Why Not Ballpoint Pens?

[prf5]

The title of the thread is, why not ballpoints? Given that this is the fountain pen network, the implicit question is, why not use a ballpoint point instead of a fountain pen? Here are some answers: Fountain pens are high maintenance items, ballpoints are low maintenance. Great fountain pens are expensive and bought individually; great ballpoints are inexpensive and can be bought by the dozen. Fountain pens have trappings, ballpoints do not. Fountain pens frequently are not where you need them; ballpoints are everywhere. Fountain pens tend to run out of ink in the middle of a task; if a ballpoint runs out of ink or stops writing, you can throw it away or put it away and use another one.

 

There have been threads on this forum about, what do I do if I'm in the middle of an exam (or something else with pressure and a time limit) and my pen runs out of ink; or, what do I do if the paper in the exam booklet is so cheap that my ink bleeds and won't dry? Answers have included: buy an expensive fountain pen that is dedicated to working with cheap paper; buy several expensive fountain pens of the same model; buy a $900.00 bulk filler pen; bring an ink bottle with you. Here's another thought: use a ballpoint.

 

FYI, I use a fountain pen every day, but I also use a ballpoint. I like them both.

[jar]

 

When put in a position where a company pays you a great deal of money on a weekly basis even the most hardcore FP'er would have to succomb to using a ballpoint.

 

Greg

That's very sad if true. I cannot imagine working under such foolish rules or for such ignorant employers. Isn't it better to just work for those who are not so ignorant?

Edited October 4, 2014 by jar

[Bronze]

No line variation. Limited choice of inks. Weaker line. Requires a bit more pressure.

[rosebute]

I like a nice ballpoint as much as a fountain pen, & use a couple of jotters & a converted vacumatic in silver pearl. I hated ballpoints till i discovered parker gel refills. Now im waiting for some itoya fine point ones to try. The schmidt 9000 refills are also pretty nice, but not quite as smooth as the gel ones. I find Im using a ballpoint more than the FP now.

[CSG]

I was saying to my wife last night that the difference between ballpoints/rollerballs and fountain pens is that the former are simply refill holders whereas a fountain pen is a system. I have a few Cross Century ballpoints, including the one I found in the late 60's that got me through high school, college, and my early jobs. But all it does is hold a refill. The same with my lovely Waterman Charleston rollerball. And with that pen, I usually use a Pilot G2 refill which I find better than Waterman's own.

 

I use ballpoints a lot. Matter of fact, I've mostly used ballpoints in my 64 years but I prefer fountain pens at any and every opportunity.

Edited November 11, 2014 by CSG

[AJ50]

When I need to use a ball pen it will either be a Sheaffer Legacy or Parker Duofold, both very nice to hold and use.

[Riayain]

Ballpoint pens are painful. Before I discovered fountain pens a few months back, I was using ballpoint pens and pencils for all of my writing needs. Every time I wrote an exam, my hand would cramp up like crazy and I would actually have to stop and wait for the pain to go away before I could continue writing. That wasted my precious time and partially resulted in a lot of unfinished exams.

 

Fountain pens changed all of that. I recently wrote two exams, both subjects that I would normally not be able to complete because of my aching hands and poor concentration (health issues), with fountain pens. Not only did I manage to finish answering every single question on time, but I was able to do so without my hands feeling like they were going to break! It felt like a miracle!

 

So... yeah. That's my main reason for tossing aside ballpoint pens.

 

Well, that and I have a thing for nibs.

[ink-syringe]

I greatly desire this Scheaffer. Does anyone know if these had a name or model number? Brian?

 

 

 

Old Sheaffer ballpoint I use. Parker refill fits with a little filing of the "crown" on the end. Fisher space pen refill also fits.

 

Brian

 

[pgmrdan]

Zebra f-701 is the way to go you will not be disapointed and for $7 Id say you have little choice and to up the anti I Include a link

http://www.amazon.com/Zebra-F-701-Stainless-Ballpoint-Retractable/dp/B002L6RB80/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411399837&sr=8-1&keywords=f-701

 

+1 for the Zebra F-701.

 

I have 2 of them. Excellent for fine line writing. I use on for the checkbook register. When you need a BP it's a good choice.

 

Now I'm thinking of getting Zebra M-701 matching mechanical pencils.

[sirgilbert357]

Since getting back into fountain pens recently (less than 2 months ago), I have not desired to use ANY ballpoint. Honeymoon phase? Maybe. But I am so sure of my position that I am selling a previously loved vintage Cross in BP. I just seriously don't forsee ever using it again. I have gel refills in my Parker Jotter and in my Waterman Hemisphere, so if I need something other than a fountain pen, that's what I'll use.

[siopaopei]

There's nothing wrong with ballpoints, but I've never enjoyed using one as much as I enjoy using my fountain pens.

 

Same here. I respect that some people prefer the simplicity of ballpoint pens and that they're low maintenance and everything. For me, using a fountain pen is just more enjoyable. I like the way it lays down ink, the way it feel in my hand, the way it looks, the engineering that is involved in it. On the practical side, i write a lot in a day, so using fountain pens help relieve the stress on my hand a lot. being able to just write as if the nib is just gliding on paper isn't something you can enjoy with a ballpoint pen.

