Pen Myth-busting: Remember That Information on the Internet Has an Expiration Date

Last weekend’s trip to the California Pen Show only reinforced my perception that the pen community is growing, and exponentially at that! Most of my workshop attendees were attending their first pen show, and I continue to get questions via the website from readers looking to invest in their first “nice” pen, whether that’s a fountain pen, a ballpoint, or even a quality pencil.

While the internet is an excellent resource for new users, with a wealth of pen-related information available in forums, on YouTube, and on blogs (and yes, even Reddit), I’ve noticed something of mild concern: many of the “opinions and observations” about specific brands and products that I remember seeing in forums 10+ years ago are still prevalent, even if they’re no longer accurate due to updates in product offerings, ink formulations, and manufacturing techniques. I’m not faulting the newbies here: once something appears on the internet, it’s forever, and as we all know too well, if you repeat something enough times people will accept it as truth regardless of accuracy. I thought it worthwhile to do a post addressing a handful of specific beliefs/ideas that keep popping up:

I try to put my money where my mouth is.

Myth No. 1: TWSBI Pens Always Crack

I’m hesitant to even post this and resurrect “the debate”, but I feel that I have to say it because I’ve handled more TWSBIs in 10 years than most people, both as an enthusiast and (more recently) as a retailer: I have not found TWSBI's any more prone to cracking than any other plastic pen at a similar price point, and cracking is certainly not inevitable. I currently have 25 TWSBI pens in my possession, between my personal collection and product samples. I’ve probably bought and subsequently sold an equal number since 2015. During that time, I’ve had 2-3 pens develop cracks. Two were Diamond 530 and 540 fountain pens (the initial models from 2014-2016 that were indeed prone to cracking), and the other was a first-generation Diamond Mini that developed a hairline crack on the posting threads. I still have the latter pen - the crack is stable and doesn’t affect the usability of the pen. Notably - and of course I’m probably jinxing myself here - I don’t recall ever having had a TWSBI pen returned to my shop due to cracking.

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From left: Lamy Noto and Lamy 2000 ballpoints, plus writing samples from the fine and medium Lamy ballpoint refills.

Myth No. 2: Lamy Makes a Bad Ballpoint Refill

“I love the look of the Lamy ballpoints but everything I read says that Lamy ballpoint refills are terrible and you can’t replace them with an Easyflow 9000.” I get this question multiple times a month, and again, it’s largely derived from either (1) old information; or (2) someone writing a “review” extrapolating their personal preference to a general judgment about a product. My take: Starting in about 2017, the quality of Lamy ballpoint refills has consistently been excellent. Prior to that, I found the refills could be dry and often “skippy” (i.e., not writing a consistent line), but as I discuss a bit more below, ballpoint refills have improved across the board in the past 10 years, including at Lamy. Today, Lamy’s M16 refill is one of my favorite everyday writers, as is the M22 that fits the Lamy Pico. I even have a “Fine” M16 refill loaded into my 2000 ballpoint pen, and Lamy ballpoints at multiple price points constitute a core pen recommendation for those looking to give a pen as a gift. (Be sure to check out the new “Noto” and “econ” ballpoints, which are ridiculously inexpensive for their cool design.)

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In recent years, the wider availability of low-viscosity ballpoint refills like the Jetstream has driven many other manufacturers to up their game.

Myth No. 3: The Schmidt Easyflow9000 Is the Best ballpoint refill

“Does it come with an Easyflow9000, because I’ve been told that’s the only ballpoint pen worth buying.” (Translation: I read on the internet that the Schmidt Easyflow9000 is the only good standard ballpoint refill and you should therefore only buy compatible pens.) Here’s the deal: 10 years ago, you might have been right, because a lot of ballpoint refills - especially proprietary refills - were “skippy”, clogged easily, and didn’t write nearly as smoothly as Schmidt’s flagship cartridge. I used to buy Easyflows by the dozen. Today, it’s probably fourth or fifth on my list of preferred ballpoint refills, due to the increased availability of “low viscosity” ballpoint inks like the Uniball Jetstream SXR-600 in multiple formats (not to mention finer point sizes), and advances in ballpoint ink technology across the board. I would even say that I prefer Schmidt’s own P900 refill over the Easyflow, because I like a slightly drier, less oily ballpoint writing experience and the P900 accomplishes that without losing much, if any, darkness or line consistency.

