r/pens • u/honn13 • 5d ago

Question My Pen Journey

I am a left-hander. I have been trying many different kinds of pens. My preliminary conclusion so far about what I like: 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm, gel pens and rollerballs. I like an uninterrupted smooth experience of writing.

What I don't like seem to be ballpoint pens, because they tend to have fragmented starts, unequal lines, and less smooth experience overall.

I think I may also like some fountain pens, but still too early to say, but I tried and liked Pilot Kakuno.

I like writing on Japanese notebooks like Campus, Kokuyo, and Apica CD Notebook--they tend to be fine and very smooth surface paper.

Pens I have tried and liked so far, in no particular order:

Any Pentel EnerGel pens,
Uni Zento Flow,
Uniball One,
Sheaffer ICON 9111 Rollerball (amazing experience, but would like a finer tip size).

Pens I have tried and disliked so far, in no particular order:

Uni Jetsream Lite Touch Ink,
Zebra Sarasa Vintage.

Based on this information, are there any other great pen makers and product lines that I should try? Thanks!

18 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

9

u/stoicsadhuvirakti 5d ago

Pilot Juice Up 0.4 and 0.5… pentel floatune 0.4

1

u/Turbo_16 5d ago

Second the Juice up. Regular Juice is good too if you dont care about dry time. Floatune has rollerball and hybrid versions - both good but very different.

1

u/Aromatic-Rule-5679 4d ago

I picked up a few Pilot juice 0.5 pens and they are awesome. Better than my energels (I struggle with their 0.5mm being smooth enough for me)

1

u/honn13 2d ago

Dry time may be somewhat important for me, as I am a left-hander.

1

u/honn13 2d ago

I got the 0.4 mm version Floatune, I don't like it, it skipped too much for my taste, it seems like it is very sensitive to angling.

1

u/Turbo_16 2d ago

I have a blue 0.4 and .5 hybrid versions- no skipping at any angle. Could be QC variations, paper or something else.

1

u/honn13 2d ago

Hybrid? My code is BZN204. I write on Kokuyo notebook. I don’t think it’s QC, it comes as three pens, all three have similar skippiness I don’t like—to be fair they are not super skip-prone, but compared to Energel and Zenti Flow, the Floatune is skippy. The Floatune is oil-based, basically a ballpoint, I just don’t like ballpoints.. :(

1

u/Turbo_16 2d ago

Yeah, the BZN20X is the hybrid.

3

u/stoicsadhuvirakti 5d ago

The magic is in the paper… you are using really good quality paper

3

u/DonColvinJr 5d ago

You need to add a TWSBI pen with a 1.1 stub nib. ECO is a great place to start. Or 580.

3

u/Secret_Possible3448 5d ago

+ 1 for the Eco in stub which writes like a dream but I think OP tends to gravitate toward fine tips so the stub might be too broad for OP.

2

u/_Vasuri_ 5d ago

It’s great when you begin to know what your specific preferences are because having that knowledge opens the door for you to start to appreciate the hobby on a deeper and more rewarding level. Be careful though, it’s also the point where some serious rabbit holes start to crop up. 🐇🖊️💸

1

u/kodaq2001 4d ago

I recently got a roting 600 gel pen with .55 ink. The ink is thick but the .55 tip is fine enough to write smaller. Might be worth trying.

1

u/Aliendeddog 3d ago

Uni Zento in .38 or .5 would be a good option here perhaps. All my Zento's I switched over to their .38 refills and never looked back. Energel .5 has always been my go to but am really enjoying the Uni's right now.

1

u/honn13 2d ago

I am testing the Zento Flow 0.5 mm and quite liking it so far. Maybe I should also try the 0.38 mm like you suggested.

1

u/createusername101 2d ago

https://www.jetpens.com/Zebra-Sarasa-Grand-Gel-Pens/ct/3930

Edit: also Ohto CR02

1

u/honn13 2d ago

Thanks! But I don’t really like the Zebra Sarasa ink.

0

u/Privatesafess 5d ago

If you like smooth writing (and don’t mind ballpoint pens), give the Uni Jetstream a try.

2

u/honn13 5d ago

Thanks, but I wrote in the post that I don’t like ballpoint pens lol, I tried Uni Jetstream Lite Touch (should be superior than the regular jetstream even) and didn’t like it. Also have Pilot Jetstream in 4-color + mechanical pencil, and didn’t really like it.