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Rollerball pens that use fountain pen ink

unsharpen.com

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Re: Rollerball pens that use fountain pen ink

#81

Post by iCarrot »

wenc wrote: post #79
iCarrot wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice to see another fountain pen enthusiast here. I love my Twisbi Eco too, in fact I love all demonstrator pens especially with the Iroshizuku ink. It's not unlike swirling wine. But for beginners I would only recommend the Pilot Metropolitan, coming at ~$19 with fancy metal body and high quality Pilot nib. That pen is insane bang for your buck and will last years.

As someone who owns two Pilot Metros F and TWSBI Ecos M and F, I would say it really depends on several variables like how big your handwriting is, what kind of paper you write on etc. The Pilot Metro is often recommended as a beginner pen, but I’m not sure if it ought to be. The F is a little scratchy even on Rhodia Premium paper. In retrospect, I would have saved the $15 and paid $30 for a TWSBI Eco F. That said, t…

Well that is because the Japanese nibs are finer than the European counterparts, largely because of dense kanji characters. The rule of thumb is always go one size up for Japanese pen. I have a Metro M, it is smooth as butter.

I'm also eyeing the Twsbi Go line. If it write comparable to the Eco I'll purchase a bunch of them as gift (friends seem less intimidated by the unassuming pens)

Re: Rollerball pens that use fountain pen ink

#82

Post by ecspike »

iCarrot wrote: post #77
danShumway wrote: post #74

If you currently use a ballpoint pen, switching to a rollerball will be a huge jump in quality to your writing experience. However, if you already use rollerballs, and you're looking at this and thinking you'd like to try it out, but you haven't ever tried a fountain pen, I would heavily advise giving one a shot. If you know you need a rollerball, then a stick with a rollerball. But don't dismiss a fountain pen out-o…

Nice to see another fountain pen enthusiast here. I love my Twisbi Eco too, in fact I love all demonstrator pens especially with the Iroshizuku ink. It's not unlike swirling wine. But for beginners I would only recommend the Pilot Metropolitan, coming at ~$19 with fancy metal body and high quality Pilot nib. That pen is insane bang for your buck and will last years.

My one gripe with the Metro and it's cousin the Kakuno is that ink seems to evaporate in them much faster than other pens. I know it's my fault for having too many inked but still.

I got the TWSBI Go first before the Eco, because of the push the plunger to fill with ink, I would put it high for beginners also at a $19 price point and holds a lot of ink.

Re: Rollerball pens that use fountain pen ink

#83

Post by Karrot_Kream »

joecool1029 wrote: post #65

I'm an ambidextrous and writing by hand tends to be a tedious experience for me. Where many in this thread are enthusiasts or writing professionals, I rather want to convey a more utilitarian mindset. My goals are to have people understand what I write and not be in pain. For whatever reason, ballpoint pens and I can't mix with legibility. I believe it's the pressure and dragging that kills it for me. Pencil is also…

I'd love to hear more about your experiences. I too am not a writing-inclined person (and prefer to do most of my notetaking digitally for that reason), and would love anything that makes the process more frictionless. Most of my writing tends to be of a mathematical nature, other than the more mundane tasks of signing legal documents.

Re: Rollerball pens that use fountain pen ink

#84

Post by cyberferret »

iCarrot wrote: post #77
danShumway wrote: post #74

If you currently use a ballpoint pen, switching to a rollerball will be a huge jump in quality to your writing experience. However, if you already use rollerballs, and you're looking at this and thinking you'd like to try it out, but you haven't ever tried a fountain pen, I would heavily advise giving one a shot. If you know you need a rollerball, then a stick with a rollerball. But don't dismiss a fountain pen out-o…

Nice to see another fountain pen enthusiast here. I love my Twisbi Eco too, in fact I love all demonstrator pens especially with the Iroshizuku ink. It's not unlike swirling wine. But for beginners I would only recommend the Pilot Metropolitan, coming at ~$19 with fancy metal body and high quality Pilot nib. That pen is insane bang for your buck and will last years.

