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The one-and-done pen?
I am looking for a Buy-It-For-Life pen. I've had the Parker Jotters for years and love them, but I am in need of something with a little longer life expectancy on the barrel.
My first thought was James Brand The Burwell, however I am just now really diving into the BIFL Pen world and curious on what you guys suggestion / use.
Assume the money cap of $100 for now, unless you have some out of this world amazing option over that cap.
Are you looking for ballpoint pens specifically, or are fountain pens also an option? There are many fountain pens which can be refilled from a bottle of ink and don't need any proprietary cartriges. I personally love my TWSBI Eco creme rose gold, but I feel like anything over $20-30 would last a long time, so it mostly comes down to aesthetic preference.
Fountain pens are the bomb. After I run through my stash of Signo gel Uni-Ball ballpoint pens (which have been my favorite for years), I'm going to go 100% fountain pens until I die. There's just something so fulfilling and enjoyable about writing with one.
My current favorite is the Pilot Metropolitan:
https://www.gouletpens.com/products/pilot-metropolitan-fountain-pen-black-plain
I'm sure some would call this a beginner's fountain pen, but it has a nice feel with a metal body with some weight to it. It's a joy to write with, and I can see the few of them I have lasting a lifetime.
Seconding the Metropolitan. I used one heavily for note-taking in college.
Usually they come with both a disposable cartridge and a converter for filling from an ink bottle. I ended up getting a bottle of Pilot's Namiki ink, though they also have a range of higher end inks in different colors.
That's another thing I love about fountain pens - with refillable converters you're not filling up a landfill with cartridges.
I bought a second hand car a number of years ago and the previous owner left a metropolitan along with ink, somehow. It really started my love for fountain pens. Shit the pen has lasted longer than the car!
I second fountain pens!
I have a Kaweco AL Sport and love it :) (and a couple of “Moonman” pens but I like the Kaweco more).
I did have a TWSBI Eco as well, but I think I managed to lose it when moving during college.
I had a fountain pen as a kid, and it was cool. Do you ever have accidents with them though? I wear a suit to work, and I've gotten away with only owning like four of them, but I carry a pen with me. My biggest nightmare is an ink explosion in my jacket, so I usually shy away from fancy cartidge pens and just use standard disposable ballpoints which I regularly lose.
How prone to ink explosions are fountain pens?
I have 3 fountain pens I carry in my backpack at all times and I don't think I've ever had a leak, so I don't think it's a very common issue (there's of course always a chance, but I've also had that happen to me with ballpoint pens, so it's not a unique risk).
It really depends on the specific pen and ink though. And also what you do with it—some people do an "eyedropper conversion" to fit more ink into a pen that otherwise only supports small cartridges, and that of course comes at a cost
I’ve never had a pen “explode” ink on me, but I have had it get ink around the “grip” so when I go to use it I get a little ink on my thumb & index finger. But that was after flying, so it probably had to do with air pressure changes & the pen getting jostled quite a bit (and it would’ve been fine if I had just wiped off the grip before I used it).
Also, did you know they made a ballpoint?
I have the twsbi eco, love it! But, I am looking to keep in my pocket all the time, not a ton of confidence in a FP due to ink leaking on the nib etc.
I carry a Kaweco Sport in my pocket daily, and the only time the nib leaks is when I don't tighten the cap and it unscrews in my pocket. Even then the "leak" is just the nib draining the same way it would if you kept it pressed against paper. I found that not having a pocket clip actually helps, since the cap and body lack enough grip to unscrew themselves accidentally but a clip provides a leverage point. I recommend finding a pen with a screw-on cap, there's plenty of good options out there.
Kaweco Sport users rise up!
I actually do have a pocket clip on mine though (they make attachable ones, at least for the AL version).
The same one fits the Sport too, I think. I got a clip and had a huge increase in pocket uncappings, so I took the clip back off.
I bought a similar TWSBI a while back and it's so nice! It feels like one that will last a long time.
I have two TWSBI pens (though no ECOs. They’re quite expensive where I live. I have a VAC700r and Diamond 580) and I like them very much, and I am happy you do too, however, in case someone who’s not knowledgeable about fountain pens read this and decide to get a TWSBI, beware that they’re known to crack for no reason whatsoever. It’s quite a shame because I really like the company. Their DIY philosophy (pens come with silicon grease and a cute wrench!) and stellar customer service are well known, but the cracking issue is quite prevalent. Just wanted to mention that. They’re not expensive pens, so if a TWSBI pen is speaking to you (the reader, not the parent), have at it, but do keep that in mind.
