I used to not really care about stationery. That changed when my uncle showed me his fountain pen. I had never used one before. I couldn’t believe how smooth it was. He suggested I went to stores and tried different pens. That way, I’d find what I like. And that’s exactly what I did in the last couple of weeks.
I found out exactly what I like at a price that is reasonable for me. When I now have to write something by hand, I get excited about it!
Everyone will have different tastes, but here’s what I learned for myself:
- Lamy Safari Rollerball sucks*. I thought I was getting a pen for life, but the ink flows inconsistently. This same problem has been reported by other people online. This pen was not designed for rollerball. It was designed as a fountain pen.
- InkJoy Gels are alright. They’re an improvement over normal ballpoint pens, but they’re not as good as other gel pens, such as the G-Tec-C4.
- G-Tec-C4 is my new go-to. They’re relatively cheap and the experience of writing with them is amazing.
- I rediscovered mechanical pencils. I tried one that had buttery-smooth lead. I fell in love. I won’t buy any yet, because I have pencils at home, but I know what I will eventually buy (a metallic mechanical pencil with Uni lead).
- Point balls are not my thing. I haven’t found one I like. Unfortunately, they are probably the most environmentally friendly pen that is both convenient and cheap. If someone has a good recommendation, I’m open.
- Fountain pens are amazing for writing, but they’re not resilient. I need pens that will survive my life. I fling my backpack around. I don’t want to have ink spill all over. A fountain pen is an amazing writing experience that doesn’t fit naturally in my life. I could be wrong. Are there resilient fountain pens?
*Edit: I said this because I used my Lami Safari Rollerball in smooth paper. However, what I said stopped being true the instant I tried the Lami Safari Rollerball in rougher paper. Thanks, dr_jekell@lemmy.world for the heads up!
Thanks so much for your thorough and thoughtful response.
I did it and the ink didn't flow inconsistently! Amazing. I don't know how long this would've taken me to realize, if at all!
This sounds great!
The one I tried was Rotring 600, and I liked its metal construction and that it apparently has a tried-and-tested design. However, when I look at the Uni Kuru Toga's moving parts, I assume there's more risk of parts failing. I looked it up quickly and for lots of people Kuru Togas could last years, while others had them stop working after a while.
Maybe choosing a mechanical pencil is not a matter of "which mechanical pencil lasts longer", but "what experience would you like to pay for while the mechanical pencil works". Or, maybe it's more of a matter of "try and see".
I love how both of these sound. Thanks for the information on the catridge leakage.
Just be warned that the Kaweco (I recommend the Kaweco AL Sport version for bag carry) is quite small in hand unless you post the cap on the end of the pen (making it longer in hand).