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Ballpoint frustration!


Sharkle

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Hi. I realize this post belongs in the Inky Thoughts forum, but I need a larger audience, so I apologize in advance. That said, here's my problem (and maybe some of yours). Also, if this has been covered before, I'm sorry; I tried to search but got too impatient.

 

I want to buy a ballpen that I could enjoy (almost) as much as my FPs and rollers, as I could sure use a capless pen at work and when I'm out. I decided to try some refills first before I plunked down $$ on a nice ballpen. I even tried a few pens at the Pen Boutique. I myself bought a Parker fine, a Rotring med, and a Parker gel. Other than the gels and possibly the Faber-Castell, :o These put out really bad, faded ink and no flow. This doesn't make sense, as the super-cheap pens I've borrowed at work almost ALL write better than the ones I bought or used at the pen store. The Parker was abysmal, and I think all of the ballpens I am considering are proud to note that they take these refills! What gives? I feel stuck. BTW, the best pen I've borrowed at work had a Waterman refill in it; that was divine. But of course there is no Waterman BP I want. Gels are fine but don't last as long, and Parker only comes in medium point.

 

Does anyone know of a decent ballpoint refill that is Parker-style? Are there different types of Parker BP refills, and I picked up the worst one? How are the Fisher Space refills? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you for reading!

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Try a Sheaffer ballpoint refill. I have prelude that I use for everyday little stuff, sort of a beater pen. The Sheaffer is by far the smoothest, cleanest BP I've ever used.

 

Cheers,

 

JimBones

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I almost never use a ballpoint but I have to agree about the Sheaffer's. I, too, had a Sheaffer Prelude Ballpoint but it was stolen along with my briefcase about 3 years ago.

 

I always carry an old Parker Jotter with a gel refill and usually have my Sheaffer green Balance II set with me which includes fountain pen with stub nib and roller ball. I like the Sheaffer roller refill.

 

My husband found a Waterman Hemisphere roller ball in the street several years ago. He carries it along with his standard Pelikan 200. The Waterman roller refill is quite nice.

Mary Plante

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It is either Fahrney's or Fountain Pen Hospital, but one of them says that their customers rave about Omas roller balls. Has anyone tried them? Do they fit other pens?

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." - Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Vice President

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Cross ballpoints are quite good - but make sure you use the genuine Cross refills in them.

 

Cross ballpoints write smoother and better than Parkers, IMO.

I have to assume that the quality of the writing experience rests primarily on the refill, since that is the part the will contact the paper.

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I use Parker Jotters with their standard refills. They last forever and write well without skipping. Not a huge fan of gels.

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Thank you for your input. I guess I'm still wondering if there is a decent BP refill that is Parker-style; othewise, I guess it's either choose another pen that takes these better refills or stick with Parker gels. Sure wish there was a Parker-type gel refill in fine point though!

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Thank you for your input. I guess I'm still wondering if there is a decent BP refill that is Parker-style; othewise, I guess it's either choose another pen that takes these better refills or stick with Parker gels. Sure wish there was a Parker-type gel refill in fine point though!

Ok, here goes.

 

The Parker Jotter configuration refill is pretty common. I think it gets referred to as the "international" size refill. From PenCity's web site we see that Schmidt makes them as does, Itoya, Pelikan (may be a rebranded Schmidt), Visconti (ditto), Aurora (ditto), Fisher (with plastic widget), Penatia (probably PRC), and probably many others. You can probably Google more options, have fun.

YMMV

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I was going to recommend a waterman pen.I have an Ici et La ballpoint. I like the waterman refill. But the parker ballpoint refill in my Jotter is not that much worse, it's a medium though. Maybe you tried a bad one or the fine line was too fine... Ballpoint have very fine lines compared to fountain pens.

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I see from Pen City that I have options, and that's a big relief! Thanks, everyone, and I'll be giving those Watermans another look, too. :)

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By far and away the best ball pen refills...that will fit in all pens that take parker style...are the Itoya .7 mm gel and the Visconti 1mm gell...the 1mm is really good. Also for use in Montblanc ballpens I have used these refills and taken a dremmel tool to them and made them fit...

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I have a Waterman rollerball that is almost the equal to my favorite FPs in terms of smoothness and laying down ink. A beautiful pen for writing.

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I put Fisher Space pen refills in all of my Parker BP pens. The refills come with a little plastic adapter that fits over the end of the refill. With the adapter, they fit any BP pen that uses a Parker refill.

 

While they are not the absolute best I've ever tried, their advantages make them worthwhile for me. The bold refill is kind of fun to try, but it is a bit to broad for routine note taking.

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Another vote for the Sheaffer refill--the best ballpoint I've ever found: super smooth, and no excessive pressure needed to write.

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I really like the Itoya refills. We have the Itoya Aqua rollers in black and blue. My new favorite Itoya refills are the Gels. We carry those in red, green, and purple. We got them in a couple of weeks ago and I'm in love! I've been using them every day since with no skipping problems and they are very nice colors as well. :P Oh, and they are Parker-style refills.

 

Michelle

www.pendemonium.com

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