Hey guys,
I've been using uniball jetstream for a while. The pens cost about $5 each a bit cheaper if you buy in bulk. Refills cost about $2.
These pens suit me well. Smooth but not too inky. Also I like the fineness of the 0.7.
Even though they are not super expensive it is painful when I lose one due to its price.
Anyone have suggestions as to what pen I should try which may be either cheaper or better?
Who even uses pens anymore?
Educated people.
Eduacated people can afford iPads and laptops - or we have our servants take notes - getting ink on our hands is beneath us im sorry to say.
Youre not very money are you?
i find papermate inkjoy's ink as good as the jetstreams, and it's nearly as smooth. Extremely cheap, and the ink lasts forever.
i have tried the inkjoy. They are a bit smudgy. I wouldn't mind them if I could find fine version.
Same Experience! Lol. You need to try the 0.7mm one, it is much better!
Where did you get it?
Yeah, this one is good, but I could only ever find the 1.0mm ones in Australia.
I use a Parker pen with gel refills. Having a non-cheap pen (Parker around $30-$40) means I never lose it as I value it. I don't like disposable pens.
I agree Parker is good but the pen is usually heavier and after a while your hand may hurt. They don't last very long either when you are writing a lot. The refills are still quite expensive, if I recall about $5 each. ($8.17 at Officeworks)
I did have some issues with them leaking though, the gel model in particular.
There are lots of knock off fakes which are around $1 and unbranded ones.
I do agree with having a non-cheap pen leading to you not losing your pen often.
I think I've used my fountain pen (costed me around $30) for almost 2 years now (which is almost miraculous for me).
It has relatively high cost at the beginning, i.e. Ink bottle from Parker (which you can get from Officework) costs you $10 + Fountain pens are more expensive than those disposable pens, but I think it's not that much expensive from getting disposible ones in the long run.
Quiver with squid ink
To save money:
You can try switch to 0.3mm gel liquid hybrids. The finer tip means you use less ink and it lasts longer.
You basically need to go out there and see what your hand likes. I think at one point there was a store that allowed you to trial the pens before you bought them. I can't remember if they include the Penfolds Stationery or Dymocks Stationery stores. It was a while until I found that store, and it was a dream, but by then I had already bought lots of pens. Otherwise, you'll have to ask your workmates and friends if you can borrow their pen for a moment.
I found 0.3mm a bit scratchy… it matched my handwriting, but I didn't like the feeling on the page.
I like the good old kilometrico
I use Bic. if you write a lot, you are not doing it right.
Did you stock up from this deal? https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/201569 Anyway, those are good japanese pens which I prefer to the made in china ink joys that stop working when there's 1/3 of ink left. i write quite a lot and generally use the ink joys to lend friends or just draft writing. I stick to pilot fountain pens to write really fast which may not be suitable for your needs as it is quite inky. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PILOT-V-Pen-Disposable-Fountain-P…
Also Gimli, can you tell me about your experience of 0.7mm compared to 1.0mm jetstreams?
I find the ink to 0.7mm is better quality, but it's just not as smooth and fast compared to 1.0mm. Is that correct?
I write shorthand and have found the Jetstream to be the best combination of smoothness without ink smudging. I bought a stack from here using some ebay codes/promotions to cut the price even further: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/6-x-BLACK-Uni-ball-Jetstream-Roll…
I've always bought from this guy: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/UNI-JETSTREAM-SXN-210-x-4-UNIBALL…
2 blue and 2 black for $13.25, really cheap.
And then for the refills i just get them from the hong kong listings, you can get refills from under $2
You did say "…or better" so I will lay off the cheaper until the end.
I scored a Waterman ballpoint pen from my sister at graduation, 'cos she reckoned that my getting an MBA in my mid 50's was worth a reward :-)
It had not cost me anything, but you will be stuck with shelling out a bit over $100 - but hear me out!
I do a lot of writing, and had been using the uni-ball eye fine for quite a while, so it took a couple of years before I could not find one and reached for the Waterman.
I'm hooked.
It fits my hand beautifully, and writes so quickly and smoothly that the arthritis in my fingers does not seem as bad as before.
It's also expensive, so I really make sure that I never misplace it, which was a bad habit of mine.
The initial refill lasted many times longer than the uni-balls, which are not cheap at around $4 each.
A mate put me on to the Monteverde refills for Waterman pens, and the last ones cost me $12 for two, delivered.
They also last as long as the original one, so I'm happy with that.
The initial cost was high, but the running costs are now acceptably low, and writing is now so much easier.
I just bought a bunch of my favourite pens from ebay because I can't seem to find them in store anywhere. Its the staedler triplus ball. Officeworks used to have them, but lately, they stock a plastic version which also writes well, but feels cheap.
The ones I like are these: http://www.staedtler.com.au/en/products/ink-writing-instrume…
weighted really well, and feels solid in the hand. Smooth ink flow also. Not usually a fan of ballpoints, but this is unlike most ballpoints I've used previously.
Not cheap though. I bought a 10 pack for $30, but they are closer to $4 each when they were in store.
Cello butterflow I have fallen in love with them at work
Not sure if we have them back home in Aus
But pretty popular here in AbuDhabi
Oh, I think you can try The Papermate Gel Pen, either InkJoy or Profile. The fine version which is 0.7mm might be difficult to find in most retail stores such as BigW, Woolworths, and Coles. I can't remember if they even stock it in Australia as I ordered some from ebay.
I myself choose Uni-Ball Vision Elite Rollerball 0.7mm because you can write much faster with it, but it is a liquid pen and runs out very quickly, i.e. 30 pages of full writing.
You can try purchasing a bunch of different cheap gel pens and see if they match your desired comfort.
I had to buy lots of different liquid ink pens ranging from Uniball Eye Fine to the cheaper BIC Needlepoint Tip Liquid Ink Roller Pen, before I settled back on the Vision Elite. There were many more other pens names that I cannot recall as I no longer have the packaging.
A good pen isn't cheap, but you usually pay for it in speed and how your handwriting looks.
I think I've tried most of the pens that were around a few years back. I still have lots of non-gel/non-liquidy ballpoints from my experiment sitting on my shelf…
Ok, on my shelf I can see some you might like:
Pentel Energel (Probably the most similar), Uniball Signo (Is Gel but feels more liquidy), Papermate Griproller (Water based Liquidy).. Hmm… For some reason I don't really have that many gel ones left over which are still working.
I have the Papermate Kilometrico Gel Pen but it is dried up. I don't think this one is as smooth but it was super cheap. It might suit you, depending on how smooth you require the pen to be.
There is also Papermate Gel 2020, but the tips on those seem to be scratch against the paper. I think they got rid of that pen after a while as I don't see it anymore.
Lots of non-functional ones including Monami Jeller Pen. I think this one is alright, but it seems to have dried up and is scratchy… When new it should be reasonably smooth.
I don't really want to go through my collection any further and see how many unusable ones I have… It seems like I spent a lot of money, which is now down the drain because they don't work anymore…