us. We work hard with our Las Vegas stores and 12 teammates yet all of us are bound together by a word called ""integrity"". I've heard that having ""integrity"" is defined as ""doing the RIGHT thing when no one else is looking"". We strive for this goal.
Enjoy the day. Jim Jobin, Owner |
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Return Policy | |
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RETURN POLICY
Should you not be satisfied with your purchase from The Writer's Edge, simply return it to us (postage prepaid and insured) via Parcel Post within 7 days of receipt. Your purchase price (delivery charges not included) will be refunded. WE MUST ISSUE A RETURN AUTHORIZATION NUMBER before you return your order so please visit: http://www.thewritersedge.com/returns.cfm to obtain an RA Number. We will provide a special return shipping address and instructions when the RANo. is issued. |
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Privacy Policy and Site Security | |
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WritersEdge.com is committed to protecting your privacy because we base our business on the trust you place in us. The information we collect is gathered to ensure secure ordering and to provide a more personalized shopping experience. We will not sell, rent or disclose your personally identifying information to anybody or any company except as required to process your order.
How much information must I share? The amount of information we collect depends on you. We only collect the information needed for secure ordering and customizing your shopping experience. What about e-mail? If you become a WritersEdge.com customer, you may receive one promotional mailing that normally contains very lucrative specials along with a new product offering. If you would prefer not to receive these, reply back to the email telling us to remove you and we will gladly remove you from our list. When you purchase online from TheWritersEdge.com, we may contact you by E-mail to confirm your order or to update you on its status. How do you protect my information? TheWritersEdge.com stays on the leading edge of today's technology regarding protection of your personal information. We employ powerful 128-bit encryption technology and Secure Socket Layers (SSL) in all areas where your personal identity is required. All transaction information is processed under encrypted channels. To be sure you have the most protection available, be sure to download the latest version of today's most popular browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator. In addition, access to your personal information is restricted within our company to provide maximum security. We do not retain credit card numbers inside our company or on any of our computer systems. All orders are transacted through the secure servers at Authorize Net which are literally Department of Defense grade secure servers and about as impenetrable as humanly possible. What about cookies? We use what is called a "session variable" which is also known as a "cookie" so that the contents of your shopping cart will be retained as you move through the checkout process. Once your order is completed everything associated with the checkout is removed. We are an honest small business that is not interested in the least with violating your privacy. We understand first-hand how some companies are tracking the browsing habits of others and this behavior borders on criminal |
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