For me: Ballpoint is oil and dye; Hybrid Ballpoint is oil+water (or some lubricant) and dye; Rollerball is water and dye; and Gel is water and pigment. I know this isn't exactly how things work, and is probably not technically correct, but it provides me a good way to consistently classify them.
Yea that’s a man idealized version for sure but a helpful starting point. Stuff like the Pentel floatune which is hybridizing. Gel and rollerball starts to blur the lines
Heheh that schneider refill got me through school the 90s and early 00s. I was terrible at writing with a fountain pen ( a cheap one of course) in school so when we were able to get Schneider pens with refills like that, it changed everything. No more smudges or ink spills and even leftis had no problem writting with these. And it was eraseable.
That Pentel rollerball violet that you showed is crazy great. i just hunted that pen down and bought 2 of them. That thing is smooth, and writes so bold. That does not write like a 1.0mm , more like a 1.4 or 5. I am loving it. Thanks
Rollerballs don’t get much attention these days but they still matter. When the first Uni Ball models came out in the 80’s they were revolutionary. Great video!
The Vball grip with .7mm fine point in black (which they claim made it sorta like a .5mm) was my favorite of all time when I discovered it back in the day in 10th grade. A DRAMATIC improvement over cheapo scratchy ballpoints that I had used for many years being a poor kid, and a comfort improvement that was much appreciated having the rubber grip. I'd occasionally find a pen on the floor or hallway, I smirked when you said it was eye opening even using the barebones onyx, my sentiment exactly. I found a grey uni-ball eye in blue ink in 5th grade I quite liked but it was fairly low on ink when I found it. I also found a low on black ink Pilot P-700, but, I particularly remember that one digging into and hurting my fingers writing after awhile due to no rubber grip that was very common back then in the early 2000's for these it seemed, and the P-700 was even worse due to plastic ridges versus just smooth on others. Just for nostalgia's sake, myself and a friend are going to write and sketch out ideas like base design on a "to-do" list in the crafting survival game 7 days to die using good old pen and paper and I'd just like to say thanks for your down to earth chill vid that took me majorly down memory lane haha. I was happy to see the Vball grip could be had in a 3 pack for under 10 bucks. Pricey per pen in my opinion, but, I want to get them for nostalgic sake. I found a 6 back of Pilot BX V5 black hi-techpoint extra fine on amazon for $9.50 I may nab too. A plethora of offbrand pens all over amazon as well...I saw a 30 pack of no rubber grip rollerballs for only $6 something! That I may have to get for the giggles LOL
Stabilo Worker was *the* pen for all my exams at Uni. As a fellow leftie that was the best option for me. Also it's basically available everywhere in Germany. (Stabilo Black and Worker+ are the same, but somehow Stabilo doesn't sell Black in German stationary stores). The most comparable Schneider pen to Stabilo Worker or Bionic in my opinion ist the Schneider Ray. It has the same tip as Stabilo Worker (not smooth like the Schneider One) and is also refillable with the common fountain pen refills you can get everywhere.
Love rollerball pens, been using them for years. The Pilot V5 , Uniball Roller Grip 5mm and the Uniball Vision Elite 5mm are my favorites. No use for those smearing gel pens.
I have a Sheaffer VFM Rollerball, the original refill and a replacement were both scratchy, and skipped frequently. I recently found out how to open it up and put fountain pen ink, just a fraction of a mL, and now it writes like a dream. The refills weren't cheap either.
The Schneider business ones I have been wanting to try... they look 👍 I finally did order a pilot refillable v5 but gave it away because I liked it so much ;)
I love the Uniball vision just because I have a thing for the permanent archival ink (questionably necessary but I do always pay attention to that) but I have to say it does bleed. The Pilot Precise is nice. It doesn't bleed as much and it comes in fun colors but its not even waterproof and that really bothers me so I'll stick to the Uni Super Ink Edit: I also really like the Inc R2 but its expensive and hard to find so I'd rather buy the Uniball
The regular Uniball Vision/Eyes is certainly my favorite. Their fused barrel and grip section are the reason I prefer them over the Vision Elite; the tendency of the Vision Elite's grip section to come loose kinda bugs me. Sure, the Elite is refillable, but all of my other refillable pens have snugger grip sections.
