Ball point pen vs FP

[L Raydell Mundo]

I'm pretty much in Blade Runner's camp on this. Feel is the #1 reason for me.

 

I've always been picky about feel in pens, even before I used fountain pens. I was dissatisfied with standard Bics, so I moved up to Zebras and "better" ballpoints that were smoother and better writers. When gel pens came out, I shifted to gel pens because they felt much smoother to me than standard ballpoints.

 

It was unnerving to watch the movie Breach and see the Robert Hanssen character rave about Dr. Grip pens; I kind of felt exactly the same way about them.

 

Then I discovered fountain pens and to me, the feel is unmatched. They simply make writing more pleasurable...and there's so many neat ink colors and nibs and pen designs....

[Kathelyne]

I also disagree with the contention that bps are inferior to fps because they don't write at every angle. It's fps that are worse than bps in this regard!

 

 

 

FPs don't write at all angles, true, but that doesn't mean that ball points DO write at all angles, or even if ball points write at more angles it doesn't mean it is therefore more superior because its not the number of angles that count, its the right angle that counts.

 

For me the inferority with angle isn't at all that a ball point doesn't write at all angles, it is that I've never had a ball point before that writes at a comfortable angle, you have to hold it at a funny angle to get it to write where a fp writes at a normal angle.

I know I bought up the angle point as proof that bps and fps don't write the same as the op had stated, and most people (it seems to me)are bringing up the angle argument NOT as a "ball points can't write al ALL angles and fp are therefore superior" but rather as a "it requires an odd/painful angle to get a ball point to work whereas a fp works at a nice comfy angle" therefore the angle argument is 101% fair.

 

I hope that makes sense!

[NickKH]

Having read so many comments, i realised i have been narrow-minded when i posted this question, as i was emphasising on the line variation FP creates without focusing on other aspects.

I also agree that FP uses nearly zero pressure to write, unless one is using a flexible nib.

And this can be a main reason why one writes better in FP than BP.

 

Personally i treasure how FP corrected my hand position and angle when i first touched my italic nib.

[HelzBelz]

Off the top of my head, without reading other answers (so my apologies for probably repeating everyone else), a nice wet monoline FP is nothing like a ballpoint. The latter requires excessive pressure, which hurts my wrist, tires me and makes it impossible for me to write neatly. Additionally, I love the ink varieties available for fountain pens, the look of a shiny nib at the end of a pen, and the possibilities offered to me by italic and flex nibs (which are mostly what I use now). Plus I've always used fountain pens.

[JohnCruzNg]

FPs are cheaper than BPs.

 

http://www.noodlersink.com/heartOfDarkness.html

 

"The most recent price levels for disposable rollerball pens with durable (yet not bulletproof) inks ranges from $1.66 each (when sold in a pack of 12) to $3.44 each (as of 1/2/09). We broke these pens open and poured their water based inks out to determine how many would be required to equal our 4.5 oz dropper bottle. The most popular fraud resisting rollerball on the market today required 76 units to equal our 4.5 oz bottle - and the second most popular such rollerball required 82 units. Using the lowest discount price we could find and the largest ink capacity roller ball pen (at 76 units) we have some comparison shopping figures that you may perhaps be interested in seeing: 76 disposable units X $1.66 per unit (not including sales tax) = $126.16 equivalent per bottle of Heart of Darkness, Polar Blue, Anti-Feather Black, Polar Brown, etc.....all of which include REFILLABLE fountain pens that write on the far end of extended 8" X 11" plain paper sheets in mid-air with only the pressure needed to touch the paper to produce a line when flowing properly with ink...whereby no gel pen, ball point, or roller can write with that little pressure regardless of how well they are adjusted to perform. The more costly disposable rollerball pens equate to 82 units X $3.44 per unit = $282.08 equivalent per 4.5 oz bottle.

 

Can your ball point ink survive acetone and common rubbing alcohol on a check or document? Does that gel pen ink survive oven cleaners and bleaches - and other tools of the forger? Does your disposable roller ball save you any money - or reduce waste - vrs. the free fountain pen you can re-fill over and over again? Saving the environment can also mean saving your hard earned dollar - which should never be mutually exclusive goals from the perspective of this frugal Yankee.... ;-) Noodler's Ink will continue to strive to provide this value to our customers through the 4.5 oz bottle and free pens included with such bottles whenever we can manage the razor thin margin to do so - in fact, we intend to expand this program to include a greater variety of such pens as soon as possible. Thank you for your continued support - as we would not survive without it. Noodler's Ink, LLC "The smallest ink company in the world with the largest color selection." © Why does the Noodler's Ink Company insist on bottled ink, when virtually all other ink companies issue disposable ink cartridges? We actually believe that disposable ink cartridges are incompatible with our goals of providing our customers with the "fairest deal possible per dollar given our resources and abilities". A 4.5 oz. bottle of our ink has the equivalent of $72.94 in the LEAST COSTLY retail cartridges in the world (for comparable ink - though not "bulletproof" - and we exclude free promotional cartridges at shows) - and $36.09 in the least costly retail ink of any quality in North America (lowest cost non permanent inks imported from central Asia). Ink cartridges from European, Japanese, and the North American companies that issue them routinely amount to well over $148 per 4.5 oz. and in several instances average well over $315! (Quotes obtained as of 1/16/09) We find this to be outrageously excessive (particularly in instances where the ink has inferior properties!!) and will continue to issue only bottled ink (and some free pens) until industry/technology is capable of equal costs at the retail level for both bottled and cartridge ink per given weight and/or volume of ink. As to the environmental costs of disposable cartridges - we believe frugality tends to be a natural ally of a cleaner environment (which is not the same as "environmentalists"). Why waste cartridges when a refillable fountain pen holds more ink and for far less overall costs? As to writing quality - you have the free pen in this box.you can see for yourself how it writes. We are confident that it will serve you well - otherwise it would not have been issued in the first place. ;-)

 

MSRP #19.00/4.5 Dropper Bottle w/ Free Eye Dropper FP "

 

Here is the math and the logic of how FP is the cheapest writing instrument to use.

