Franklin-Christoph Roller Ball or Fountain Pen

[NeoGeo]

Hi,

As this is a fountain pen site I thought you would be the best to ask for advise.
Over the years I've tried a couple of fountain pens (Parker and Shaeffer), but never really got on with them.
I like the feel of a quality pen, but just don't seem to be able to write well with a fountain pen.
I noticed that Franklin-Christoph do some very nice looking pens, available as fountain pen or roller ball, of which I like the look of the model 29 and the 27.
Is it worth spending the money on a roller ball version, or would it be no better than a cheaper version from a general stationer?
Do you think it would be worth giving the fountain pen version a try? or would I find it the same as Parker/Shaeffer fountain pens?

Thanks

NeoGeo

[Bogon07]

NeoGeo, Hi and welcome to the forum.

Interesting question.

The actual writing of the rollerball or ballpoint will depend on the quality of the refill regardless of the pen body. You could get a marvellous Parker or Franklin-Christoph with a crappy refill which could be greatly improved with a different refill. Check out what sort of refills are available for the pens you are interested in...some liquid inks will give an almost fountain pen experience and some gel inks are extremely smooth. The real problem with the refills will be the limited colour range compared to fountain pen inks unless you try some Japanese gel ink pens although most of those are not refillable.

A cheaper version may or maynot write as well but the feel of the pen could enhance the pleasure of using it.
How much you are willing to spend depends on how much you value the aesthetics of a perhaps more expensive pen.

The main thing is to find what suits you best.

[KrazyIvan]

I am biased towards fountain pens. While I have some rollerball pens, I don't think I would consider purchasing anymore.

[Bogon07]

I am biased towards fountain pens. While I have some rollerball pens, I don't think I would consider purchasing anymore.

You can never have enough Hi-Tec Cs, they come in so many colours and sizes.

[fountainpenkid]

Yeah...the refill does matter alot. I think fountain pens are a lot more fun though. Better writers too.

[snedwos]

I do of course prefer fountain pens, followed, weirdly, by regular ballpoints, with rollerballs at the bottom of the pile. But my father loves them, so ymmv.

Bottled ink will of course give you much more choice, which is where, for the same price as a FC model 02 (which is one of the very prettiest pens on the market right now) you can get a Visconti Rembrandt Ecoroller. But you are then stuck with the tip they give you, wihch is one of the advantages of the regular rollerball -- if you don't like how it writes, you can shop around for a better refill.

I wouldn't dismiss fountain pens yet, though -- how nice a pen is to write with depends on so many things. Size, shape, weight (just as with any pen). There is also the nib. I, for example don't really get on with fine nibs, but really really enjoy stubs and italics. And if what you tried was a Parker Vector, then of course you didn't get on with it, they're horrible, nasty little things!

[fountainpenkid]

And if what you tried was a Parker Vector, then of course you didn't get on with it, they're horrible, nasty little things!

...most of the time

I think many companies like pelikan, twsbi, edison FC...etc. let you swap nibs, or buy replacement nibs.

[KrazyIvan]

You can never have enough Hi-Tec Cs, they come in so many colours and sizes.

I gave all my Hi-Tec-C's to a coworker.

[Bogon07]

. And if what you tried was a Parker Vector, then of course you didn't get on with it, they're horrible, nasty little things!

Aw they're not that bad. Cheap and functional. We have three at home. The Medium is nicer than the Fine nib.


KrazyIvan

I gave all my Hi-Tec-C's to a coworker.

Lucky Co-worker.Probably not the most comfortable pens to use over an extended period of time but the fine points 0.38mm are very smooth the write with and some of the ink colours are amazing (like fountain pen inks but less variable).

[snedwos]

Aw they're not that bad. Cheap and functional. We have three at home. The Medium is nicer than the Fine nib.

I just can't find a comfortable place to hold them. Either I get inky fingers or the barrel cuts into me.

[NeoGeo]

Thanks for the replies..

Still not sure what to do.
While the aesthetics of the pen are important, my main criteria would be feel and writing performance.
I will email Franklin-Christoph and see what refills their roller-ball pens take.
Still very tempted to give a fountain pen a try, but it's quite a bit of money to spend to find out I still have trouble writing with it.
The previous fountain pens I have used felt scratchy to write with and didn't flow well (possibly had too fine a tip), so would going for a medium sized tip be better for me?, can the tips be easily changed?
Would it be possible for someone to recommend a make and model of fountain pen that I could try that's not to expensive, before deciding on the more expensive pen, or is personal preferences going to make a recommendation to difficult?
Ideally I could do with going to a specialist shop to try some quality pens, but unfortunately there are none anywhere near where I live.

[fountainpenkid]

Thanks for the replies..

Still not sure what to do.
While the aesthetics of the pen are important, my main criteria would be feel and writing performance.
I will email Franklin-Christoph and see what refills their roller-ball pens take.
Still very tempted to give a fountain pen a try, but it's quite a bit of money to spend to find out I still have trouble writing with it.
The previous fountain pens I have used felt scratchy to write with and didn't flow well (possibly had too fine a tip), so would going for a medium sized tip be better for me?, can the tips be easily changed?
Would it be possible for someone to recommend a make and model of fountain pen that I could try that's not to expensive, before deciding on the more expensive pen, or is personal preferences going to make a recommendation to difficult?
Ideally I could do with going to a specialist shop to try some quality pens, but unfortunately there are none anywhere near where I live.

