Reply With QuoteGo roller ball, not BPP.
Hi chaps,
I am in the market for a decent ballpoint pen for the office. Not quite exec level going into the £100's but decent.
Can you please make some recommendations.
Thanks
Go roller ball, not BPP.
Honesty, if its just a rollerball / ballpoint, imho, not worth spending lots of money. The cartridges are all the same and therefore your just paying lots for a branded pen. A standard Parker Jotter is all you need and a wise choice.Originally Posted by Ticker
Fountains - different story - but pick up a good tool Parker Jotter.
http://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/pa...k-ink/33570013
use code easter10 for 10% off
Brighty
Try a Cross. I have two for everyday use, very nice and slim in the hand and always attract nice comments when lent to a customer of colleague
I use a Kaweco Sport, in aluminium. It folds up small enough to fit in a pocket easily, it's very comfortable to hold and it looks pretty decent in a retro-ish sort of a way.
I went for one of Maxmadco's pens. I just like the bolt action and the fact that its slim and can pass in an office, not like the TAD Fellhoelter.
The refill is where it counts here, so its worth mentioning you can easily get a Montblanc refill into a Pilot G2 by removing the plastic insert in the tip I believe. I did it a while ago, massively disappointed with the quality of the write but it can be done. I'm using a Schmidt Easyflow 9000 M in my MMC pen and its the best write so far.
Can I be the first to suggest going tactical? Avoid the cheap ones, something like a Benchmade stainless steel will be around GBP120 from Heinnie Hayes and you will never break it!
I use a Fisher Spacepen. http://www.fisherspacepen.co.uk/details.php?id=5
F.T.F.A.
The 0.5mm gel points from Muji are brilliant. And cheap (although I preferred the "original" version). I've used them for over a decade in the office.
I've never snapped a pen in half in my life from normal use, why would I need a tactical pen ?
I sat on a Montblanc pen once. It lost. Now I travel with a CountyComm stainless steel pen (excellent but hard to find in Europe) and Porsche Design pencil, and the replacement Montblanc stays on my desk.
This isn't meant to be a sarcastic suggestion but a medium, black Bic is quite simply the best pen out there. I'd love to be able to enjoy better, much more expensive pens but the Bic is King.
I'd agree with this, and the plastic models are only about £15 too.
Just bought five ballpoints with the rubber whatsit for touch screens £1.59 delivered and they work a treat but go either Cross or my preference a nice basic Parker does the job and still looks good for cheap money.
Sounds a lot better than a tactical pen winning and being stuck half way up your arse, no?
I'll have one in the SC soon, quite well used but well looked after
Never got on with Parkers years ago. They'd start off ok but after a while writing would become rather 'blobby'.
Maybe they've improved?
Last edited by Kingstepper; 24th March 2016 at 19:16.
Doctor: What happened?
Patient: Er... I was hoovering. Naked. Because it was hot. And I tripped. And the end of the Hoover became lodged. In a body cavity... Er...
I have a couple of very nice Campo Marzio ballpoints. The version I have has been discontinued but the Acropolis is pretty much the same kind of thing...also available in rollerball flavour...not bad for around £30
In the name of all that's holy!
William Hill's.
Well said
When it comes to a ball point I agree.
Cheers,
Neil.
I've got one of those.
Comes in very handing when I am reclining doing the crossword - no stoppages.
Cheers,
Neil.
Before you list a sneaky question will the teeth marks be from original teeth or aftermarket false teeth?I'll have one in the SC soon, quite well used but well looked after
This looks to be of no more use to me than the odd assortment of Bic's around the house and in the car
However, its a space pen so I am now compelled to buy one
Wish I hadnt clicked on the link
Karas kustoms from cult pens.com are worth a look.
I have their Brass bolt pen as my work pen, they also do them in a range of aluminium and a copper one. The bolt has a great feel and is made in a machine shop in the USA.
I get positive comments from loads of people who I hand it to to get a signature on a form, that it is very nice.
Last edited by pastrana72; 25th March 2016 at 13:28.
I've had 2 Cross pens - same model and they have both broken at the clip. They have a lifetime warranty so I sent the first one back but its replacement has only lasted 9 months or so. Its not worth the postage to send this back so its just superglued for now.
I think I'll stick to Parker going forward.
I was going to say Cross, I'm really happy with mine, but there are some interesting suggestions here.
Stainless Steel Parker sonnet.
