Some Thoughts on Everyday Pens
I write by hand quite a lot, probably more than the average person in this era of keyboards and touchscreens. My work involves a fair amount of note-taking, cross-referencing, and annotating printed documents, and I have always found that a pen and a notebook are the most natural tools for the thinking stage of any project. Over the years, this has led me to develop what I suppose some people would call an unreasonable level of interest in pens. I prefer to think of it as thoroughness. In any case, I have tried a great many pens, and I have some observations to share for anyone who might be in the market or simply curious about the differences between the major types.
The four broad categories I will cover are ballpoint, gel, rollerball, and fountain. Each has distinct characteristics, and none is objectively superior to the others. It depends entirely on what you are writing, what you are writing on, and what qualities you value in the writing experience. I realize that last phrase sounds faintly absurd, but anyone who has spent time with a truly good pen on truly good paper will understand what I mean.
Ballpoints are the most common and the most durable. The ink is oil-based, which makes it resistant to smearing and water damage. It dries almost instantly on the page. The mechanism is simple: a small metal ball rotates in a socket at the tip of the pen, picking up ink from the cartridge and depositing it on the paper. Because the ink is viscous, ballpoints require more pressure to write with than other types, which can cause hand fatigue over long writing sessions. The line they produce tends to be consistent but somewhat faint compared to gel or rollerball pens, especially on rougher paper. The classic Bic Cristal is the archetypal ballpoint, and it is genuinely hard to beat for reliability and cost. I keep a handful of them in a drawer for situations where I need a pen that I will not mind losing. For a nicer ballpoint experience, the Uni Jetstream is excellent. It uses a hybrid ink that is smoother than a traditional ballpoint but retains most of the smear resistance. The 0.7mm tip is my preferred size in this pen.
Gel pens use a water-based gel ink that flows more freely than ballpoint ink. The result is a darker, more saturated line with less writing pressure required. Gel pens are pleasant to write with and produce attractive, bold text. The trade-off is that they are more prone to smearing, especially for left-handed writers, and the ink takes slightly longer to dry. They also tend to use up ink faster than ballpoints. The Pilot G2 is probably the most popular gel pen in existence, and for good reason. It writes smoothly, the ink is vibrant, and the refills are widely available. I used the G2 in 0.7mm as my primary pen for several years. More recently, I have been using the Pentel EnerGel, which has a slightly faster drying time than the G2 and a smoother feel on the page. The 0.5mm EnerGel in black is, in my estimation, one of the best everyday writing instruments available at any price. The needle tip version is particularly nice for detailed work and small handwriting.
Rollerball pens occupy a middle ground between ballpoints and fountain pens. They use a liquid water-based ink, similar in composition to fountain pen ink, delivered through a ball mechanism like a ballpoint. The writing experience is fluid and requires very little pressure. The ink flows generously, producing a rich, dark line. The downsides mirror those of gel pens but are somewhat more pronounced: rollerballs are more susceptible to smearing and bleeding through thinner papers. They also tend to dry out if left uncapped for extended periods. The Uni-ball Vision Elite is a solid choice in this category. It has a consistent flow and the ink is reasonably water-resistant. The Pilot Precise V5 is another good option, particularly in the extra fine 0.5mm size, which produces a crisp, thin line that I find ideal for annotating margins and making notes in tight spaces.
Fountain pens are the category I have spent the most time with, though I should clarify that I am not a collector or an enthusiast in the way that some people are. I own three fountain pens, which I think is a modest number. The appeal of a fountain pen is the writing experience itself. The nib glides across the paper with almost no pressure, the ink flow is smooth, and there is a slight, pleasant resistance that gives you a sense of control. Fountain pens also offer the widest range of ink colors, since you can fill them from bottles of ink produced by dozens of manufacturers. I use Pilot Iroshizuku ink in the color called Take-sumi, which is a neutral, well-behaved black. For a less expensive everyday ink, Waterman Serenity Blue is reliable and flows well in almost any pen.
My primary fountain pen is a Pilot Metropolitan with a fine nib. It costs under twenty dollars and writes as well as pens that cost many times more. The fine nib is important for me because I tend to write small, and a broader nib produces a line that is too thick for my handwriting. I also have a Lamy Safari, which is a slightly different writing experience. The Safari has a triangular grip section that some people love and others find uncomfortable. I am in the former camp. It encourages a proper grip and reduces fatigue. My third fountain pen is a TWSBI Eco, which is a piston-filler pen with a large ink capacity. I keep it at my desk for extended writing sessions where I do not want to worry about running out of ink.
Paper compatibility is a subject that deserves its own discussion, but I will note a few things briefly. Cheap copy paper is generally fine for ballpoints but performs poorly with fountain pens and rollerballs, which tend to bleed through and feather on low-quality stock. For fountain pen use, I prefer Rhodia or Clairefontaine paper, both of which are smooth, resist bleeding, and show off ink shading nicely. For everyday notebooks, I use a Leuchtturm1917 with dot grid pages, which handles gel and rollerball ink well and is acceptable with fountain pens if you use a finer nib and a well-behaved ink.
If I had to recommend a single pen to someone who just wants something that works well for everyday writing and does not want to think about it too much, I would suggest the Pentel EnerGel in 0.5mm black. It is smooth, it dries quickly, it produces a clean line, and it is inexpensive enough that losing one is not a catastrophe. For someone willing to invest a bit more time and care, the Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen is a wonderful entry point into a different kind of writing experience. Neither of these recommendations is exciting or contrarian. They are simply good tools that do their jobs well, which is all I have ever asked of a pen.
— K. Vadala