Myth No. 4: Lamy 2000 Fountain Pens Suffer from disproportionately Bad Nib Quality Control

There are Lamy 2000 haters who will virulently disagree with me, but I don’t believe this “issue” ever existed on the scale many people seem to think. Based on (1) my own experience owning a dozen different Lamy 2000s in every conceivable nib size; (2) conversations with other users; and (3) my experience as a retailer, I believe the perception that Lamy 2000 nibs suffer from widespread QC failures is the result of a mismatch between personal preference/expectations and the underlying hooded design of the fountain pen and how the nib is tipped/ground, especially in the extra-fine and fine nib sizes. The finer nibs can have a more angular, almost architect-ish tipping on them, which can be incompatible with certain writing styles (especially those who rotate their pen a lot). I always allow returns if this becomes an issue, but it happens quite infrequently and upon inspection, I’ve never found what I would consider a true “QC issue” with the nib. My advice: If you like the Lamy 2000 style, but also enjoy the feel of a super-smooth, rounded nib, then start with the medium or broad and have the nib ground down if necessary. Personally, I love how Lamy 2000 fine nibs write and they are a mainstay of my everyday rotation.

(Note: You absolutely can get a bad nib on any brand or model of fountain pen, and it happens more frequently than I would like across brands. The above should be taken to say that I’ve not personally noticed more frequent nib QC issues with the Lamy 2000 than with any other pen I’ve used or sold. If it does happen, you should contact the retailer, who should replace it.)

Disclaimer And a Side Note

I am a retailer of TWSBI, Lamy, Schmidt, and many other brands in addition to those mentioned in this post, but you likely already know that if you’re a regular reader of the site. With that said, I dislike that retailers and even bloggers can feel pressured into watering down, or not offering at all, their opinions on certain brands out of fear of being labeled a “shill” or “biased.” I personally don’t feel any compunction about offering the opinions above because I’ve held them and written about them long before I became a retailer. Moreover, I do feel a sense of responsibility to offer my own opinions, especially since they’re colored by more than a decade in the pen community and having handled hundreds, if not thousands, of pens. In any event, given how I’ve structured my business, if I think a product is poor quality, I won’t sell it. I’m a bit old-school in that I think if you sell a product, you’re by implication endorsing it, and you should be prepared to stand by it if any issues arise.

Twist or Click: What's Your Retractable Pen Preference?

Within the broader world of pens, enthusiasts have many different choices to make. Fountain pen, rollerball, or ballpoint? Bottled fountain pen ink or ink cartridge? Post your pens or don’t post your pens? There’s no “right” answer, as all of these end up being matters of personal preference (though heatedly debated online). One discussion, however, has been the subject of surprisingly little conversation throughout my years in the community: the pros and cons of different retractable pen mechanisms.

Why Does The Mechanism Matter?

To begin, let’s assume that you’ve already decided that you want a retractable pen vs. a capped pen. You do most of your writing “on the go,” whether that be in the field, in the car, in the kitchen, standing at the back of a crowded boardroom holding a clipboard, etc. You need a pen that you can quickly deploy, that writes reliably, and where you don’t need to worry about keeping track of a loose cap. Retractable it is!

Both click pens and twist pens come in a wide range of formats, but pens within each category typically share a few things in common.

But many different pens are “retractable.” You have the classic click pen, and within that category, many more sub-categories of different click mechanisms (including not just the classic bolt-action pens and “side-click” pens with release buttons). The second largest group of retractable pens are twist-activated, which typically involves turning part of the barrel to deploy the refill - or in the case of a twist-retractable fountain pen like the Lamy Dialog3 - the nib. Each category has its own set of considerations, and while I personally use both, the “better choice” for you is definitely context-dependent.

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Six Click Pens, from Left: Caran d’Ache 849 Paul Smith; Lamy 2000 Ballpoint, Anterique Ballpoint, Pilot G2 Limited, Pilot Vanishing Point, Tombow Airpress (a/k/a the greatest fidget toy of all times - that knock is addictive!)

The Pros and Cons of the “Click Pen”

This article won’t dive into the particularities, advantages, and disadvantages of different styles of click-mechanism: that’s a rabbit hole for another day. But in general, I’m referring to any pen that allows you to click a button at the end of the pen to deploy the tip or nib. Examples of common click pens in this category include: the vintage-style Bic Clic (Field Notes version and countless other Clic-inspired pens like those from Anterique); Pilot G2/Zebra Sarasa/similar gel pens; Caran d’Ache 849 (both ballpoint and rollerball); the Lamy Safari Ballpoint, and on the fountain pen side, pens like the Pilot Vanishing Point/Decimo and the Platinum Curidas.

