Funny, I would prefer a ballpoint over rollerball

[Betty]

Many here post that the rollerball is almost a substitute to a fountain pen. Funny, I would prefer a ballpoint/gel pen to a rollerball. Now what does that say about me So far, the rollerballs that I did come into counter with always skips on me and are hard to flow. Even a Tombow rollerball I got for $20 (because I liked the lime green barrel ) seems to skip. Boo...

[Ray]

I hate rollerballs, but the newer gel pens - especially the Parker gel refill - are pretty good.

 

Ray

[Slush99]

I like BP over rollerball. Rollerballs tend to bleed. I prefer gel. And over that fountain pen

[Goodwhiskers]

Gel pens are OK, especially Pilot's, but they write out quickly, their high prices (even for the refills!) stink most putridly, and they self-sabotage with air bubbles that enter through the point.

 

Some of Sanford's rollerballs have ink which is advertised to be waterproof and fraudproof. I do like the non-fine-point ones, and they're not as extortionistic as the gels.

 

Of course, I still prefer fountain pens.

[Betty]

If you write over 10 pages a day, gel pens will wear out like nobody's business. I don't do much writing, so my gels last and last and last. I was too poor for gel pens while I was in school & the ones I did own, I was to stingy to use them for notes. I saved those for the special letters and writings

[Robert Ellis]

I used to use Uni Ball pens but they feathered waaaay to much. Once I got wind of the gels refills for BPs I tried them and I was hooked. If you have had problems with the Pilot gels I suggest you try the Sakura or Parker gels. They are an improvement. I use mine for addressing envelopes, checks, and signing credit card tapes. I don't ask much of them, and they respond. I have been known to run through a Pelikan full of ink in a good afternoons writing, a feat I have never attemped with the gels so I can not attest to their capacity, and probably won't considering the cost compared to bottled ink.

[Centurion]

Good to know that gels can write on the back of credit cards where the signature tape is located. I didn't know that gels cost a lot, I guess i am price insensitive. hmmm, i bought a package of gel refills (2 in the pack) for $4.50, that's $2.25 for a refill. I would think that's not too bad. I have an OMAS roller and their refills cost $9.00 for one!! the store tried to get me to buy a Schmidt refill that would fit the OMAS for $7.50, and told me that Schmidt makes the refills for OMAS. Perhaps so, but I also heard that, OMAS would tell Schmidt to make their refills according to the their specifications, thus likely the OMAS labelled refill is better.

[ballboy]

I agree; rollerballs, tend to be a compromise between bp & fp. My Parker Ellipse ball point is more reliable than the gel point (both the same shape for interchangeability), but the gel at least attempts a fluid line, but no match for a well set up fp, like my Lamy. <_<

 

Of all the ballpoints I have, the Cross Arcadia & Apogee are my faves: they just write without fuss or 'clicking' that my Parkers are prone to: (I guess it's the spring inside that rattles). :blink:

 

Now to find that ideal fountain pen: another Lamy perhaps?

Edited February 14, 2006 by ballboy

[daveg]

Even a Tombow rollerball I got for $20 (because I liked the lime green barrel ) seems to skip. Boo...

It sounds like you're paying too much for your rollerballs. I'm using some Sanford Uniball pens that I bought about 5 years ago in a box for about $0.60 each. They've never skipped and only one has run out of ink so far. Higher end roller balls are generally not competitive.

[Theroc]

Disposables aside, its all about the refills, isn't it? There is a gel/ink/oil refill for every pen in every refill style.

I have yet to find a classic ink roller refill that I like. When I think rollerball, its gel refills exclusively. And there many of those that I prefer over any oil refill. The only oil refill I will countenance is Schneider's impressive Viscoglide.

That said, ball-type writers are my last resort. I would first reach for a capillary (fiber-tip) pen like the Pentel Tradio or Parker 5TH.

