Here’s a topic I’ve not seen on the boards but I’ll bet some of you share this mild obsession.
I’m a pen freak. I love a good quality pen and I’ll pay for it (within reason). Most people find that a fifty cent BIC is all they need, and for daily use at work, that’s all I need too, but when I’m writing a letter, fattening up a journal, or working out a short story, I want a quality pen. It’s gotta be smooth as silk, no smear, and it must feel solid in your hand – no jangling parts.
Come on, I know some of you share the obsession. Where can I find a perfect pen?
It’s by no means perfect but I like the feel of a Pilot Precise V7 fine point. I also like Uni-Ball Vision micros. They are smooth and fast, if you know what I mean. I don’t buy expensive pens simply because I lose them.
These are my current work favorites…a good pen makes all the difference: Sanford® Uni-Ball® Gel Impact® RT Retractable Gel Pens, Bold Point, 1.0 mm- a bit fatter and a medium point…nuthin better really.
Fountain pens are the bomb…just not work friendly.
I’ve been looking around for smaller heads and didn’t like the various 0.7mm’s around, but I agree - the Vision Micro at .5mm works like a charm. Love it.
In Turkish school (6th through 8th grade), we had to submit all of our reports on unlined paper, written with fountain pens in cursive script.
I hated writing with my $5 fountain pen. If I held it at just the wrong angle, it would scratch/rip the paper and refuse to let any ink flow. When it did flow, the ink stayed wet and smeared.
I can’t tell you how glad I was to attend 9th grade at an American school where the teachers were happy I could write my own name.
I like nice pens, too. Maybe someone can explain to me the beauties of a twist ballpoint. I’ve had the experience with (cheap) twist pens that the twisty part gets tired and if you press hard (which I do), the pen retracts while you write.
The Autocross is very elegant-looking, but short, stubby pens are never comfortable for me. If they made a longer version of the same, leather-clad pen, I’d be all in.
Odd that you mention the Autocross. I was just looking at them online. The pics are intriguing but I’m not sure the “stubbiness” is a good thing. Looks cool though. Anyone have experience with them?
Most people find that a fifty cent BIC is all they need,
Sorry, a 50 cent BIC is all I need. =/ In fact I need to buy a new bag of 'em. I lose those things all over the place. There’s probably a couple in my navel.
My handwriting is abysmal, too. I could probably retrain myself to write in the proper cursive I knew back in 3rd grade, though. It would be faster than the sort of sketchy block-printing I use now, and would look better to boot.
If we are not talking about Mont Blanc here, I find the Uniball Jetstream rather good.
I need to start using a fountain pen again. Using a black cartridge on a good pen makes my writing look much better. I cannot bring myself to print- I have to write in cursive, so having a pen used to my style really helps.
I love a nice pen, but I don’t have any preferences about nice ones because my absolute favorites are the crappy “The BETTER Ball Point” pens from Pilot.
They’re far from perfect, but the fine points will let you write absolutely miniscule text, and they’re perfectly balanced for pen tricks.
If you’re buying pens in a bag, this thread is probably not for you. However, you do drive home the fact that most people are quite happy with a simple BIC.
Pen lovers like me exist on a thin periphery of normal. Well, that’s a little dramatic… We use the BIC; we just don’t like it.
P.S. On a side note, I got a wonderful pen from a co-worker and it’s smooth as silk. Bold, white letters on the side spell out VIAGRA. No shit. I’ve got to be careful who I lend it to. ;)
These pens are truly the best of the “cheap” ballpoints. I used to be an office products sales rep, and I got to go through tons of pens to “try” them all out, and the above Pilot pen was amazing.
Has anyone used a “dip pen?” If so, how does it handle? I like the idea of slow, concentrated writing, but just how slow is this, and are you able to write as smoothly as with a ball or gel pen?
For everyday use, I’ll echo the Sanford Uni-Ball Vision Elite. Great pen, when it works. I’ve had bad luck with a couple developing flatspots on the ball, and then it doesn’t work so well.
My “special event” pen (signing contracts, client agreements, or otherwise showing off) is a Montblanc Meisterstück. They only list the fountain pens on their website, but I have a medium point ballpoint, and it is truly a writing instrument, much more than a simple pen.
