shameless materialism

[moominmolly]

What's your favorite everyday pen? I take a lot of notes and want a new pen, and dammit, I want some good ones.

Comments

[latvianchick.livejournal.com]

I use Uni-ball Vision fine pens, in crazy colors. Purple. Cyan. Dark red (they call it "passion" =)).

[palmir.livejournal.com]

My favoritest pen is also broken: It was a gift purchased at Things Remembered along with a personalized business card holder. The pen itself is a wee thing, about half standard length, so it was very easy to carry around. Very even ink disbursement, with no blots or having to worry about getting the ink out in the first place. But now it doesn't work and I don't know why :(
(My current one(s) were from a bulk pack from Costco, the uni-ball Vision Elite - it's too easy to be sloppy with it, though, for my style of writing)

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Whatever I've stolen from nonnihil.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

i've become a real fan of gel ink pens -- regular ball-point pens appear terribly clunky compared to them. the no sputtering while writing is a must-have for me. and their non-erasability is a plus when writing checks.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Pilot rolling ball, "precise V5" extra fine

[artricia.livejournal.com]

This. I think it's the V5 I use, but bizarrely I don't have one on me at the moment. It says extra fine, but it's not scratchy -- it's just right. And you can get it in multicolors, but that's harder to find.

I also like Staedtler's pens. Lots of groovy colors. Porous point, but last forever, far far superior to a flair.

[artricia.livejournal.com]

I was wrong: it's the Pilot G-2 07, not the v5.

I also liked Uniball multicolored (I think) except that I chew my pens, and that never worked out well with those. If you don't chew, they're great.

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Uni-Ball here as well, except I like the Micro version. Usually black, although sometimes blue. I do find that they are a bit fiddly about angle and pressure - you do have to write with a little force, not waft like an elf through a violet patch.

(I want to like gel pens - I really do! - but they always seem to develop little blobs on the pen tip.)

[oonh.livejournal.com]

If you want a uniball, (and not the one I mentioned below), either go with the deluxe (my mom loves these) or the onyx. Avoid the standard ones with the u shaped removable color indicator at top. The balls in them tend not to last as well.

[novalis.livejournal.com]

The pilot that looks like this (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://content.etilize.com/Large/11967114.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.greenlightoffice.com/office/stationery/92708-pilot-v-ball-liquid-ink-pen-purple-ink-purple-barrel-1-each.html&usg=__4yJk5wpQM0-dIptCiLNW2l4LaAQ=&h=300&w=300&sz=22&hl=en&start=3&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=eQZQLYpLsRATcM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpilot%2Bv-ball%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1)

[twoeleven.livejournal.com]

you take notes in pen? i do most of my writing with a mechanical pencil, 'cause it's easier to fix mistakes w/ one.

but to answer your question, i have a cheap bic stick pen with some company's logo on it. works just fine for me.

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

I periodically go through torrid love affairs with mechanical pencils, but for whatever reason I seem to be in a pen phase.

[twoeleven.livejournal.com]

if i didn't need to get work done, i'd spend more time thinking about mechanical pencil slash. :)

[oonh.livejournal.com]

Did you see the wacky expensive faber castell mechanical pencils? The ones with the extra thick barrels?

[harimad.livejournal.com]

When I was in grad school I could always tell the guys from NASA - they had the fanciest mechanical pencils.

[diatom.livejournal.com]

There's a Japanese stationary store in SF that has Scented Pencil Graphite for mechanical pencils. This delights me!

[veek.livejournal.com]

Pilot G-2 07 (http://penspinning.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/pilot-g-2.jpg). A recent discovery, and very pleasant gel ink.

[inahandbasket]

This! Pilot G2's rock.
I've been swearing by these pens since I first touched one.
They come in a mini size too, I have one in my pocket 24/7.

[veek.livejournal.com]

You have *pockets* 24/7? Fascinating.

[inahandbasket]

I didn't say I was WEARING the pants 24/7... but the pen's always in the pocket. ;-)

[ceo]

So it goes through the laundry OK, too. Good to know.

[inahandbasket]

It changes pockets, duh!
Sheesh, you people.

[palmir.livejournal.com]

So you're telling us it's Polly Pocket?

[cacahuate.livejournal.com]

I like my Staedtler Triplus Fineliners.

[artricia.livejournal.com]

This.

Sorry to clog up your page here.

[oonh.livejournal.com]

When it comes to markers, I'm definitely a "sharpie? no, sharpie bad. use staedtler lumocolor. staedtler lumocolor good" sort of guy.

[chillguru.livejournal.com]

uni-ball roller grip .5mm micro point
order # 60704

[dreams-of-wings.livejournal.com]

I had to, for reasons of my stupid hands, buy the "Dr. grip pen" which is on the pricey side for pen, etc. $10, but really quite nice to write with.

[metagnat.livejournal.com]

I like the pilot Dr. Grip. There's the standard with regular balance and a lighter, differently balanced version and I prefer the latter. Large-grip, light, smooth-writing and refillable. It became my favorite pen in grad school when I was taking lots of notes at very high speeds, especially in interviews. Smaller pens made my hands lock up. These were much more comfortable.

