The conversation has been about gifts, so I’d like to ask one question too.
I know we’re becoming increasingly paperless, but do men still use ballpoint pens regularly in everyday life?
When I first started working, everything was paper-based, so I bought all kinds of ballpoint pens, but these days I use my smartphone for notes and schedules, and I hardly ever use one anymore.
A lot of men said that a ballpoint pen is a safe gift choice and that it’s unlikely to be an unwanted present, but do you really use them that often?
Thank you for your question!
I’m Shimoda from the Osaka branch of Universe, and I’ll be answering.
With everything becoming increasingly digital these days, why not consider getting a decent stylus?
Rubber tips wear out quickly, so I think a rechargeable one would last longer.
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I’m Marika.
Thank you all for your answers.
I’m glad to see there’s still more of an old-school side to things than I expected.
It reminded me how much I used to love stationery, so I dug out my fountain pens and ballpoint pens for the first time in a while and gave them some care.
I’ll also consider them as gifts for men.
Thanks to this question, I may be going to look at fountain pens with one of my papas soon.
Maybe we’ll just browse…!?
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I’m Tetsu, a male member.
Because of the nature of my work, I use ballpoint pens quite often. Setting the sentiment aside, I personally find receiving a ballpoint pen as an actual item a little awkward.
The metal pens people often give as gifts honestly aren’t very practical. In fact, I find inexpensive plastic pens that cost a few hundred yen each much easier to use. Ink quality and flow also vary by manufacturer, so everyone has their own preferences.
I use a 0.7 mm Mitsubishi Jetstream. I’ve bought into the idea that using a thicker pen makes your handwriting look neater than using a fine one（笑）
People like me may be in the minority, but I hope this gives you some insight into the fact that there are also people like us.
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I’m a male member who goes by “Paper Airplane.”
I’m almost completely paperless, and I save any paper documents as photos on my phone.
As the question mentions, I handle nearly everything—notes, schedules, orders, and invoices—on my smartphone or tablet, so I only use a ballpoint pen occasionally.
As for gifts, everyday items that I wear or use, such as belts or key cases, are especially helpful when I receive them around the time I need to replace an old one. That way, my family doesn’t find it suspicious.
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I’m Date◎Yume, a male member.
Since I use one every day, I’d be happy to receive one. Come to think of it, the one I got recently was a ballpoint pen too. I carry it around in my shirt pocket.
P.S.
I did make a request, though…
But it’s only one pen, okay? lol
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I’ll answer too, from the president’s office.
Even though people use ballpoint pens less often these days, there are still times when they need one. So I think most people still carry one around, even if they don’t use it very often.
And even if they don’t carry one, they probably have one on their desk.
Ballpoint pens are also a safe choice because it isn’t strange to own several of them. You might think things like:
“This one feels nice to write with.”
“This one has a good balance.”
“This one has a great design.”
So if the gift came from someone you like, it can have a special place in your heart—something like, “This is the ballpoint pen I got from ___.” That makes it a good gift, in my opinion.
Of course, sometimes you receive one but it just doesn’t feel right, and you eventually stop using it. Even then, you’ll probably keep it tucked away somewhere.
If it were a ukulele, you might end up wondering what to do with it（笑）. But that’s one advantage of a ballpoint pen—it doesn’t create that kind of problem.
By the way, last time I recommended a ballpoint pen, but I’ve recently started thinking that a combination pen with both a mechanical pencil and a ballpoint function could also be quite useful（笑）. I’m not sure whether there are any with a really nice design, though.
P.S. Jetstream refills are available now, so you can even use a Jetstream refill in a Parker ballpoint pen, for example. I went on at length about that in a previous Q&A post too（笑）.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B078M3M4JN/
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I’m Kazu, a male member.
I see! That’s true—there are definitely fewer occasions than there used to be. Still, just as hankos haven’t disappeared, I don’t think we’ll stop having to write things down on paper anytime soon.
Thinking about when I’ve used a ballpoint pen for work recently, I use one several times a day—for addressing mail, filling out forms, and so on.
As I mentioned in my answer, I’ve avoided using ballpoint pens placed in public areas since COVID, so personally, I’ve had many more occasions to pull out the pen I carry in my bag.
Addition after reading Mac’s answer:
I considered a lighter too, but the number of people around me who smoke cigarettes has dropped considerably, so I left it off my recommendations.
However, an IQOS device might be a good gift for someone who smokes IQOS. If they use it, they can never have too many devices. If you’re giving one as a gift, I’d recommend the IQOS 3 DUO. It costs around 10,000 yen at convenience stores. That said, it doesn’t feel very original.
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