The thicker giant refill commonly sold today no longer fits directly into the Montblanc No. 18 from the 60s, since the writing tip of the ballpoint was designed only for the slimmer first-generation giant refill. Collectors report that authorised Montblanc specialist dealers and the boutique offer an adapter with which current giant refills can be used in younger lever ballpoints (e.g. No. 782); on the model 18 this adapter does not help, however, due to the still slimmer tip geometry. In the 1970s, after the change to the thicker writing tip, Montblanc offered free replacement tips for around ten years; this programme has been discontinued for decades. The only practical solution that remains is therefore usually to search for old stocks of the old giant refill or for an original replacement tip via collector channels.