Handwriting is fitness for the brain, they say (uni-ball agrees)
I am a scribbler in the literal (not literary) sense: I need paper to organize my thoughts and to make lists or just to jot down something, even if eventually I’ll use some software (not for shopping lists, though; not anymore).
How can people not use paper and a writing instrument?! (No, not you, retarded TikTokers, I wasn’t addressing to you.) Handwriting really is fitness for the brain! Here’s a study published in 2025. And an article from the May 2024 issue of Scientific American. Or, in Nature, a short article from this year (barrier-free).
I don’t use pencils as often as I should. Graphite pencils, stupidly called lead pencils in English, despite containing 0% Pb. But I use a (cartridge-powered) fountain pen way too frequently! I’m a Luddite, ain’t I?
At any time, I use a plethora of ink-based or gel-based writing devices, and I even carry with me at all times an irreplaceable BIC Crystal ballpoint pen medium, black. I’m a maniac.
Having had a long life so far, I’ve used so many brands and models of pens that I can’t remember them all. What I do remember is that I still miss the 0.5mm BIC Z4+ Needle Point pens that seem to have been discontinued.
The BIC Triumph 537R (also capped) liquid ink rollerball in 0.5mm didn’t offer the same writing quality the last time I used it (it might have been discontinued, too). Just to clarify: 537R uses liquid ink, whereas 537RT is gel-based (and retractable).
To cut the crap and get to the present day, I’ll say that currently I’m an addict of Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd., with a history of having used Pilot Corporation. So I’ll discuss my experiences with ① uni-ball and ② Pilot conflated with Pentel.
🧟 In the original version of this post, I wrote Pentel instead of Pilot in most cases!
ℹ️ 60% of Pilot products sold in Europe are made in France. Pentel also has a factory in France, but it’s unclear how much of the European market it supplies.
Pilot and Pentel—two for the price of one
In the latest years, Pilot decided to make money from the dumbification of people, especially kids, who purchase and use their overpriced Pilot FriXion erasable ink pens. Today’s kids expect a BACKSPACE key to exist even for writing, and adults aren’t much smarter. Pencils and erasers are rocket science. Oh, my, but erasable fineliners don’t exist yet! On a side note, I learned that most adults don’t even know that there are different erasers for different types of writing instruments and paper (you don’t use the same eraser for pencil or ballpoint pen on cheap paper and China ink, aka India ink, on tracing paper).
Until a couple of days ago, when I lost it, I used a Pilot G-2 07 gel pen. That’s maybe the most popular gel pen from Pilot. Their catalog for Europe specifies the following technical parameters:
- Pilot G-2 07 (BL-G2-7): medium writing, 0.7mm ball, 0.32mm width of stroke (0.37mm for the neon and pastel colors, 0.36mm for the metallic colors)
- Pilot G-2 05 (BL-G2-5): fine writing, 0.5mm ball, 0.25mm width of stroke
I could never find the 0.5mm ones. But the 0.7mm G-2 is just fine for everyday use!
Occasionally, I happened to use the G-1 or G-1 GRIP, both with metal mouthpiece, and even the so-called SUPER GEL, all making use of the exact gel formula as the G-2. The SUPER GEL is only available in 0.7mm, but the G-1 range has 0.5mm, too.
Interlude: Pentel and its superior hybrid gel
The Pentel EnerGel X 07 (BL107) and EnerGel (BL77) that I once had were writing just as well as the Pilot G-2 07, if not better. (Some people say that Pentel EnerGel writes smoother than Pilot G-2. I noticed myself that Pentel’s gel is more liquid than Pilot’s.) Characteristics:
- 0.7mm ball, 0.35mm width of stroke (LR7 refill)
Another very decent product (my wife’s daily driver!) that might soon be discontinued despite still being present on the site for Germany, the Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip 06 (K116), has these characteristics:
Here’s why I believe this pen might be living its last days:
- The pen is available in 7 colors in Germany (but only 5 colors at Müller, of which red and blue are out of stock!)