I'm no pen guy, but I have to shill a bit here - I bought four of LTT (Linus Tech Tips) Scribedrivers. I use two of them myself, one was for my wife who wanted it after trying mine and one is for my daughter who will have it as a gift in near future together with the pencil of the same design.
It is stainless steel, it is kinda heavy and pretty slim. I guess it will last forever being made out of steel. It has some Parker compatible cartridge and the default one is very nice to write with, but it's black (and not Parker).
The value is kinda in the brand, in the material used and in the story - it is made from shafts for screwdrivers which were made sub-par and LTT remachined them to pens.
For 40$ I consider it great value.
If you are buying one, I really recommend NOT getting the brass one, as brass will eventually corrode/make surface layer and will not stay shiny gold. All stainless steel variant is better as it will look basically the same forever. I have one brass that is not shiny anymore and three steel.
If you wanted, you could get pencil of the same design for another 40$. I have two of those, both stainless steel variants.
Not long ago they had sale where you couldbget both for price of one (or just one for half the price). This doesn't happen often abd such deep sale probably didn't happen in the past (I believe that lowest was 30$).
I'm sorry if my comment is really out of the league. If that is the case, sorry for taking your time to read it.
EDIT: The pen and pencils are 30USD and 40CAD. Just wanted to clarify, as I'm not in US.
I second the LTT Scribedriver. I bought one around launch and it's been going strong for a few years now. I know a lot of pen people look down at it as there are nicer pens out there. I find, when pressed for recommendations, they usually suggest a pen far more expensive or far less expensive. For whatever it's worth, the Scribedriver sits in a price bucket where there's not a ton of competition, certainly not at the quality and not using a bolt action mechanism (which is a stellar fidget toy and less abrasive to others' ears than clicky pens).
If you keep an eye out, LTT does a few sales a year where you can at least get a bit of a discount or free shipping.
Rotring pens are worth considering. I have a rotring rapid pro that is quite decent. But my favorite is the scribedriver from lttstore.com. As a bonus, it is upcycled from failed screwdriver shafts. But even without that, I personally think it is the best pen I have used.
I am also very opinionated about pen refills as well. Gel pens are the best, and the Parker g2 0.7mm gel refill is the best of the best. Nothing else goes in my pens.
I've been looking at them, but is the clip strong enough to hold up long term / pocket use?
Would agree these are the best you can get, it's what I am using in my Jotters now.
I don't typically clip in a pocket, but I would think it would be fine. I do clip them in a backpack and it has never been an issue. But I haven't really used them since I got my scribedrivers.
On the one hand there's limits to how well a clip can work due to mechanical advantage and all that. I've had a few that were quite nice but did eventually catch wrong in an awkward situation and bend.
That said, my friend uses a Rotring and has 0 complaints.
Further as the guy who recommended the weird fountain/ballpoint earlier, I was going through my stuff over the weekend and came across an older version of this (which was expensive for what it was even then)
Relevant because it's the first one I carried on my wallet, but I also stopped using it because the clip bent despite being a solid piece metal. I could probably heat it up and bend it back somehow, but it's sort of a limitation.
is the Parker G2 similar to what's used inside the Pilot G2, or is the name just coincidentally similar? I know they're not the same, but I'm curious whether they write similarly. That's been my pen of choice for ages (though I'm the sort of person who frequently loses pens, so I tend to just buy the pens themselves in large quantities rather than getting a BIFL housing and getting the refills)
Okay, so this answer is going to be way more complicated than you may have been expecting. TL;DR they are unrelated, but the specific refill I linked will write similarly to a pilot G2 pen.
There are ISO standards for pen refills. The most common one is the size G2. This was popularized by Parker, so it is often called the Parker G2 refill, even if it isn't made by Parker. The LTT scribedriver and the rotrings I recommended take Parker G2. Fischer space pen also makes a Parker G2 refill, so you can turn almost any pen into a space pen.
Pilot came along with a new pen called the Pilot G2, which uses a proprietary refill (it's not protected, so you can find non-Pilot refills, there just isn't an ISO standard for this refill). The Pilot G2 has absolutely nothing to do with the ISO G2 standard refill, it's just the name of the pen. To disambiguate, the community commonly calls these refills pilot G2 and the standard refills Parker G2.
