I just replaced the pencil mechanism with a ballpoint refill with a spring and it works perfectly as a ballpoint. The ballpoint kits are still available.
Thanks. Where did I get the blank? I've had that blank for several yrs. The blank is .75" square and 12" long. My best guess is I purchased it from vermontfreehand.com or richardlgreenwald.com . It was with my long blanks and my best memory is I've only purchased long blanks from those two places until recently. I will keep thinking.
The ballpoint has not been discontinued. As I mentioned above, the ballpoint refill (parker style) can be replaced with a schmidt pencil mechanism. I actually replaced the pencil mechanism with a parker style ballpoint refill and spring and it worked flawlessly. So, If you want to pursue this then purchase a ballpoint kit and a schmidt pencil mechanism and you will be good to go. Only drawback is the pencil will not have an eraser under the cap. Exotixblanks.com sells the jr gent ballpoint and the schmidt pencil mechanism.
