My fude, with the associated sumi and ink-stone. Grinding the ink puts you in the right frame of mind for writing.

The Uranus 2019 brush/pen is also good for dashing off a quick note in Japanese, but proper sumi is the way to go for important things like thank-you letters.

I also like both the Rotring 600 pencil and the Faber-Castell Vario-L, mentioned by others. However, the pencil I really like is my Faber Castell TK-matic. I've had it since 1981: the first model with a self-feeding lead.

Montblanc Starwalker Rollerball(Fine point)
My father's Parker T-Ball Jotter fitted with one of the new gelpen refills. I hadn't used it very much since he passed in 1977. With the coming of gel refills it's on my desk all the time!

A Rotring 600 RB - I have a Lava, SS and Black

hmmm...

I started out with rollerball pens but just got hooked onto FBs so my preference for Non-fountain pen would be the Uniball vision elite 0.5 mm line width.

Unfortunately, they stopped manufacturing refills for it.

Other than that, my Lamy 2000 rollerball

my 50 year old non electric baby blue colored Brother typewriter we got in mint condition at an antique store for $15.

I carry a Pentel P205 mechanical alongside my Pilot Varsity (which has itself only recently come to replace the trusty Pilot Precise V5 extra-fine rollerball).

Sharpies are also a pleasure to use, though I don't often get the chance. :D

I have a Rotring .05 mechanical pencil that is made from some dark coloured aluminum. It is beat to heck and I've had it for well over a decade. It carries 2B leads which are ideal and it was my one and only long before I ventured into fountain pens on a regular basis.

I really like Pilot's V5 pens.

H&K MP5? I hear that the pen is mightier than the sword, but apparently not as mighty as the German sub-machine gun

bump

I prefer the M4A1 in 5.56 for much higher body armor penetration and lower interior wall penetration. The H&K G36C is also nice, but has excessive muzzle flash and recoil, and lacks the medium-range versatility of the M4A1.

Anyway, I used to like rollerballs way back when, but they've been supplanted by fountain pens. When fountain pens can't get the job done, I prefer gel pens (Uniball/Sakura) to ballpoints. And if I have to use a ballpoint for some reason, I prefer to use Fisher refills.

That said, I really only LOVE fountain pens.

Using fountain pens in elementary school is just asking for disaster, so I had to come up with an alternative for my job. I bought a couple of Parker 1M's and replaced the ballpoint inserts with gel refills. I love them.

a computer. I can write faster, edit easier, but it's not as pleasurable.

there's a mechanical pencil made by pilot that i adore, almost as much as i love my 51. (...well, no. not really. but you see what i mean.) i use it to make notes inside books b/c most ink would bleed through.

here's to writing instruments of all kinds!

jack

Somebody's been playing too much Call of Duty 4.

Does a Diplomat Twingraph Fountain Pen & Ball Pen combo count? You flip it one it's a ball-point. Flip it the other way and it's a FP.




...............Stani

Oddly, I love my Zebra F401 XF ballpoint and matching 0.5 mm mechanical pencil. If I have to use a ballpoint or pencil, these are my "go to" choices. I actually have a couple of Parker 45 ballpoints, but I have gel refills in them, and they are part of a FP/BP set, one flighter and one Black & Stainless with GT.

Donnie

Pigma Microns are wonderful, and I don't even draw.

I have two that I use frequently. A MB LeGrand Ballpoint. It has excellent balance and the broad point is great to use. The other is the fiber tip Waterman Liaison. It matches my 30 degree nibbed fp by Richard.

My fave non-FP would have to be my Parker Duofold Pearl and Black ballpen with a Gel refill.
i got it for myself for christmas and used it at work almost every day since and the novelty just wont wear off.
its truly indulgent...

special mention must go to my Mont Blanc Classique ballpen though, i got it 2nd hand when i was about 16 and used it at school, then at uni, and through 5 different jobs.
still comes with me to work nearly every day, 9 years later and on its 3rd refill. it still looks and works as good as new.

i also have a cup full of all different colours of Jotters. theyre cool.

