That's because they work. Quite well, for most purposes. The process of turning them out by the billions with such consistency is a marvel of modern production engineering. Those little balls are extremely hard and made to extremely precise tolerances. It's my understanding that some of the budget priced fountain pens purchase those balls for the nib tip. They weld it on, slice the ink slot in it and polish it
I'm a fountain pen fan, but they're not right for everything. Easily the second choice (and best for overall flexibility) are the current crop of 'low viscosity' ballpoints (Such as Pilot 'center of gravity'). Extremely light and smooth touch, but with the water resistance of a ball point.
I’d have thought if you like fountain pens, you’d prefer a high friction option, like a fibre tip? A ballpoint is a surprise in itself, but a low viscosity one?! Surely that's as far removed from a fountain pen as you can get?
@@RobManser77 I am also a fountain pen writer myself and I sometimes have troubles writing with a ballpoint pen because fountain pens are just way smoother on the paper. So no, fountain pens aren't high friction writing utensils, *if* you know how to make your stroke. If you write against the tip, it is like riding your bike downhill and suddenly engaging the front wheel brake...
Good video 👍 Some additional Points: 1) With Rollers & Fountain Pens having Medium to Broader tips/nibs, you require specialised non-bleeding paper, whereas Ballpoints can write virtually on any Paper. 2) Ball Point refills are easier to get at any Stationery store. 3) With a Fountain Pen/Roller ball, if your Notebook gets wet, you may smudge & loose all your writings/notes, whereas notes taken with a Ballpoint has near-zero risks. 4) When you require signed Carbon copies at workshops/stores and require your signature to register on all the 2/3 stacked papers, only a ball point can safely handle that additional writing pressure.
Me: Goes on amazon, sees ballpoints and rollerballs. Sees them in every color under the spectrum and then some. Wonders why this guy is acting like there is hardly any colors for them......
I was waiting for him to mention the downside of a rollerball -- that unlike a ball point, the rollerball ink remains wet and smearable for a while after you write. Even so, I prefer the smooth writing action and bold lines of a rollerball.
This video didn't really answer the question succinctly. It sounds like a ballpoint and a rollerball are exactly the same thing, except that the former uses oil-based ink whereas the latter uses gel-based ink.
@@CraigLafferty There really is none. Except roller balls that use liquid ink should be capped to prevent them from drying out, there's no difference. It's just the ink
Quick correction, the first Ballpoint pen was invented by John J. Loud in 1888, Biro just perfected the design in 1938, but plenty of people had tried to fix it before him. Additionally, all he changed was the ink used, the basic design has stayed basically the same since 1888.
I have been a surgeon for over 48 years, and each year I give "very nice" pens to my best referring doctor friends. Pens have been great gifts over the years. Doctor George Whitehead
Thanks for the clear explanation. In the mid 1950’s I was an elementary school student. We were taught to write (Print) with a pencil; then we learned cursive penmanship (the Palmer Method) from my penmanship teacher, Mrs Kilpatrick. We first started with a dip fountain pen, and actually had an ink well built into our desks. Then we “graduated” to a ball point pen, the Vu Writer. This very inexpensive ball point pen was made of clear plastic so the ink supply could be seen, and it leaked like a sieve. It left big blotches, and I would come home from school with ink all over my hands.
Thanks my dear, and thanks for sharing your experience. I wonder why some find the explanation clear and some other find it superficial. I guess it’s expectation. 🙂
@@SamuelNaldi You can’t please all of the people all of the time. To some, a pen is an extension of their personality, and they are very particular about it. To others, it doesn’t matter. There are so few people who can even write cursive these days; our screens have made writing with a pen almost a lost art.
@@SamuelNaldi based on the title of the video i was expecting a more technical comparison of the pens. was the difference mostly ink or were their structural differences. its just one niche hitting another niche interest.
oh, how i remember those days! we started out with the fountain pens you filled from a stumpy little ink bottle. if you weren't careful you would bend the tip of the nib, and have to get another pen. then we progressed to schaeffer cartridge pens, which were the same as regular fountain pens but you loaded them with a tube of ink which would last about two pages. we never got to ballpoint pens as the nuns in our parochial school considered them a sinful abomination. never knew why.
Whilst I prefer a fountain pen I find myself picking up my Pilot G2 gel pen more often than not and have gone so far as putting a 1mm G2 insert into my favourite roller ball pen.
so the inventor of the ballpoint pen is why the Brits call them "biro".. I never knew that. I've been using Parker Vector ink rollerballs for more than 30 years now, and I wouldn't want any other. Such a consistent and clean ink application without the hassle of a fountain pen.
If your left handed (And not writing in Hebrew), you'll most likely find anything you write with a rollerball gets smudged and you'll have ink stains on your writing hand.
Very interesting. I never knew this, I was only aware that there was difference in ink. One type always stays on its side of paper, while the other type often breaches on the other side, too visible from the other side.
I fell in love with Waterman ballpoint pens in the early 1990's & still love them today. I love to write letters to family members and many of us write just to practice a dying art form that we love. Now I am glad I found this channel.