Those Vision Elites 0.5mm got me through high school timed essays, I would save them for the times when speed was king. Blue/black was my favorite color. Always thought it was superior to the Eye (Elite has the better grip). Probably the best I had access to at the time -- on a student budget. I was in Asia so everything was bought at MSRP or even discounted from Japan MSRP
I didn't know my Uni Vision Elite unscrewed to see the ink level. Know I know! Thanks! Also my wife got me some Sharpie Roller 0.5. They are pretty nice!
I like the Pentel rollerball pens they're a good size for my larger hands and they feel smooth when writing, the colour is nice and vibrant as well, I prefer the 0.4 but it only comes in three colours and the line starts to become to thick at 0.7, and yet they sell ten packs in the 1.0 🤔
I definitely prefer rollerballs more than ballpoints because of the flow of the liquid ink and writes smoother. All of these options I’m happy to take, no matter the cost! - Thanks for sharing with us pen aficionados!
the vision elite is literally the best. i honestly have used them since highschool and never found any other pen as good (like pentel, parker, etc that costs 10x as much or more). and it's been many decades
You could refill the Vision Elite with syringe dipped in a conventional fountain pen bottle. Unique ink shades, massive bang for your buck and the roller-ball convenience. Best of both worlds!
My favorite is the Pilot Precise V5. I've tried some others, but I haven't been able to find one I like as much, and I don't want to waste more money on pens I'm not going to like.
Oh that Lamy reminds me of school. I had that rollerpen but hated it so much. The Original Lamy refill didn’t wrote a smooth line. It was like clogged (normal-thin-normal line) and i had 4 different colors (Black, Blue, red, Silver)- all were that awful. Did you try the original refill?
Yeah the original Lamy refill, the M66 I think it was is OK, but not great. They do tend to skip, especially if you get an older one (which happens frequently)
REFILLING DISPOSABLE PENS. I know that it is not the intent of the manufacturer that they would be refilled but if you will look you will see that the pilot precise pens are refillable with fountain pen ink and can be refilled in the same way as the "disposable" Pilot varsity. You remove the finned front section very gently the ink compartment is then exposed and you can put whatever ink in there that you want. This is especially helpful for one of my favorite rollerballs the Tombow. I think about all the cartridges that I have thrown away after carrying my Tombow Object every day for almost 20 years and I just shake my head. It can be a little messy but I think it is fun to refill "disposable pens". The uniballs are likewise refillable but you have to make a hole in the back of the section. To anyone looking at this I guess you have similar interests but if not, I am sorry if I have bored you with my comment.
Could you also use something like a Con 50 or Con 70 Pilot converter with that Pilot Hightech? I would love to use some FP inks with it with a decent converter.
I’ve owned Pentel Roller Writers for over 40 years and loved using them. I recently bought a Pentel Excalibur but I can’t find out what the correct refill is. I’ve contacted Pentel and they just said we don’t make the Excalibur any longer. Are you familiar with the MG6 refill? I know the MG8 refill (Pentel) is too small. Thanks
Is there any other pen, that has the feedback of the Pilot V5? I don't like smooth feel, that's also why I like the V5 more than V7, because the thinner point provides a bit more feedbback. Is there any other that feels like the V5? For Example I've noticed the Pentel Energel has a version that comes with thin point too. Will that feel like the Pilot V5? Thanks in advance
Ugh. I'm too lazy to change my earlier reply...but the only place I've seen them readily available in the US is for bulk advertising type stuff. Company logo, gotta buy at least 100 type thing. I've considered it, got me through 6 years of college.