- The refills are available in 3 colors in Germany (at Müller they call the refill K106 and only in Artikeldetails the proper KF6-AX/KF6-BX/KF6-CX code is shown)
- The site for France doesn’t list this model anymore!
The French site only displays the Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip 08 (K118) in 4 colors (black, red, blue, green), which writes thicker:
- 0.8mm ball, 0.35mm width of stroke
But even this one is endangered: the KF8 refill is not only unavailable, but the website doesn’t even mention that the pen is refillable! WTF?!
Pentel’s “hybrid gel” is a fascinating and intriguing invention, on par with or better than Pilot’s! That’s because it’s a water-based gel! We’ll see later that to uni-ball, “hybrid gel” still means “oil-based gel, only different”! Pentel’s “hybrid gel” has the best of both worlds:
- It sticks to high-quality, glossier paper as if it were liquid ink.
- It has a higher viscosity than ink, and that makes it adequate on more porous paper, too.
But the brand is catastrophically managed in Europe.
Back to Pilot
I have used in the past (and I still have a couple of them archived, meaning not used yet) pens from the Hi-Tecpoint V5/V7 range of liquid ink rollerballs, usually in crazy colors (violet, green). Technical data:
- V7 Hi-Techpoint (BX-V7): medium writing, 0.7mm ball, 0.4mm width of stroke
- V5 Hi-Techpoint (BX-V5): fine writing, 0.5mm ball, 0.3mm width of stroke
With liquid ink, the actual width of stroke will be larger on low-grade paper. Feathering could even go as much as bleeding on crappy paper.
I’m not sure that I’ve used anything else from the current range of Pilot pens. They’re focused on those retarded FriXion pens!
They should have improved their “super gel” technology instead of going into the FriXion shit. They seem to target retards, and I will boycott them from now on (I’ll still use those V7 and V5 from my stash of writing instruments).
Moreover, in the same way Big Pharma has corrupted so many physicians, Pilot has corrupted elementary school teachers in some countries through aggressive lobbying. For instance, in Romania children from grades 1-4 are required to use Pilot FriXion pens! One more reason to boycott Pilot.
Technical interlude
A few notes, should you read blogs about pens and run across such articles that are full of inconsistencies: Ballpoint, Rollerball, or Gel: Which Pen is Best for You?
- Traditional ballpoint pen “ink” (paste, actually) is indeed oil-based, but the pigment is suspended, not dissolved, in the formula, which also includes alcohol and alkyl alkanolamides (aka fatty alkanolamides). That makes the term “dye” incorrect.
- Gel pens are using a water-based formula in which the pigment is also in suspension. What makes it unique is that it’s less thick than the ballpoint pen paste but thicker than liquid ink. Polymers are added to that effect. Different gel formulas from different manufacturers can lead to different writing experiences.
- Rollerball pens use liquid ink in which the dye is dissolved in a water-based liquid. Rollerball ink is basically the same formula as fountain pen ink, just with added glycol. Fountain pen ink has dissolved dye, unless it’s China/India ink (which has carbon black pigment suspended in water, traditionally with a binder like shellac or gum arabic).
- “Hybrid ink” or “hybrid gel” doesn’t have a unique definition! The aforementioned article makes it out to be sort of a ballpoint pen paste with extra lubricant, but that’s bollocks. In Pentel’s case, it’s water-based. In uni-ball’s case, it’s oil-based. 🤷 I can’t tell anything about other brands.