[pajaro]

Rollerballs can be a little sloppy and drag ink along, laying it down.   Rollerballs are more like fountain pens in the less effort to write with a rollerball than with most ballpoints, and they usually seem to write darker than a ballpoint, making it easier to read back what you write.  I like that ballpoints don't dry out as fast as most rollerballs I have used.  I have a couple of Papermate ballpoints I bought in 1968, when I started my junior year of college that are still writing with the original refill despite all the note taking I did with them.  I used them through my IT career, and they still work to make and to tick items off of the grocery list.   Parker Jotter ballpoints, Montbalnc Meisterstuck ballpoints and other ballpoints have had replacement refills, but all lasted years where most roller balls dried up in a few months.  I think the roller balls have been improved, though, because Monteverde-made rollerball refills I bought last year are still writing.

 

[flatline]

I got a dozen Uniball Vision roller balls in 2001 and some Pilot Precise v5 that are even older that still write fine, so  if you're having issues with roller balls drying out after a couple of months, I would consider trying a different brand.

 

I happen to like both ball point and roller ball pens and tend to choose which pen to use based on the paper I'm writing on.

 

--flatline

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I keep meaning to look for a really old thread to revive myself.😊

 

But I feel like adding two cents.  Although I would rather write with a Pilot G2 gel pen or a Schmidt rollerball refill than with a ballpoint, in almost any situation where I can use a rollerball, I can also use a fountain pen, and that's even better.  So I tend to use ballpoints a bit more often than rollerballs, in those situations where a fountain pen isn't best.  For example, if I need to write outside against a vertical surface in freezing weather, I'll pull out my Space Pen.

[MoriartyR]

Uniball Eye gel pens are very good but other than those I have never found a rollerball I didn’t despise. Apart from the Uniball Eye I much prefer writing with ballpoints than rollerballs, and always have.

 

[AlexItto]

Sorry about the newby question, but I thought rollerballs were the way to go if you couldn't go full-fountain for whatever reason? To me it's all about the inks and the pretty designs. I understand most roller balls cannot handle fountain penk ink. So what's second best? Definitely gel pens? What type?

Edited February 14, 2021 by AlexItto
typo

[Estycollector]

On 2/9/2006 at 1:14 PM, Betty said:

Many here post that the rollerball is almost a substitute to a fountain pen. Funny, I would prefer a ballpoint/gel pen to a rollerball. Now what does that say about me So far, the rollerballs that I did come into counter with always skips on me and are hard to flow. Even a Tombow rollerball I got for $20 (because I liked the lime green barrel ) seems to skip. Boo...

I use a vintage Parker 45 flighter and vintage Jotter with a roll ball refil. For me, a perfect combination.

[flatline]

1 hour ago, AlexItto said:

Sorry about the newby question, but I thought rollerballs were the way to go if you couldn't go full-fountain for whatever reason? To me it's all about the inks and the pretty designs. I understand most roller balls cannot handle fountain penk ink. So what's second best? Definitely gel pens? What type?

 

I guess it depends what you're looking for. If you're looking for the smooth feel of the nib against the paper but can't use a fountain pen, then I think a porous tip pen like a sharpie pen is a better option than a roller ball.

 

Roller ball pens with small tips (0.5 or smaller) feel more like a pencil against the paper than a fountain pen to me, so I tend to use them when I'm feeling like a pencil, but want the high contrast or color of ink. Roller ball pens with larger tips are kind of their own thing

 

If you're looking for pretty designs, then you can find what you like and just put in a compatible refill of your choice (gel, roller ball, ball point, whatever). Lots of commercial and custom options to consider.

 

--flatline

[Lycaeides]

I quite agree that it really does matter what paper I'm using. For gel I really enjoy pentel energel, primarily the blue, which is vibrant and lovely. Kon-peki reminded me of it when I first saw it. I don't dislike pilot g2, but I really value how quickly the energels dry... If I'm using a smooth paper like the peter pauper press notebooks, or clairfontaine, and I'm in the mood for a waterproof black that dries without ugly greying, I relish the opportunity to use my uni-ball vision. 

[rfenter]

This has been a helpful thread for me. Thank you.