I have to use a ballpoint sometimes, so I bought one that will fit in nicely with my FPs. But when the ink hits the paper, I want it to feel good. Feel real good (for a ballpoint). And write well, too.

So, when the pen arrives, I will be happy to toss whatever is in it in favor of what will write better. Which Parker-style refill will make a self-respecting fountain pen user smile (with acceptance, if not glee)?

Thanks.

Fred

THE ENEMY:

Parker Gel.

I have a few ballpoints that take Parker-style refills, and I always use a Parker Gel refill in blue. They are incredibly smooth and free-flowing and come the closest to a fountain pen of any BP refill I've tried.

I put these refills in the Omas Paragon ballpoints I give to clients to use to sign legal documents and always, always get comments about "what a nice pen this is."

My favorite vehicles (excuse the pun) for the Parker Gel refills are the Porsche Design pens from Faber Castell. I have the one with the spokes and the one with the brake line hose and absolutely love them -- especially for traveling.

I use Visconti gels for my BPs. The fine is very fine, but smooth. Itoya also works and the fine is wider. Both write much more like a rollerball than the usual BP. Parker also makes gels, but they don't make a fine.

I love the Parker Blue Gel Refill. Most like using an fp than anything else I've used (besides an fp!).

Not a Parker style, but try a Lamy Accent rollerball sometime...I think it's about the best roller out there. The Parker Gels are too wide and wet for my taste, but the Accent is "just right." I wish Parker made the Gels in a 0.5 size - that'd be better.

I guess I have two responses to this:

Flippant Response: Most bottled Inks. First off, you'll realise that it won't work in a ballpoint, then you'll chuck the silly thing and go back to a fountain pen!

Considered and Somewhat more serious response: I like the gels as well. I've had good luck with both the Parker and Itoya gel refills. ALTHOUGH I did get a broad refill on spec from Bertram's Inkwell and I'm thinking about getting more if they come in blue. VERY smooth and buttery feeling. Almost not annoying!

Do let us know what YOU find best for you when 'tis all said and done.

JM

Schmidt super bowl parker-style capless rollerball refill

Also not a Parker style, (that I'm aware of... haven't tried a Parker refill in it yet..) but the Lamy 2000 Rollerball compliments my FP's nicely and is very useful for those occasions when a FP isn't usable due to waxy type paper etc...

Foray Parker-style refills from Office Depot are good. It's really dark in medium black. Schneider 735 refills from passio4pens are good too and they're archival. I prefer fine point ballpoints as I find them smoother than mediums.

Parker blue gel refill in F point is great if you like extrafine nibs, or try M point in various colors. I've black, blue, red, green and purple refill that are very funny.

i like the capless super roll RB refill parker style from schmidt:
http://yafaoutlet.com/suropastcare.html

also, if you want a reagular BP ink that writes smoother than other BP's ink, try the fisher cartridge with the converter for parker style:
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/s...re_1993_8094435

I just bought a Visconti Wall Street BP in blue, and inserted a Parker Gel black refil....It looks great and it does write really well. In my opinion, I really have the grail of BPdom. I have a CdA as and a Dupont Vertigo RB as back up.

Peter

I use the ol' UniBall Vision Elite in 0.8 (they call it "bold" or something).

It's a gel-roller-ball pen. It comes out to about $1.75 a pen at a regular office supply store. I always make the office manager get me some in every work setting I'm in, and soon enough everyone else is stealing my pens because they like them better. The only people who don't like them are the ones who need extremely fine points for things -- tiny numbers in tiny squares on tiny forms, for instance. The "bold" is big and fat and decisive, but a bit large for accounting applications unless you write big. And the "fine," which I never use, is quite scratchy and unpleasant.

I don't know the difference between gel-roller-ball and ball-point, since now'days ball-points are elaborate, and getting a nice one of them might actually be nicer than some of the cruddier gel pens. So I just lump them all into the same category -- Kuegelschreiber!

I like the Medium Parker Blue Gel Refill. That is what I use in my Pelikan 800 Ball Point.

I'd be interested in hearing any reviews from people that have used the Monteverde refills? They're called "Liquid Ballpoint" and I wonder if they're anything like the Mega Ink Ball pens.

Edited: for grammar.

This is ironic, 'cause the guy who sold me my fancy Parker ballpoint recommended a Visconti Broad Ball Point Gel refill!