uni-ball aka Uni—much more extensively
I’m told that UNI-BALL, brand of Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd., and traditionally stylized as uni-ball, is now called Uni in the States. I don’t care—in Europe it’s still “uni-ball” and I’m going to use this name. Besides, Uni means Universität in German 🙂
The current uni-ball pens in use by me are no more than seven:
Before we get into the details, I’ll make a table with these pens, plus several rollerballs I’ve used in the past and that I’ll also use in the future (you guessed it, I have a few in my stash of writing implements):
| # | Type | Name | Code | Ball | Stroke | Refil | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liquid ink | AIR MICRO | UBA-188-M | 0.5mm | 0.28–0.45mm | N/A | Great writing experience, but it can’t really write that finely. I’m a big fan of it nonetheless. |
| 2 | Liquid ink | eco | UB-120 | 0.5mm | 0.3mm | N/A | Excellent for writing with fine strokes. |
| 3 | Liquid ink | eye fine | UB-157 | 0.7mm | 0.5mm | N/A | Too thick stroke in practice. |
| 4 | Liquid ink | eye micro | UB-150 | 0.5mm | 0.3mm | N/A | Prefer the micro! |
| 5 | Liquid ink | eye NEEDLE | UB-187S | 0.7mm | 0.5mm | N/A | The needle tip gives the feeling of precision, yet the writing isn’t that fine. |
| 6 | Liquid ink | eye NEEDLE | UB-185S | 0.5mm | 0.4mm | N/A | See above. |
| 7 | Liquid ink | VISION ELITE | UB-200 | 0.7mm | 0.5mm | N/A | Too thick. There is also a 0.8mm version that writes in 0.6mm. |
| 8 | Liquid ink | VISION ELITE | UB-205 | 0.5mm | 0.4mm | N/A | Prefer this one! The width is in the code, not in the name! |
| 9 | Gel ink | Signo Gelstick | UM-170 | 0.7mm | 0.4mm | N/A | The cheapest plastic with the greatest writing! |
| 10 | Gel ink | Signo 307 | UMN-307 | 0.7mm | 0.4mm | UMR-87E | Premium build (the Signo 207 UMN-207 uses a different UMR-87 refill), great writing. I never tried the 0.5mm UMN-307-05 that writes in 0.3mm (equivalent to UMN-207 MICRO). |
| 11 | Jetstream hybrid oil ink | Jetstream RT | SXN-217 | 0.7mm | 0.35mm | SXR-7 | Disappointing writing experience but yes, it has a fine stroke! The “RT” (retractable) has been dropped from the official name. The version with removable cap is SX-217. The 1.0mm models that write in 0.45 mm: SXN-210, SX-210. |
| 12 | Jetstream hybrid oil ink | Jetstream JP | SXN-150-07, SXN-150C-07 | 0.7mm | 0.35mm | SXR-7 | See above. Similar model: SXN-157S (“Sport”). Versions with codes ending in -10 and -05 have 1.0mm and 0.5mm balls and write in 0.45mm and 0.24mm. The “C” are available in 9 colors and made in the respective color. The “JP” in the catalog means “Manufactured in Japan from Japanese-made materials.” |
Based on the catalog for 2024-2025 (125 MB PDF, and the server is very slow), I’ll dig into the technologies behind these pens.
Note that I’ll only mention a subset from each category of pens. Generally, those that I used, with very few additions.
Jetstream—the gel that isn’t gel
Jetstream was my first contact with uni-ball. It happened in 2005. The mechanical part of their technology is sound, but the ink formula is a hit-and-miss in my opinion.
They don’t make any claim about Jetstream’s ink these days, but in the past they called it “hybrid ink.” Unfortunately, this “hybrid ink” is not water-based but oil-based; therefore, its viscosity still leads to some of the disadvantages of the classic ballpoint pen paste. In brief:
- The bad part: smudging can still happen.
- The good part: it writes with thinner strokes.
The classic capped and retractable versions with 0.7mm balls. Avoid the 1.0mm ones!
There are many more variations, many of them of little relevance and with questionable international availability.
I’d note the SXN-150-05 (0.5mm ball, 0.24mm stroke) and the SXN-150-38 (0.38mm ball, 0.19mm stroke) that I never encountered in person. What I did purchase was a red pen from the colored range:
What bothers me is that they discontinued the 0.5mm of the classic capped Jetstream pen. I’m pretty sure this is what I purchased back in 2005 in the States. It might have had the code SX-215, unless they used a different notation back then.
