The absolute smoothest pen for about $25?

I just bought two Pilot G2s, and neither ink refill fits my Rotring 600. Disappointed to say the least. How do you guys figure that they fit :confused:
 
anyone know any other refills that will fit in place of the sensa pressurized (fisher) cartridge? preferably gel.
 
Django606 said:
I just bought two Pilot G2s, and neither ink refill fits my Rotring 600. Disappointed to say the least. How do you guys figure that they fit :confused:
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However, the Parker type refills do fit the Rotring 600 ballpoint pen. (I never tried a Pilot G2 refill in mine.)

Pick up one of the Parker Gel refills, for 3-4 bucks, give it a try, see what you think.

Also, Schmidt now makes Parker type refills. As mentioned (not only by me) the Schmidts are excellent. You can find them at good pen stores and of course online; one >very< good place is www.yafa.com.
 
Ohh, thanks for clearing that up.

I really don't want to spend $20 on 10 of those Schmidt refills. Do you have any experience with the Parker ballpoint refills? Are these better than the Rotring refills?

I'm not sure whether I should get the ballpoint or the gel..I don't have any pen stores around here and I don't feel like ordering off the internet. I know some places will have the ballpoint refill, not so sure about the gel. Your opinion on the ballpoint refills?
 
Django606 said:
Do you have any experience with the Parker ballpoint refills? Are these better than the Rotring refills?

I'm not sure whether I should get the ballpoint or the gel..I don't have any pen stores around here and I don't feel like ordering off the internet. I know some places will have the ballpoint refill, not so sure about the gel. Your opinion on the ballpoint refills?
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Parker ballpoint refills.

First thing is that they are made in three different places - USA, France, and the UK. Look at the fine print on the back of the blister pack to see.

None of them are great, IMO. In fact, I think Bic ballpoints write more smoothly than Parker ballpoints. (BTW, Bics are terrifcally underrated writers, in my view. Yeah, they're cheap as we all know, but they've got the technology down. Their ballpoints happen to be among the smoothest of all.)

Again - the thing is - with ballpoints you're dealing with paste ink versus rollerballs where you're dealing with liquid (or gel) ink. This is key. You've got to press harder onto the page with a ballpoint to get the tiny "writing" ball to spin.

The paste ink in ballpoints is pasty. It is what is. Rollerball ink, on the other hand - liquid or gel - "flows" out onto the writing surface.

Part of what makes a ballpoint better (e.g. Montblanc, Rotring) or worse than another ballpoint is the precision of the fitting of the ball in its socket at the very tip. The Parker ballpoints made in France, I've found, to be smoother writers than those made in the USA or the UK.

The Rotring ballpoints (made in Germany) are hard to find for some reason. And they tend to be priced sort of high. But they are IMO better than Parker ballpoints.
Noticeably better, and worth the difference in price.

But, Parker does make that excellent Gel refill which is a >much< smoother writer than any of their ballpoints.
 
Perhaps someone can explain some basic concepts to the unwashed. I've always loved my Parker ballpoint pens, but I stopped using them because the refills I could find locally for them were horrid.

Following some of the advice here, I looked at the Yafa store, and saw two Schmidt gel (I think) refills:

http://store.aldodomani.com/9090topclbap.html
http://store.aldodomani.com/81pastbarebr.html

The first one says it is a "stoke medium point". What is a "stroke medium point"? Is it the same as "medium point"?
The second one says "Double Broad Point" and then "Broadpoint". What is that? Does that mean the line is much thicker than with a medium point?

I find it rather strange they could not specify it in fractions of a mm. Would have been much easier to figure out.

Are fine points also known among gel refills, or is the technology unsuitable for that?
 
hwyhobo said:
Following some of the advice here, I looked at the Yafa store, and saw two Schmidt gel (I think) refills:

http://store.aldodomani.com/9090topclbap.html
http://store.aldodomani.com/81pastbarebr.html

The first one says it is a "stoke medium point". What is a "stroke medium point"? Is it the same as "medium point"?
The second one says "Double Broad Point" and then "Broadpoint". What is that? Does that mean the line is much thicker than with a medium point?

