Best Ballpoint

[alfredop]

I have essentially four ball points a Parker 75, a Sheaffer Targa, a Waterman man 100, and finally a Montblanc Generation. The best is the Montblanc (weight, balance and girth are the parameters I considered).

 

Alfredo

Edited May 7, 2010 by alfredop

[skribbler]

Isn't that kinda like asking about the best second rate product? :embarrassed_smile:

 

Honestly, I have to agree with this sentiment.

 

 

 

Sorry, but I do not understand.. please explain...

[mdbrown]

For me it's the two classic designs. I have both. A Montblanc Meisterstuck Classique ballpoint and a Waterman Expert ballpoint. Those are my favorites, for me nothing else is as nice if you have to use a ballpoint...

[Nib Joy]

Papermate profile with a jumbo lubriglide refill

Pilot G2

Uniball gel impact

Fisher bullet space pen

Zebra telescoping pen - I really like the smooth ink in Zebras

Cross sterling silver ballpoint

Sheaffer no nonsense ballpoint

 

I too like those govt Skilcraft ballpints, real compact and reliable.

 

Heck I like almost everything.

[Shangas]

Isn't that kinda like asking about the best second rate product? :embarrassed_smile:

 

Honestly, I have to agree with this sentiment.

 

 

 

Sorry, but I do not understand.. please explain...

 

I don't know about JLeeper, but basically, asking what company makes the best ballpoint is like asking what company makes the best pencil eraser. They're a generic, mass-produced product with no difference at all between one or the other apart from weight and appearance. And certainly not in performance.

[tonybelding]

What are some of the best ballpoint pen?

In catagories of:

1. Smoothness

 

If you consider gel-ink rollerballs, then the Zebra JF is the best I've found. The refills are similar in shape to Schmidt rollerball refills and will fit into many high-end rollerball pens. For example, I found they fit into my slim Elysee rollerball and into my Aurora Talentum rollerball. It's so smooth and the flow is so consistent that it's almost like writing with a good fountain pen. I also found the ink is much more resistant to water and UV exposure than a Pilot G2.

 

If you consider only true ballpoints, I found the new Papermate Profile pens (with the 1.4B tip) are very smooth writers. However, they are only disposable pens. I'm not aware of any higher-quality pen that the refills would fit into.

 

If you want a good ballpoint refill, something that takes Parker refills would give you the most options. A lot of companies make Parker-compatible refills. I've heard good things about the new Parker-compatible Schmidt Easy Flow 9000 refills, though I haven't tried them yet myself.

 

 

2. Ink capacity

 

Generally speaking, rollerballs (including gel) don't write nearly as far as true ballpoints. A Parker ballpoint refill has a lot of capacity.

 

The absolute most capacity would be the Fisher Millennium space pen, where the whole body is basically like a gigantic refill. They're technically "disposable" but hold enough ink to write for years.

 

 

3. Reliability

 

Fisher Space Pen. The Millenium in particular can work for years with no care or maintenance at all.

 

 

4. Appearence

 

I love the looks of my Monteverde Intima with acrylic in a swirly orange-and-black pattern. It's very sleek, the chrome bits are nicely polished, and it has a nice heft due to the brass parts. It's a bit chubby and won't fit into a lot of pen loops though. It accepts Parker ballpoint refills, so there's lots of options.

 

My chrome Targa ballpoint is also very sleek and appealing. Unfortunately, most Sheaffer refills aren't anything to write home about, but Parker refills can be modified to fit it.

 

 

5. Overall

 

The classic Parker Jotter is still hard to beat.

[RLTodd]

I find there are a lot of good ballpoint pens out there.

 

I usually grab for a Jotter, but I think the one that might be on top for me would be the Pilot VBALL liquid ink pen.

 

Smooth writing, comfortable grip, and they never seem to dry out even if left unused for a year or more. Good to the last drop.

 

I also like the Fisher refills and have them in several holders. Only holder I couldn't put up with was th AG-7 Moon commemorative. Not grooves at the bottom and it kept slipping out of my fingers. I gifted it. I may get a regular AG7 with the grooves at the bottom sometime as I liked the pen otherwise.

[DreamInColor]

My favorite ball point is the Fisher Bullet too. It's the smoothest one I've ever used and has the *cool* factor too. I remember the Parker Jotter being a pretty decent pen too. I had one long ago that had a little calendar on it - pretty neat!

[Phormula]

Vote for the Jotter or the Caran d'Ache.

 

I usually use Jotters as standard BPs, I can buy them reasonably cheap (actually they are cheaper than some Japanese disposable pen). They do the job very well, look appropriate in every situation and I don't cry if one goes MIA or KIA. Usually I have one permanently sitting in the pocket of my document bag and in my pen purse. They are also a nice resource when I am writing with the FP and something goes wrong or simply the cartridge ends and I don't have time to replace.

 

I replace the original refill with either a Schmidt Megaline or a Schneider Viscoglide. If I want to stay with BP, then I use Schneider 735 B (broad) refills.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Anyone ever use a Skilcraft/Industries for the Blind "US Government" ballpoint? I mean, outside of a government institution. I read an article that their ratio of quality to cost-to-buy is so good, the Gov't isn't seeking to get rid of them any time soon. I want to check one out to see how well they write.

 

 

Back in the day...oh we are giving a job to the blind..who put them together....it wasn't until a generation later, did any one find out they had Labor Abused those poor blind folks for decades.

[dapv]

I prefer clicks to twists.

[def]

I tried a Montblanc at a pen shop, and the ball point wiggles and flexes in the barrel when you apply pressure.

 

Completely unacceptable at that price range, IMO. I don't know why more manufacturers can't make a ball point as sound as a Cross. [scratches head]

[RedSox04]

Caran D'Ache Marathon. It is a beautiful pen. The caran d'ache refill writes 600 pages!

 

I like it more than my (164?) Montblanc ballpoint

[mr T.]

What are some of the best ballpoint pen?

In catagories of:

1. Smoothness

2. Ink capacity

3. Reliability

4. Appearence

5. Overall

 

The best ballpoints are in my opinion made by Ballograf

[monochromejournal]

Caran D'Ache Ecridor pens are the most reliable retractable ball points made. Full brass barrel and compact enough to fit unobtrusively in a shirt pocket. They also offer high capacity refills that write extremely smoothly without needing much pressure.

[dapv]

The Caran d'Ache Ecridor are pretty great, albeit slim in the hand, also they take Parker-style and Fisher refills. A very cool BP for those of us who like push buttons rather than twist pens.

[pvector]

ss jotter

[dapv]

For me, the SS Jotter tends to get a bit too slippery.

[ThirdeYe]

My favorite ballpoints:

 

Pentel Vicuna 0.7mm

Uni-Ball Jetstream 0.7mm

Paper Mate Pro-Fit

Pilot EasyTouch Pro

 

And for on the go, I like the compact size of the Zebra F-301 Compact. The writing quality isn't the best IMO, but I love how small it is and it's made out of stainless steel.

[bones]

I'm a big fan of the Uni Jetstream 1.0 right now. If you want a classy body with a decent writer, I'd go for something that takes Parker-format refills and put either a Schneider Slider or Visconti refill in it.

 

I just posted a bushel of BP ramblings in another part of the forum for your BP-centric perusal:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/192854-bprb-throwdown/