Just Curious: Why do expensive ballpoint pens exist?

[Sandy Fry]

Can I also point out that a ballpen will write on just about any old paper and that there are a few out there that take standard international cartridges.

Also, ballpoints/rollerballs/gel pens are virtually maintenance free. Not everyone WANTS to have to take the time to flush a pen or sometimes have to take it apart to clean it.

I use FP's almost exclusively but the humble ballpoint/rollerball has it's place.

On a final note. I say, if you are going to write you may as well write with something nice. I have to write things in pencil at work so use a nice mechanical one that cost a few hundred dollars. I could just as easily use a wooden #2 pencil that costs pennies but I CHOOSE to write with, what most people would consider, an expensive pencil.

David

[fly_us]

Because people have money and they don't want the mess of fountain pens. Not everybody enjoy the inky fingers. I suspect that the number of people know how to fill a fountain pen is lesser one that doesn't.

[Kaputnik]

...On a final note. I say, if you are going to write you may as well write with something nice. I have to write things in pencil at work so use a nice mechanical one that cost a few hundred dollars. I could just as easily use a wooden #2 pencil that costs pennies but I CHOOSE to write with, what most people would consider, an expensive pencil.

David

Not to argue with what you picked and are happy with, but an answer to that might be that there is a middle ground somewhere in there. I have bought modern mechanical pencils for up to $30, which is a step up in niceness from the perfectly good mechanical pencils that you can buy in pack of six or so for less than a third of that. I've got some vintage Esterbrook pencils which are nice looking and a bit different from what you would normally see. But a mechanical pencil costing a few hundred dollars has probably gone beyond niceness into the realm of luxury. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[amk]

Well now... the Lamy 2000 Taxus and Blackwood ballpoints exist because too many of us who have Lamy 2k fountain pens want the whole family. :-)

Just a little digression. I get a perception from the various forums I inhabit that plenty of FP people see the value in a really nice mechanical pencil, but not in a really nice ballpoint. I wonder why?

[penwash]

Well now... the Lamy 2000 Taxus and Blackwood ballpoints exist because too many of us who have Lamy 2k fountain pens want the whole family. :-)

Just a little digression. I get a perception from the various forums I inhabit that plenty of FP people see the value in a really nice mechanical pencil, but not in a really nice ballpoint. I wonder why?

Speaking for myself, it's not about being a snob towards ballpoints, I love my Space Pen and won't trade it with anything.
But I love that thing because it's so darn useful and practical to carry around, not so much because it's FUN.

FP has several things that ballpoints don't (again, this is my list, feel free to disagree):

1. The physics thing, it's fascinating to see and think about how FP works, so simple yet beautiful
2. Tinkerable (is that a word?). If your FP does not write well but you like it, you can send it to a nibmeister or go DIY, there is fun, interactions, and anticipations to be had with these options. With BP, you toss the bad insert, find another one, rinse and repeat. That's it.
3. Line-variation leading to better-looking handwriting. For some reason I can't muster the desire to learn these using ballpoints, if that's even possible.
4. Sketching. I can't remember when was the last time I *enjoy* sketching with a ballpoint.
5. Ink. With BP, I can't have 12 different Green inks or 10 Greys to agonize, lose sleep, and argue with my daughter over

I may be demented or something, but these things constitutes a *lot* of value (and fun) in my book.

[Zhivago]

Just a little digression. I get a perception from the various forums I inhabit that plenty of FP people see the value in a really nice mechanical pencil, but not in a really nice ballpoint. I wonder why?

Pencils are a nice counterpoint to fountain pens. Only one uses ink and the other can be easily erased. The irony, of course, is that graphite is quite permanent if left alone; the same can't be said for many fp inks. Another reason for bp disdain is that they are what replaced fountain pens as the standard ink using writing instrument.

Penwash gave a good run down of some of the interesting things about fps. Another is the pleasure of watching them put ink on paper and watching the ink dry. Graphite has its similar fetishistic (in lack of a better word) pleasures: the different shapes the point becomes as we write. There is also the dust and tiny particles as the graphite writes and breaks off. The opening of HBO's Pacific mini-series showed this feature of pencils well.



Ballpoints are just so...utilitarian. That is really the best I can say for them.

[nospam666]

Just a little digression. I get a perception from the various forums I inhabit that plenty of FP people see the value in a really nice mechanical pencil, but not in a really nice ballpoint. I wonder why?

Not here. I would rather write with a ballpoint than a pencil. Pencils smudge, they are messy, the lead break or needs sharpening, erasing causes dust.. . I just hate pencils.

[Avalona]

I own a number of ballpoint pens, mostly Lamy, Pilot, Parker, and Sheaffer (the cheapest I'll go now is Uni multi-pens).
Ergonomics and predictability are the main reasons for me. The higher-end ballpoint pens tend to be much more ergonomic than the cheap ones out there, probably because they're made to the same standard and similar design as fountain pens. And not all ballpoint refills are the same. Also, they write on almost anything and I can go weeks without needing to make sure the ink hasn't dried up. I just like having pens that I know will always be ready to go, don't make my hand hurt if I use it for extended periods of time, and, well, look nice too.
Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

[Zhivago]

I own a number of ballpoint pens, mostly Lamy, Pilot, Parker, and Sheaffer (the cheapest I'll go now is Uni multi-pens).
Ergonomics and predictability are the main reasons for me. The higher-end ballpoint pens tend to be much more ergonomic than the cheap ones out there, probably because they're made to the same standard and similar design as fountain pens. And not all ballpoint refills are the same. Also, they write on almost anything and I can go weeks without needing to make sure the ink hasn't dried up. I just like having pens that I know will always be ready to go, don't make my hand hurt if I use it for extended periods of time, and, well, look nice too.
Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

The very cheap bps (Bic Sticks and the like) are terrible for ergonomics; but there are numerous low end bps that have ergonomics as a selling point. The Kokuyo Fit Curve I mentioned above being only one of them.

I don't want to put words in your or anyone else's mouth, but there is this idea out there that bps are these near flawless writing instruments that will write on most anything and never skip, etc. While they are more versatile in these ways than fps, they are far from being without issue. I've had more bp refills dry up on me than I could count (Caran d'Ache refills being the worst offenders) and have had plenty of skipping and/or blobbing issues with various bp refills. Papers they don't like as well.

I get their convenience, but they aren't without their own problems.

[Pommel]

I get a perception from the various forums I inhabit that plenty of FP people see the value in a really nice mechanical pencil, but not in a really nice ballpoint. I wonder why?

I have a hard time writing with them.



Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk