this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2026
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probably a good quality steel fountain pen you can refill, something like a LAMY 2000
I really like my Lamy Safari fountain pen. I've only had it for a few years, so I can't exactly speak to the durability of it long term, but it feels solid and works well. I use a standard Lamy cartridge converter to refill it with ink and it works great.
Non fountain pen option? I’m not a fan of
fountain pens are the best for BIFL; if you are serious, finding a fountain pen that works for you and learning to effectively clean, refill, and use it is your best bet
but this person claims they have used a Parker pen that they inherited that was manufactured in the 1970s and which they still make refills for ... refills for a pen like that might be more expensive, and in general ballpoint pens are not going to last as long (and generally over a lifetime you won't find pen companies that continue to manufacture compatible refills), but this might be a backup option if you just won't consider fountain pens
Overall you are correct.
But standard Parker and Cross can refills have been the same for longer than I've been alive. Very easy to get.
One point is that the Parker and Cross type of refills completely replaces the writing head and so by one view it is not really "BIFL" since so much of the unit has to be refreshed (and so not as environmentally friendly) compared to a fountain pen. That being said, for some people the risk of ink all over your hands is not worth or even entirely precludes using a fountain pen, or there may be other circumstances.
For example, at my workplace there is only one approved type of pen that can be used 😢
that's great - I bet there are some decent options out there, I just think those options are more fragile / more likely to disappear in the future or become incompatible with older pens, etc. whereas fountain pens are going to be fairly immune to the coming and going of companies, etc.
that said, I'm very happy to hear Parker pens have had reliable refills for at least a generation and probably for OP's purposes that's a fine pen option (fountain pens do have their downsides)
Yeah, I've had a couple Parker pens since I was a kid. And I still use a beat-up metal Cross pen that was my grandfather's.