Just like watches really. A piece of plastic tat with a refill in it will make marks on paper, just like a cheapo quartz from Poundland will tell the time. When you get a proper pen you can always sell the Bics on SC.........
The Zebra Z-Grip is the best 38p you can spend on a pen.
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/ZB03424...-ballpoint-pen
And if you want to really go for it the Schneider Slider is a great hybrid for £1.51
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/SN24357...-ballpoint-pen
Both blow away the crappy Bic Biro.
Last edited by bonzo697; 25th March 2016 at 14:57.
It is very nice!Karas kustoms from cult pens.com are worth a look.
I have their Brass bolt pen as my work pen, they also do them in a range of aluminium and a copper one. The bolt has a great feel and is made in a machine shop in the USA.
I get positive comments from loads of people who I hand it to to get a signature on a form, that it is very nice.
+1
The stainless steel version seems to be well built and survives lots of abuse in my experience....
They are very good. Here's an interesting article about their development:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...ion-nasa-spen/
A couple of snippets:
Originally, NASA astronauts, like the Soviet cosmonauts, used pencils, according to NASA historians. In fact, NASA ordered 34 mechanical pencils from Houston's Tycam Engineering Manufacturing, Inc., in 1965. They paid $4,382.50 or $128.89 per pencil. When these prices became public, there was an outcry and NASA scrambled to find something cheaper for the astronauts to use."According to an Associated Press report from February 1968, NASA ordered 400 of Fisher's antigravity ballpoint pens for the Apollo program. A year later, the Soviet Union ordered 100 pens and 1,000 ink cartridges to use on their Soyuz space missions, said the United Press International. The AP later noted that both NASA and the Soviet space agency received the same 40 percent discount for buying their pens in bulk. They both paid $2.39 per pen instead of $3.98.
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/ZB02594...-ballpoint-pen
can't go wrong with one of these for £4.55 they are robust and have a very nice grip. I use them most of the time in preference to various parker and cross pens costing 10x or 20x more.
cult pens are great for prices so it is worth ordering a few different cheapies to try out.
regards
Saggs
There's always a Maxmadco retractable...
http://maxmadco.com/products/retractable-pen/
You can use one of these refills to turn any G2 sized rollerball or ballpoint into a space pen:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...ion-nasa-spen/
A couple of snippets:
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/SM16273...-refill-medium
These are also a good cheap alternative:
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/TM10245/tombow-airpress
I've been much taken by my Lamy Pico, bought for me at Christmas.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/LAMY-pico-Ba...ballpoint+pens
Fits in a side pocket easily.
Indeed! Probably just as functional but it wouldn't be a Fisher AG7 as used by astronauts and cosmonauts!
Incidentally, they are a fair bit cheaper from Amazon and do appear to be the genuine article.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0015ZP2A...on_feature_div
^ This eBay store has a big Fisher selection. I've bought a few pens from him and he's very helpful: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-Hamilto...1&_sop=2&rt=nc
For something a bit different try a Conklin Duragraph Ballpoint. I have one and I love it. It's a large American pen with a bit of history, lovely to write with and possessing striking art deco looks.
At £38 it is not too expensive either:
http://www.andys-pens.co.uk/conklin....st-green.shtml
Another minor addiction of mine..pens. A cheap one will do the job but a decent pen is not just about something nice to write with, just as a decent watch is not just something to tell you what time it is.
As has been said above, the Schmidt easyflow 9000 is a great refill, my favourite in fact. Pilot G2 refills are also good although I only get along with the thicker varieties.
Some of mine...
L-R: Smith & Wesson tactical, Tactile Turner 'Shaker' in copper, Titanium Post Raw, Fisher Military Cap-o-matic, and two Fisher space pens.
Thanks, that's very useful, particularly for the refills.
I've had the Cracked Ice version and they offer very good value.
I've got various ballpoints (Montblanc, Cross - from when they were made in Ireland and were good pens!, Visconti, Parker, etc) but, along with many others here, my favourite has got to be the Fisher Space Pen.
It comes everywhere with me, fit in my pocket without catching on anything or risking tearing the fabric, and has very good balance when in use. But best of all is the ink - it writes well upside down, on greasy or wet paper, etc and the refills last forever.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Has anyone tried or have any experience of Faber-Castell?
I find anything as narrow as the Bic and the Parker Jotter too uncomfortable to hold for long (must be age). I prefer something much thicker at the business end and I've settled on 3 of these Faber-Castell Grip Plus Ball:
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/FC01872...-ballpoint-pen
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