Now to add the extra complexity: Ballpoint vs roller ball vs gel. Note that these words refer more to the ink technology, but the different ink formulations require different physical parts, hence the names. Ballpoint is your "standard" pen. It uses oil or alcohol based ink. BIC pens are ballpoint. Parker G2 refills are almost always ballpoint.
Rollerball is the pens with the weirdly skinny metal pipe for a tip and tiny ball, not the tapered cone to the ball. The ink is water based and very runny. I could be wrong, but I don't think rollerball pens typically take refills. I also think this ink is closest to the ink the fountain pen community uses.
Gel pens use a water based gel ink. So they aren't as runny as rollerball ink but keep some of rollerball's useful properties. Gel pens were popularized by the Pilot G2. Pilot G2 refills are nearly always gel pens. Gel pens external hardware looks very similar to ballpoint; the big difference is the ink formulation.
So now with all of that context, I can tell you that a Parker G2 is unrelated to the Pilot G2. However the specific refill I linked is a Parker G2 style refill that uses gel ink popularized by the pilot G2. I personally like the feel of a rather big ball, hence the 0.7mm variant. I personally dislike the feel of ballpoint and really hate the feel of rollerball. There are rather few Parker G2 refills that use gel ink.
Edit: I do agree with you about the pilot G2. I keep a box in my house for all my disposable pen needs.
Wow this was a phenomenally thorough reply, thank you so much. Bookmarking this for if/when I'm looking for a longer-term prettier pen for special occasions, rather than just continuing my pen-losing habits lol. I loathe the feeling of friction with paper, I hate writing even with mechanical pencils, so I know I'm never gonna be a fountain pen person.
I also prefer the 0.7 on my Pilot G2s, I feel like it feels smoother than the 0.5 one. I have a few of both but I definitely favor the 0.7
I have a few fountain pens that i've been happy with.
Personally I started going towards the kinds that take the standard cartridge so that I can quickly refill if needed, and if I want to be fancy then I can put in a converter. I have one of these which I just have hooked on my wallet with a small notebook in it and I love it.
There's a lot of options in that world.
This looks like one tough tool. I love it, thank you!
Nobody has mentioned the Fisher Space Pen. It still seems like the most truly BIFL option to me, but I understand it isn't super practical for everyday use. You seem concerned about the durability of the pocket clip on other pens, but this doesn't have one. I bought one for my dad for Christmas several years ago and what surprised me was just how small it is and not very comfortable to write with. But it still works and it looks like new.
Edit: upon closer examination it looks like you can add a clip. Neat.
Ehhhhhhhhh. I've had mixed results with the clip. I like the pen, but the clip being friction fit means it can slide off pretty easily in a pocket/bag/whatever. It's fine but its not really good.
I have one of these in purple, and have had some of the space pen G2 refills. Honestly I just find them to be so mediocre. I have since learned that I am very sensitive to writing feel (hence my opinions about Parker g2 gel being the best). In my opinion, the writing feel of the space pen is just awful. The hand feel of the physical pen is okay, but like you said not great. I keep mine around because it will definitely write anywhere without issue. But that is the only redeeming feature.
You mentioned that you're looking for something with a more durable barrel than the Parker Jotter, which I believe are made of stainless steel. If a stainless steel barrel is getting destroyed, it sounds like you might need something really tough. Could you say a bit more about how you use your pens and how they tend to fail?
If you need something that tough, I definitely would not recommend a fountain pen as others have. I love fountain pens, but the nibs are fairly fragile and they do require a bit of upkeep and occasional maintenance.
Honestly, I have a desk job, but I keep a pen on me at all times. The clip has been my largest hurdle to be honest. The wear and tear look is something I can live with, after thinking about this post for a day or two now.
This is not an answer to your question OP, but I'm hopeful that it helps someone reading this thread! I highly recommend Pentel GraphGear 1000 mechanical pencils for anyone who prefers pencil. They're a bit pricey ($10 each on amazon right now) but they have amazing weight, amazing grip, and color-coding of different lead sizes so if you like to use different leads for different purposes you can tell at a glance which is which (although i wish .5 were something different, the grey is a bit too close to the .7 blue). Several years ago I did a personal comparison of about a half dozen different mechanical pencil brands and this one is far and away the best.