I find it rather strange they could not specify it in fractions of a mm. Would have been much easier to figure out.

Are fine points also known among gel refills, or is the technology unsuitable for that?
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First link you have is for a Schmidt ballpoint, medium.
Second link you have is for a Schmidt ballpoint, broad.

Broad in writing instruments is thicker than medium.

Generally the designations are extra fine, fine, medium, and broad, in that order.
And sure, rollerballs are available in fine and even extra fine.

However, Schmidt is known for the superior quality of their rollerballs. I am completely unfamiliar with the performance of their ballpoints.

Also, when shopping for Schmidt, you'll often see somewhat odd nomenclature because they are a European (German) product in the American market without the benefit of a big marketing machine translating for them.

BTW, I don't think that Schmidt makes any gel refills. All their rollerballs are pure liquid ink technology.
 
I'm going to Staples today, hopefully they will have the Parker Gel, if not, I am probably going to have to order online. :(

Also, thanks. You've been a great help, and you definitely know a lot about pens. Thanks for your help. :)
 
rifon2 said:
However, Schmidt is known for the superior quality of their rollerballs. I am completely unfamiliar with the performance of their ballpoints.
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Schmidt tends to use a thicker paste than most other firms. It writes well, but not as smooth as the Lamy's.
 
Django606 said:
I'm going to Staples today, hopefully they will have the Parker Gel, if not, I am probably going to have to order online. :(

Also, thanks. You've been a great help, and you definitely know a lot about pens. Thanks for your help. :)
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You're welcome.:)
 
Staples should have the Parker Gel refills. They're probably going to be around 2 for $4.

The Parker Gels are made in the UK IIRC. The (relatively) new gel technology is a great upgrade for ballpoint pens.
 
I looked on Staples' website before I left and since they were not on the website I decided not to go. I was going to order them online, but maybe I should go to Staples anyway.
 
I tried a Parker Gel and I thought it was wonderful -- for several pages. Then it started skipping. So I figured I got a bad one and went and bought a couple more. One of them didn't work at all and the third didn't last as long as the first one. I don't know ... they can't all be that bad or nobody would buy them, but ... three in a row ... :confused:
 
I've had some good luck with the Parker Gel refills, but I also had two that leaked all over the place while not in use. I spent half an hour cleaning my Rotring 600 because there was so much ink down in it. The 3 or so I've had that didn't leak worked well, but I'm not sure that I will buy more.
 
Was just in staples yesterday and picked up a Fisher space pen refill for my Sensa. same exact size though it looked better constructed than the sensa branded one that was in there. It writes much nicer. I still wish I could find a gell type replacement for this pen but either way its a noticeable improvement.
 
I like ballpoint pens that take Parker type refills because I can find a variety of both pens and refills, I have not used original Parker refills for a while. I have some Fisher pressurized refills with Parker adapter, lately I have been using Inoxcrom gel (from Spain) and I like them much, I have not tried the Parker gel for ballpoints though.

Still for smooth writing my Pelikan 250 fountain pen is hard to beat.

Luis

Picture.- top: Fisher space with Parker adapter, bottom: Inoxcrom gel.


Click to enlarge
 
I recently picked up one of the Fisher Space Pens for $15 from Staple's about a month ago. Originally I was a bit leery of the pen because of the "pressurized" cartridge, thinking it might smear or blob up with writing.

Turns out the pen writes very smoothly. It's also small when closed, and when the pocket clip is removed, its smooth surface is less likely to poke holes in pockets. This is most definitely a plus for those times when you slip the pen in a jeans or pants pocket.

Yes, it's pretty much as basic a design a pen as you can buy, and it's certainly not pocket jewelry--it's no Mont Blanc. I think of the Fisher Space Pen as the Casio G Shock of pens.
 
ZJChaser said:
Was just in staples yesterday and picked up a Fisher space pen refill for my Sensa. same exact size though it looked better constructed than the sensa branded one that was in there. It writes much nicer. I still wish I could find a gell type replacement for this pen but either way its a noticeable improvement.
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That's interesting! I'd always avoided Sensas because of the refill situation.
Perhaps worth checking into again.
 
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