My all-time favorite non-FP (based on a hard numbers. I counted writing items that I have in my stuff) is evidently the Zebra telescoping pocket pen. I've got them stashed everywhere. I also have Sharpies and highlighters. I have a wooden Hallmark pencil from 1978 that I always have on my desk but I never use it. It's kind of like desk jewelry.

Currently my other favorite is a KOH-I-NOOR 1770/B Woodcase Pencil. It's lighter (god can i say that) than most other woodcased pencils, lead is perfect for me. I got it in one of the Limited Edition Pencil of the Month Subscriptions. It's one of the few that have stayed out!

-penguin

Inoxcrom ballpens for me! They rock.

I have a variety of Parker ballpoints, which generallly come as sets or as part of a cheap job lot from fleabay, with FP's or Mechanical pencils. At present I have 2 Jotters, 1 rather nice Jotter 50th anniversary LE, a s/s flighter international and a very scratched P45 bp.
All of them are loaded up with Fisher Space Pen refills. They come in a great variety of colours, will write over my hand grease (Im a leftie, so that can be a real problem) as well as upside down, under water etc. And Im reliably informed the shelf life of each refill is 100 years!
But, having said that, I also love the mechanical pencils that often come with the FP's too.
Cheers
Tawanda

OK, I admit that I have played a little Call of Duty 4, but the weapons are not very accurately represented in the game (although it's better than other games I've played). For some reason, I just know a lot about firearms, and I know even more about military aviation. But we digress....



Oh yeah, I haven't used one in a while, so I kind of forgot, but these are great (albeit with definite drawbacks). I've got to try their brush pens one of these days, just for kicks. I also like to use pencils. Truthfully, I'm somewhat of a stationery junkie in general, although I have a bias against ballpoints and consider rollerballs virtually redundant.



I favor the robustness of Fisher refills as well as the resilience of the ink on paper in comparison to that of ordinary ballpoints, but truth be told, modern ballpoints can usually write in the microgravity of space just fine (not upside-down, though, like the Fisher refills can).

As much as I dislike using anything other than my Sheaffer Snorkel, if I must use something else, it is usually one of the following:

[1] Pentel Kerry 0.5mm mechanical pencil with 2B lead (if you are going to have a good pencil...)
[2] Sharpie extra fine point (writes on many surfaces)
[3] Crayola Crayon (I have been known to color with my neice & nephews)

To bring this topic down from the dusty attic - when i'm not using a FP, i use:

• Mars_Lumograph.Staedtler B and HB www.staedtler.de/Mars_Lumograph.Staedtler
  Click to view attachment
• PILOT BLG205 Extra Fine Retractable Rollerball Pen 0,5 Pilot G-2 0,5
  Click to view attachment

Woodcased pencils. Preferably vintage woodcased pencils. I have hoarded enough to last a lifetime.

I have removed the use of ballpoints from my life.

Nirvana awaits.

All kinds of pencils, but my absolute favorite is the Pentel Sharp Kerry. See my blog link below for a review.

For writing, I enjoy using gel pens and rollerballs. They are extremely smooth and enjoyable to use.

For drawing, I use pencils and ballpoints.

Sooo.... I pretty much use everything.

Nearly 90% of the writing I do at work is on carbonless duplicates, so I don't even carry a fountain pen to work anymore. Most of my writing is done with a Parker Jotter Flighter loaded with a gel refill, or the matching MP. I also carry a Parker 75 Fligter RB as a backup. It matches the Jotter set quite nicely.

Tom

My Pilot H-325 Mechanical Pencil. I picked it up off the floor about 2, 3 years ago (no, really) and it's still working flawlessly. I bet this'll see me all the way to my deathbed or something.

While I much prefer a fountain pen, there are times when I need to use a mechanical pencil (0.5 or 0.7 lead), a roller ball, or a gel pen. I really prefer not to use ball points: the pressure required turns me off. Have to say it again: there is nothing like a(n) FP.