I myself am partial to the Pentel Sharp line, specifically the P209. I've been using a pair of them that I got for college a dozen years back, and somehow I haven't lost them! They're a bit cheaper than the GraphGear, but they're still a solid long-lasting choice.
There are a couple of capped pens I like using.
Allegory Goods has some interesting products and materials, including pens made with supposedly ancient preserved woods. I bought this Model R capped pen with the ancient kauri barrel. It comes with the Schneider Topball 850 and accepts 110mm Euro rollerball refills.
$89 -- https://allegorygoods.com/collections/pens/products/model-r
I didn't want to carry that around in my pocket every day, so I got the Big Design Base Line in titanium. It comes with the Schneider Gelion 39 and accepts Parker-style refills.
$65 -- https://bigidesign.com/collections/pens/products/base-line-capped-pen
Since they stopped making my favourite pen of all time (Uni powertank smart series), I decided to treat myself to a big i slim click pen, which is supposed to be extremely flexible with different refills. It does work with the powertank refills with just a bit of modification, which is nice. But I find that the actual mechanism in the pen is fiddly and often jams, which is quite disappointing for a $200 pen.
it's definitely annoying for the click mechanism or anything not working on a pen priced like that.
I also used to use only click pens, since the clicking was also something I could fiddle with during downtime.
I don't use physical pen and paper as much anymore, but I was very pleasantly surprised that I would like capped pens as much as I do now.
I've spent years and uncomfortable amounts of money trying to answer this question. For myself, the answer is simple, albeit well above your budget: the Lamy 2000. As long as it's capped, I'd be shocked to see it broken by something less imposing than a car tire, the way its texture wears in feels intensely personal, and unlike most fountain pens it can handle being left unused for a week or so, no problem. Unfortunately, at your pricepoint, every fountain pen has tradeoffs. Not to say I wouldn't be happy to use a Kaweco Sport or Pilot Metropolitan, a TWSBI (although I'd recommend care with them, physically), or any number of lower-priced options, but none of them are as generically good. You could get lucky with vintage pens, like the Parker 51 or an Esterbrook J, but not likely.
Frankly, outside the realm of fountain pens, almost any body will fit a Schmidt, uni, or Pilot cartridge that will fit your preferences. Go to jetpens and buy a bunch of single ballpoint/rollerball/gel pens, and see how they write, then scour the web for a pen that takes that refill that you love. The thing that matters most is how you feel about it. I have pens over 80 years old that would snap if I got upet while using and will catch fire if I leave them in the sun, but they've gone in my jacket pocket to work and in bags on trips and I love using them despite that. Durability is great, but if it hurts your hand or you hate how it writes, then it may as well be a stick.
I was going to say Lamy 2000 but I saw your comment. That being said, it sounds like you’re talking about the fountain pen and not the rollerball. The fountain pen version was my first “expensive” pen and I love it (even with its quirks, like its sweet spot) but I am not sure I’d recommend it to someone else. It’s not an easy pen to use, relatively speaking. Not saying it’s hard, but it’s got a character of its own and that might not agree with everyone. (Kind of like recommending someone a Sailor without knowing whether they like feedback or not, to make myself more clear.)
But anyway, I’d recommend @TylerSuits the rollerball version if they’re looking for a pen that’s going to be a no-fuss and last a lifetime. Lamy 2000’s design is legendary and it retails just around their budget. The only downside is, as far as I know, they use a proprietary refills, but Lamy’s not going anywhere. If that downside is a deal breaker for you, I’ve long lusted over Studio Neat’s rollerball. It costs about the same, but it has great design with great color options and it takes Schmidt fillers which are readily available but you can also use other refills with an adapter.
It's actually one of the only fountain pens I've been able to hand to random people and have them figure out using without standing over their shoulder, funnily enough. I think some number of people (a large minority) genuinely dislike it, and there's so little QC that I don't doubt that most people's experiences with them are hard to compare, so those are great asterisks. I feel that, given their focus on buying for life, the former is going to be obvious off the bat, and the latter is remediable with some time and effort or money. I was mostly recommending against idealizing cheaper fountain pens, as it's all personal, I suppose.
But the Lamy rollerballs are excellent, no doubt about that. I haven't used the 2000, but I'll vouch that their non-fountain pens are as high quality as the messy ones.
