Fess up: How many BALLPOINT pens do you own?

[Deb]

...Ballpoints? Don't waste my time!

Wellllll, that's entirely depending what you need an writing instrument for:

Try to write on banana skin (for snack) when send you child at school, try to write on a plastic bag when you banking money, or try to write on a cardboard box when move stuff around. Also try to mark a piece of wood or metal when cut or drill them. I know there are so many writing instruments out there to full fill all the needs, from pencils, markers, fountain pen to brushes and even note-pads on your electronic devices! Imagination is the limit!

I own over 100 Fp, over 30 ballpoint and gel pens, some pencils and Sharpies too. I'm working in Catering Industry since mid 90's and nothing can beat a good "clicky" ballpoint with a good refill!

Each to their own! I do some of the things you mention, though not all. Where I can't use a fountain pen I use a Sharpie or a gel pen.

[jar]

No idea how many ball points I own, many of my pens came as sets with a ball point as part of the mix. I'll even use a ball point when someone offers me one just so I don't hurt their feelings but never write on banana skins or on plastic bags and my fountain pens work jess fine on cardboard boxes or for marking wood.

[amk]

Okay, there is no way to be a Lamy 2000 completist without the ballpoints. Taxus, the yew wood, is my favourite.

And I have a Pelikan ?m400 ball pen as well as a Waterman Liaison and a Jean-Pierre Lepine. Plus a few Bics for the times when official forms require it or I have to write on glossy surfaces.

Do my ball pens get much use? ... not as long as my fountain pens have ink in them.

[sharmon202]

One of my sources recently dropped off about 150 Jotters. Does that count?

Depends on what ink is in them. Mine have gel and not ballpoint. If I have to use a non fountain, it is gel or rollerball if its multi copies. No real "ballpoints" in the house.

[sharmon202]

I have many free ballpoints and some nice rollerball pens in my house that I use, but I don't care about those, not one bit.

I do care about one ballpoint, my trusty Fisher Space Pen that has been serving me for years up until I discovered fountain pens

Yes, I forgot my two space pens

[Sandy Fry]

Deb,
have tried various Fine points and inks and they just don't cut the mustard. Also, still haven't found a fine point that will write fast enough on the paper that I have to write on without ripping the paper. I am signing legal documents ( and checking them for accuracy ) and if they get damaged, they have to be rewritten and I look like a fool. A decent rollerball with decent ink does exactly what I need it to do for one specific job.

I will continue to use my very nice ( and expensive ) rollerball for work needs and will continue to use my very nice ( and expensive ) fountain pens for everything else.

Have a great weekend.

David

[Kaputnik]

There's a tendency, when in the company of other fountain pen enthusiasts, to wax apologetic or explanatory about any use of ballpoints. It's hinted at in the title of the thread, "fess up".

I do prefer fountain pens for almost all of my writing by hand, probably use pencils more than rollerballs, and rollerballs (gel type) more than ballpoints. But if you do catch me making a note with a ballpoint, and it's not even one of my "good ones", I promise not to be embarrassed.

[myu]

I've always had a few rollerballs for those times when a fountain pen won't do. Rollerball refill ink technology has come a long way. There are "capless" refills now, so they'll work in retractable types (no cap)... although it's a misnomer. They dry out in less than a year, even if you've got plenty of ink inside.

I bought a number of ballpoints and mechanical pencils to go along as companions for fountain pens. But in time I grew to enjoy ballpoints again. I like their agility, toughness, reliability, and ink quality. PILOT makes some excellent ballpoint inks these days.

My main rollerball of choice is a rOtring 600 with either a PILOT G2 refill or a Pentel XLRN5.

My favorite ballpoint is something rather unusual, which makes it all the more fun for me. I discovered PILOT made a terrific precision Hi-Tecpoint all metal pen that uses a variety of thin lined refills. They were some kind of gel ink. Anyway, PILOT ends up discontinuing the refills... and because they're proprietary the pen was sunk--no more "fuel." Although PILOT revived the Hi-Tecpoint with the V5 and V7, the refill is of a different design.

It took a while, but I eventually figured out how to "tweak" some refills to fit, using spacers and a little aluminum tape. Why bother for just one particular pen? The Hi-Tecpoint is no ordinary pen. It has a double-door mechanism in the front. So despite being capless, the front opening seals shut to help keep the refill from drying out.









I have 3 different variations -- cross-hatch steel, grouped striping steel, and all black lacquer over brass.

[pajaro]

3 Montblanc
3 Pelikan
14 Parker
2 Waterman
6 Papermate
Others

Sometimes I like them better than fountain pens.