Quality writing pens...

Robocop

Mammoth Killer
Joined
Nov 13, 2003
Messages
2,682
Location
Birmingham Al.
In the field I use a small all weather notebook and this small item is used several times nightly. I have been a fan of the .38mm Pilot G2 pen for many years. I am not sure if the all weather paper has changed or if the G2 pen has changed however lately the pen just does not do very well on this paper. It skips badly ,does not flow well, and feels "scratchy" if that makes any sense. I could switch to normal paper if need be however I do like the all weather note book. The G2 still does well on normal paper however I thought I would ask a few others before I switched.

Can anyone give some suggestions on quality pens with a .35 to maybe.40mm tip? Other than the Pilot G2 I have used a Zebra Sarasa .4mm and must say I really liked that pen. The problem is I have no idea if the Sarasa pen will work on the all weather paper and did not want to order them if they do not. I have no idea as to the differences between gel ink vs others and really just want a smooth writing pen with a thinner line that does well with all weather paper.

Any info is appreciated as again my pen and field notebook is one of my most used items at work. I am pretty sure I am not the only old school guy here that still uses pen and paper to keep notes.....plus there is just something cool about a nice pen.
 
For that type of paper, I'd consider a pen with a soft tip instead of a ball tip. Something like an ultra-fine Sharpie, although I suspect that's not fine enough.
 
Honestly, for a ball-point, my suggestion (unchanged for decades) the click-pen design variation of the Fisher Space pen. The one with the release mechanism on the side. Just insanely bullet-proof reliable.
 
I may have figured out this with a little more research online. It appears as if there is a big difference between a gel ink pen and a true ballpoint even though both use a similar method to apply ink. There is also a hybrid rollerball that is a blend of both. I have just read that a gel ink pen writes with less pressure applied however does not do well on some types of paper. My trusty old Pilot G2 is a gel ink pen and as such may not be best suited for my notepads.

I have found a few finer tip actual ball point pens online and will try a few just to see if I like them. Pilot actually has a few and that will be my first choice. I have used the online site Jetpens in the past and am preparing an order there now. Holy smoke the price range on the 0.38mm thin line ballpoints is crazy. The range is 15 dollars for one all the way down to 2 dollars. I think I will start at the bottom...ha

I am trying the Pilot Acroball T and the Uni Jetstream standard. I will let you know how it goes.
 
Ledphile I have tried a few fine tip sharpie style in the past and although they wrote very well they were fragile at times. Bykfixer that Zebra F-301 is a great pen and I have used them in the past. I found the F-301 to have a similar issue as it appeared the older ones were fantastic however the more recent ones were drying out quickly. It seemed as if they had changed from the older ones however I will add one of these to my order and try it and see if it has improved.

Monocrom the Space Pen was highly recommended in the article I just read online and I have had two of the older design. I somehow lost both while on duty as I keep them clipped on the outside of my uniform. Usually alongside my molle attached flashlight holder. I will say they wrote on just about any surface and they are also a true ballpoint pressurized design. The issue with the Space Pen is the cost and how often I lose or destroy a pen on duty.

I bought the G2 pens in a 10 pack and I think the last pack I bought was around 15 dollars locally. The last Space pen I bought was something like 14 dollars for a single pen and to get the one I wanted it was only found online. I remember it had a clip on attachment for the carry clip and I one day reached for it and found the actual clip still attached to my vest with the pen no where to be found. If I must try the Space Pen again I will as I have no doubt it will write when I need it to.
 
As someone who used a notepad daily my personal combination was the Zebra 701 ( all metal) with Fisher black refill's. The 701 uses standard Parker sized refills so you can get a variety of them at any store. I have heard the blue refills are prone to leaking but I never personally experienced it. The Fisher refills are also rated to write on the all weather papers. You could also try the Rite in the Rain brand if you wanted too. This combo should run you around $20.

