Cheap Writing Pens

Parker Jotter, all stainless. The retracting mechanism is so smooth.

I like the Dr Grip ballpoints with the squishy grip. I also a ballpoint by Cross, not sure what it's called but it writes very smoothly.

When I was a ball-man, I searched far and wide for the perfect writing experience. Nirvana was found after many hours of meditation in Staples, and it was the Pilot VBall Grip.




Of course, all I really want to say is fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen fountainpen fountain pen

Ballpoints are uncontrollable and leave blobs of greasy ink all over the page. They are virtually useless vulgar things. I abandoned them for fountain pens decades ago and never looked back.

I bring a Pilot G2 or G6 gel pen pretty much everywhere. Cheap, clicky (retractable, no cap to misplace) and writes nice and smooth on cheap paper and index cards. I have nicer pens for when I want to make a good impression, but for everyday writing these are great.

I'll second the Pilot G2, with a fine point (05). My employer recently started buying the only the 07 points, so I guard my last two 05s closely. Yes, I realize how lame this is.

Your favorite cheap pen costs $0.91 each (according to the link you kindly provided). If your office is too cheap to provide you with them, buy them yourself. I know all these other members are showing you thier personal favorites, but really, come on. My cheap pens last about a month with regular use, but even if you go through a pen a week, that's less than four dollars a month out of your pocket. (and you talk about your office being cheap, that's the pot calling the kettle black).

I'm tired of hearing people talk about how little money they make. here's an interesting fact for you Americans:

If you make $35-36,000 a year. you are in the top 4% of the wealthy of the world.
If you make over $41,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of the wealthy of the world. (that's right, 99% percent of the world's population makes less money than you).

Stiff upper lip, my man, buy your pens yourself.

Advice from the neighborhood butler

P.S. Does anyone else see the irony?

I lovelovelove the BP Zebra F-301. They're cheap as dirt, easy on the eyes and available at your local gas station. I must own 50 of them. (hate the "gel" ink ones though)

I agree with Joel, for the money, the Zebra is one of the best pens out there. I switched to them after losing my third parker.

Pilot Hi-tecpoint V5 in blue. Even though I´ve got fountain pens (eg, Parkers) and Fabers.

My choice too.

I was a die-hard G-2 user for a while - they were the only ones available with a narrow enough point (I have small handwriting), and I prefer a cap-less pen.

I use a Parker now, which I like a lot. It's got good action.

You buys pens to write with? Isn't that like buying shoes to wear them? Strange...

Here's my take on this, for what it's worth. If you earn $35,000 or over per year and you're not willing to fork out for office pens from your own pocket, even if they do only cost $4 a month, you're probably rich. But if you earn $35,000 or over per year and you ARE willing to pay for office pens at $4 a month, you are not rich. I had this very conversation with a chap who was delivering oxygen to my place today. We were talking about how people spend their money. People who spend a few bucks here, a few bucks there tend to be less wealthy and waste their money because they don't watch the incidental purchases which soon add up. They may be seen as more generous/frivolous with their money and consequently they're commonly the people that boast little wealth. But the rich people invariably get rich because they watch everything they spend, no matter how small. We both agreed that the wealthy people we know are the tightest bastards with money. Whether these people earn a large wage or not, they are generally better off because they watch every last cent they spend. I swear to God one guy I know is swimming in money. He earns a decent wage but he's as tight as a duck's butt. Famous for it. Proper pain in the ass! If he lends money to friends - even to his girlfriend - he will write their full name in a little black book where he records any owings. And he will hound them for it until he gets it back; even down to a couple of measly dollars. Incidentally, you won't ever see him pay for parking, no matter how cheap it might be. Friends earn similar amounts but don't have nearly the funds he does. There's a reason people get rich. They're the ones who follow one fundamental rule. Every little helps.