Would you pay a premium to get the matching ballpoint version of your fountain pen?

[zaddick]

Another in the No chorus. I have bought many MB WE sets but always slow them as I really only use the FP. I did buy one fancy RB but that was the exception and it was at a discount.

[txomsy]

No way.

 

First, I avoid ballpoint pens like the plague.

 

Then, I find that in this case it is only a carcass. With an FP, the nib makes all the difference and a good quality nib compensates for  (most of) the rest of the pen, next goes ergonomics and design and, last, taste. With a BP writing comes down to the refill, which will work the same in any enclosure, so if I were to buy one, it would all reduce to ergonomics and looks for me, which is not worth, generally speaking (and again, to me) more than a BIC ('cos the BIC is already sober and ... well I don't know if it is ergonomic or it is that I grew up using them  until I got my first FP, or that they are like the pencils I first used when I learned writing and later for drawing).

 

Anyway, the first reason is the deal breaker for me: since I got my first FP I hate BPs. At most I go with thin felt-tip pens, but since I also hate buying refills (that includes cartridges), no way.

[Karmachanic]

I have a Cross Century BP received as a gift in 1989, which has not been used since that time.  The 1976 Parker 75 Flighter BP sees customs/immigration form duty whilst travelling.  I have no need for another BP.

[maclink]

14 hours ago, CS388 said:

No. 

 

I can't really see the point in an expensive ballpoint - it's essentially a basic ballpoint in a fancy wrapper. 

I guess that the same could be said for many fountain pens - it just seems more blatant in a BP.

 

Only my opinion, of course - and many of my own wants and desires defy any rationale.

So, if you like it, go for it - and the cost be damned!

 

Good luck.

When the FP uses a cartridge converter and Bock or Jowo nib, of which I have many examples, then it becomes about the shell as with the BPs. Although I wouldn’t pay as much for a ballpoint as I would for one of my more pricey FP’s, I would pair one of the more affordable FPs. 

[como]

No. No ballpoints are allowed to upstage my fountain pens. All ballpoints have to be humble, even ugly, if they are allowed to exist.😀

[rennfahrer]

I do use a combination of vintage Montblanc FP and a modern Starwalker BP at work. The Starwalker was an awesome present from a boss/friend. It is a great BP. That said, the only BP I would purposely buy would be the Agatha or maybe Oscar Wilde (although I rarely use my Wilde FP).

[niksch]

I was able to take a tour of the MB Factory in the late '90s, and my host spent more than a couple minutes on the technology and manufacturing of MB ball point refills.  It was interesting and somewhat fascinating, but add me to the NO list.  

 

Ball point pens have a place, and if you do need a good, rugged BP, I'd advocate for a small firm called Machine Era.  I use a couple different styles of their brass construction designs.  They recently released a cartridge FP.  I use these pens in the field, and they usually have an option for a fineliner .

[N1003U]

I have several sets. Sometimes a ballpoint is called for, for paper, writing surface, user, or immediacy reasons.

 

I bought my wife a Thomas Mann (who is her favo(u)rite author), which came out at roughly the same time she had a milestone birthday, but she didn’t often use it. Then I supplemented it with a matching ballpoint and a two-pen case, and now both pens see regular use.

 

I don’t think I paid a “premium” in the markup sense of the word, but I did pay a retail price for the ballpoint, and it was to me worth the amount to see both pens in use.

[CeruleanToAzure]

I write a lot with ballpoint pens, and for me it’s a pleasure to write with a matching ballpoint. That's my two sets.

[N1003U]

9 hours ago, CeruleanToAzure said:

I write a lot with ballpoint pens, and for me it’s a pleasure to write with a matching ballpoint. That's my two sets.

Nice-looking sets. 

 

Do the Montblanc forum rules allow for pictures of Pelikans? 😛 

[CeruleanToAzure]

2 hours ago, N1003U said:

Do the Montblanc forum rules allow for pictures of Pelikans? 😛 

I think they are "invited" by two LeGrands in a context, so ... maybe everything is fine.  😄

 

[bunnspecial]

On 1/22/2021 at 12:06 PM, sgphototn said:

Then again, I look at expensive Montblanc fountain pens and chuckle too and remember Beanie Babies.🤣

 

I'm trying to figure out what you mean by this comment, and in particular why you consider Montblancs in any way comparable to Beanie Babies.

[Pen Nut]

In a minority as per but I often do try to get the matching ball pen and, look away now, even the rollerball !! I know strange aren't I :-)   Very rarely go after the pencil variant but it has been known but they were very very seldom used.

 

Anyway my usual good to go carry pair are Dickens FP & BP. The choice of BP refills is good going from gel ink to Fisher refills if a trip to space is planned (think the Russians used pencils sharpened at both ends but will leave that for a later discussion) so yes I do like my MB's standard precious resins / metals & WE's in all formats. Pleasing to look at is half my enjoyment of ownership.

 

 

[N1003U]

32 minutes ago, Pen Nut said:

In a minority as per but I often do try to get the matching ball pen and, look away now, even the rollerball !! I know strange aren't I 🙂  Very rarely go after the pencil variant but it has been known but they were very very seldom used.

 

Anyway my usual good to go carry pair are Dickens FP & BP. The choice of BP refills is good going from gel ink to Fisher refills if a trip to space is planned (think the Russians used pencils sharpened at both ends but will leave that for a later discussion) so yes I do like my MB's standard precious resins / metals & WE's in all formats. Pleasing to look at is half my enjoyment of ownership.

 

 

Also a very attractive set!

[oldrifleman]

No, I only have one MB ball point pen ( the first MB I ever bought). Just not a big ball point fan.

[Hanoi]

With all the writing instruments MB makes, I find the ballpoint the most useful.  I also own a few of their leathergoods and desk accessories but the ballpoints always remain the most used items.  I actually don´t care that much for writing quality as the MB LE ballpoints are just works of art.  The Einstein and Kennedy ballpoints are quite nice but too bulky to even use daily.

[KAC]

Personally, I can't justify spending anything for a ballpoint pen, much less a premium price to match a fountain pen.

[ParramattaPaul]

8 minutes ago, KAC said:

Personally, I can't justify spending anything for a ballpoint pen, much less a premium price to match a fountain pen.

I can second that.  Why buy a type of pen, a ballpoint, I don't really like when I am frequently given one by businesses I frequent.  That was pre-COVID.  Now with COVID very much in play, the patients were told to keep the office supplied pens used to fill in patient information forms on my last visit to a doctor's office.  Apparently, it is part of the practice's COVID transmission prevention regimen.

 

My order of preference is fountain pen, gel pen, roller ball, and fibre tip.

[dadbar]

I have several ST Dupont Classique Rollerball pens that match the corresponding fountain pens...because I like the look of these pens and the rollerballs are very nice for traveling.

 

I also like the Parker 75 series (I have 12 of them), in part because the caps and barrels are all interchangeable among the fountain pens and rollerballs so I can pretty much meet my mood du jour.

[PAKMAN]

In addition to ball points, I have in a few rare instances bought the matching mechanical pencil too.