[hbdk]

Ballpoints and rollerballs are too reliable and trouble-free to be interesting.

 

Exactly! - No tinkering = no fun!

 

Still, I do carry a Fisher Space pen with me when visiting clients - it can get rather cold in Denmark and temperatures below 0 Celsius are not really FP friendly in my experience. But the Fisher is just a tool; my FPs all have personalities

[Arkanabar]

I was using a Fisher space pen to write on file outguides (which are made of heavy cardstock) at work for a while, because in all too many cases, the only convenient surface on which to write was vertical....

 

until I discovered that holding the outguides curved provided enough rigidity to write with a fountain pen, and that a Hero 616 loaded with slightly diluted HoD dried quickly enough that I didn't need to blot. That Fisher space pen has not come with me to work for a month or so.

[pajaro]

I feel like I have come back through the looking glass, and I am using ballpoints mainly now. The fountain pens are less pleasant to use, and the Pelikan K200 and K400 are getting a lot of use. I like Bruce's orange Sheaffer, and I use the Jotter light blue desk pen with cube base a lot. Moving away from the job at the local bank I have much less use for fountain pens, and it's time to sell a lot of them.

 

Getting more use from my Big Red Parkers, Papermates and Montblanc 164s.

 

The fountain pens that can be easily restarted get a little use, Parker Sonnet extra fine, Waterman Phileas with l'etalon ef nib, Montblanc 144s.

 

Pen use need not be an either -- or thing. Mix it up.

 

Reality has set back in, and the collecting fever has abated. A lot of these pens are old friends that I have used throughout a career, and they are sentimental keepers. The not so sentimental ones can be liberated. A lot of the collecting was fun. Just bought a couple of Pelikan Kxxxs. Click tops. Why not ballpoints, indeed. I just need to keep the obsessing out of it.

Edited December 15, 2014 by pajaro

[Flounder]

I recently bought an 80s jotter flighter for £2.50, and a Parker gel refill. I've been really impressed with it, the refill is not a million miles from writing with an fp, when compared to a ballpoint refill.

[tinysnail]

I just found myself needing to use a ballpoint pen (Fisher space pen) to write on a bubble mailer. It's all about using the "right tool for the job;" it just so happens that the vast majority of the writing I need to do (schoolwork and journaling) is perfect for fountain pens

[pajaro]

Gel refills and rollerball refills don't last as long as a ballpoint refill. I like the replace the refill and good to go for another several years aspect.

 

The rollerballs and gel refills write too slippery for me. The ballpoint provides resistance and control I like, especially the broad refill. I used the gel refills, especially Parker. They are workable, but still slippery. Last a few months. Seem to dry up. Cost about the same.

[mknoblauch]

Ballpoints and rollerballs are too reliable and trouble-free to be interesting.

 

LOL! I have heard a number of English and Italian automobile and motorcycle owners on both sides of the Atlantic say the same thing. I guess FPs are the Triumphs, BSAs and Fiat Spyders of the writing instrument world.

[mknoblauch]

Maybe I missed it, but I don't think anyone has mentioned sets here on the thread.... It would be overkill and I probably wouldn't do it for every FP I bought, but getting sets would actually be my preference as you can ensure --as someone has already said-- that you have the right tool for each job.

 

Pajaro is taking the reverse approach with getting the Kxxx's now after years of just using the FPs.... I love the Pelikan brand and can see myself getting sets in this brand. It makes simple sense to me.... I don't know, maybe I got this idea stuck in my head from the old Cross sets a loving aunt gave me for my high school and college graduations.

 

In the short time since I fell down the the FP rabbit hole, I have managed to accumulate three modern FP and rollerball sets (my Kaweco Classic sport set, which was the first FP purchase I mad in 20 years, also includes the MP in addition to the liquid ink rollerball) and one 1930's vintage set of FP and MP. When I am searching for FPs on eBay, I am just automatically drawn to the sets out there.

 

I have recently been to two networking events, and knowing I'd be standing at a bar or leaning over a table to write on business cards, I decided to forego FPs altogether and popped my Kaweco Dia and MB Starwalker RBs in my jacket pocket as the right tools for the job.

Edited December 16, 2014 by mknoblauch

[mknoblauch]

 

Toss a dash of panache into the mix and life with a BP isn't so bad and uninteresting.

 

 

 

 

There are refills out there that offer a pleasurable writing experience, it just takes some sniffing around to find them.

 

The pace at my new job, at least for awhile, hasn't been conduscive to FP use. So, I've made do with the Flighter 180 BP above loaded with the Itoya Gelfill. It's actually pretty nice. And, just like a FP, it's good for Exactly One Drop to the ground on it's point.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl-Taking the P-45 FP in tonight though

 

 

Now that's what I am talking about! Nice-looking stablemates to go along with the FPs. And, you also get to tinker around a bit with finding the gel refills that fit.