I know this is probably like a bad word around here, but I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on a good ballpoint pen. I'd like to carry one of each around. I bought a Lamy Safari and love it, but sometimes I need a ballpoint, or if someone asks, I can loan them that. I'm really picky on pens though. I usually can't even write with some of them, since they skip so much.

One that works is a Bic Stick, but I'd like something a bit nicer looking. I had a black Cross. I loaned it to someone and forgot all about it. Maybe that's a sign I should stick with the Bics.

Well, just figured I'd ask y'all's opinion. I'm looking in the <$15 range.

Thanks.

My mom has a Cartier Art Deco BP, and it's the worst writer, ever. So I told her to go get a Parker BP refill--it writes as well as a BP can, I think.

Japanese BPs are much better than the ones I've tried in the U.S. for sure. Is there a Japanese bookstore around where you live? They should have a paper and pen section, if it's truly Japanese.

-Hana

Blasphemy!

Hey! We had to write with something before we discovered FPs! I was picky then, too, and bought many, many pens--but I never found the One(s) until I discovered real pens.

-Hana

Why not get a Safari ballpoint to match your FP? Same refills as the more expensive Lamy BP's so writing performance will be similar.

Failing that, what about the good old Parker Jotter?

Me, I might just have to suffer eternal damnation and get myself a Lamy 2000 BP to go with my FP and MP .

Martin

For a nice writing, cheap pen get a Parker retractable and put a Parker gel ink refill in it. I generally have a few of those around, but I seem to lose them on a regular basis - I lend them to the kids I coach at bowling, and somehow they never come back.

I'm going to have to buy those bulk boxes of Bics to keep from going broke.

I also have a Waterman roller ball that I got as a (much appreciated ) gift. Superb writer - just about as smooth as a FP.

I apologize in advance for posting a link to my own ad, but check the Dr. Grip ballpoint pen I have for sale. It's a nicer pen from Japan and it's "germ-free" (whatever that means from advertisement), so it's good for lending out.

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=19368

Even with the discovery of fountain pens, I still buy tons of other nice looking pens from this Japanese bookstore! Their pens look SO SO pretty! It's a waste of money though because I buy buy buy but I can barely use them up. i think I buy more for collection than use

I used to have problems with Parker pens skipping. Same goes with gel pens. The only gel one that I didn't have a problem with was the Cross Matrix. I'd like something thin though, to fit in my pocket. I'm using a Papermate PhD right now, and it gets a bit uncomfortable.

I might just buy a $10 Cross pen on eBay. I'm a bit broke right now, so it'll have to wait.

For a BP I want a Cross -- had a Chrome one for eons until I left it in a gas station in Colorado on a cross-country drive once (back when you had to sign reciepts at gas stations when using a credit card).

Never had any trouble with them using Cross refills.

They are small and slick, though...

Peter

Uniball Vision Elite. Nice looking, functional, reliable. Comes in a three-pack for around $5 to $7 in any office supply store. Probably at WalMart too.

I recently purchased a Parker Jotter Premier in Sterling Silver and Black, and absolutely love it. I never thought I would be reaching for a BP pen over one of my fountain pens, but it's just so darn convenient and looks great! It's good to be open-minded about these kinds fo things.


Robert

I use a Waterman rollerball - smoother than a ball, at least IMO.

Choose by the refill it uses. Find out which refill you prefer, and then buy a pen to hold it with. Cross broad refills are especially nice. The regular Parker is good too. I don't like Parker gels - they only write for a short time before running out or drying up.
A Parker Jotter would not let you down, and is not expensive.

Ohh, I forgot that it can't be a click one. For some reason, they always open up in my pocket and make a mess. Used to happen all the times with those Pilots that everyone uses.

Now, what's the difference between a rollerball and ball point? I always thought they were kind of the same. Is there one that's better?

David, a rollerball essentially uses a more liquid ink like a fountain pen. It flows on much more smoothly.

I think I paid about $30 for the Waterman Expert II, which is a nice looking pen. You might have to hunt around or prowl Ebay for a bit to get one for that. It might be worth going a bit more expensive for something you can use for years.

If you like Bics, why not get an old Eversharp CA and put a Bic refil in it? Penhero has some information on the pen and instructions for the conversion.

Ben

Parker Jotter with the standard black refill. They are relatively inexpensive and write on most anything. The skipping has never been significant to me and if you use a pocket protector you don't have to work about the problem of a lack of concentration and putting it in the pocket with the nib out.

I have used Parker Jotters since the 1950's because they do the job.

I thought I would add that I also like the gel pens BUT I keep running across paper surfaces that they won't write on and have to fall back to the regular ball point. Therefore, if I can only carry one pen its the Jotter with the standard ball point refill.

Also the parker has a fairly stiff plunger and therefore doesn't open accidentally often.

