Your Perfect Edc Ballpoints

[bemon]

I don't know if all of us on this portion of the forum are fairly die hard fountain pen users, but I am. That said there's always a reason to carry a ballpoint. Despite having many others in my collection, these are my only two go-to pens.

 

The Lamy 2000 I carry at work in my pocket. I keep it in a leather sleeve, but more to protect my pants from a leaky cartridge or from tears than to protect the pen. I like it because it's got an impressive build quality, it's hefty and it looks professional at the office without calling too much attention to itself. It always gets a compliment when someone handles it.

 

It comes in handy for working off a list if I'm consistently ticking items and don't want to keep uncapping a pen, for signing on the go since I don't carry my fountain pens or for loaning out if I need someone else to sign something.

 

The Fisher Bullet is my casual carry. It just rattles around in my pocket alone with my keys, and has years worth of patina to prove it. It goes with me on vacation too, so it's been around. Again, it feels decently solid (Not like the L2K) and I like that it caps into a shorter and more manageable size for an easy pocket carry.

 

The Bullet comes in handy for anything from signing the odd receipt while I"m out (a rare occurrence), to jotting a note in an unexpected situation to entertaining my daughter while we're trying to have a 10 minute meal on the go.

 

I always use a broad blue cartridge in both pens, and neither tend to glob or leak ink. Except for once when I left the Fisher inside a hot car in the direct sunlight for 3 days.

 

 

 

What are your go-to ballpoints that you supplement your daily fountain pen carry with? What makes them perfect?

[Joe in Seattle]

Parker SS Jotter vintage

or

Rotring 600 Lava vintage

[pajaro]

Montblanc 164R red Meisterstuck ballpoint and Pelikan K215 black rings ballpoint or a Parker Jotter. I have stopped taking the better pens out of the house. So, it's often the Jotter.

[kaissa]

Jotter with Schneider 755XB refill and a BIC 1.6 mm for me.

[Intensity]

A couple of Retro 51 Tornado pens with Zebra Sarasa "vintage" gel refills (dark blue and blue-gray). I use those to sign things, write out checks, and for anything I need to be waterproof and fading resistant on any paper type.

[flatline]

I'm a fan of the Fisher Bullet although I have just recently lost mine after 10+ years of constant daily carry.

 

I haven't replaced it yet because I've been doing just fine with a Pilot B2P clipped to my shirt collar. I find the B2P pens to be comfortable to hold, extremely lightweight, and to have a good clip. Perfect for clipping at my neck.

 

--flatline

[pen lady]

Sheaffer pink clipless Fashion ballpoint and pencil set in the original tapestry pouch.

[bemon]

Montblanc 164R red Meisterstuck ballpoint and Pelikan K215 black rings ballpoint or a Parker Jotter. I have stopped taking the better pens out of the house. So, it's often the Jotter.

That reminds me I used to have a Pelikan K400. Which I took outside. And lost. I liked it because if I wanted a gen pen instead of a ballpoint I could just put a Parker gel cartridge in it.

[bemon]

A couple of Retro 51 Tornado pens with Zebra Sarasa "vintage" gel refills (dark blue and blue-gray). I use those to sign things, write out checks, and for anything I need to be waterproof and fading resistant on any paper type.

I had a Retro 51 twist roller pen. One of the leather wrapped ones. I sold it and I kind of wish I didn't now.

[bemon]

I'm a fan of the Fisher Bullet although I have just recently lost mine after 10+ years of constant daily carry.

 

I haven't replaced it yet because I've been doing just fine with a Pilot B2P clipped to my shirt collar. I find the B2P pens to be comfortable to hold, extremely lightweight, and to have a good clip. Perfect for clipping at my neck.

 

--flatline

Too bad you lost yours. They're not expensive, but because it's so portable it's been a lot of places with me. It's even the pen I used to sign my daughter's baptism certificate with. We were down in Colombia so I didn't have any fountain pens with me. But I happened to have my Fisher Bullet.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I might go a week without using a ballpoint, or even having an occasion to let someone else use one, but they're always there if I need them. L-R:

 

Ohto Minimo. Yes, it's basically a gimmick, but the special credit card holder makes it very easy to carry in a wallet. And my chances of being caught without any pen at all are minimal.