Didn't you say in the other video that the Refillable Rollerballs will eventually start bleeding ink if you refill them enough times? That they're good for about 5-7 cartridge refills before the ink might start to bleed through?
@@unsharpen Amazing 🤣 Didnt realise Lamy did one. They just seem to be an oddity only really found in schools, but I'm not even sure why they are considered better for handwriting...
No love for the Parker? Been around forever and like some others, it can be refilled with fountain pen ink. Parker 75 sterling or flighter. . ..two great roller ball pens.
Whatever you do, if you go uni-ball, avoid the 207 GEL Signo like the plague. These are the worst pens I have ever purchased in my life. The violet might as well be black. The pink is barely visible. The darkness of the ink is very inconsistent. Last, but most definitely not least, they cannot keep up with your writing if you are a fast writer. The ink gets lighter and lighter, until none comes out and you are just scratching into the paper. Then, you wait for the ink to catch up and start writing again, watching it fade into oblivion by the fourth or fifth letter. If you are a "snail-pace" writer, this is less of a problem, except you get globs of darker ink at the start and end of a stroke with a mediocre stroke in between.
I’m sorry, but someone who likes bic (big idiot cows) and uniball because they’re cheap and have fine points is literally my arch nemesis. Next you’ll say you like fountain pens dear god.
I like how you try to sugarcoat Apple batteries. Apple did what they did with the batteries to monopolize on it's product. I was smart enough NOT to fall for it. Samsung=freedom all the way.
I was just trying to get across that by making the battery fixed in place you can maximize its size. Maybe it's a terrible design choice, maybe it's great... but that's the tradeoff
For me: Ballpoint is oil and dye; Hybrid Ballpoint is oil+water (or some lubricant) and dye; Rollerball is water and dye; and Gel is water and pigment.
I know this isn't exactly how things work, and is probably not technically correct, but it provides me a good way to consistently classify them.
Yea that’s a man idealized version for sure but a helpful starting point. Stuff like the Pentel floatune which is hybridizing. Gel and rollerball starts to blur the lines
Heheh that schneider refill got me through school the 90s and early 00s. I was terrible at writing with a fountain pen ( a cheap one of course) in school so when we were able to get Schneider pens with refills like that, it changed everything. No more smudges or ink spills and even leftis had no problem writting with these. And it was eraseable.
That Pentel rollerball violet that you showed is crazy great. i just hunted that pen down and bought 2 of them. That thing is smooth, and writes so bold. That does not write like a 1.0mm , more like a 1.4 or 5. I am loving it. Thanks
Glad to hear it! And yes it’s like ink fountain
@@unsharpen Yes in a good way. No skipping, no leaking.
Rollerballs don’t get much attention these days but they still matter. When the first Uni Ball models came out in the 80’s they were revolutionary. Great video!
The Vball grip with .7mm fine point in black (which they claim made it sorta like a .5mm) was my favorite of all time when I discovered it back in the day in 10th grade. A DRAMATIC improvement over cheapo scratchy ballpoints that I had used for many years being a poor kid, and a comfort improvement that was much appreciated having the rubber grip. I'd occasionally find a pen on the floor or hallway, I smirked when you said it was eye opening even using the barebones onyx, my sentiment exactly. I found a grey uni-ball eye in blue ink in 5th grade I quite liked but it was fairly low on ink when I found it. I also found a low on black ink Pilot P-700, but, I particularly remember that one digging into and hurting my fingers writing after awhile due to no rubber grip that was very common back then in the early 2000's for these it seemed, and the P-700 was even worse due to plastic ridges versus just smooth on others. Just for nostalgia's sake, myself and a friend are going to write and sketch out ideas like base design on a "to-do" list in the crafting survival game 7 days to die using good old pen and paper and I'd just like to say thanks for your down to earth chill vid that took me majorly down memory lane haha. I was happy to see the Vball grip could be had in a 3 pack for under 10 bucks. Pricey per pen in my opinion, but, I want to get them for nostalgic sake. I found a 6 back of Pilot BX V5 black hi-techpoint extra fine on amazon for $9.50 I may nab too. A plethora of offbrand pens all over amazon as well...I saw a 30 pack of no rubber grip rollerballs for only $6 something! That I may have to get for the giggles LOL
Stabilo Worker was *the* pen for all my exams at Uni. As a fellow leftie that was the best option for me. Also it's basically available everywhere in Germany. (Stabilo Black and Worker+ are the same, but somehow Stabilo doesn't sell Black in German stationary stores). The most comparable Schneider pen to Stabilo Worker or Bionic in my opinion ist the Schneider Ray. It has the same tip as Stabilo Worker (not smooth like the Schneider One) and is also refillable with the common fountain pen refills you can get everywhere.