[Kathelyne]

FPs are cheaper than BPs.

 

 

 

Agreed, when I can buy a FP for under $2 that I can refil, that works out cheaper in the long run than ball points. Of course, using fountain pens actually costs me more than cheap ball points but because I want it to cost more (buying many pens, expensive pens, pens for the look, pens for the flex etc) not because it has to. If I bought fancy bps the cost would still mount up as fancy bps are expensive too.

[dnb]

My handwriting is definitely better with a FP. I was using RBs but whether a BP or RB, I have to press too hard. I can't write for long because it hurts my hand! Waaaaaaaaaa.

[plistumi]

Less hand cramps. Many ink colors. Messy fingers (if there is a leak).

[The penner]

I use FPs for several reasons.

1. As an antidote to todays world of technology. I do embrace technology but it seems that everything you buy these days comes with a manual an inch thick plus an installation disc.

2. Fountain pens are beautiful! Yes, I know you can get ball points to match many FPs, but for me,there is always something missing without that beautiful nib at the front of the pen.

3. I love all the palaver of flushing and filling pens. Its all part of the pleasure of using FPs, even if I do end up covered in ink!

4. I love choosing and buying ink for my fountain pens.

5. I have arthritis in my hands and find using ballpoints for extended periods of writing is uncomfortable as you have to use so much more pressure.

6. Nothing can replace the pleasure of laying down that lovely wet line of ink!

You've said it all. Apart from the arthritis thing. I also use FP's because I like to taunt people with them and more importantly because I am exceedingly awesome.

[ethernautrix]

because I am exceedingly awesome.

 

FTW.

[dnb]

because I am exceedingly awesome.

 

FTW.

 

FTW?

[ethernautrix]

because I am exceedingly awesome.

 

FTW.

 

FTW?

 

 

For The Win!

 

 

Hooray!

[sidheblessed]

I use fountain pens for several reasons:

 

1. The history.

Using a fountain pen gives a certain feeling that you are a part of some long line that using a ballpoint just can't emulate.

 

2. Better motivation to improve penmanship.

 

When using a fountain pen, I figure that it is a fine writing instrument and you should appreciate it and make the best use of it possible. I have much stronger desire to write well when I use an FP than when I pick up a BP, even an attractive one.

 

3. Maintenance

 

I love the fact that when it comes to fountain pens, you get out what you put in. With tender loving care, your fountain pen will be a much smoother, pleasant writer. If you just fill it and never flush or leave ink in it for months on end, you're going to see the result. For some reason, the maintenance factor makes me feel like I have more of a relationship with my pens.

 

4. Easier on the hands

 

I got appalling writer's cramp when I used ballpoint pens. I haven't noticed any cramps since switching to fountain pens, until the other day i used a ballpoint for a small while and started cramping up all over again.

 

5. Ink!

Ballpoint pens just don't seem to get the variety of ink colours that fountain pens do. Selecting inks of all manner of weird and wonderful colours is one of the greatest pleasure in owning a fountain pen.

 

6. Fountain pens are just beautiful.

No explanation needed.

[Stuggi]

To put it down quick and easy, I do it because I like the way the make me as a writing person (not writer mind you. ) stand out of the crowd, how they feel when you write with them, the way the make my handwriting look interesting, the way they make my handwriting legible (with a ballpoint it just becomes a lot of wavy lines than nobody but me can read) and for the fact that you can fiddle a lot more with them, and I love fiddling with everyday items that "should" be a pickup-and-use item. (That's why my car is a VW Beetle from 1970, why I like espresso/coffee, why I use a straight razor for shaving etc. etc.)

[Imzadi]

It's easier on my hands. My hands don't hurt with FPs after doing any writing.

[Fuddlestack]

Fountain pens are the tools of a craft; ballpoints are convenience items.

[wykpenguin]

For all the reasons. I won't pretend that I don't use FPs for show. :roflmho:

 

The first temptation, and it is still the main one, for me to use FPs is for line variation. I'd get any pen with a flexy nib. Then there's the feeling of gliding over the paper with just the right amount of feedback, the springy feel, the pretty celluloid, ...

[spyrusthevirus]

I don't need to scratch the paper like a maniac to make my letters vissible-the fps always give a bold line, they will just slide on the paper, and they just ask you to hold them, not PRESS them. Of cource some of them are too beautyful, and yeah sometimes it's funny to see people's faces when they first see a fp xD (I'm 18 yo, many of my classmates have never saw a fp before)

[Juicyjones]

I don't need to scratch the paper like a maniac to make my letters vissible-the fps always give a bold line, they will just slide on the paper, and they just ask you to hold them, not PRESS them. Of cource some of them are too beautyful, and yeah sometimes it's funny to see people's faces when they first see a fp xD (I'm 18 yo, many of my classmates have never saw a fp before)

 

Yeah I hate ballpoints because friction < capillary action too. I always feel like I'm fighting the paper and losing with ball points, and the next ten pages, indented with all the marks, are losing the fight.

[PianoMan14]

For me it is not so much how a ball point writes (I can still write legibly--though painfully--with the little horrors) but what they do when they write. I once was writing with a bold Papermate, and around every line it would squirt a little blob of ink on the paper. It annoyed me so much I almost threw it across the room. Well, not quite, but you get the picture.

 

My fountain pens are wonderfully consistent. I think that is what I like so much about them.

Edited April 16, 2010 by PianoMan14