Signo—the smooth gel
The Signo range is quite extensive these days, and its twin-ball mechanism is common to all models:
The Signo 207 has a long history behind it, and the newer Signo 307 claims to have added cellulose nano-fibers to the gel! From the 207/307 variations, the common models (the 0.7mm one is “standard” and the 0.5mm one is newer):
But the shocking one (again, the range is quite large!) is the cheapest and the least premium gel pen ever made by uni-ball: the Signo Gelstick 0.7:
It feels bad when you struggle to remove the cap. The translucent part you hold it from when writing feels extra cheap because it is cheap plastic. And yet, the writing is great! €1.10-1.40 is a correct supermarket price.
AIR—their newest technology
I fell in love with uni-ball’s latest technology as soon as I purchased my first AIR MICRO pen! Liquid ink, baby! “Revolutionary Hybrid-Tip Technology,” they say.
It’s not magic, but it feels great! Because it somehow writes almost like a fountain pen but thinner, it’s not suitable for the finest sketches, alright. But I always have one at hand! MICRO, mind you. I never tried the non-MICRO (0.7mm ball, 0.35–0.55mm stroke) variant, and I’m not sure that I should.
eco—with DELUXE siblings
That’s a very cheap one, but excellent when you need very fine strokes with liquid ink: the uni-ball eco UB-120 (0.5mm ball, 0.3mm stroke). It has some siblings with more “luxurious” casings and even 0.7mm balls, but only the eco is available with green ink:
eye—a classic rollerball
This is a more classic range of liquid ink rollerballs from uni-ball. They all write with wider lines than the official values for stroke width, especially if the paper tends to bleed the ink.
The eye fine in 0.7mm will write thicker than 0.5mm in my experience. The eye micro in 0.5mm is what I ended up purchasing, although the stroke is larger than the official 0.3mm. I should try the 0.38 mm eye ultra micro, should I find it. Maybe it would write in 0.25mm. Or maybe it’ll scratch the paper!
Discontinued liquid ink models
Somewhat similar to the eye line, there used to be a Grip line that I enjoyed years ago:
- uni-ball Grip micro (UB-245), 0.5mm ball
- uni-ball Grip fine (UB-247), 0.7mm ball
Why did they kill it?!
NEEDLE and VISION ELITE
By “needle,” they mean the tip is like a needle to help you have a better view of the exact point where it touches the paper. They are still rollerballs. If you hoped for a capillary tube with a genuinely hollow needle like the classic China/India ink technical drawing instruments from Rotring, you’d be wrong.
Similar to the eye range, the 0.5mm models should be preferred to their 0.7mm counterparts. The premium VISION ELITE comes with this claim: “For the Flying Business Person.” That’s because they’re supposed to be “airplane-safe” 🙂
I never owned a UB-200 that comes in 0.7mm and 0.8mm, but I purchased a UB-205 pen that only comes in 0.5mm (0.4mm official stroke), and it wasn’t that bad. Yes, I tested it during a couple of flights!
Epilogue
I didn’t talk about fineliners. I didn’t discuss drawing instruments. Will I ever have the time to use the entire collection that I own? And no, they didn’t dry!
188 user-installed Android apps on my current smartphone. Windows and Linux computers. I’m not a complete Luddite. But what is life without paper? I’m not sure that I could use a Kindle Scribe, a reMarkable, or a Kobo Elipsa. A Luddite’s gotta draw the line somewhere.
I enjoy writing with Penac CCH-3 0.7 mm and Rotring Tikky II 0.5 mm with Staedtler 2B (I don’t like leads that are harder and scratch the paper more than writing).
Regarding tablets, smartphones and pens, I don’t like them because they are too slippery, there isn’t much feeling of a real paper – but I didn’t test reMarkable nor Supernote which should, supposedly, be more closer to a real hard paper and pen).
Btw, could you, please, share the list of android apps (AppListBackup for ex.) and or Linux and or Windows? Or maybe make a post on the blog.
Would help discover apps that we don’t know about or didn’t think about.
On Android, my last two additions are Obsidian and NerdCalci (kinda OpalCalc style Windows app).