+1 for the Pilot fountain pens for newbies to the fountain pen world. Great way to learn how to write properly with one without ruining expensive nibs.

Honestly, my writing fatigue has gone way down since I switched back to fountain pens years ago. The fact I don't have to press hard, and can control stroke width etc. with very light pressure changes has meant I can write longer (and neater) nowadays.

I still use my Pilot pens for everyday note taking etc. and for carrying around, as I don't mind if I lose one. I reserve my good pens for writing in my journals or ideas book when at home.

Re: Rollerball pens that use fountain pen ink

#85

Post by cyberferret »

sizzle wrote: post #42
yumraj wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try fountain pen, they are much more easier to write, as in even less effort. Especially if you go with a medium nib.

My nibs are always getting clogged and feel dull like it starts to lack the precision it once had where the nib once felt like it was exquisitely carving into the paper. Any tips on good nib hygiene or how to restore nibs? I only have used Lamy fine and extra fine nibs, any recommendations for other companies?

Make sure you flush and clean the pens every now and then (I do mine every 3 or 4 refills). The climate where I am means ink normally dries in the nib or ink channels if I leave them too long without using them, so a routine flush with tap water tends to keep the gunk out of the system and ensure smooth ink flow and good 'feel' between nib and paper.

Re: Rollerball pens that use fountain pen ink

#88

Post by gnicholas »

allovernow wrote: post #41
filleduchaos wrote: post #20

As someone that still fills a notebook roughly every three months, these pens are actually pretty nifty. Most regular ballpoints aren't ergonomic at all (I don't know how to describe it, but they take way too much force to write with and that leads to hand cramps in a long writing session). Rollerballs are way easier on the hand, and I tipped over to buying refillable ones because someone introduced me to J. Herbin i…

Why don't you try a mechanical pencil? A small diameter like .5mm is silky smooth, easily refillable, erasable, and you can get a nice ergonomic drafting pencil like a Pentel GraphGear, which feels really good in the hand.

> A small diameter like .5mm is silky smooth

When I was in high school, I bought a .9mm mechanical pencil, and it was glorious for standardized tests. Filling in circles was just a quick spiral inward, and the forms with rectangles were even easier — just a swipe across. I still have the thing, even though I haven't taken a multiple choice test in over a decade.

Re: Rollerball pens that use fountain pen ink

#89

Post by ecspike »

joecool1029 wrote: post #65

I'm an ambidextrous and writing by hand tends to be a tedious experience for me. Where many in this thread are enthusiasts or writing professionals, I rather want to convey a more utilitarian mindset. My goals are to have people understand what I write and not be in pain. For whatever reason, ballpoint pens and I can't mix with legibility. I believe it's the pressure and dragging that kills it for me. Pencil is also…

Many Noodler's inks are waterproof and have served me well even for legal docs.

I've even found a bunch of other inks that aren't advertised as waterproof/resistant that ended up to be waterproof depending on the paper. For example J. Herbin Perle Noire on meh paper.

I do fine with them as an everyday carry, my gripe is mainly when I get a new pen, paper or ink knowing that a paper might not like a certain pen or ink.

Re: Rollerball pens that use fountain pen ink

#90

Post by sizzle »

phaus wrote: post #78
sizzle wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My nibs are always getting clogged and feel dull like it starts to lack the precision it once had where the nib once felt like it was exquisitely carving into the paper. Any tips on good nib hygiene or how to restore nibs? I only have used Lamy fine and extra fine nibs, any recommendations for other companies?

That shouldn't be happening even with an extra fine nib, what kind of paper are you using?

I switch mediums often which might be the reason. Typically I use my leuchtturm1917 notebooks which have decent weight paper that absorbs the ink nicely.

I think when I switch materials on occasion when I'm in a meeting and only have scrap paper, think some waxy coated film papers e.g. 3M post-it notes material, this is clogging my nib somehow. What do you think? I never made this connection before, might help me avoid some future grief if I can stick to proper fountain pen paper.

I use noodler's bullet proof black ink.

I have several Lamy pens up to $100

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