Fred

I have to get some Visconti Gel refills ..... I have heard/read nothing but raves about them!

I'm thinking of getting a Lamy 2000 rollerball but suspect mainstream Uniballs and Pilots have set the bar pretty high in terms of actual writing performance. Is the Lamy rollerball at least the equal of the "mainstream" brands?

Can anybody compare a Lamy rollerball to a Uniball or Pilot liquid ink rollerball such as the Uniball Vision Elite or Pilot V5/7. How would it line up in terms of line width? For example, in Pilot terms is it the equivalent of a V5 or V7? How does it compare in terms of viscosity and feedback?

Is it water-proof at all? I have heard it dissolves like a sugar.

Schneider Gelion 39 (is cheap and waterresistant or waterproof too)
http://www.schneiderpen.de/marke/englisch/...5d12/index.html

In my opinion, Parker gel refills are not very good. The quality of the ink is not the best and not waterresistant.

On a day-to-day basis, I use a either a Uniball Vision Elite or a Lamy Al-Star rollerball with M63 black refill (pending the arrival of my first FP, a blue Safari.) The Uniball feels a bit smoother, is definitely wetter and its line is a tad thicker, but it's not as black as the Lamy, and it feathers more than the Lamy on Moleskine paper.

Thanks for the comparison.

If you do consider non Parker style refills, I would recommend Paper Mate Lubriglide (metal type). It's ultra smooth. Simply the best ballpoint that I have ever used. Currently available pen barrels may not be attractive, but vintage ones from the 70s and 80s which have the double heart clip can still be found on eBay.

I believe the current Parker ballpoint refills are using a "lubriglide"/papermate ink or something close to it. I did not care for the
Parker ink from the 70/80s.. I believe when Gillette/Newell Rubbermaid purchased Parker they made the Parker ink closer to
Papermate's and changed the point/tip as well. Don't know if Parker is changing the tip back lately.

That said, nstlgia70, I wrote with the Papermate Profile and their Powerpoint refills all through college.. Later I used the current
Papermate lubriglide refills. This was in there regular/wide (not slim) Papermate Profile pen. I recently found mine at home and
putting a lubriglide refill in it and was taken back in time to college; This particular pen, and ink refill/point is, in my mind, the best
and faster ballpoint writer on the planet. It was if Gillette/Papermate put all there research into the ink. The Profile pens are
actually quite durable and long lasting for their price at time (see below). I have not, in 28 years, been able to find any ballpoint
that writes as fast and well as this Papermate. Close yes, but nothing like it exactly in terms of shape and ballpoint ink put on
the paper.

Alas, Gillette sold this off to Newell/Rubbermaid which discontinued it as Parker had the Jotter and it was so similar. Actually they
seemed to cheapen Papermate to all plastic pens. The clip on the Papermate Profile is actually more thick and durable then the
Parker Jotter. Then tip on the Profiles though sometimes rotated and was sometimes not crimped or matched close to the plastic body. The button on top wore off the chrome from use. Looking on ebay I see the Profiles from 8 to 40 dollars.. It's as if one can consider them vintage now. To me, almost the golden age of ballpoints..well maybe not but I think I understand now the popularity
of the parker 51's and that era.

Currently I've been using the Parker ballpoint refills (as the ink is so similar Papermate) in various Parker pens.. The Jotter is the
closest by far to those old Profiles in ballpoint writing speed and shape. I would buy up all the old Profiles on ebay if I knew Sanford would continue the refill style. Again, I see the wisdom of fountain pens which would not have this problem.

I like the Fisher pressurized refills, relatively smooth writing, and the most durable ballpoint ink I have yet seen, it's not Bulletproof, but it's pretty decent, the stock Parker refill has absolutely no durability, 91% alcohol completely dissolves this ink in seconds, it's the Washable Waterman Blue of ballpoint ink.....

That is is interesting...taking a 70% alcohol swap and rubbing a scribble I just made with my blue Parker BP Jotter it definitely
does wash the ink away/through the paper. I'm not that surprised as I've read some ink test before and knew it did poorly. What's interesting/surprising is the ink is ,I believe, advertised as archival ink.
If one wants permanent ink they would do well to read reviews here or consider getting one verified to be permanent. I'm only concerned that the ink write well and not smudge with water. Interesting.