Love rollerball pens, been using them for years. The Pilot V5 , Uniball Roller Grip 5mm and the Uniball Vision Elite 5mm are my favorites. No use for those smearing gel pens.
I have a Sheaffer VFM Rollerball, the original refill and a replacement were both scratchy, and skipped frequently. I recently found out how to open it up and put fountain pen ink, just a fraction of a mL, and now it writes like a dream. The refills weren't cheap either.
I enjoyed the longer video today! Great content as always!
Awesome! Thank you!
My Rollerball choice is the Parker Vector , they're kinda comfortable in the stainless steel version , a bit slippy but confortable to hold
The Schneider business ones I have been wanting to try... they look 👍 I finally did order a pilot refillable v5 but gave it away because I liked it so much ;)
I love the Uniball vision just because I have a thing for the permanent archival ink (questionably necessary but I do always pay attention to that) but I have to say it does bleed. The Pilot Precise is nice. It doesn't bleed as much and it comes in fun colors but its not even waterproof and that really bothers me so I'll stick to the Uni Super Ink
Edit: I also really like the Inc R2 but its expensive and hard to find so I'd rather buy the Uniball
The regular Uniball Vision/Eyes is certainly my favorite. Their fused barrel and grip section are the reason I prefer them over the Vision Elite; the tendency of the Vision Elite's grip section to come loose kinda bugs me. Sure, the Elite is refillable, but all of my other refillable pens have snugger grip sections.
Here in US the uni vision looks exactly like the uni eye in video, and I can never seem to get the bic roller with the grip to write without skipping
The Ohto Dude is one of my fave capped rollerballs. They will take the energel refill, and they just feel fantastic.
Those Vision Elites 0.5mm got me through high school timed essays, I would save them for the times when speed was king. Blue/black was my favorite color. Always thought it was superior to the Eye (Elite has the better grip). Probably the best I had access to at the time -- on a student budget. I was in Asia so everything was bought at MSRP or even discounted from Japan MSRP
I didn't know my Uni Vision Elite unscrewed to see the ink level. Know I know! Thanks! Also my wife got me some Sharpie Roller 0.5. They are pretty nice!
The Onyx is what got me into pens from that same scenario. My teacher gave me one in 6th grade....and it was all downhill from there 😂
I like the Pentel rollerball pens they're a good size for my larger hands and they feel smooth when writing, the colour is nice and vibrant as well, I prefer the 0.4 but it only comes in three colours and the line starts to become to thick at 0.7, and yet they sell ten packs in the 1.0 🤔
My top 10 rollerballs;
1.Uni-Ball UB-200 Vision Elite (0.8 and fine-tip version)
2.Pilot Precise V5
3.Stabilo Worker
4.Tombow Roller Ball
5.Lamy Safari (Roller-Ball)
6.Pilot Precise V7
7.Uni-Ball 215 and 217
8.Rorito XO7
9.Hauser Tech 5
10.Uni-Ball UB-157 Eye (Micro)
Solid list!
Uniball Air? It's smoother than 217
Try the Zoox H7
@@clickbaitpro I like refills bro.
@@harshbandodkar5833 I did, I'm not gonna update my list but the zoox if in the 10
I definitely prefer rollerballs more than ballpoints because of the flow of the liquid ink and writes smoother. All of these options I’m happy to take, no matter the cost!
