I was recently shopping for pens for the home office and was wondering on other's opinions on their favourite writing tool.
I'm not talking the basic Papermate Kilometrico that are just there to do the job.
I'm talking pens that when you write with them make you think "oh, that's nice".
Preferably under $10 as we all know if you're paying over $100 for a pen it's gonna be good. Or you'd hope so.
In the past I've liked Uni Jetstream as it had a smooth glide and comfortable feel.
Just interested in other people's favourites.
Do You Have a Type of Pen You Prefer to Write with?
nukacola11970 on 12/01/2022 - 14:59
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IMO get one of those MUJI ball pens or gel pens
I dunno, the pen that I prefer to write with is mightier than a sword.
Pilot g2 is nice. Anything more pricier at work I find they tend to get stolen…
^This - these are the go to pens for teachers. They write like a dream, have very few ink issues and are very comfortable. Come in a wide variety of colours and can buy in bulk.
Be warned - teachers and students will nick these from you.
Best bulk buy is generally Mega Thing for around $35 a box 12 (never pay $55)
link doesn't work
My two faves for cost v performance
Pilot G2 or Pentel Energel X+1 fat finger touched minus instead of plus and I can’t remove it hmmphhh
Uni Laknock and Uni-Ball Signo are my favourites.
Bic Atlantis
The pen is mightier than the sword…… that why I use Japanese made Uni-Ball eye Pens
My $200 Apple pencil.
plebs
But seriously though, one of those $2 unicorn brand very smooth ballpoint pens from Japan.
i use the ash of a 5 dollar note on most days
and blood (not mines) on others
If I'm not mistaken unicorn is actually a Malaysian brand.
Omg, yes! I do a lot of writing… a lot. And I cant go past my Faber Castell Grip 2010. Triangular shaped. Dotted rubber grip. Light weight. Very comfortable and very fast to write with. They are god like to write with and only about $12~$15. (Come in variety of colours.)
For my fancy stuff, I use the Faber Castell Loom series. Very heavy but well balanced. I have a fountain pen and a ballpoint. I didn't like the Faber Castell refill on the ballpoint, so I swapped it for a Schmidt 888M, and good lord! It was like Jesus himself descended from the heavens and gifted me this writing implement. Angels weep now when I write with this pen. Downside, it's $80ish.
The fountain version of the Loom was so easy to use and so nice to write with, it became a daily driver for a long time and even used it for customers signatures because it was bullet proof. Never lost its ink. Never damaged the nib (and I'm a heavy writer). Has had about 40 ink vials through it and still writes like the day I bought it… BUT! again, it's a $60 pen.
I love my pens, so much so that I fanboi'd and got a Mont Blanc when I worked at the casino for use in the "high roller suites" (much nicer than a plastic Bic) and because it was for work and a "tool" (tax deduction), plus the staff discount at the Mont Blanc shop, I ended up on getting a, I think it was called a "LeGrand" and it set me back about $1,200 (from memory). I love the pen… but it was trash at writing. My $15 Faber Castell Grip shits all over the Mont Blanc pen for writeability. So, I learnt a lesson. Just because a pen is expensive, doesn't mean it is going to write well.
Sounds like The Pen Addict would be a good podcast suggestion, although a potentially unnecessary one.
Funny, I used one of the doctors' Mont Blanc pens at work and ooohwee was it a dream. Found the doctor it belonged to and they said they changed the cartridge to something different… could write endless novels with that thing.
Uniball eye are the best disposable pen. The ink comes out super smoothly, you never need to press hard. It saves your wrist and your writing looks good.
Prefer using my fountain pen when I can though.
If you're talking "disposables", I like the Pentel Energel.
You can track down singles for about $5, and they actually are refillable at about $2 a pop, although I've found the pen itself only last about six refills or so.
I haven't used an actual pen for quite some time!
Every few months I pick one up and have to use it and my brain takes a while to remember how to make my hand work.
Frixion, because you can "rub" it off.
Yep, these are my favourite. I like a neat notebook without scratchings out.