I use all three modes available, i.e. ballpoint, rollerball and fountain pen. The proprietary Caran d’Ache Goliath refill (ballpoint) is marvellous and almost writes like a rollerball; the Montblanc LeGrand rollerball refills offer a sublime writing experience as well.
@@SamuelNaldiWhy "unfortunately"? and why not even a mention in your video? Posh snobbishness? They are quite useful for everyday writing / note taking, and fulfill very widespread need: the need for dirt cheap pens you can put in a 6 year-old's pencil case or in anyone's pocket without fearing the pen will get lost or stolen.
There is anything technologically important, what not invented by Hungarians? I mean…. The list is endless! Starting with water turbine, Penicillin, electric generator, telephone central, helicopter, carburetor…. And ending up with the atomic bomb.
It's the 2020s (video: 2023, this comment: 2024) = 90% of people don't even know what a "pen" is... :) Actually, I don't think you used that word in the whole video! :) "Sticks that make marks"... :)
I use a ball point pen for regular writing, but I like to use a roller ball pen to add bolder accents. When drawing, I use a ball point for the fine lines and a roller ball for darker areas.
The conclusion is...one ball got spring and another ball don't have it...and ball point is writing the report and roller ball is for signing the report...
I would have expected one important topic to be covered: document "safe" ink. Not every Rollerball ink is safe for signing documents while all Ballpoint ink is. ->doesn't fade over time and isn't going to suffer from water or other influences. But there are Rollerball inks that are safe for document use. At least in the "cheaper" realm, i know some uni ball ones that are water and fade safe (i ahve tested in unvoluntarily), and Schneider makes Rollerballs that also have "for documents" labled on them. And a "nieche" thing that only is possible with ballpoint pens: there are ballpoint pens and refills that are gas pressured and have special ink that withstands low temperatures and wet paper. -> With those you can write "upside down", on wet paper, and in freezing tempertures when normal ballpoint and inkbased writing implements don't write anymore. I have a few of these in use constantly: usecase 1 is taking notes while the paper is against a wall or a cabinet. (unpressured pens stop writing shortly due to a lack of gravity pulling the ink down) usecase 2: having a writing implement in the car that will write even after the car was ouside in freezing temperatures.
I have journals in which I wrote with ballpoint about 25 years ago; significantly faded. The only rollerball type pen I use nowadays is the uni-ball eye you name, it uses a carbon pigment ink that won't ever fade.
One of the reasons to use a rollerball pen with document-safe ink is that it prevents check fraud. One of the scams is that someone can take a check written with standard ballpoint ink and via the use of chemicals, remove the ink from the check. The fraud comes in where they can cover the signature, wash the check with chemicals (which removes all of the ink on the check except for the signature since it was covered), remove the cover from the signature, and rewrite the check. That is why I only write checks using a rollerball pen with document-safe ink. Since the ink fuses with the paper it can't be washed away.
So you managed to do an entire video on "Ballpoint vs Rollerball - What's the difference?" without actually explaining the difference. I know that one has a ballbearing. Do they both have a balbearing? Is there any mechanical difference? Or is it only in the viscosity of the ink? Yes you mentioned the different feel to the end user, but we still don't know why.
Heh, I've been using tons of pens but nowadays I swear by the Signo uni-ball 207. It's very inexpensive and widely avilable. It's also allegedly the only pen that can't be erased if criminals try to wash the signature off your checks. Now I don't write checks but I still find the pen itself to be very practical and feels very nice to write with.
I use both as well as fountain pens - I will literally use just about anything except Montblanc and few other odd pens that force you into their proprietary BS
I like using nib pens for ink art. Ball point is fine for writing, but I personally would never use it for artwork. I don't know if I've ever used a rollerball. If I had, I probably would have mistaken it for a ball point :)
These ballpoint and rolerball refills feel a bit too expensive. Fountain pens are normally really expensive but the cartridges and bottled inks are much cheaper and i feel comfortable with them.
I've seen Ball points in three colors, Black, blue, and Red. The red only are known as grading pens so you normally only see them at teaching supply stores or during the fall back to school season. Roller ball pens I've seen in almost every color of the rainbow, Better known as Gel pens(figured out this cause OHTO is a big Gel Pen brand in Art stores). Very good video.
One other type of Bic Ballpoint Pen is the Accountants Pen. It's just like the standard Bic Crystal except the barrel is orange, not clear, and it writes with a very thin line. I've wanted to get some but I haven't been able to find them at my local Office Supply Store.
Not that I need an executive style pen, being blue collar, but when I do have to write, I go for a gel pen, so basically the working class version of a roller pen. Oh, and as a left hander, ball point, especially the thinner line versions, have always been a nightmare for me. Give me a 1mm gel pen any day.
I was hoping for a more objective technical explanation of how the two technologies are different. I already knew one was paste and the other gel. I have written with both so I already understand subjectively the feel of each. This video missed the mark for me.
He forgot to mention the price differential. Roller ball refills are dearer as compared to its ancestor the ball point. Plus, in today's age there are all types of paper with varied textures and believe me when I say this that most papers are not friendly with ball points and in other cases with roller ball ink being water based, chances are one would commonly notice wetting pattern at the back of the writing paper making the side non conducive to further writing resulting in lost of a page. As an analogy with cricket game one should read the pitch before opting for pacers or spinners. Thank you
The leaking of ink is an important issue, especially when wear a formal shirt and put a pen in the chest pocket. The situation is worse, if one has to run to catch up the airline/train. Body heat and the bumpy vibration usually causing the ink gel to come out from the other end and stains the shirt.
I prefer a basic wood pencil to a pen for most of the writing I do, mostly short notes, sketches, marking on wood. Not a fan of mechanical pencils. I had no idea that there are 2 types of ball ends as discussed here. I'd like to see a drawing of the 2 types side by side. Back in my high school and college days, 50+ years ago, I used a fountain pen with the replaceable ink cartridges.
I see no point in the ball point pen. The roller ball is easy to take around with no worries and it feels good. My favorite by far is the fountain pen! It's kind of like like going to a fine restaurant for a 5 course meal vs McDonalds for the #2 meal.
As a lefhanded writer, I have rollerballs fail on me in short time. I suspect it picks up fibres from the paper by me pushing the write utensil rather than dragging it like a righthanded writer would. THis is not so much a thing with a ballpoint. I use a real pen whenever I can.
The only difference is ink viscosity. Ballpoint oil based and lasts years. Rollerball inks are water based and do not last as long since the water evaporates. Shelf life measured in months not years like the ballpoint. Both use a tungston ball at the tip that distrubutes ink by rolling, much like a paint roller. Ballpoints require a firmer press due to the oil based ink. With rollerballs, you use a lighter hand to distribute the ink on the page, and is much wetter and bolder than their oil base counterparts. Ballpoints can go uncapped but rollerballs must be capped otherwise ink evaporates.
He forgets to add the rollerball refills are notorious for drying out. Unlike ball points most rollerball refills are dead in under two years. I have had some big name ones like Lamy go bad in just six months over and over.
Oh dear, it'll be a challenge to find a rollerball pen in this small town! PS. I hate buying online, as I want to see and feel the product before buying.
Don't take rollerball pens on a plane. I had a Parker that ruined my favourite jacket that way. At least it wasn't red ink, or airport security would have wanted to know what was going on!
So they both have balls on the point, and they both have balls that roll.... Ahhh... but one has a gel, and the other a paste... errm... and the difference between a gel and a paste would be what? This video is a whole nothing burger that says nothing.
Ballpoint pens because of the way they work are the bane of left handed people. Since you have to push the ball back into the cartridge to allow flow a right handed person is pushing forward to use the pen. Where as a left handed person is pulling the pen as we write the pen "drys up even though the cartridge is full.
I preffer Ball Point pens coz according to me it makes my handwriting looks better and also I feel it much smoother then a Roller ball pen. And my main problem with the Roller ball pens is that it leaves its imprints on the back of the page. Why does this happen? And is it a very common issue?
I grew up with my mom using V5 and V7 pens for work, so I got used to them. When I used anything else I struggled badly, I did not understand why it was harder until I noticed the rollerball label on the V5/7 versus the Ballpoint on what was to me crappier pens. I did not know the nuances and differences in the ink, all I knew as a left handed writer was that I made more of a mess with ballpoints and my hands hurt versus rollerballs. So yea I have been using rollerballs my entire life I guess. Those are some nice looking pens there.
I DESPISE Ballpoint pens. They never function correctly when I use them, they require more effort to use, and the writing lines just don't look as nice. A $5 2-Pack of Rollerball pens BTFOs the $5 pack of 10 Bics any day.
@@Kalmaro4152 Indeed. I detest Bics above all other brands, I will get ballpoints if I got no other options, but never Bics. Pilot maybe, but then almost all stores near me carry Roller Pen Pilot or better. I got 1 "fancier" pen as a gift some time ago and it had purple ink, love it, been getting the purple refills whenever I can find them. I never knew there were so many different technologies for pens.
@@SamuelNaldi it was really beautiful. I'm new to your channel. You'd be doing a great service if you could make some videos of your writing, all English alphabet (capitals as well as small case letters). Much love from Pakistan.
please tell me the name of the pen that writes like a fountain pen, with different line thicknesses, I see such pens from calligraphers, but I don’t know where to buy it.
What I dislike abouf ballpoints is the pressure they require to work, which is why I personally prefer stabilo fineliners to write, they also come in lots of colours.
I prefer the Ball Point since i write a lot but i do have some fountain pens for the classy feel. The Fountain pen is cheaper compared to rollerballs when it comes to the refills.
Personally a few years ago I found the Schneider slider rave. I have used it since. It's the smoothest I've found so far without being a rollerball. You just have to clean the tip from time to time as it collects its own ink there.
