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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

#91

Post by BeetleB »

rektide wrote: post #10
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.

I bought a moonman m2 a long time ago and really love it but also if I travel with it I end up bringing a whole cleanup kit because even with care I tend to have at least once where ink comes out into the cap. Is this just a fact of life with fountain pens in general? I love the writing but keeping them clean & operational has been non-trivial for me.

Flying can cause the ink to come out (happened only once with me).

Otherwise, ink shouldn't come out unless there is a flaw in the pen (which many ultra cheap pens have).

I've not tried the Moonman, but Jinhao/PenBBS are solid for me. Rarely do they "leak".

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

#92

Post by tiedieconderoga »

jasode wrote: post #31
ablyveiled wrote: post #7

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

>Pilot G2 I like Pilot G2 pens but unfortunately, they have a limited shelf life as the gel ink inside dries out. I just found this out recently when I went to get some more "new" Pilot pens from my supply closet and noticed every one of them was dried out. I bought them 7 years ago. Various websites and youtube hacks suggested putting the tips in boiling water for a while to try and revive them but that didn't work.…

The thing about the Pilot G2 is that you can usually find it on the same shelves as school-grade Bics. Grocery stores, pharmacies, big-box stores, you never need to special-order them.

Many of the pens discussed here are very nice. If I bought a few, I'd want to keep them at home or in an office.

Pilot G2s, though, are everywhere. Sure they dry eventually, but you can buy refills, and I usually lose them or have them stolen before that happens anyways.

I wonder if you could make a pen humidor to prolong the ink's shelf life.

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

#93

Post by john-tells-all »

bmarquez wrote: post #12

I can vouch for the Pentel EnerGel recommendation. As a left-handed person who tends to smudge a lot of other inks, EnerGels write smoothly without smudging. They're also cheap enough to buy a whole pack and not worry about losing them.

I adore gel pens. I go through a good number since I'm writing a book and am also an artist. I searched for "Pentel EnerGel" on jetpens.com...

971 results!

Haha. Let me get my coffee...

Thanks!

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

#94

Post by themaninthedark »

This is a very dangerous thing for me to see...

I really like the Mitsubishi Uni-ball Protech pen UB-155. I can't find them here in the states. If anyone knows where to get them, please let me know!

Here is a blog post about them: https://penvibe.com/uni-ball-ub-155-micro-deluxe-review/

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

#95

Post by cleansingfire »

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…

Amazon doesn't even organize or allow you to search for SHOES by size. Their search is about forcing crap down your throat and is actively hostile to getting what you want. I wish the reviews were the worst of it.

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

#96

Post by yarg »

kstrauser wrote: post #69
adfm wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ballp…

Does anyone actually care about cursive beyond personal interest? I haven’t used it since 5th grade and haven’t missed it one bit.

It's faster, so yes?

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

#97

Post by AnimalMuppet »

meindnoch wrote: post #23
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…

I'd love to use fountain pens. Unfortunately, I'm left-handed.

As others have said, fast-drying ink. In fact, if I understand correctly, there are "left handed pens" that are mechanically identical to right-handed; the difference is fast-drying ink.

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

#98

Post by sublinear »

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…

> The future of online stores is jetpens and websites like it. Jetpens is useful because I trust their reviews.

Why does everything always have to be "the future of ____" or mutually exclusive one way or the other? Online specialty stores exist just like they did in real life in the past. They are not really competing for the same customers.

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

#99

Post by [deleted] »

falcolas wrote: post #3

Jet Pens is a dangerous site. They'll convince you to part with your money far too easily. Studio Ghibli pens. I mean, how can you not buy them?! On a slightly more serious note - I agree with the Uniball Signo recommendations. They're good, reliable pens. I don't care for writing with Frixion pens, but they are the player in the erasable pen arena. I really appreciate how they provide samples with metadata on how ea…

[deleted]

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

#100

Post by dcchambers »

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…

Agreed 100%. I have spent a ton of money with JetPens and I will continue to do so.

Not only is their store built, organized, and curated specifically for the items they sell and their customers, they also have knowledgeable and passionate staff members that write fantastic articles about high end stationery. I'm constantly learning new things.

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