Agreed, I switched to 038 friction pens last year and it's so good, rarely use a mechanical pencil anymore.
I'm lefty so found the 038 better as it dries before I can smudge it.I also use a rocketbook notepad as I take a lot of notes in my work.
App is good to use and feels good not to be churning rolls of paper into the bin every week, also means I can convert to digital without having to go to the office and scan notes in. The "paper" is a bit slippery to write on but once you are used to it it's worth it purely for the convenience
Pick up a Rotring 600 next time they're on special
Amazon usually has the Rotring 600 on sale usually under $40 sometimes cheaper during Amazon's special sales.
the pencil one or the pen one?
I've always wondered how much a rotring 600 would change my life, but all reviews say its easily broken if dropped…which I do to my pens all day everyday as it keeps falling out of my shirt pocket…
Try the Rotring 800, the mechanical pencil has a retractable tip unlike the Rotring 600.
I'm a pretty big Rotring fan. I have about 40 different variants, all fountain pens, which I don't use nearly as much as I would like anymore.
When I was working in the office I would always carry one and use that for writing notes, but sadly they haven't really been used in the last couple of years.
I use a Rotring 600 ballpoint pen on a daily basis. Great pen, but the standard Rotring ink isn't the best. I use Schmidt easyFLOW 9000 refills, which are excellent. The Rotring 600 takes a standard G2 cartridge (Parker style), so the choice is very broad.
Muji used to do a replica/inspired?
Uniball Jetstream sx-210 (I like the 1.0 mm) about $5 individually or slightly cheaper as a back
My handwriting is a little like comic sans. I prefer thicker tips.
I use a 0.7mm pencil and a parker jotter with med tip.
I also like gel pens like the energelUniball Jetstream 3 ($5 at OW). I like having different colours when I write and it's smooth as heck
love the jetstream.
You can get refills for jetstreams for about $2-3 on ebay.
Jetstream Alphagel is really nice and imo worth it if you don't lose pens like me.Love you too xx
Uniball Jetstream Multi, like this, currently $12 on Amazon. 3 colours in the one pen (Black, Blue and Red). Can also get Multi 4 colour which has additional retractable pencil
Uniball Micro Deluxe. They have tungsten carbide balls. You can use them not just to hand-write on paper, you can draw marker lines on pretty much anything, and they just keep writing.
Felt tip pen any day for me. Not that they are particularly fancy. I just much prefer writing with them than a ball point.
bic 4 color pen
I have a large collection of complimentary hotel pens from all the work travel I used to do
Got a favourite hotel pen? They're mostly sh*t in my experience.
Uni Jetstream Sport Ballpoint Pen - 0.5mm Japanese Domestic Verison brought a couple from Daiso a few years back cost me $2.50. All I can say is it is a first-class pen incredibly smooth no issues whatsoever.
Lamy seems also to have good reviews made in Germany.
One that works.
A black one
Pilot Acro 1000
I rotate through a combination of:
Uni Jetstream gel roller ball
Uni-Ball Air Micro roller ball
Lamy Joy calligraphy fountain pen
Lamy Safari fountain pen
Kaweco sport fountain penCan't go too wrong with any of the Jetstreams mentioned. My preference is the SX-217 in 0.7mm. It seems to have an inbuilt anti-theft mechanism in that people can't seem to figure out how to get the lids off which always encourages them to give it back.
Zebra F-701: For that stainless steel goodness
one that has ink within my direct visual field
bic 4 pen.
used all the fancy fountain pens, mont blanc, jap gel rollers etc. Nothing beats a dozen pack and you never need to worry about finding it cause there's one everywhere.
Whatever free one I pickup from the latest hotel I stay at. Pen isn't needed for more than a signature or shopping list nowadays so any will do just fine.
tried a Pilot Kakuno Extra Fine, highly recommended if you write with light pen pressure. Medium if you're a lead-breaker.
achew
'scuse meI had a mate who would keep his pen in his pants. Whenever he wanted to write, he'd pull it out, dip it in and write. Needless to say he wrote very slowly.
i’ve tried hundreds of pens and bic atlantis is the mach 3 of pens. super smooth, no ink issues and comfortable for long periods
Fisher space pen.