Ah, you’re a mechanical pencil person! B and 2B are very pleasant to use. Many low-quality HB leads are often harder, probably F or even H. Funny thing, I learned that in the US, B is #1, HB is #2, and H is #3, but there’s no number for 2B, and F is also in-between (#2½).
Rotring Tikky is a huge, really huge classic, but I believe the last generation is Tikky III. My wife loves Tikky!
I hate Hi-Polymer HB leads, and this is why I understand the choice of using 2B. I don’t even know what brand of leads I’m currently using in a couple of no-name mechanical pencils. I guess they’re hardness B. But… BIC, Maped, Rotring, Faber-Castell, Staedtler, Schneider, Lamy, Pentel—which refills are better?
0.7 mm is the right choice for me. I can’t use 0.5 mm; I break them.
Penac Kotobuki: poor marketing, poor websites, poor distribution.
I have a history of using Staedtler writing instruments, but it’s a thing of the past. Their current range isn’t what it used to be, and I don’t remember which rollerballs or other pens I liked from them.
On the cheap side, I remember the historic Senator Point ballpoint pens. They went unchanged for decades. Something like this. Quite popular in the 1980s.
I wonder whether Ballograf’s Rondo Soft mechanical pencils and their leads are worthwhile. Only HB, apparently. And why is everyone selling lead pins in sets of 12? Why not 24, 30, 36, 48, or 50?
Apps: nope. I had a post in 2017 about the Android apps I was using at the time, but times have changed, and my choice of apps has, too. Besides, what with Google’s aggressive attempts to make older apps non-installable, I consider myself a captive user of the shitty platform called Android. But I could never use iOS. And there’ll never be a true 3rd alternative. One under which all the banking apps, the authenticators, and other necessary modern shit are supported. Banking apps only work on non-rooted smartphones with locked bootloaders!
I don’t believe that I’m using any “magic” Android app that I need to recommend to the universe. Beyond the usual shit (banking, shopping, authenticating, local transport, aviation, weather, a file manager, a VPN, Firefox, FairEmail, a text editor, various small utilities that I almost never use, CalcTastic and HiPER Calc, several AI chatbots, e-readers that I use a lot, some news apps, Feeder, because Capy Reader was a bit buggy, Foldplay, SoundHound and Shazam, 12 chess apps, 6 GO apps, and 2 Reversi apps, WhatsApp, Teams, Reddit, X, Facebook, Vivino, a calendar app that I installed despite Google stating that “This app is not available for any of your devices”), almost 40 apps are dictionaries and language-learning apps!
Some such dictionaries were purchased by me many years ago. Some are free. Some have been discontinued. Some needed to be patched to make them installable under Android 16. Google is shittier than Microsoft, and by much! Some are in older versions because newer versions suck big time. Honestly, most are shitty, anyway.
Speaking of patching Android apps, if Balatan, derrin, and youarefinished ring a bell, then I might also be using some apps patched by them.
But I don’t think I’ll ever specifically recommend an Android app ever again!
For Linux/Windows or multi-platform desktop apps, I will recommend some in the future—just don’t hold your breath!
I tried to like Obsidian twice, and twice I failed. On the “personal knowledge management system” front, I’m at a loss. Maybe some Zettelkasten app, but I couldn’t find anything that I liked. A personal wiki? Nothing great. I even used Scrivener in the past! Oh, the horror! (They abandoned the Linux version, but this AppImage still works.)
Should I have an app to recommend, it’ll be under the apps tag.
Rotring Tikky isn’t anymore what it used to be.
I found some Rotring Tikky III mechanical pencils in a supermarket.
All made in China.
0.5 and 0.7 mm bundled with either an eraser or 12 leads.
1.0 mm only standalone.
Great colors for the 0.5 mm pencils.
Crazy colors for the 0.7 mm pencils.
1.0 mm doesn’t interest me. In the 1980s I used 0.9 mm HB leads, and they were terrible.