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Why write with a click pen?

• Speed. If what you’re looking for is a writing instrument that allows you to get writing quickly with little to no fuss, you need a click pen. The classic example is the newspaper reporter in the field, pairing a Bic Clic with a spiral bound reporter’s notebook. Clicking the end of the pen to extend/retract the tip takes no time at all.

• Ease of Use, Especially One-Handed. I spend a lot of time writing while standing, holding a legal pad or portfolio in one hand and a pen in the other. In addition to speed, a click-pen allows you to operate the pen one handed.

• Low Cost. Click pens are generally less expensive than other options, as most mechanisms are mass-produced. As noted below in the “twist-pen” discussion, this can lead to long-term durability issues, but you still have to work pretty hard to wear out even the cheapest click pen.

The main drawback to a click mechanism is that it’s easy to accidentally deploy the refill in your pocket or bag. While not a huge deal with a ballpoint or gel pen, both of which use more viscous inks, this type of “inkcident” can be disastrous with a liquid ink pen such as a capless rollerball or fountain pen. I’ve personally ruined countless pairs of pants by carrying click pens in my pocket, to the point where I hardly use capless rollerball refills anymore and have mostly moved to low-viscosity ballpoint cartridges in all of my click pens. (If a capless fountain pen like a Vanishing Point accidentally deploys, you can also bend the nib, but it’s much less common for people to try to carry these pens loose in a pocket or bag because they’re more expensive.)

Six twist pens, from left: Uni Jetstream Prime, Lamy Dialog CC, Lamy Dialog3, Montblanc Classique Ballpoint, Retro 51 Tornado, Lamy Safari Twin Pen 2-in-1.

The Pros and Cons of a Twist Pen

If you enjoy pocket carry, or like to store pens in pen loops or slots built into your bags and/or portfolios, you might prefer a pen with a twist-action mechanism. The main advantage for me personally is that there is a lower risk of accidentally engaging the mechanism and having ink from the refill leak into the interior of your bag or pocket. While it’s a bit more difficult to use the pen one-handed, many people prefer the streamlined design of twist pens over the somewhat inelegant push-button knock. Examples of common twist-action pens include fancier options from Montblanc and Waterman, as well as less expensive pens like the Uni Jetstream Prime, the Baron Fig Squire, and the Retro 51 Tornado.

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Uni’s Jetstream Prime is a slim ballpoint with an excellent refill and a great price point.

Why Write with a Twist Pen?

• Lower Risk of Ruining Your Bag or Clothing. As noted above, this one is fairly straightforward. It’s much more difficult for a twist pen to accidentally deploy, though of course it can happen. (To be absolutely safe, I often recommend that people only carry capped pens in their pockets.)

• Increased Durability. Click mechanisms tend to wear out. Most of the parts used in lower-cost, mainstream pens are mass-produced and not designed to last forever. Combined with the tendency to use pens as fidget toys, most click pens will eventually break. In my personal experience twist-action pens have fewer moving parts and therefore last longer. Some of my nicer twist ballpoints, such as my Montblanc 144 “Classique” and Waterman Expert, are upwards of 25 years old. And don’t get me started on all those Cross Century and Century II pens from the 1960s….

• Streamlined Design. Without the need for a button (or “knock”) at the end, twist pens can adopt more elegant, streamlined designs. The difference is especially apparent when you get into higher-end writing instruments. For example, Pilot does an excellent job incorporating the knock into the design of the Vanishing Point and Decimo, but Lamy scores points for the design work on their twist-action “Dialog” series.

As good as they look, the Lamy Dialog pens also make my point about click pens being a lower-cost option: The Lamy Dialog CC and Dialog 3 can cost as much as 2x the Pilot Vanishing Point.

Did You Enjoy This post? Come See Me This Week at the California Pen Show!

The primary focus of The Gentleman Stationer, both the informational site our curated retail shop, is to help people find practical stationery that fits their everyday writing needs. I firmly believe that stationery is meant to be used, not just hoarded or collected, and I approach everything from the perspective of an everyday user as well as an enthusiast. Retractable pens are one of those ubiquitous items that everyone uses - typically without thinking much about it - though with just a bit of thought and consideration you might be able to upgrade your writing experience even more. There are so many different options out there!