On a side note I also found that by buying a slightly expensive pen I was much more careful about loosing it than compared to the cheaper pens. Also I dont know what your department is issued for notepads but I was issued the Triform brand. For some reason that paper wore out the Parker branded refills quick.

Edit, I just posted this in another thread but I thought it would be useful here:
There are 4 versions of the f701. The oldest version was metal on the outside and plastic internals. There was a hack were you took the internals from another pen (F 402 I think) and inserted it into the 701 body. The 2nd generation of 701's and the F-xMD are now all metal internals but had a plastic tube inside. The newest version is truly all metal. That version has the word Indonesia stamped on the tube opposite the pocket clip. This video covers the models but does not show the tubes inside. I have the newest "Indonesia" versions and I can confirm they are all metal.
 
Last edited:
+

Being a 'lefty' my handwriting is terrible, even to me.
so I need a pen that flows smoothly.

uni-ball Vision Elite rollerball can be be found on sale for around $1.25 per, sometimes less.

the .7mm bold works best for me, but you can get them in .5mm
Cannot imagine any time in my life saying, 'think I need better pen'

They are terrific pens, just no need for expensive ones.

1733240086953.jpeg
 
Check the thread on Fisher space pens;

Many like the Fisher, but also the Uni Powertank RT. I have several Fishers, mainly for the write-at-any-angle feature, and it fits in many other barrels. But haven't tried waterproof paper nor the fine point tip. I am also trying the Uni Powertank, which is also pressurized and claims to write upside down and in cold and wet conditions. It's smoother than Fisher, but I only see it in 1mm in a disposable pen. It doesn't seem THAT thick to me, but if you want fine tip, you may not like it.
 
AMD64Brunette used to be known as "AMD64Blonde"
Thanx, BYK! I should be shocked at not being aware of such, having spent all of the 90s+ and much of the 80s in S. Valley in the electronics industry; however I am primarily a hardware systems guy, and my computer experience is almost entirely in the industrial / telecom computing world since '73, and I never even noticed the AMD64 reference (although I used to drive by AMD (and AAPL HQ) almost daily. Where 'PCs' are concerned, I don't operate very far above (or below) the average consumer / 'dumb' user level. My early computer experience started w/ the TI 960 (think 'son of HAL9'). Both of the 'PCs' I use (1 WinTel and 1 OSX) for surfing CPF are largely a mystery to me, and I can't even tell ya what processors are in either one, or anything about the SW running on either. Electronics is a big world, and can be very segmented :)
 
Last edited:
I may have figured out this with a little more research online. It appears as if there is a big difference between a gel ink pen and a true ballpoint even though both use a similar method to apply ink. There is also a hybrid rollerball that is a blend of both. I have just read that a gel ink pen writes with less pressure applied however does not do well on some types of paper. My trusty old Pilot G2 is a gel ink pen and as such may not be best suited for my notepads.

I have found a few finer tip actual ball point pens online and will try a few just to see if I like them. Pilot actually has a few and that will be my first choice. I have used the online site Jetpens in the past and am preparing an order there now. Holy smoke the price range on the 0.38mm thin line ballpoints is crazy. The range is 15 dollars for one all the way down to 2 dollars. I think I will start at the bottom...ha

I am trying the Pilot Acroball T and the Uni Jetstream standard. I will let you know how it goes.
I would suggest using different notepads. I have a couple of Pilot G2s, including a Limited edition one. Great pen! But I do way too much writing on a nightly basis to rely on it. Pen's only disadvantage is that you run through refills far too quickly with heavy writing. And, making a special trip to Staple's several times a year is not something I'd look forward to.

But yeah, just easier to use different pads made from different paper.
 
