The Cheap pen?

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
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I've been quite disillusioned by many things in my EDC life, like over priced and over hyped knives, guns, and watches, and now pens. I've tried most of them and very few ever came up to the level of pure reliability of the Bic pen. Like the Bic lighter, they always work. Now I have great respect for the cheap Paper Mate stickpin that is their take on the Bic round stick pen.

This morning I was walking my dog. Not an unusual thing, we do this several times a day. This morning I was taking a short cut through an ally in back of a shopping center. Like most alleys, there was trash around, litter on the ground. It had thunder stormed last night, so some fresh wash down gravel was here and there.

As I was walking, there sticking up out of some fresh sand/gravel was a dark gray pen. I thought it was a Bic round stick but I pulled it up and saw the Paper Mater brand on the translucent body. Just for yuks, I shook it off and took the pad out of my shirt pocket, uncapped the pen and drew a line. I was amazed. From the first contact on the paper, the pen made a nice clear, solid black line. Unreal. laying in the trash of an alley after a thunder storm it still wrote smooth and fine. I guess the Paper Mate pens are as good as the old standby Bic. If Paper Mat starts making lighters, Bic could be in trouble.

With the unreal reliability of the modern cheap pens, is it worth it to spend more than a few cents per unit for the bulk pack of Bic or Paper Mate pens? Has modern production technology made the expensive stuff not worth it, like a 14.95 Casio watch vs an expensive Seiko?
 
I hear ya and agree however these are forums for collectors also. There are folks that spend hundreds of dollars on a knife or flashlight (yep it's true). Some have several.
As I have gotten older, I have tended to sell off some of my more expensive stuff as I come to the realization that you bring up.
I guess it was mostly pride of ownership in the old days.
 
If all you need it to do is write, it might be harder to justify a more expensive (even if it's still cheap) pen. Especially if you tend to lose them. Most Bic pens seem to tend to outlast several owners. But if you're looking for a quality, enjoyable writing experience, then there's definitely far better than the cheapo Bics, Papermates, and the like (but there's also far worse). And many of them are still fairly cheap For a ballpoint, a Uni Jetstream is multitudes better and possibly incomparable in smoothness. Nearly any gel pen will write smoother than a ballpoint, as will many disposable rollerballs, but those are usually best used on regular paper and suffer bad smearing on glossy paper (like commonly used thermal receipt paper). But for letter writing, note taking, journaling, and the like, most gel, rollerball, and fountain pens will be a better choice than a ballpoint, especially a cheap one, allowing the writer to scribble for a lot longer time before hand cramps to start. The ubiquitous Pilot G-2 is probably the gold standard for a cheap pen that writes better than a Bic ballpoint (I prefer Pentel Energel over the G-2 myself though).

Of course, if you need it to write, it's hard to surpass the practicality of the Fisher Space Pen refill. You can write on damn near everything, and if you write "in the field" you don't have to worry about the ink not flowing because your only hard surface is a vertical wall. Most will agree that the FSP might not have the best writing experience; I find the medium tends to glob while the fine is noticeably "slow" to write with (I prefer the fine though), but I still usually have one pen on me that has a FSP refill because I know it'll write.

Beyond simply needing ink to flow and stay on the paper, spending more on a pen, even if it's still inexpensive/disposable, will likely be a choice of comfort. Bics and Papermates and other cheapos are typically very thin and very light. Something with more heft will probably feel higher quality and depending on the person and ink type might write easier, and a thicker pen grip can reduce fatigue. Everybody has their preferences. Elmore Leonard famously wrote all his novels with nothing but the Bic Crystal.

Beyond that, wanting or needing something like a machined titanium pen, Monteblanc rollerball, hand turned fountain pen, or the like goes beyond simply needing a writing instrument, just as "needing" more knife than a Victorinox Spartan or Gerber LST.
 
You can definitely get a very good performance from an affordable, mass-produced pen. I am not a pen collector but do have a dozen of variously priced pens. I think that a quality made pen with a good refill will definitely provide a better writing experience but I would never recommend anything expensive.
 
I like the space pen (bullet) for it’s reliability/value and ofcourse ease of carry (I don’t care for pocket clips).
 
Personally the Fisher bullet is just so classy and cool, and it's very easy on the pocket.
Their ink cartridges also offer the advantages of working great in freezing temperatures, I'm often working inside a large walk in freezer so that is a benefit for me.
It is also very nicely made here in the US and only cost $20.


