Looking For A Budget Screw Cap Ballpoint & Pencil.

January 3, 2019

As per the title. Budget $50 max, each. Thanks!

January 20, 2019

First, mechanical pencils are generally NOT screw caps. That said, there should be little issue meeting your

budget. Second, many ballpoints in your price range. Everything from brand names to hand-made. They're not

going to find you - look on the web - eBay or Etsy, e.g. Your search should be easy - and fun!

January 24, 2019

Keep an eye on nathaniel cerf's website, www.thepenmarket.com

He routinely has screw cap vintage/pre owned stuff at good deals. I just spent $25 on a sheaffer balance rollerball (screw cap)

January 24, 2019

These may be less common than you would think from brand names... as mentioned, pencils are usually going to be twist or push button, and most capped pens are fountain or rollerballs, AND most ballpoint refills differ from rollerball refills so you won't be able to swap them. Unless in this case you are looking for a rollerball (which technically does have a ball point... just doesn't use oily ink).

Out of curiosity, why are you looking for capped instruments? I always found caps to be an inconvenience, necessary for most fountain pens, but totally avoidable for ballpoints, gels pens/capless rollers, and pencils. The popularity of capless fountain pens seems to suggest that no one actually wants caps; we just deal with them.

January 24, 2019

I personally prefer a cap unless I really need to write something down with a patient who's actively dying on me. That's why I have a fisher space pen in my other pocket. Sometimes one of my hands is preoccupied, inside someone's chest.

But I find the process of unscrewing a cap (I particularly prefer screw caps) very mechanically satisfying. Sure, digital watches are more convenient, but I like seeing the mechanisms of a mechanical skeleton move around and listening to them tick. Very satisfying to the lizard brain. The whole point of FP's is really the tactile experience. Ballpoints and rollerballs are all about convenience, hence why they really work as clickers.

There's also some promenade to unscrewing a capped pen. it takes a little longer and people as such notice it. It also permits for a greater variety in grip design, versus the smooth shapes required by twist/clickers that keeps them from catching on a pocket.

January 25, 2019

True -- I do enjoy some caps, partially for aesthetics... I think in my mind I figure ballpoint is for convenience so it should be a clicker, then if I'm going to bother with a cap it may as well be on a fountain pen, and if I have a rollerball trying to split the difference I feel like it should be a clicker too.

I need a cap that posts too -- while I am not at risk of losing the cap inside an open body cavity, I just hate having a cap sitting loose on a desk or my book while I write.

And back on topic -- the best bet may be a capped rollerball with a ballpoint refill adapted to fit, since most ballpoint refills are shorter or thinner than rollerball ones (e.g., a makeshift lengthener or something stuffed inside the barrel).