Check the thread on Fisher space pens;

Many like the Fisher, but also the Uni Powertank RT. I have several Fishers, mainly for the write-at-any-angle feature, and it fits in many other barrels. But haven't tried waterproof paper nor the fine point tip. I am also trying the Uni Powertank, which is also pressurized and claims to write upside down and in cold and wet conditions. It's smoother than Fisher, but I only see it in 1mm in a disposable pen. It doesn't seem THAT thick to me, but if you want fine tip, you may not like it.
Another vote for the Uni Powertank RT. It uses pressurized cartridges like the Fisher space pen so it writes under all conditions including heat, cold ad wet with no skips. It's my new favorite pen.
 
Ghostguy that was an interesting video and who would have imagined modding pens was a thing. That sounds like another rabbit hole waiting to pull me in. I think for now I am ok as I have a few samples headed my way to try out. I also ordered a few different all weather note pads just to see if they all have the same paper quality.
 
Ghostguy that was an interesting video and who would have imagined modding pens was a thing. That sounds like another rabbit hole waiting to pull me in. I think for now I am ok as I have a few samples headed my way to try out. I also ordered a few different all weather note pads just to see if they all have the same paper quality.
Modding pens, done all the time! Though admittedly, rare outside of the Fountain Pen community. I've swapped out all sorts of parts! My favorite was an India-Made dip-pen with a nib but no feed. This meant the ink would last a bit longer for writing with each dip of the pen due to having a nib. Being a dip-pen, a feed was completely unneeded. When done writing, just wipe off the pen and it was completely clean! Like a very Old-fashioned feather quill pen. But the supplied nib from India was beyond aggravatingly scratchy! **** poor quality. Swapped it out with a smooth as glass 3rd party nib. Created the ultimate dip-pen! Paired it up with a bottle of Herbin ink. (One of the very few glass ink bottles out there created with a built-in fountain pen stand. Perfection!)

My worst one.... Monteverde dark grey metal fountain pen with red accents and a black nib. Where to begin!?! NOTHING worked on it! Except the cap you could remove from the pen and re-attach. Countless pens in my collection. Never before had such an issue. Tried a simple swap from what I had lying around. (Monteverde fountain pens are a universal fit. You can take a bunch of different pen models from a bunch of different pen companies, and the parts will easily interchange between them.) Tried a simple swap, hmm.... still not working. Tried another, NOPE! Okay, now I was seriously ticked off. Time to get serious. I knew that the problem was one of three parts. The nib, the feed, or the converter. Or a combination of two or all of them. So, ordered about 8-12 Universal converters from all different companies. Ordered a few nibs. Even a couple of complete nib assembles so I could get different feeds.

Right! Time to make this monstrosity into a proper fountain pen! I"LL MAKE IT WORK!!! Last thing I needed after all my efforts was the proper Universal converter! Now being Universal, you'd think all of them would be exactly the same, just with a different pen company's name on each one. WRONG! There are differences. Ever so tiny. Invisible to the naked eye. First one? Stick it in and give it a little twist. Fail! Second one, likely to also be a.... Oh hey! It works!! I mixed and matched parts until I got that abomination of a fountain pen to work. Now she's perfect. And, I'm NEVER selling her. She's getting buried with me in my grave, when I pass from this insane, diseased joke of a world that Humanity has turned it into. The black nib ended up being replaced by a bright shiny one. Looks completely out of place. Don't care! It works! And, that fountain pen is why I will literally never buy another Monteverde product for the rest of my Life! But that one pen? Oh, I didn't just buy that pen. I literally earned it. I look at that pen with hateful memories. But in the end, I conquered her, and made her my bi.... pen. I made her my pen.

But yeah, modding pens can be rewarding and mostly fun. Mostly....
 
I feel I now owe this forum an apology. I recently purchased 2 more f 701 pens from Amazon. Even though they did have the "Indonesia" stamp on them, these two did indeed have the black plastic tube on the inside. The package was clearly labelled as "all metal".

It appears that the design must have been changed again. It seems hit or miss if you will actually get an all metal pen or if it will have a plastic tube. But for $8can it still seems to be a good deal.
 
Last edited:
Top