For disposable pens, I like Pentel RSVPs. They are substantial, but still lightweight, and also don't make my hands lock up.

[trom.livejournal.com]

I love watching kcatalyst using a fountain pen. Me, I just use whatever fancy pen the last conference or three gave me.

[srl.livejournal.com]

My standard disposable/refillable pen is a Pilot G2: water-safe ink (part washes off, but the marks remain visible). I haven't really used them much since I started falling in love with fountain pens.

I'm particularly attached to the Rotring 600 fountain pen (http://www.montgomerypens.com/search_results.asp?collection=Rotring%20600) and the Cross Townsend (http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Townsend-Lustrous-Fountain-Stainless/dp/B000EWS024); both were gifts. Only problem is that if you lose them, they're pricey to replace--- but there's something really nice about the materiality of ink in bottles, and they write faster than rollerballs. They're also pleasantly hefty, which is something plastic pens almost never are.

(If you're interested in trying the Rotring, I have a used rollerball model that I'm looking to sell, and I'd be happy to loan it to you for a trial. Drop me email at my LJ address.)

[bluepapercup]

Those are both good looking fountain pens!

I admit to being a die-hard fan of the Parker Vector. It's considered a "training pen" but it has a nearly indestructible nib and writes very nicely. Only downside is that it makes a line that leaves excessive show-through on the other side of a sheet of notebook paper.

[diatom.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I would love this kind of pen. Somehow I lost track of the Names of pens I like. Blah!

[ceo]

The one I have in front of me is a Pilot V-Ball Grip Extra Fine. I've another favorite pen, but it's at home and I don't remember what it is.

[oonh.livejournal.com]

the uniball signo dx, 0.28 mm, generally not available in teh A S of U, but orderable from here (http://www.jetpens.com/index.php/cPath/239_286_285). I was introduced to this model by a friend and fellow pen snob that had been to Korea for a bit. It's one of the few pens that I like to use ambidextrously (some are better than others).

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

Count me in as another for the Pilot Precise V5 Fine Point Pen (http://www.staples.com/Pilot-Precise-V5-Needle-Rollerball-Pens-X-Fine-Point-Assorted-7-Pack/product_567422?cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Shopping-_-Office_Supplies%3EPens-_-567422-26015). In various colors.

I'll note that a number of my friends who are professional illustrators and comic book artists say this is their favorite, non-professional-grade pen. Many of them use it as their every day sketching-around-town pen, and note taking pen. For inking a drawing they will use Staedler micron pens, but for every day, concept drawings, etc? This is it.

N.

[oonh.livejournal.com]

er. micron is manufactured by sakura, not staedtler.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

Whoops! Thanks for the correction. I've only used the microns a couple of times, and never owned one.

N.

[oonh.livejournal.com]

Sorry I went all gung-ho with commenting, but I'm kind of really picky and opinionated about pens!

[diatom.livejournal.com]

I wish I'd seen your pens! I should try out my peeps' pens, to see if I like them!

[bluepapercup]

I primarily use Paper Mate "Soft Grip" pens, in breast cancer pink. They're 1.0 MM which works well since I press extra hard and fine point pens, even ballpoints, tend to cease working after a while.

Before those came out I just would buy the Bic Crystal Stic pens by the 10-pack. I still like those quite a lot.

[bolowolf.livejournal.com]

I prefer Dr. Grip over the G2's because I have big hands, and the cushioning on the barrel is better. I'm generally able to keep mine a year or more before it accidentally breaks or disappears, so the $5-7/pen is worth it for me.

[cinnabarine.livejournal.com]

I really, really, really love Paper Mate Liquid Expresso medium point pens. The extra fine are also very amazing.

[dda.livejournal.com]

The company Christmas gift for 2007 was a Mont Blanc Starwalker (http://www.montblanc.com/products/black_resin_platinum_resin.08486.php) monogrammed ball point. I use it every day.

[keyne.livejournal.com]

I used to like Pilot G2s and Uni-ball Micros ... and then I discovered the Pilot V7 (http://www.librerialuces.cl/images/1910.jpg): best. puzzle. pen. EVER.

(The V5s are good too, though.)

[dolohov.livejournal.com]

I've been very happy with Papermate Profiles. They write smoothly and clearly, and the rubber grip doesn't drive me nuts. When I'm feeling fiddly, they come apart and go back together easily. Also, no cap (pen caps drive me nuts, I always lose them).

[diatom.livejournal.com]

I should know the name of it, but I like ball-point pens, not the gel kind, since ball-points don't bleed if the paper gets wet. I had a habit of getting the metal reusable pen-guts for a while, maybe PaperMate, but now I just cannibalize and forage where I can. I like heavy pens, and I think I like blue ink more than black, and generally medium to thin pen nubs.

Stationary stores seem pretty awesome for New Pen Habits. I just try a bunch on until I find one I like. (I also like the felt-tip pens with very tiny nubs. :) )