To investigate how the number of charged groups affects the refinability of pulp, different levels of fibre charge were introduced to fully bleached softwood kraft pulp by bulk carboxymethylation. The chemical compositions of the fibres thus remained similar and the effect of the charge could be evaluated. The pulps were refined in a PFI-mill. The introduction of additional charges clearly resulted in a higher refinability in terms of a higher WRV for a given energy input. However, the increase in swellability was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in tensile index. The highly charged pulps suffered severe damage to the fibre wall during refining, showing that the combination of high charge levels and mechanical forces cause destruction of the fibre wall, which inhibits paper strength development.