Oh, the Rotring leads were only available as HB and B (no 2B), and only in sets of 12. Never 24. Tons of plastic for very little useful content. And then we pretend that the bottles’ plastic caps are polluting the environment, especially the seas and oceans! This retarded EU that’s overregulating everything couldn’t legislate on banning plastic recipients of 3-4 grams that hold 0.3 grams worth of hi-polymer graphite compound!
One of the 0.5 mm pencils bundled with an eraser had the tip unscrewed. I screwed it back, then I tried it. It released the lead, but it wasn’t able to hold it in place, therefore it couldn’t be used for writing. WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?!
There are Chinese brands that are much more reliable than the scam that Rotring has become. They’re exploiting their past image only to sell crap. Look on Reddit, and you’ll find plenty of complaints regarding the Rotring Tikky III. The crappiest crapola.
Most no-names are better.
Now, I will answer my own question:
● Pentel Ain & Pentel Ain Stein are the best leads, with Ain Stein offering the widest grade range (4H to 4B).
● Pilot Neox Graphite are also very good (their 2B are said to be smooth).
● Staedtler Mars micro carbon: great mid-range option, with darker HB și 2B than Faber-Castell and even than Pentel Ain!
● Faber-Castell: semi-premium, but grayer, shinier, and the 2B grade runs harder than typical 2B leads.
● Schneider: consumer, but not bad, apparently.
● Penac: a little-known Japanese; good mid-range. HB, B, 2B. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, 1.2 mm.
● Pentel Super: good consumer option.
● BIC: consumer-grade.
● Maped: budget.
● Derwent Precision: now made in China, but quite decent quality. Only HB and 2B, in sets of 15 leads (often sold as HB+2B, thus 30).
● Rotring: contradictory assessments. The 2B grade runs harder than typical 2B leads.
● Lamy are among the worst!
● NicPro seems to be a Chinese brand with cost-effective, good-quality pencil leads, and they come in tubes of 12, 24 or 60! 0.5 mm as HB, and 0.7 mm as HB and 2B. But they also have 0.3 mm (HB), 0.9 mm (HB in sets of 40), and 2 mm (4H to 4B) leads. Unfortunately, their pencils seem to be sold in sets, the smallest useful one being this one: 1 × 0.5 mm Blocky Gear pencil + 1 × 0.7 mm Blocky Gear pencil + 60 2B 0.5 mm leads, 120 HB 0.5 mm leads, 60 2B 0.7 mm leads, 120 HB 0.7 mm leads + 3 soft erasers + 18 eraser leads (for the other end), all for €12.99.
Obviously, 2B results in darker lines than HB.
thanks for your thoroughly comeback. sadly, nothing is now like it used to be. sad times we are living.
regarding android, i HATE how my phone isn’t my phone anymore. forced apps, forced dark themes, stupid options, .. ah, not to mention backup issue. android can backup to their cloud only maximum 25 MB per app so if an app uses let’s say a sqlite db to store everything and the file gets bigger bye bye backup.
own backups, can’t access all files if not rooted, adb backups unreliable, can’t restore to another phone with different hardware, can’t make P2V to extract or run in VM, so so stupid and retarded in the name of “for your own protection” .. i just feel how my blood pressure gets higher just writing this ..
oh, if you have anydesk or other very known remote desktop apps installed on your (smart)PHONE, banking apps like “BRD you” in Romania refuse to start, just a blank black screen. i think also bcr. revolut DOES work! and i use anydesk legitly. if i were anydesk gmbh i would sue them. banks want to protect us, yeah right! can’t i be hacked through a link sent by email? yes i can. let’s ban email apps. us, old folks, with deep thinking and hard principles are doomed.
notable apps for android: total commander (with useful plugins also, like wifi/wlan to share files/folders, aso), primitive ftpd, binary eye for barcodes (can be used to scan to pc through bluetooth like a hardware barcode scanner).
Total Commander? Nope. I don’t use orthodox (dual-panel) file managers, and a smartphone is even less suitable for that than a computer or a tablet. FX has everything I need, even a web server.