Today’s post on retractable pens is just one of many different topics I’ll be discussing in my seminar "Stationery for Everyday Writing: Choosing Pens, Inks, and Paper for Your Daily Life”. I have two time slots: 2:30pm PT on Friday and 11:00 am PT on Saturday. I’ll also be hosting the “Pen Shows After Dark” event on Friday, which will be on-site at the show hotel. There’s no cost to attend any of the events I’m participating in, so please do stop by!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper, Updated as of January 24, 2024!

I’ve taken some time this week to update another site resource, as part of an ongoing project that I plan to continue in response to reader feedback. Apparently many of you find these comprehensive resources helpful, especially for those new to fountain pens, inks, and quality paper!

This particular post, titled “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper,” originated back in March 2021 in response to reader requests for an overall “guide” to fountain pen friendly paper. Honestly, there are so many different paper options out there that it’s impossible to rate, much less rank, them all, but this post grouping some of the more popular brands into “Tiers” of fountain pen friendliness has proven helpful to a lot of you so I’ll keep it going! I also want to maintain this as a “post”, as opposed to a “page”, because it has a rich comment section with lots of different recommendations for papers not yet available in the U.S. market. Today’s update adds a few new brands that I’ve discovered, and deletes some paper options that are no longer available due to their having been discontinued. Enjoy!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Introducing the T.G.S. Fountain Pen Ink Review Archive!

Last year, I compiled and launched an archive containing all of the T.G.S. fountain pen reviews organized by brand. This morning, I finished updating an addition: a full archive of ink reviews, organized by color family and brand. I was surprised to learn that the current total is 114 ink reviews going back to 2014! There are also some editorial “best inks for ____ purpose” posts which are organized elsewhere in the informational resources section.

A note on this archive: One of the fun things about fountain pen inks is that some of them defy categorization. An ink that might appear green to me might lean more brown or grey to others, so please don’t take any of my “labels” as definitive. I hope you enjoy, and this will be regularly updated as more reviews are completed!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We greatly appreciate your support!

Strategic Paper Replacement: Adventures in E-Ink, Part I (The Physical Writing Experience)

I have a love-hate relationship with so-called “digital paper”, both the idea and the reality. I've owned some version of Apple's iPad Pro for years, but stopped upgrading it after a while due to general disuse. While it occasionally comes in handy when I need to sign something electronically, mark up a longer document for my day job, or where a hand markup needs to be easily distributed to a wider group via e-mail, I otherwise find the writing experience on the iPad to be (1) far less satisfying than writing on real paper due to the lack of a tactile experience; and (2) subject to the same distractions as a computer, to the point where it's much harder to lose yourself in the work than with a notebook and a pen.

But I'm a reader, researcher, and notetaker by nature, so I’ve continued to experiment. I accumulate a LOT of paper, and the idea behind a digital writing device still intrigues me. I'm not opposed to digital tools where they are the best option and solve a real need, such as minimizing the volume of "junk paper" I generate, and anything that streamlines the process of organizing and archiving handwritten notes is a plus.

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To that end, I acquired two e-ink devices last year, Amazon's Kindle Scribe and the Remarkable 2 e-ink tablet. While I can't say that I've fully bought in to either system, both devices pleasantly surprised me with the extent to which they duplicate, physically and mentally, the experience of writing on paper. While I originally sought to write a single comprehensive post discussing my thoughts on e-ink and these devices as a whole, I quickly realized that such a piece would quickly get too long and unwieldy, so I'm going to break it out into multiple installments. First up: my thoughts on the physical writing experience, including available pen options.

1. Writing on both the Kindle and Remarkable 2 feels more like actual paper than the iPad. The matte screens simply feel better than writing on glass. While the friction requires you to periodically replace the tip of the stylus as it wears down, replacements are generally inexpensive. (As an aside, I have tried the Paperlike screen protector for the iPad, and still prefer the feel of both e-ink tablets.)

2. The pens/styli I have used are more comfortable to use for longer writing sessions than the Apple Pencil. Of the two "stock" options available, I actually prefer the Kindle Scribe Premium Pen ($59.99) over the much more expensive Remarkable Marker Plus ($129). Recently, I've been using aftermarket options, including the Lamy EMR AL-Star and the Lamy Safari "Twin Pen" (a multi pen that also includes a D1 ballpoint refill for when you want to switch writing modes). All of these options use Wacom's EMR (Electromagnetic Resonance) technology - no batteries are involved, so you don't have the battery anxiety that can be an issue with the Apple Pencil during a long working session or if you forget to charge it.