"This is an astronaut pen. It writes upside down. They use this in space."
Yep. Received one as a gift in the late 90s. Wrote wife's Xmas card with it few weeks ago.
Did you write the wife's Xmas card upside down?
Yep, it's my go-to pen. I stole it off Jerry who stole it off Klompus.
Quality not the best (I have the matte black push action), but I love the ink/refill, it really does what it says (never stops working, writes at odd angles, writes on dirty/greasy paper etc). I could put the refills in another pen, but CBF.
Agreed. They aren't the best pen for writing with, but I only need a pen very occasionally, so a bullet style FSP folds down small and always works when I need it to.
Writing on paper is so two thousand and late.
Anything free that I got during my office days
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Pilot V5 Hi-Tecpoint. It's the cheapest pen that makes me say "oh, that's nice".
I agree 😊
This is not going to sound very OzBargainy but after years of frustration with pens that won’t work of many types of cheap paper like small notebooks from the supermarket I went back to a basic silver Parker pen. $30 at Officeworks and for me the reliability and the good feel experience is worth it. Refills are not cheap but I still get a kick out of using it. Value for money for me is 10 out of 10 because you get what you pay for.
Similar to MontyMacaw, a few years ago I decided that on the few occasions I am using a pen I should use a nice one. I have 2 main pens I like to use: A Parker ball point and a Parker refillable fountain pen. FPs are messy and dry out so I'd not recommend them unless they really appeal but I certainly recommend a good pen over a packet pen.
I bought 5 jotter refills for under $20 from ebay.
Do an ebay search for your refills. mine is a jotter. The cheapest one is $19. (ebayplus store so you can use voucher)My only worry is losing the pen (which I have and I retraced my step to find it)
No one here has mentioned the Uniball Powertank Eco!!!
This is the best pen for the price, I think…
They are made in Japan by Mitsubishi Pencil Co.
They have a pressurised ink tank which allows them to write whilst upside down…
They are smooth to write with and at a decent price…
They can be hard to track down though…
Kind Regards,
jm03
"allows them to write whilst upside down…"
An extremely useful feature I'm sure …
Maybe the new generation needs that to write while lying down in bed to avoid the very stressful event that standing up is…
Obviously you haven't had the experience of having a great idea whilst laying in bed…
When that happens I get my journal and begin writing…which I can do with this pen…
Also, normal ballpoint pens do not work if you're holding your journal vertically and trying to write..
This pen does…
Yep +1 for the Uni Power Tank. Best pen hands down.
Or hands up.
Muji gel pens
I have so many questions…
- How did you find this video?
- Who the f*#k is that guy?
- Where does he get his threads?
- HOW DOES HE GET HIS MO SO DAMN PENCILLY???
Just checked my pen supplied by work.
Uniball Signo.
It's very decent and free.
Pens from Services NSW! They’ve recently move to cardboard ones, but still smooth ink. Otherwise Pilot Rexgrip with 0.5 lead.
An old workplace used to have those cardboard ones. They were great for unravelling during boring meetings.
My favourite is …
Uni-ball UM153S Impact Gel Pen BROAD 1mm
Very smooth with a nice, bold result …
Bought for $9.99 on eBay.
They're all the same for me. My handwriting has not changed since I received my pen license in kindergarten. Absolutely atrocious handwriting.
I never got a pen licence. I'm out here illegally using pens.
Cross Classic Century. Love it!
Jinhao x450 fountain pen
as others have recommended, New York Times review picked the Uni-ball Jetstream RT as their favourite - https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-pen/
I've not yet picked one up as I have way too many spare pens
what I use is simple straight grey plastic labeled BIC Round Stic M - I first found/liked these in Paris - hon hon French Bic - I think I bought last in Woolworths - like $3.15 for 15 - https://www.bigw.com.au/product/bic-round-stic-pen-15-pack-b…
Officeworks has 'comfort grip' (I don't have - silicone where you grip?) for $3 for 10 - https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/bic-round-…
while I've used many many pens (now old and retired) including Parker 51 and Lamy fountain pens and a variety of rOtring (great for very fine lines), etc., and have a great variety in small buckets, I keep coming back to these Bic - they can get a bit smudgy with ink ooze on rare occasions, but a quick wipe on a tissue and all good again.