I have to second the recommendation for the Parker gel refills...to me, they are a cut above your typical ballpoint refill....they glide across the paper nicely, and the blue is a nice dark navy that looks better than the paste in a typical blue BP refill. They used to be tough to find, but now it seems like every big box office supply place has them.

The stainless steel Parker Jotter is great...I've had one (but not the same one) since college. I've got a slew of nice Parker and MB BPs and rollerballs, but since I've come over to the dark side, they don't get a lot of use....

I know what you mean about BPs. My normal hand isn't firm enough to work a Fisher space pen. IMO, your best bet is something that takes the Parker BP refill. After that, it just depends on what you can find that suits your other preferences.

Roller balls use a water-based, liquid ink. Ballpoints use a thick paste ink that is liquefied by pressure on the ball. A rollerball or gel roller may be a better bet for a loaner pen. They write smoother than a BP, though the RB has a shorter write-out than a BP, while a gel pen has the shortest of the three.

Pilot rollerballs and gel rollers are very nice, IMO. Pilot Precise V7 and VBall rollers were my pen of choice before I got back into fountain pens.

I received a Lamy Swift rollerball as a gift, and I'm suprised at how much I like it. I'd probably by a different style pen (I love the yew wood model), but the rollerball writes like a dream.

Sheaffer, for many years, produced the 'reminder' series of BP's. You would depress the bottom of the clip to bring the business end out for writing. Then, there is no way to re-clip in your shirt pocket without the tip retracting. I noted Pendemonium still has some NOS. I have several and love them for the same reason.

Cross ballpoints are usually twist action.

Parker gel refills are very nice, yes, at first. They don't last well, on the shelf or in use.

I guess I have to join the Parker "Jotter" folks for a good inexpensive ball point pen. I also really like the Duofold ball points - which use the same refill. The Duofolds fit better in my hand and have a twist action.

I prefer to use a ball point refill with a B point than a roller ball. The roller refills do dry out quickly in my experience. The B point write smoothly, allow for relatively small handwriting when necessary, and they last a long time.

I have also had really good luck with the larger Fisher Space Pen. When I bought mine several years ago it was called "The Thirty Year Pen," although I think they might be called the "Millenium" now. My pen is chrome, very stocky, almost Pelikan M-800 size in diameter, posts to a nice useable size, and has a B point built in. I can't refill mine. I suppose I am expected to send it to the Fisher service folks for replacement if it ever runs out of ink. It has been a fun pen and dead on reliable.

Doesn't rotring or lamy make a ballpoint with a retractable clip? It retracts when the point is out, or some such thing.

Ok, I'm having bad luck with writing utensils lately. I was using a Papermate Ph.D pencil for accounting and it messed up today, so I pulled out my Lamy Safari. I was really enjoying it, and sat it down, unposted. I watched, with horror, as it rolled off my notebook and onto the floor. I looked down and saw drops on the floor, but the pen still in one piece. Well, it still writes, but the end of the nib is messed up. The two sides aren't lined up together.

Now, would it be best to buy a new tip? I think they're $10, or try to get it repaired. There's a pen shop about 2 hours north from me, and I really don't travel up there that often.

Oh, and I was able to fix the Ph.D. There was a piece of led where it shouldn't've been. Of course, I found this AFTER I purchased a replacement.

david my rec is a lamy safari rollerball. about a year ago i set out to find the rollerball that was closest in writing character to a FP, and imo it is the lamy safari. if you wish you can bear down like a ballpoint, but if you let up the point has some of the "float" on the paper like a FP.

lamy makes another rollerball that uses a different refill, and it is similar in feel but more expensive. it may be called the swift.

The Lamy with the retractable clip is called the Swift; I received one as a gift a while ago, and I just started using it after finding it in a drawer (where I'd put it until I remembered to buy a blue cartridge for it, because I'm just not into black ink rollerballs).

It's a fine pen, a little bit thick, weighty like other all-metal pens (it's aluminum, I think). Mine is in matte black finish, and has a ding I must have put in it early on (I think the black matte finish makes the dent more obvious). There's a little tab sticking out of the pen to help keep it from rolling when put down with the point extended. It's really very nice to write with, excellent blue ink color, and I've put it into the "rotation" in my pencil case along with a disposable ballpoint or two.

There appear to be two similarly-sized Lamy rollerball refills, M66 (for the Swift, Persona, Lady and Tipo), and M33 which fits Safari and the others.

I found that a common occurance with 0.5mm pens from the day I bought my first one in the mid 1970s. One of the first things I do when I buy a new pencil is check and see if it has a "needle" sticking out of the bottom of the eraser for clearing the point channel. Sadly my new Dr. Grip doesn't have one so I guess I will have to stick in a pin and clip the head off with a pair of dikes. Probably a cost cutting move on Pentel's part.