3. I find the writing experience nearly as distraction-free as physical paper. Personal experience may vary, but I can "lose myself" in reading and writing with an e-ink tablet in a way that I've never experienced with an iPad. Whether it's due to digital distraction always being a click away, blue light, or something else, I don't know, but that's the reality.

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The Remarkable 2 allows you to choose from a variety of line options, and vary both style and width. EMR technology is responsive to pressure, creating line variation that corresponds to light/heavy writing pressure. You will also see the “color option” I discuss below.

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EMR pens feature different nib sizes - this is the round tip on the Lamy AL-Star.

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For those who want to write a finer line (or who want to write on “glossy surfaces”, such as a Samsung device), Lamy makes a pointier nib. It will likely wear down quicker on matte surfaces.

The standard Remarkable and Kindle styli both feel very much like a pencil. I prefer their weight and balance to that of the Apple Pencil.

Potential Drawbacks To Consider

1. While there is very little latency ("lag") in the current generation of e-ink tablets, it's still there. I've not found it to interfere with my enjoyment of the overall experience, and I would describe it as “minimal” with both the Scribe and the Remarkable 2.

2. The lack of a color display limits the ability to highlight and annotate documents in different colors. While the settings do allow you to change colors, you'll only be able to view color in exported documents, not on the device. (I know you can change colors with the Remarkable 2 - I've not tried on the Kindle Scribe as Amazon's software makes it fairly difficult/inconvenient to import and organize PDFs and other documents for annotation purposes so I generally don’t use it that way. More on that in a later installment.) Other companies have recently released tablets with color e-ink screens, but they are expensive (i.e., approaching $700).

3. Some might find the technology expensive for a single use device. That said, with as much as I read and write (hours per day), $300 for the tablet doesn't strike me as outrageous. Remarkable-branded accessories can be pricey and raise the price of the device to around $600 if you opt for the most expensive pen and folio, but if all you want is a simple no-keyboard folio cover and a Wacom-compatible pen, there are much less expensive generic options out there that don’t compromise the experience.

So What's Still to Come?

In addition to recommitting to a journaling habit, one of my goals for 2024 is to be a bit more systematic in how I use paper, and especially in how I organize notes so that I'm able to locate them for reference later. I've been using the Remarkable 2 as both a digital notebook and e-reader (mainly for articles that I want to highlight and annotate in pdf form), with the Kindle Scribe as my primary reading device for longer books that I can annotate yet don't want to carry with me when I'm traveling. Both devices allow me to export markups to my computer for archiving.

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The Remarkable 2 software syncs your handwritten notes with the desktop app, and has functions that include handwriting conversion and the ability to type annotations directly into the document from your computer. I’ll go into the functionality in more depth at a later date, but you can export the documents in PDF form to save elsewhere or distribute to others as necessary.

At some point I will do more in-depth installments on the ins and outs of each tablet, including my thoughts on the software and any friction points encountered while integrating these devices into a workflow. To that end, if you're considering purchasing an e-ink tablet, I would carefully consider how you want to use it before making a decision. If you're essentially looking for an e-reader with a large screen that you can use to make handwritten notes and highlights, and use occasionally as a digital notebook, the Kindle Scribe gives you access to Amazon's large library (including Kindle book you already own) with basic e-ink notebook functionality. On most Kindle books the handwriting function is generally limited to "sticky notes" (picture below), but this is already changing as Amazon tweaks their software, and “write anywhere” books are being made available in the Kindle Store. At the moment, the Remarkable 2 has more out-of-the-box functionality and a more intuitive interface, allowing you to read (and annotate) DRM-free e-books, PDFs, and online articles sent to the Remarkable via a Chrome extension. If you spring for the (pricey) keyboard cover, you even can turn the Remarkable 2 into an e-ink typwriter similar to a Freewrite. For those whose primary goal is notetaking and handwriting, I would recommend starting with the Remarkable or something like it.*

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As with standard Kindle highlights and typed notes, Amazon allows you to export a pdf of your notes and annotations.

*Note: I recognize other options are available. I know many people who enjoy their Supernote and Boox tablets, but I'm not currently interested in the ability to add Android apps and I otherwise don't see enough of a difference in the handwriting functionality to convince me to buy another device.

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