 

Fisher Bullet Space Pen. Pants pocket carry, fob pocket if I'm wearing jeans. I have a couple of others, but this one is my favorite. I have a fine blue Fisher refill in it, and for the amount I actually use it, may never need to refill it again.

 

Parker Jotter. If I carry a ballpoint in a shirt pocket, which I generally don't, it will probably be one of my Jotters. This one has a Schmidt EasyFlow refill.

 

And of course, that's a Parker 0.9mm pencil (a 45?) and a Parker 180 fountain pen next to it. Just thought I'd show that I have a FP and mechanical pencil that match one of my Jotters. I rarely carry all three together, though.

 

 

[catbert]

Even before the pandemic, a Tactile Turn Shaker with a copper barrel because of its antimicrobial/antiviral properties.

[bemon]

I might go a week without using a ballpoint, or even having an occasion to let someone else use one, but they're always there if I need them. L-R:

 

Ohto Minimo. Yes, it's basically a gimmick, but the special credit card holder makes it very easy to carry in a wallet. And my chances of being caught without any pen at all are minimal.

 

Fisher Bullet Space Pen. Pants pocket carry, fob pocket if I'm wearing jeans. I have a couple of others, but this one is my favorite. I have a fine blue Fisher refill in it, and for the amount I actually use it, may never need to refill it again.

 

Parker Jotter. If I carry a ballpoint in a shirt pocket, which I generally don't, it will probably be one of my Jotters. This one has a Schmidt EasyFlow refill.

 

And of course, that's a Parker 0.9mm pencil (a 45?) and a Parker 180 fountain pen next to it. Just thought I'd show that I have a FP and mechanical pencil that match one of my Jotters. I rarely carry all three together, though.

 

 

That's the Bullet I wanted, but my wife said "I'm not standing beside a man who takes out a rainbow pen." I'm still going to get one and use it when she's not around.

 

Sets are great- I've got the L2K sets in Makrolon and Steel as well as some other brands. But like you I rarely end up carrying them together.

[bemon]

Even before the pandemic, a Tactile Turn Shaker with a copper barrel because of its antimicrobial/antiviral properties.

I like Tactile Turn. I've got a steel Slider. Or Glider maybe. I can't keep them straight- I carried it for a while in my right pocket but it caused me to walk with a starboard list.

[catbert]

I like Tactile Turn. I've got a steel Slider. Or Glider maybe. I can't keep them straight- I carried it for a while in my right pocket but it caused me to walk with a starboard list.

 

Yeah, it's heavy. I've rationalized that knowing right away if I've forgotten to pocket it is a feature not a bug.

[qvxb]

Before retirement I carried pens and pencils in a vinyl pocket protector.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

carried a chrome space pen every work day for 10 years. used it so much i wore the chrome off in a couple places.

That was when fountain pens were not compatible with the work i did. and i HAD to be able to depend on my pen EVERY SINGLE TIME.

 

it never failed me. But it was never a pleasant writer, it IS a ballpoint after all.

[N1003U]

Given the choice, I tend to like matched sets.

 

It is another reason why I am a Pelikan fan, as I can usually find a matching ballpoint for many of the fountain pens Pelikan offers, and the Pelikan ballpoints (as someone pointed out above) almost universally take Parker-sized refills, so the ink colors, types, and ballpoint sizes available are fairly broad.

 

I have over the years carried ballpoints from Cross (Century, Townsend), MB (Meisterstück), and Lamy (Safari) as well, but odds are, if I dont know your penmanship skills, odds are I will hand you a Pelikan K600.

Edited August 15, 2020 by N1003U

[twin63]

At work, I always have a Uni Jetstream in addition to whatever fountain pen I’m carrying. I work for a blood bank and while my job is primarily administrative, I still venture into the lab and component prep areas. The Jetstream works great for lab instrument tapes and glossy product labels.

On my own time (if I’m carrying a ballpoint), it’s usually a Retro 51 Hex-O-Matic, Rotring 600 or Parker Jotter. All have Schmidt EasyFLOW 9000 refills.

[Studio97]

I keep a Fisher Trekker on a chain around my neck so I always have a BP if there is none in my pocket. Otherwise a Jotter is good and sometimes keep a Montblanc Classic or Generation BP in my pack. I also carry rollerballs of all kinds.