What's Your Favourite Ballpoint Pen - And Why

[Opooh]

Don't like ballpoints at all!

[Sasha Royale]

Except as required, I stoppped using ballpoint pens decades ago. However, mine was the Parker Jotter. The refill writes very well, regardless of the pen. I still have a couple around the house. At least one is stainless steel.

 

However, my favorite has to be a green Parker Duofold ballpoint pen. It was sticking out of a yard-sale coffee mug, surrounded by a dozen worthless stick pens and charity solicitation pens. I bought the whole thing, including the mug, for the price of a BK Whopper meal.. Wanna see it ?

Edited October 16, 2013 by Sasha Royale

[pajaro]

I like that pen. It has a pomposity factor exceeding my MB164. It comes from good stock.

[pajaro]

Don't like ballpoints at all!

They probably don't like you any better.

[Keyless Works]

I have found that for pure flow function and performance the Pilot Ageless and Timeline ballpoint have the finest, smoothest, and least drag of any ball point ever used.

I agree the Pilot Ageless is excellent.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I like Parker ballpens and use a Parker jotter. I really love the looks of the Parker Duofold ballpen. Dare I say that I like its appearance even more than the fountain pen version?

[NedC]

Caran d'Ache 849 metal series. They are sturdy, light, have a comfortable hexagonal body, fit in shirt pockets readily and have the terrific Goliath cartridge but can use Fisher, Parker or Ballograf refills if needed. The Ballograf Opus and Epoca would be close runners up as would the TWSBI precision.

[warblerick]

I like Parker ballpens and use a Parker jotter. I really love the looks of the Parker Duofold ballpen. Dare I say that I like its appearance even more than the fountain pen version?

I agree. Like the Duofold ballpoint better than the FP.

[bernardo]

I use a Lamy 2000 Taxus, which I like very much (I'm a furniture restorer/refinisher so i like wood). After a couple of years the clip has started to wobble a bit back and forth, and the wood has gotten some "character" marks, but the aluminum (or perhaps it is brushed steel) parts are like new. I use a Broad refill in it mostly, in blue. It is my pen for signing receipts etc. at Drs. offices, as FP's are usually not inkjet paper friendly.

 

I really love the long smooth torpedo shape of this pen and the fact there is no visible joint where it separates to refill. Well-balanced too.

 

Cool pen! I have it on my wishlist...

[akustyk]

I like my Parker Jotter with the Parker gel refills. I like both the blue and black. The only problem is they run out fast.

In terms of pure joy of writing, the Pilot Precise V7 is hard to beat. Pure awesomeness.

[orfew]

My favourite is the Montblanc Toscanini ballpoint. Looks great and writes very well.

[Tom Aquinas]

I tolerate ball pens because they are functional and I can let a client use one. Usually the Sonnet jotters are the pen of choice. However for international travelling I take but one pen, a Waterman Hemisphere Stainless jotter with gold trimming and a black refill. Perfect for travel and small for the pocket.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Tom Aquinas

[scrivelry]

I have tried to like fancier ballpoints but they seem to hurt my hand. I write with whatever supremely cheap BP I can find with a juicy, flowing ink. Years ago this was the Papermate with the white barrel and blue cap - they ink made a mess and you really needed a penwiper, but it was so much better than trying to beat the ink out of a Bic, for me.

 

When I taught I bought whatever pens were ten for a dollar during back to school sales, because most of my students did not bother to carry things like pens or notebooks or paper to class and it was the only way to get any work out of some. I used whatever pens I was giving them. But that was before my FP days.

[Aramchek]

Ballograf Epoca. The pen body has good ergonomics, and the refills are superior to any other ballpoints I can recall testing, smooth (for a ballpoint), reliable, and long lasting. Some of their other pens use other types of refills, I don't know what they're like.

[michaelcockerham]

Lamy Safari. Seem to last nearly as long as Parker refills.

[plumeau]

Lamy, Caran d'ache or bIc, never Waterman (my étalon is broken), never more a Parker, the service is too bad and the old one leaks in summer.

[inkstainedruth]

I mostly don't like BPs anymore (I *had* to use the proffered one at at the car dealership recently because some of the forms were carbon forms and I don't own an FP with a manifold nib) . I'd much rather use a cheapie fountain pen instead, like one of my Vectors.

That being said, I do actually own a couple of click BPs that I keep mostly for sentimental value, because they were handed out as freebies by a friend of mine. They're promo pens (unknown make, but probably inexpensive) with her company's name on it, and I particularly want to keep the purple one. The problem, though, is trying to get refills that fit that aren't black ink. At one point I was able to get some generic refills that fit a variety of pens from Staples (you cut down the back end to make it fit whatever length you needed). But those don't seem to be carried any more, and the ones that Staples carries now (a blister pack of 2 refills) leaked before I ever got the package open. Those got returned for a refund forthwith....

So now I have these promo pens that are dead, that I'm loathed to get rid of. Sigh.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[jips123]

I prefer my Parker Sonnet slim cisele (with quinkflow cartridge) and the Papermate Flexgrip Ultra Med.

[GabrielleDuVent]

Uni Jetstream, Pilot V5 or Frixion.

 

Incidentally, a very similar topic was up on 2ch about two months ago. An utter favourite was Uni Jetstream.

 

I used to use Sarasa but I accidentally left a memo on the dashboard under the sun on a summer day, and when I returned, the page had turned blank

[fpconverted]

I use a CROSS TECH +4 and am quite satisfied with the blue, black, red ballpoint and pencil all in one. Great multi pen, looks nice in lustrous chrome and the girth is similar to the townsend. Great weight, solidly made, and awesome multi.