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The Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

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Re: The Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

#41

Post by Rebelgecko »

ben7799 wrote: post #30

I'm left handed and have used this site before. I have a bunch of Uni-ball Jetstream pens that I'm real happy about. I learned about those from this site in one of their previous articles. I can't tell if they're saying the Jetstream is no longer as good as it was, or these other new pens are even better, or they're just kind of pushing something new. I'm tempted to order some of the Pentel Energels, Pilot Multiball,…

As a fellow southpaw, I was convinced to buy a bunch of their recommended pens (IIRC their standalone "best pens for lefties" article is more thorough than the left section in the "best pens of $current_year" article).

The Pentel EnerGel (specifically, the "Pentel EnerGel Alloy Gel Pen - 0.7 mm - Black Ink - Silver Body") is the best pen I've ever used. It feels magically smooth with minimal smudging. For me it writes much better than the Jetstream, although if you do a ton of writing you might prefer the grip on those. I also really like the multiball (for writing on non-paper surfaces), the power tank (aka the poor man's space pen) and the Sarasa dry gel pens (less smooth than the Energel but the designs are fun)

Re: The Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

#42

Post by todd8 »

falcolas wrote: post #5
eschneider wrote: post #2

I heartily agree with their fountain pen choices. The Pilot Metropolitan is insanely good for a cheap pen that you can take anywhere and the TWSBI GO is my go-to daily driver. It leads me to believe that the rest of the reviews are likely good.

How TF did Pilot be the company to create such great inexpensive fountain pens? I mean, I'm not upset about it, I love them.

In the early 1900s, three Japanese fountain pen companies were founded: Sailor (1911), Namiki (1918), and Platinum (1919). Namiki changed its name to Pilot in the 1930s, but some Pilot pens are still sold under the Namiki brand.

I have pens from all of these companies and they are some of my favorite brands.

Re: The Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

#43

Post by MengerSponge »

oaththrowaway wrote: post #16
ablyveiled wrote: post #7

I've tried a few fancy pens, but still prefer my Pilot G2 07s.

Pilot G2 .38 or .5 for me

Did Pilot ever fix the G2's failed rollerball retention issue? I had a few pop loose before I gave up on the line.

I've been a uniball signo 0.25 (math/subscripts) and 0.38 (text) fan for years now. It's one of the few pens that actually makes my handwriting better.

Re: The Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

#44

Post by rationalist »

ben7799 wrote: post #30

I'm left handed and have used this site before. I have a bunch of Uni-ball Jetstream pens that I'm real happy about. I learned about those from this site in one of their previous articles. I can't tell if they're saying the Jetstream is no longer as good as it was, or these other new pens are even better, or they're just kind of pushing something new. I'm tempted to order some of the Pentel Energels, Pilot Multiball,…

> he said if I had to ask I couldn't afford it

When people act that way to me, I just laugh and walk away. It feels much better than being mad, and they often look confused rather than smug. I have no problem with not rewarding them with a sale. Sometimes they'll even backpedal, I just say "Have a great day, bye!"

Re: The Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

#45

Post by dan-robertson »

dragontamer wrote: post #21

I spend way more money on jetpens's selection of notebooks than pens though. Also, I tend to prefer pencil, and will recommend the Pentel Kerry. --------- I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The future of online stores is jetpens and websites like it. Jetpens is useful because I trust their reviews. They're a store, yes, but more importantly, they're a trustworthy source of information. Amazon reviews are no…

When I was a student I think I read online that (for water based inks) laser printer paper works well and better than a lot of notebook paper. I think something about feathering or drying time but I don’t really remember. I’m not sure how true it was and I preferred having loose leaf paper with no lines so I was pretty happy feeling like I was getting well suited paper on the cheap.

Re: The Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

#47

Post by todd8 »

doabell wrote: post #11

The Nevada State Bank once recommended a Uni-ball 207 (any pigment ink pen will probably do) to prevent check washing fraud: [video] https://youtu.be/zhR-koBU4zM

I've seen Uni-ball 207 recommended too. I also have some Mont Blanc fountain pen ink that claims to forgery resistant (meeting ISO 14145-2) that I've used to for check writing. Here's a YouTube video about the subject [1].

Noodlers ink (also available on jetpens.com) is said to have forgery resistant inks as well. I don't have any of it, but I do have some of Noodlers invisible ink--you need an ultraviolet light source to see it.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH_Yb4-0p0o

Re: The Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

#48

Post by bluGill »

dragontamer wrote: post #21

I spend way more money on jetpens's selection of notebooks than pens though. Also, I tend to prefer pencil, and will recommend the Pentel Kerry. --------- I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The future of online stores is jetpens and websites like it. Jetpens is useful because I trust their reviews. They're a store, yes, but more importantly, they're a trustworthy source of information. Amazon reviews are no…

I always look for small suppliers of a small niche. The people tend to know something about what they sell. It is worth paying a little more just to get good advice from someone who cares more than I do about the subject.

Re: The Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

#49

Post by adfm »

kstrauser wrote: post #20

Fountain pens completely changed how I write. I've always gripped ballpoints like my life depended on it and gotten hand cramps from how hard I press them down. I don't want to, and can temporarily stop doing that when I consciously notice, but then I forget and go back to trying to stab the desktop through the paper. A Lamy Safari's triangular shape makes it physically hard to hold the "wrong" way. It nudges me to w…

It's worth investigating the effect of ballpoint pen technology on society. Beyond cleanliness and general convenience, the ballpoint pen has stood as an example of technological innovation that makes the rounds in one form or another as the central figure of progress, yet there is a dark side to its past. The Fisher Space Pen did its part to promote the American space program of the 1960s and Xi used the lowly ballpoint as a sticking point to drive innovation into the 2020s, but you don't hear about the poor ergonomics, handwriting atrophy, or lack of cursive being taught in elementary school. We need to consider the analog along with the digital if we're going to elevate ourselves out of the mess we're wallowing in. The education system needs all the help it can get, but in addition to one laptop per child, it would be a good idea to give them analog clocks so they can tell time and fountain pens so they can learn the why and how to read cursive.
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