-
Thanks for sharing with us pen aficionados!
the vision elite is literally the best. i honestly have used them since highschool and never found any other pen as good (like pentel, parker, etc that costs 10x as much or more). and it's been many decades
i have v7 hitecpoint (i use it most) but the non refillable version and also a billion other rollerball pens
You could refill the Vision Elite with syringe dipped in a conventional fountain pen bottle. Unique ink shades, massive bang for your buck and the roller-ball convenience. Best of both worlds!
Pilot V10 Grip Rollerball Pen [BXGPN-V10], Uni-ball 207 Impact RT Gel Pens, Bold Point (1.0mm), Pentel EnerGel RTX Retractable Liquid Gel Pen, Pilot V10 Grip Liquid Ink Rollerball 1.0 mm Tip,
Pilot V7 Hi-Techpoint Rollerball, Energel BL80 Retractable Liquid Gel Ink Rollerball Pen - 1.0mm, UB-150-10 Eye Broad Rollerball
My favorite is the Pilot Precise V5. I've tried some others, but I haven't been able to find one I like as much, and I don't want to waste more money on pens I'm not going to like.
Just got a tul ball point all metal. Thing is really nice. Writes very well.
Oh that Lamy reminds me of school. I had that rollerpen but hated it so much. The Original Lamy refill didn’t wrote a smooth line. It was like clogged (normal-thin-normal line) and i had 4 different colors (Black, Blue, red, Silver)- all were that awful. Did you try the original refill?
Yeah the original Lamy refill, the M66 I think it was is OK, but not great. They do tend to skip, especially if you get an older one (which happens frequently)
@@unsharpen exactly. I’m glad it wasn’t only me ;)
Where can you find the v7 eco-point in something broader than .07?
I like uniball eye micro,and refill the with fp ink
Rollerballs are my favorite.. It's no fuss, just don't use cheap paper and you'll be golden. I've seen them write on plastic before it's crazy.
Thanks again for the great content, sir!
Glad you enjoy it!
Give the Ohto Graphic Liner a try, I am really liking mine. Got it in 0.7/'03' size
REFILLING DISPOSABLE PENS. I know that it is not the intent of the manufacturer that they would be refilled but if you will look you will see that the pilot precise pens are refillable with fountain pen ink and can be refilled in the same way as the "disposable" Pilot varsity. You remove the finned front section very gently the ink compartment is then exposed and you can put whatever ink in there that you want. This is especially helpful for one of my favorite rollerballs the Tombow. I think about all the cartridges that I have thrown away after carrying my Tombow Object every day for almost 20 years and I just shake my head. It can be a little messy but I think it is fun to refill "disposable pens". The uniballs are likewise refillable but you have to make a hole in the back of the section. To anyone looking at this I guess you have similar interests but if not, I am sorry if I have bored you with my comment.
Talk about water proof ink for rollerball pens cuz I've rollerball pens but ink is done❤😢
Could you also use something like a Con 50 or Con 70 Pilot converter with that Pilot Hightech? I would love to use some FP inks with it with a decent converter.
I like using Uniball pens.
Are there any rollerballs with a cartridge that can be refilled with fountain pen ink using a syringe?
Yes! unsharpen.com/rollerball-pen-fountain-pen-ink/
I’ve owned Pentel Roller Writers for over 40 years and loved using them. I recently bought a Pentel Excalibur but I can’t find out what the correct refill is. I’ve contacted Pentel and they just said we don’t make the Excalibur any longer. Are you familiar with the MG6 refill? I know the MG8 refill (Pentel) is too small. Thanks
Sorry no don’t know about that one. I’ve found the Excalibur shape to be rather hard to replicate.
The onyx is a modern remake of a very good, but different pen they made in the 90s.
