I hate stick pens, so I've carried a Parker Jotter ballpoint for the past 40-some-odd years. I have three to pick and choose from - blue, black, and maroon. I have a Jotter Stainless Steel Flighter I keep in the case for my Bible. It's a fine point, so good for notes in my Bible. I have two dozen or so fountain pens, some near 100 years old and still writing. I carried 'em until I got tired of writing on the cheap copy paper they use at work and it looking like I had used a jumbo to Sharpie, the bleed through was so bad. Now my fountain pens are used for rough drafts of my sermons and Bible studies, and only on Rhodia notebooks--very fountain pen friendly. No bleed through or heavy feathering. But of late I have become unhappy with the Parker refills globbing at the ball point. So I come to inquire of my fellow Shave Den denizens. Roller Ball or Gel? I'm leaning toward the Lamy Safari roller ball. I have 6 of the Safari fountain pens and I'm quite happy with the feel in the hand and the smoothness of their nibs. I have a nice Cross gel, my Sunday-go-to-meetin' pen. Nice, but would like to hear your thoughts on roller ball vs gel.
Good to see you still posting after all these years! I use gel pens daily, for note taking, because that is what my office manager provides us. Gel pens write well, they have a smooth feel, but the Pilot G2 that we use does have a tendency to absorb slowly into the paper, so they tend to be a bit "smeary." Outside of note taking, I make my daily dispatch lists in pencil. I use pencil not because it is easily erasable, but because of the smooth, easy writing that a Ticonderoga #2 provides. Most of us probably upgraded to pens over pencils around seventh grade, but I tell you what; try going back, you might like it! Back to pens now. The roller ball refills that I buy for my whisky barrel wood pen are the Montblanc in blue. I absolutely adore them!
Much bleed-through? I understand that roller-ball ink is water based, like fountain pen ink. Guess I'll find out. After scouring many "Best roller-ball pens" lists, the Lamy Safari is on every one, and often a top 5. I have two coming in Saturday; one charcoal, one blue. Pics when I get 'em.
Modern ballpoint refills might be worth you looking at. They're now my go to at work and home, installed any one of several old ballpoints pens. Zero bleed through.
just picked up an all stainless parker jotter.nice pen. we sell "good"aftermarket parker type refills at work.
I've been carrying these Parker Jotters for maybe 25-30 years. Never had a problem with the refills until the last batch I ordered. Notice the glob on the ballpoint. I wasn't happy, thus the desire for a nice roller-ball. As I said, I have and like the Lamy Safari fountain pens, so the Safari roller-ball only made sense. Very happy with the feel in the hand and the writing performance.
If, as stingraysrock suggests, you're willing to consider pencils, there are vintage Sheaffer mechanical pencils easily found on the auction site. A little time and effort is required to find the reasonably priced ones but they are worth the effort. You may need to try a few grades of refill to find what you like. sample listing (pencil has engraved name which lowers the price): https://www.ebay.com/itm/2664592429...BIdPzeIi25ji5w469H/qCzyQ==|tkp:Bk9SR6SNv5L0Yg
A pen I like is the Uniball Signo 207. It's a gel. Have you ever been to the Jetpens website? It's probably a good place to research options. The 42 Best Pens for 2023: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens
Looking at the jetpens website, they also have various "samplers", gel pen samplers, ballpoint, etc. Just go to the search bar, enter samplers and scroll down.
Been using the Lamy Safari Roller Balls for a few weeks now. I'm very pleased with them. Smooth as silk, lays down a nice dark line I'm happy with. I can tell that if left to sit on the paper in one spot it would bleed through, on the cheaper paper, at least. Comfortable to use. Yup. Winner.
Steve, you might want to have a look at clairefontaine paper products. They are I think French and so most of them are European sized but they love fountain pen / wet ink.
Yes they are a little pricey. I don't currently have any clarifontein on hand -- I handwrite so little these days -- But I have used them in the past and like them. The paper is very smooth and very ink friendly as I mentioned. Their legal pads, I particularly liked, even though they came only in European sizes. But, you can get them and their journals in unlined/blank, lined, or grid.
@richgem May have to get one to try for myself next time a paper order comes 'round. I only buy the notebooks to use for my sermon and Bible study notes, written with a fountain, to be sure! I'm the only one who sees them, but a fountain pen is just fun to use.
In that case I think you will definitely like the journals if you don't mind odd, for us, sizing. I love fountain pens as well and all the different ink options. I have a modest collection of vintage and modern. Unfortunately though, I actually write very little these days because everything is handled by email or computers such that writing much more than my name on a check or a grocery list becomes burdensome.
@richgem I generally stick with blacks and blues, although I do have a bottle of Sherwood Green put out by Private Reserve. Get this, I was looking for reviews on the clairefontaine and found out it's the parent company of Rhodia!