I believe Franklin Christoph nibs are swap-able (you just unscrew the nib). I would reccomend the TWSBI 580 or maybe the mini. These pens give you a great filling system, swap-able nibs, and they seem to be getting more consistent with the nib quality. Maybe you do want a medium if you feel a fine is scratchy, or maybe your nib actually was just a scratchy nib in the first place.

[inky]

NeoGeo,

If you are interested in trying out fountain pens again I would suggest buying a Lamy Safari with a Medium nib. They can be had for around $30. The wonderful thing about the Safari is that they nibs are swappable and cost only about $15. If you don't like the Medium nib you can always try a stub or any other point size without having to ditch the whole pen. The grip section on the Lamy is not for everyone but it's how alot of folks start out for the low intro price. Once you find a nib size you like, then you can move up to a much nicer pen with more of an idea of what nib size you would like.

As far as rollerball/ballpen goes, I would try and find something that takes the parker size refills. They are very widley available and you can convert a ballpoint to a rollerball and back with them. I have a Pelikan K205 with a Monteverde Gel Rollerball in blue-black that writes amazingly smooth. The original ink that came with the pen was a Pelikan Ballpoint refil that was a bit scratchy. I usually perfer Ballpoints to Rollerballs but the smoothness of the Gel refill really surprised me.

Good hunting and welcome to the forum!

[ransky]

Hi all, breaking my lurker mode, appreciate all the wonderful folks here -
The Bexley Cities line of pens is a swappable fountain pen/rollerball pen. I don't have this particular pen, but I have several Bexleys and they are great pens. If you order from Richard Binder (Richardspens.com), you can be sure the nib will write well (no affliliation - just a satisfied customer).
Franklin-Christoph nibs do screw in/out. F-C makes very nice pens as well and their customer service is top notch in my experience. Best wishes to the OP with whatever you choose.

[manoeuver]

love my F-C pens. go to a pen show where they're exhibiting and you'll be able to try all their nib options.

[snedwos]

NeoGeo,

If you are interested in trying out fountain pens again I would suggest buying a Lamy Safari with a Medium nib. They can be had for around $30. The wonderful thing about the Safari is that they nibs are swappable and cost only about $25. If you don't like the Medium nib you can always try a stub or any other point size without having to ditch the whole pen. The grip section on the Lamy is not for everyone but it's how alot of folks start out for the low intro price. Once you find a nib size you like, then you can move up to a much nicer pen with more of an idea of what nib size you would like.

As far as rollerball/ballpen goes, I would try and find something that takes the parker size refills. They are very widley available and you can convert a ballpoint to a rollerball and back with them. I have a Pelikan K205 with a Monteverde Gel Rollerball in blue-black that writes amazingly smooth. The original ink that came with the pen was a Pelikan Ballpoint refil that was a bit scratchy. I usually perfer Ballpoints to Rollerballs but the smoothness of the Gel refill really surprised me.

Good hunting and welcome to the forum!

$25?!?! Wow! I paid around €5 for each of mine...

[inky]

$25?!?! Wow! I paid around €5 for each of mine...

Oops! Yep, that should have been a 15 not 25. Looks like the Goulets have them for 13 right now. I adjusted my orignal post to reflect the price diffrence.

[fountainpenkid]

Hi all, breaking my lurker mode, appreciate all the wonderful folks here -
The Bexley Cities line of pens is a swappable fountain pen/rollerball pen. I don't have this particular pen, but I have several Bexleys and they are great pens. If you order from Richard Binder (Richardspens.com), you can be sure the nib will write well (no affliliation - just a satisfied customer).
Franklin-Christoph nibs do screw in/out. F-C makes very nice pens as well and their customer service is top notch in my experience. Best wishes to the OP with whatever you choose.

Welcome!

+1 on the cities. Bexley seems to have a great reputation, and the cities line allows you to swap the section to change writing mode.

[Bogon07]

$25?!?! Wow! I paid around €5 for each of mine...

$25AUD is the Lamy nib price in Australia unless you are after a gold plated one in which as you can add atleast another $100.
As you can see from this it is cheaper to order a new Safari from eBay Singapore/Malaysia for around $22-23 and get a pen and converter (which is another $9.45 here) as well as a nib.

NeoGeo as Inky says the grip section may not be for everyone. The Lamy Nexx has a similar but more rounded section but will still take the same nibs and if you prefer a round section then the Studio or tubular pens like the Logo, Linear, Pur & CP1 also use the same nibs.

[snedwos]

You know, sometimes, I'm reminded that living in Europe is actually pretty great...

Anyway, another option is the Nexx or Nexx M .. same price (roughy) as the Safari, same nibs, and a much more forgiving section. More of a Marmite aesthetic (love it or hate it), but if you don't mind a pen that looks like a kid's school pen, it's and excellent choice.

I do often wish they made the Safari FP with the same grip section as the Safari rollerballs...