My trusted Staedler Mars Micro- it's been with me since the 7th grade and I've used it for standardized national examinations, my college entrance exams and my board licensure exam

Pencils!
Especially my Caran d'Ache mechanical pencil.

STAEDTLER Mars 780 leadholder with leads varying from 2H to 4B. I use it regularly for sketching, planning paintings and jotting down random art notes.

Don't get me wrong - I prefer FPs to any other writing instrument.
BUT

When I write a postcard or address on an envelope I need something that writes waterproof.
Yes, I can use Noodlers or zap a candle over the writing but I'm not keen to do either so I sometimes resort ot a ballpoint.

Now listen to this: about anhour ago in a supermarket in Portugal I picked off the wall a pen by Uniball - a UB 150 to be precise - and the label says Tinta Liquida
OK?
But on the other side of the label it says 'Pigment Ink - Waterproof'
So what is it?
I'll be unwrapping it after this laptop session - maybe its what I've been looking for all my life.

Solitaire

Now I'm interested. Let me know how that turns out!

Gel ballpoints. I wish I could say I like the Uni-ball Signo Bit with their 0.18mm lines but they felt too scratchy to me. For now, I'm using Pilot Hi-Tec-C in point 0.2mm and 0.3mm lines. For really fine lines, I haven't found anything better. A friend of mine rec'd the Uniball Energel. The M is too wide for my taste but I keep it around for filling out forms.

For pencils, I thought the Uniball Kuru Toga (I have both the 0.3mm and 0.5mm) was a good idea but it turned out that my hand doesn't make enough pressure for that lead-turning mechanism to work properly. However, it's a good idea for those who have heavy enough hands. And I still keep them around to use as pseudo drafting pencils.

MB Starwalker Doue Rollerball which is to arrive today.

Visconti Tortoise Van Gogh Maxi Roller, but I am thinking of getting an Opera Club Ballpoint - I go back and forth over roller vs. ballpoint and Maxi vs. Opera.

Just bought a MB Boheme Noir Rollerball. Beautiful pen.

None, sorry.

Mike

UNIBALL UB 150 (Eye Micro - thats what it says on the barrel.

As promised above I tried the Uniball that I bought for under $2- n a Portuguese supermarket this morning.

Its very fine blue line is perfect in flow and smoothness. There is a very large collector visible in the transparent part of the grip.
The ink supply is also visible.
I tested this with a couple of minutes under the cold tap.
For comparison I had writing with a Pentel plastic nib throway pen and writing with a FP using Watermans South Sea Blue.
No one will be surprised that the WSSBlue became totally illegible (I like that ink very much but it is very vulnerable to wet)
The Pentel (with the while plastic nib and both overfeed and underfeed) was only very slightly affected; it looked like minor feathering.
The UB 150 ink was completely unaffected by the water.

It does seem as if these Japanese liquid ink throwaway pens are using some kind of waterproof ink.
I find this interesting and I hope someone else does.

I'm going to experiment with Gel pens and see how those inks (supposedly water based) survive water.

Thanks for reading this far

Solitaire

Lots of time I love writing with a pencil.
An object with wood an graphite.

Lamy Scribble 0.7 pencil.

Lamy Accent Rollerball.

Parker Jotter Ballpoint 50th Anniversary.

Lamy 2000 Ballpoint.

Waterman Expert II Ballpoint - Green Marble.

i don't love, but i tolerate other BPs with parker style refills so i can use Schmidt capless RB refills.

some multifuntion pen/pencil combos are "OK" if i wanna use red/orange hilighter refills for hilighting, and marging note taking.

My Cross Morph Rollerball or Retro 51 Rollerball - oh yeah - when I really have to have a ballpoint I reach for the Cross Morph in that too

M B Noblesse Oblige ball point I got for graduation from law school.

My brand-new Parker Jotter. It clicks with authority!

That Heckler & Koch can leave quite a signature! Used to love qualifying with those every year.....