I'm no pen enthusiast, but I used to really enjoy Zebra. Build quality was good for the price point, and they were super smooth to write with. Unfortunately the quality went downhill maybe 5 or so years ago and they haven't been great in my opinion ever since. They still feel fine physically, but the ink will stop dispensing randomly while writing. Got sick of it and switched to Pilot. Been using Pilot Precise V5 0.5mm and find them great. The ink runs a little wet though, so the only downside is that if you rub your palm across the page too soon after writing it'll smear a bit.
this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2025
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Does Pilot have any twisting pen options?
If you're looking for a satisfying twisting pen, the Faber Castell hexo ballpoint has been my favorite for a while now.
It uses a parker style refill, so I swapped it out for a Schmidt easy flow 9000 ππ
Bank teller w/half a dog tag chain.
I literally go to the bank to write my novel. The tellers are starting to suspect why I'm a depositing a single penny every ten minutes
Iβve used all kinds. My favorite is still the cheap Pilot G2. Writes effortlessly and has a great click to it.
OP asking the real questions! Also just ducking glad to see something not news or politics related. My gosh it's overwhelming today.
:)
Rotring. German company. Outstanding heft and quality. I like the 800, but if you prefer a click actuation to a twist, go for the 600.
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G2s are nice for pena. We also have some of the Sharpie ones.
I really like the Papermate felt tip marker pens.
Zebra F701 is also nice.
Iβm a big fan of the Tactile Turn machined pens. They are made in titanium, copper, and bronze, and they have microgrooves for grip. They make bolt and click pens in standard and slim width. They take either Pilot G2 refills, Parker-style refills, or (in the case of the mini) Pilot G2 mini refills.
Pens for $100. Reminds me of the Mitch Hedberg joke. "I bought an expensive pen because I was tired of not caring when I lost it."
When I pay $100 for a pen, I donβt lose it!
Seriously, Iβve never lost one in the years that Iβve carried them. And the writing experience is drastically different than writing with a cheap plastic one.
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Parker, specifically the Jotter. I still have and use a stainless steel one that I bought in 1999 because I kept losing pens, and I thought that if I spent a little more on one I might take better care of it. It's my favorite by far.
Papermate inkjoy. The other nurses keep trying to steal my last one that I stole from my last workplace just before it started going downhill and stopped buying the nice pens. It was about 6-8 months before they swapped all our managers and supervisors with ones that were literally physically violent. Now that I think about it the pens have actually been a pretty good thermometer of all my past workplaces. If you go to a hospital and all the nurses have the same decently nice pens, that means their employer is probably taking decent care of them (at least as far as healthcare execs go) and well kept nurses are better at taking care of patients.
Uni jetstream edge .28 mm. Uses an oil-based ink that doesnβt smear if it gets wet. Feels good in the hand too.
Also, the rOtring ballpoint pens.
Jetstream is my favorite all purpose ink. I got the refills to put in some of my other favorite pen bodies.
You have some tiny writing with that 0.28! I find 0.5 to be my happy place.
Zebra F-301
TWSBI has been good, in my experience, for fountain pens. But I haven't tried many different brands, just a handful.
Zebra Sarasa. Bought one on a whim at a 711 in Tokyo a long time ago, kept coming back.
Kaweco sports, LAmy, rotring, and pilot vanishing point, opus 88, and one from montblanc but that wasn't a fountain pen.
Picked up a Rotring for my wife a while back and she constantly gets compliments on it. Really nice weight and feel to it.
Zebra F-402 - I write really small and their fine tips flow great but don't run. Plus they're cheap enough that I don't care when my wife or kids steal them out of my desk.
Sharpie.
Crayon,
Parker, usually. But Pilot is also good. Depends if I want a nice pen or a cheap pen. Kawecos are really nice, but I donβt currently own one.
I have a Plaisir Platinum fountain pen that's awesome. It was pretty cheap as far as fountain pens go but it writes really nicely and has a good solid feel to it.
For day-to-day disposable pens I like the Zebra Sarasa ones, or the Pilot P500 for drawing. I bought a big box of the P500s to keep in reserve in case they ever stop making them lol.
Brand? Bic.
I bought myself this beauty a year ago, metal body and refillable
Bic 4 colour ftw! πΈπΈ
Don't have an actual favorite. Just using bics forever due to convenience
I like the Muji aluminum fountain pen.
https://unsharpen.com/pen/muji-aluminum-body-fountain-pen/
Cheap enough that if it breaks or you lose it or some such, you won't be that upset, but writes wonderfully. It is nice to have a pen where you can choose your own ink, and it will accept either refillable cartridges or pre-filled cartridges.
The way the cap posts on the back of the pen is pretty unique as well.
i use Mitsubishi roller balls, real nice and inky, great colours. I'm a lefty so can't really use fountain types.
TUL pens. Super durable as I click my pens from anxiety and I havent had one break on me. Write very smoothly too
I'm surprised more people haven't said TUL!! they are, and have been, my daily for 6+ years. Got all sorts of colors too!
The ability to use home-made inks, guache, and stick-inks makes Ackerman very special. Particularly since I get to use my favorite Brause Bandzug nibs. And of course there's the fact that they're a small specialty company helps make them "favorite".
If you're asking who makes my favorite pens for every day carry or low-maintenance with standard fountain pen inks, definitely Lamy. They will still stand out a bit in a business setting in a way that might be a bit uncomfortable for some, but not in the brute utilitarian way Ackerman's do. I love broad nibs, and frankenpens just aren't reliable enough for me at work.
Not the pen I was thinking of
I've been using 0.7 point Pentel Supremes since I began high school
Back when I constantly needed a pen I used to use a Parker espirit telescopic fountain pen, since it was the best small fountain pen that cost little enough that I wouldn't mind loosing, but it was still small enough and good enough for my tastes. More recently since I stopped needing an actual pen with any sort of frequency it just kept getting dry and I just decided to stop carrying one.
This days the only thing that I physically write with any sort of frequency are ttrpg character sheets and for those I just need a good pencil, so I moved to the wsd magnetic 2.0 mm lead holder. I just love it both as a great mechanical pencil and a fidget toy
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