Customer Reviews

Great pen for the price. Even better with the 7401 space mod.

402:
-Buy the ballpoint 701 (2 if allowed) as well as the dual pack of Zebra 402 pens (black fine dual pack is all zebra sells). The all stainless clicker from the 402 fits the 701 perfectly.
-Remove all insides, and put both - body only - in refrigerator for a bit, to cool metal/plastic. Then use a lighter to warm the clicker assembly (you can see the line where assembly of body and clicker meet...heat 2-3" from flame as you rotate along that seam). 20 seconds tops should be fine, then twist with a rag over or let it cool and use hands. The pen clip is free rotating around the assembly which has the threading, so don't rotate the clip thinking its coming off. Try to grip rite on the clicker side of joining seam and rotate, pair of needle nose pliers help if needed just use a pad so you don't scratch metal.
-Replace one assembly for the other, and choose which pocket clip you want (I went with the 402's because it was clean, no branding or markings). Take note that one clicker spring is longer than the other, I tested both in each, all felt the exact same.
-The tips can also be swapped but the 402's doesn't meet the gnurled metal grip cleanly like the stock 701 tip.

space:
-Buy a Fisher PR Series space pen refill of your choosing.
-Remove stock ink, leave the spring (both springs work but I choose to use stock with space pen refill)
-Unscrew tip of 7401, inside is a plastic cone shaped bushing for the ink cartridge's point. You need to remove it for modification to ensure smooth clicking action with space refill. I used a small screwdriver, twisted a little bit with friction, pulled out and the bushing came along for ride. Once out, I trimmed the tip by the width of a toothpick (pressed down on a table with a knife, clean cut). Take this part slow, go little bit at a time because you want smooth fluid action with support. Too little, and point with stick mid action. Too much, would result in possible movement of cartridge point while writing due to lack of point support.
-You can adjust the spring of the clicking action by trimming the spring that supports the ink cartridge. Only trim rings from one side, leave a double ring finished edge. I cut off the double ring from one side, then went down 1 more ring using clippers. When you assemble, always have the finished side of spring down.
-Assemble all the parts

= the 7401, engineered happiness, and my new edc ballpoint.

*pictured tutorials exist on forms/blogs, just google 'zebra 701 mod'. This was just a synthesized textual form with some specifics I did not read in the others.

The Zebra F-701 is really an incredible pen. It has a good weight, good width, and a solid grip. The only thing I would change is the black pastic ring around the clicky button. Why wouldnt Zebra go ahead and make the pen 100% stainless? It seems odd to add one little plastic piece to an otherwise completely metal pen. Also, the stock Zebra ink didnt wow me. I replaced the Zebra ink with a Fisher Space Pen cartridge, and now it is an almost perfect pen. You will not be disapointed.

Really Great Pen! Writes smoothly and the grip is comfortable believe it or not. The stainless steel does get streaky after awhile though so you are going to want to clean every now and again. All in all a really good pen!

The Zebra F-701 has been my favorite EDC pen for a long time. It has a solid stainless steel build, feels great in the hand due to the knurling at the grip and the good balance, and the ink never skips. I own two of them. One is in my sales kit that I take with me out in the field and the other fits into the penloop of my Filofax Malden Organizer. For the price, you can't beat the quality.

It's a little lighter than I usually prefer but this pen writes much better than it's price tag would insinuate. Some weren't impressed by the refill but I haven't had it skip yet and it always feels smooth.

prior to posting, i read the provious reviews.. um, people, what, EXACTLY, do you expect for five dollars and thirty cents, huh? what you get is a well made pen that so closely resembles a Lamy it's erie! (for 10 times the cost!) like, the reviews I saw posted should be reserved for $300+ pens from Cross or Waterman.. not an inexpensive pen, that is well made, and appears to cost more than it does!

I love this pen. The weight, grip, look, and click action are all superb. The clip works great for me, though it's no Sarasa magic.

As it comes, the pen would garner a 4 star rating from me. I'm not keen on Zebra's F refill, though it's actually one of the better ballpoints in my experience.

However, with a little bit of fidgeting you can make a Hi-Tec-C Slim Knock refill work in this body. With that combination, this pen is unstoppable.

I agree with the previous reviewer. There is a small black ring just above the top of the clip at the bottom of the clicker. It stands out and cheapens the look of an otherwise nice pen. Also as stated before, the ink is just ok, not great, not too bad, but mediocre. I don't know if it's a different cartridge, but the ink in the F402 seems to be much more smooth.

It has a great grip, and is a good weight. Good construction and it writes fine. I expected to like it more than the F402, but since I don't, I can't give it more than an average score.

Fantastic value. The body is a solid cylinder and the knurled grip is etched - no more peeling rubber like I've had happen with the F402. The pen is highly polished in person, which makes it really stand out looped into a book or in the hand. It's also a good median diameter, not too skinny but not fat, either, at least for me. Zebra refills are second only to the Pilot "A" oil-based inks for smoothness and reliability.