It certainly doesn’t have an intimidating design. I have a very limited experience with handing out my pens to people to see how they react, but not too long ago I let my niece test all my inked pens (unfortunately Lamy 2000 wasn’t inked at the time) and what seemed to gave her pause before writing with any of them was the presence of nibs and how apparent they were. First of all it gave her the impression that they’re very valuable, which they are, but she didn’t know that. A pen with a big, thin, yellow metal part (that looks like gold, and most cases is gold) seemed to have made her conscious about how careful she’d have to be. I had to tell her a few times to not be scared and use them as if she’s using any other pen. The pen she seemed most comfortable with was a Pilot VP, and that too has a hooded nib (technically it’s not but you get my point) like the 2000. Though maybe it was because it was inked with Tsutsuji and she loved the ink.
But anyway, I certainly believe people would be more comfortable trying out a 2000, it’s an extremely well made, nonintimidating pen. That’s one of the many reasons why people dislike it too, but my point was, it can be hard for someone to get used to the correct way to hold it (it doesn’t have a similar design to Safari, which makes it easy for anyone to just write), and the way you’re used to holding a pen might be completely incompatible with the pen’s sweet spot. That can be fixed with a nibmeister of course, it’s not a cheap pen, it should be tried first before purchased.
Not relevant but I should also point out that Lamy’s customer support is excellent and they go out of their way to solve your problems. Not too long ago they shipped me an o-ring for the 2000 because I was careless enough to lost mine during cleaning. They didn’t have the part in the country so they had it shipped from Germany to my doorstep at no additional cost.
Will absolutely take a look, thank you!
I would consider taking a look at County Comm. Not the greatest website, and not for everyone, but their machined titanium pens are very legit and under your price cap.
I have the first gen flight suit pen, which I love despite its weird operation. I kept it in a tool pouch in my back pocket for years as an on-the-road tech, meaning I've sat on it for hundreds of hours, with no damage. No clip might be a deal breaker.
I also have a couple of their embassy pens that I received as part of various mystery boxes, which I haven't really found much use for. I think they're weirdly balanced, and the fact that the cap can't post annoys me.
I also have a Pen-Go titanium mini pen from them. It is tiny, too small for me to use. Again, if the cap could post it would be a no-brainer for me.
Finally, I bought a Skilcraft B3 Aviator from them, which I love. While it is a metal body, it's not as durable as the flight suit pen since the walls are thinner. I've very slightly bent mine keeping it in that same tool pouch. But if you're not going to be sitting on it, it feels amazing in the hand and you get two colors and a pencil! This one you don't need to buy from CountyComm, as it's not their design and they were just reselling them. You can get them on Amazon.
Bonus: the pen that actually lives in my pocket all the time is the Aerocrafted Retract Click Pen, but it's a bit outside your budget. I haven't been able to hurt it yet, and its mechanism is fun.
I am not really a fountain pen person, but I have been eyeballing a Platypus Model 20 for a while. The bladder design is uniquely interesting to me.
My keychain pen is the Fisher Space Pen Trekker. It’s not the fanciest, and it isn’t going to be the pen you’d write a novel with, but for one you always have I like it. The body is very hard and can be used as an inconspicuous impact weapon should the need arise.
Lately I’ve been using the pen inside my SwissCard. Again, not the most comfortable (frankly even worse than the Trekker), but for something you can carry in gym shorts without it weighing you down, I find it very handy, and it always amazes people when I pull it out to use.
If you aren’t sure about fountain pens and what nibs/tips you might like, I highly recommend starting with a dip pen. For a much lower cost, you’ll be able to experiment with all of the nib types fountain pens come with without buying and later giving up on expensive pens that don’t work for you. Along the way, you can try out a variety of inks without having to flush out a whole pen - you can absolutely use fountain pen ink with a dip pen. I ended up falling in love with dip pens, even though the setup is more work and it isn’t very portable.
If you’re interested, head over to a local craft store and pick up a selection of nibs, a nib holder, and some cheap dip pen ink. Ask for help if the nib types don’t make sense to you. Stick with a straight holder over an oblique holder; if you were to fall in live with an oblique holder you’ll be ruined forever for regular pens. That whole set should end up costing less than $30 for a decent set of tools.
Here’ a beginners guide.
Along with those instructions, I very much like to work with my paper taped to a blotter or over 4-5 sheets of paper. The paper staying in place is one less thing to juggle and the cotton underneath is less tiring to work in than a hard surface. Blotters exist for a reason, even if most people don’t use them for writing anymore.