Reddit mentions of Worther 24430 Compact Natural Aluminum Mechanical Pencil

For hand pain and fatigue, fountain pens are good too. For most of them their own weight is enough to make them write so you barely have to grip them or press down. And there are a zillion ink colors that are fun to choose from. An inexpensive but good one is the Platinum Preppy...it’s like $4, comes with a large ink cartridge and the cap seals really well so it never dries out (just checked and the Preppy seems to be stupidly overpriced on Amazon right now, it should be cheaper at Jet Pens, Goulet Pens, Vanness, or any other site that has fountain pens). Pilot Metropolitan and Lamy Safari (Safari is pretty much the most counterfeited pen ever and there are a lot of fakes on Amazon so I’d order elsewhere) are pretty good “beginner” fountain pens too, if you want something that looks a little nicer but still isn’t too insanely priced. TWSBI Eco has a good reputation too and holds a TON of ink but it’s easy to put back together incorrectly if you’re the tinkerer type who has to take everything apart. Finer nibs will put down less ink and are less likely to bleed or feather on cheap notebook paper. Nib size isn’t really standardized, though, so there’s a lot of variation between brands.

I try to keep a fountain pen, a rollerball (NOT a ballpoint) and an extra-fine Sharpie in my bag at all times so I can write on just about any surface without killing my hand. Personally, I think ballpoints are the devil and I avoid them whenever possible.

If you need a pencil, fat ones like Pilot Dr Grip are more comfortable for me than skinny ones. I’m accident-prone and always breaking thin lead so I’ve started using sketch pencils with huge 5.6mm lead. I have one of these that I found on a good sale but there are lots of cheaper options. There are some good 2mm or 3mm lead pencils out there too. I got a pack of really generic cheap Chinese 2mm pencils a while back that are surprisingly comfortable to hold for as skinny as they are. They have a lead sharpener built into the back clicky cap thing so you can keep it sharp without having to hunt down any specialty sharpeners.

If I have to use skinny pen/pencil or a ballpoint, I modify my grip to make it less awful. This is how I hold pens that kill my hand if I try to hold them normally. It’s not a perfect solution but it keeps my hand from cramping up and my fingers from bending back as much for a quick note or signature.

This got really long, sorry. I get a little too excited about stationery things...