Is there any other pen, that has the feedback of the Pilot V5? I don't like smooth feel, that's also why I like the V5 more than V7, because the thinner point provides a bit more feedbback. Is there any other that feels like the V5? For Example I've noticed the Pentel Energel has a version that comes with thin point too. Will that feel like the Pilot V5? Thanks in advance
Have you tried a Jetstream 0.38mm? Lots of feedback and a good writer
@@unsharpen No, never but I will get it as soon as possible! I already search for it! Thank you very much!!!
Have you already tried Uniball Micro Deluxe 0.5? I think it's a great pen and not very smooth too.
what do you think abou the uni-ball deluxe ? is a great pen for you ?
It's OK, a bit old school for me, and I've largely moved to gel pens, but no problems with it
I must have that Bic for my collection! Looks like they stopped making them a while ago.
Oh the 537R? That’s too bad. I really try no to have out of production stuff in these videos :/
Ugh. I'm too lazy to change my earlier reply...but the only place I've seen them readily available in the US is for bulk advertising type stuff. Company logo, gotta buy at least 100 type thing. I've considered it, got me through 6 years of college.
Where can I find the Bic Triumph or I think it's the 537r?
Amazon and ebay still have them
Didn't you say in the other video that the Refillable Rollerballs will eventually start bleeding ink if you refill them enough times?
That they're good for about 5-7 cartridge refills before the ink might start to bleed through?
Yea quite true. I think 5-7 might be a bit low but it’ll happen eventually
@@unsharpen What's the average # of refills before they bleed? Are there any that won't bleed?
You thought of doing a video on "handwriting pens" . Like the "Staedtler Handwriting Pen 309"?
I've only ever seen them used in Schools.
Yea like the Lamy ABC. Honestly if I did anything about “handwriting” I’d had an insurrection on my hands
@@unsharpen Amazing 🤣 Didnt realise Lamy did one. They just seem to be an oddity only really found in schools, but I'm not even sure why they are considered better for handwriting...
Uniball AIR is also a good rollerball but unfortunately not refillable.
It is if you can try little harder to pull the reservoir away from the feed while also twisting it
Try Reynolds trimax pens from India.
The needle tip ones are not for me. I destroy them.
No love for the Parker? Been around forever and like some others, it can be refilled with fountain pen ink. Parker 75 sterling or flighter. . ..two great roller ball pens.
I didn't really get into non-disposables here, except for a few examples. I have a jotter RB but honestly don't love the refill
Whatever you do, if you go uni-ball, avoid the 207 GEL Signo like the plague. These are the worst pens I have ever purchased in my life. The violet might as well be black. The pink is barely visible. The darkness of the ink is very inconsistent. Last, but most definitely not least, they cannot keep up with your writing if you are a fast writer. The ink gets lighter and lighter, until none comes out and you are just scratching into the paper. Then, you wait for the ink to catch up and start writing again, watching it fade into oblivion by the fourth or fifth letter. If you are a "snail-pace" writer, this is less of a problem, except you get globs of darker ink at the start and end of a stroke with a mediocre stroke in between.
But 2022 just started!😩
Most of these models are quite old. There likely won’t be too many rollerballs releases this year sadly
Uniball eye
I like rollerball pen rather then ballpoint
I’m sorry, but someone who likes bic (big idiot cows) and uniball because they’re cheap and have fine points is literally my arch nemesis. Next you’ll say you like fountain pens dear god.
Best you don’t explore the channel any further :/
..disposable rubber....lol...
So which is the best?
Not one dot oh! Just one millimetre or one mil
It's kinda his thing to say it like that.
Yeah, idk my brain just says that. Like v1.0 or something
I can't understand your handwriting but good video
Ok, thank you
I like how you try to sugarcoat Apple batteries. Apple did what they did with the batteries to monopolize on it's product. I was smart enough NOT to fall for it. Samsung=freedom all the way.
I was just trying to get across that by making the battery fixed in place you can maximize its size. Maybe it's a terrible design choice, maybe it's great... but that's the tradeoff