I was at school making some study notes for my Baptist History exam when my two FPs I had for notes ran out of ink (Cobalt Glow was still full with Aquamarine Contract, but that was held back for the exam itself).

So, I dug into my bag and pulled out a, um . . . . . roller ball. As I started writing with it, my immediate reaction was AAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! How horrific the writing experience! Yet, it was also a very interesting learning experience. I had never been writing and switched immediately from one to the other, but having used up the ink in both my Van Goghs, I had no choice. BTW, the roller ball is a Uni-ball Vision Elite, blue ink, fine point.

My writing is normally poor. FPs have helped, plus I have worked on it a little bit. Now, keep in mind, this was speed writing of study notes under the gun, so the writing was going to be bad, even by my standards. However, there is a noticeable and significant deterioration in writing with the change. Also, as the Van Gogh was running out of Noodlers Red-Black, it did start skipping, so you can see some of that reflected in the writing as well (and my going back over parts of letters)

Without further ado, here's an excerpt right at the moment of change . . . .

I hear your pain... been there, done that. <_<

How did the exam go ?

Hmmm, the question is...what was a roller ball doing tucked away in your bag? Lol!

t!

Good luck on that test!!b

Let's talk about FPs instead. IOW, :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh:

Left over from preFP days, so there!

As someone who is forced to write with RB's for work, let me say that there are both good and bad rollerball pens out there. First of all, I think that you've been spoiled by spending a lot of time writing with nice, well-designed, upper-end fountain pens. To go from a Visconti Van Gogh to a Uniball throwaway pen was bound to be a big shock to your writing hand! If you really need to write with a rollerball or ballpoint, by all means to spend a little money and get a nice pen from Waterman, Parker or Pelikan. Secondly, don't write with a fine point. Fine point rollerball's are just like fine point FP's: they tend to be very scratchy. Get a medium-sized rollerball. It's a lot better.

The best advice, though would be to have a backup, emergency fountain pen sitting a pocket of your briefcase...

TMann

I had 3 with me - just thought it would be enough (and forgot to check the ink levels in two of them :doh: ).

Regarding fine nibs - all 3 of the FPs I had with me that day are fine nibs, and none are scratchy.

I do have some nicer RBs at home in my desk - which is where they stay now that I've found FPs.

Why are you forced to use RBs at work?

Southpaw,

You're right; I misstated that sentence about fine point FPs. It should have said something like "they have a tendency to be more scratchy than a similar medium or broad nib." My Waterman Phileas, Lamy Al-star and both of my Parker 51's have fine points, and all of them are pretty smooth.

As for my use of rollerballs and ballpoints at work, I spend much of my day writing on a triplicate form at the hospital where I work. I've tried using one of my "stiff-as-a-nail" fountain pens, but it still didn't quite get through to the back page. Bummer... Thus, almost all of my fountain pen use is enjoyed outside of the workplace.

TMann

I've taken to using a gel pen for forms. (Puts arms over head to take cover from flying tomatoes and rotten eggs. ) I use a uni-ball RT 1.0 mm, in black or blue. Puts down a nice thick line (waterproof, too). The red version of this pen is a really bright, true red. Not bad, for a lesser species.

Hi,

I always bring 30 Ml of Pelikan ink tucked away in my coat pocket. When writing notes, I use my M200 or Sailor Ha-Su-Ka-Ra. Some extra-fines and fines can be butter smooth though. I just made a fine butter-smooth for my friend. And butter-smooth is an understatement.

Dillon

My favorite disposablerollerball has been (for some time) the Uniball ONYX. Unfortunately, they don't sell them in office supply stores anymore. Fortunately, I bought a case an dstill have a few boxes left. I accosted the uniball/sharpee rep in an Office depot and demanded (politely) to know what happened to my favorite Disposable rollerball, and she said she liked the pen as well, but it might be because they are pushing another line and had limited shelf space to merchandise. I found some at Samsclub.com and bought a case, so I'm good.

kj

ps- Retro 1951 has pretty good rollerballs as well (schmidt refills I believe). And Pellikan has the best looking blue refills IMHO.

I said farewell to rollerballs when I started using FPs. I still have a rollerball filled with Pelikan Violet. ( Thanks Dillon) Its running out of ink, though. And I don't think I'll be refilling it.

Yes, Retro 51 capless rollerball refills are nice writers, and the designs of the Retro 51 rollerball pens are fun! I love my Aloha LE "Big Shot" rollerball

I gave one of the purple leather covered ones to my old boss for christmas last year,, and she was tickled pink...er...purple. Actually thinking of it, I had no real desire to tickle her at all. At any rate, she loved it.

Kj

(edited for spelling)