I bought a gold rolled American made Cross pen at a garage sale and it's my go-to pen. Looks good, writes great, and it's like 5% gold. This one I believe https://www.cross.com/cr_en_us/4502, though I wish I had this solid gold version https://www.cross.com/cr_en_us/8032
uniball 207
Cherry Brown.
The blood of an enemy, and the most ergonomic stick I can find. Failing that, I do love using a new four-pen when I find one.
Kilometer pen, I'm a simple man.
The Kilometrico Elite pens are fantastic…
They are smoother writing than the normal Kilometrico pens.
But, they appear to be discontinued as I cannot find them in any store…
a smooth glide and comfortable feel
Most partners would agree this is a must
Any gel ink pen that doesn't dry out in the Aussie car glovebox summer when I need it in an emergency will do for me.
Hi NukaCola,
Thank you for creating an interesting topic that seems to draw another diverese response from Ozbargain eclectic group of community.
My contribution to this topic would be found below. Hope you finds it enlightening.
Lamy Safari ballpoint pen.
https://www.lamyshop.com.au/au_en/ballpoint-pen-lamy-safari.…Its the best functional pen I found.
Light, ergonomic, plastic is not cold during winter.
Quality product at competitive price point.
If you want something that evoke emotional response "oh that's nice"… probably go for more jewellery like pen.
Montblanc Starwalker is nice. The material used, finishing, and the corresponding weight (solidly) of these (jewellery) type of pen can impart those "oh that's nice" feeling.
Montegrappa is another brand that appear to be popular. They do tend to have fancy/ornate finishing.
Might look into fountain pen if you want more characteristic to the line/scribble of your writing. Good for signature.
Let us know how you go.
Montblanc makes excellent pens and the build quality is first class, you could probably lump Pelikan pens together with Montblanc both are excellent German-made writing instruments. The problem is trying to explain to someone why a Pen costs $600.
my first choice would be some other pen from Japan like Jetstream but its so hard to get any of that kinda stuff here without like paying $10 for 1 each i gave up on that dream.
Otherwise I've found that Bic M Round stics are surprisingly pretty good - dont know why i dont see more of them around
we see the normal clear plastic Bic ones one and they are kinda shit no offence.Lamy Safari fountain pen is probably the best value pen I've used, looks great too, and you can pick one up on sale for around $30.
Parker pens are good too, I know they're not for serious pen collectors, but I like them, maybe it's the classic aesthetics that appeal to me. About 10 years ago, I bought some some gel refills for about $1 each when this newsagent was closing down, took them out recently and they still write beautifully, using one right now in a Jotter
I tend to get sore arm from using ballpoints, so I normally go for rollerballs which tend to be slightly better. Ballpoints use oil based ink, rollerballs use water/gel based ink.
So something like Uni ball Signo and uni ball eye is what I used to use. I've also heard good things about Zebra Sarasa. If you can stand bigger tipping size, say 0.7mm vs 1mm, going for bigger one tend to be smoother in terms of writing feels.
There are trade offs, ballpoints do not dry out as easily and they don't smudge as easily right after writing (oil vs water).
Though, if I can control what kind of paper I can use (or know what kind of paper I will use), I normally stick to fountain pens nowadays. They are archaic if you look at them as a writing instrument and they are finnicky. Personally I approach them more as a hobby, as in I use, maintain, and buy fountain pens, inks and fountain pen friendly papers as a hobby.
any .7 mm ballpoints out there?
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Just purchased some Kaveco Perkeo fountain pens. Relatively inexpensive. About $27. Practising to hand write again. Wrote some nice Christmas cards. Various ink colours.