Cheap disposable pens have their place, but I can never keep track of them.
It's hard when you get so many for the price so theres basically no investment and one just never cares enough about them to take care of 'em.

When I was in high school my favorite pen was the mini pilot G2, they write extremely well, are cheap, and always click reliably.


The paper mate ink joy definitely writes better than the Bic and the price is similar.
 
I prefer PaperMate to Bic when it comes to cheap disposable pens, and I have tons of them around the house and office. That being said, In general I prefer slightly thicker pens, and job requirements dictate a single piece pen (no caps to lose). I typically stick with Zebra, Pilot, or Parker click pens as my "EDC" pens.
 
Drop bear said:
I go out of my way to buy the uniball power tank which is effectively a disposable space pen.
Click to expand...

I just ordered one to try out. As much as I like my machined titanium pens, I like having a cheap pen in my pocket as well in case someone needs to borrow one and I don't want to risk them dropping it or walking off with it (or to let someone who needs it keep it).
 
I usually use a Pilot Dr. Grip. I've had many pens over the years, but never anything more than maybe $35 dollars.

I have a Fisher bullet, clip never stays on. I have a cool and relatively inexpensive carbon fiber pen that uses the SP cartridge and it's good.

I miss my Cross Ion. I loved that it could clip to my keychain, and being lefty the ink didn't stain my hand. I may have to track one down.
 
K.O.D. said:
I usually use a Pilot Dr. Grip. I've had many pens over the years, but never anything more than maybe $35 dollars.

I have a Fisher bullet, clip never stays on. I have a cool and relatively inexpensive carbon fiber pen that uses the SP cartridge and it's good.

I miss my Cross Ion. I loved that it could clip to my keychain, and being lefty the ink didn't stain my hand. I may have to track one down.
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Fisher bullet - $20
Fisher bullet + clip - $24.

It didn't take me too long to loose that $4 clip, and I was not happy.
I don't miss the clip now though, and when I eventually get the brass one I'll go without the clip.
 
jackknife said:
I've been quite disillusioned by many things in my EDC life, like over priced and over hyped knives, guns, and watches, and now pens. I've tried most of them and very few ever came up to the level of pure reliability of the Bic pen. Like the Bic lighter, they always work. Now I have great respect for the cheap Paper Mate stickpin that is their take on the Bic round stick pen.

This morning I was walking my dog. Not an unusual thing, we do this several times a day. This morning I was taking a short cut through an ally in back of a shopping center. Like most alleys, there was trash around, litter on the ground. It had thunder stormed last night, so some fresh wash down gravel was here and there.

As I was walking, there sticking up out of some fresh sand/gravel was a dark gray pen. I thought it was a Bic round stick but I pulled it up and saw the Paper Mater brand on the translucent body. Just for yuks, I shook it off and took the pad out of my shirt pocket, uncapped the pen and drew a line. I was amazed. From the first contact on the paper, the pen made a nice clear, solid black line. Unreal. laying in the trash of an alley after a thunder storm it still wrote smooth and fine. I guess the Paper Mate pens are as good as the old standby Bic. If Paper Mat starts making lighters, Bic could be in trouble.

With the unreal reliability of the modern cheap pens, is it worth it to spend more than a few cents per unit for the bulk pack of Bic or Paper Mate pens? Has modern production technology made the expensive stuff not worth it, like a 14.95 Casio watch vs an expensive Seiko?
Click to expand...
Yes. I used to own a few nice watches costing a few hundred euro each. All were sold off once I fully started to see that cheap automatic watches are just unreliable and finicky for the most part and quartz is just quartz. A cheap to make but highly reliable method of timekeeping for which no expensive watch is necessary to perform. These days I simply use my phone for time telling when I am out of the door. That or a(ny) cheap quartz watch that is not too big on the wrist and easily readable at a glance. For writing I simply use a HB pencil of any good German or euro brand (mostly Staedtler or Bruynzeel).
These are easy to find, cheap and will always write. Heck, I currently EDC a 'Made in West-Germany' Leitz pencil that I found in my father's toolbox.
 
Venice said:
I still have a few very old US made Parker Jotters. I am sure they will last quite a while longer.
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Parker Jotters are a bit of an odd duck. The cheap non-disposable mass produced pen for the people. They are very good pens and last ages with a little bit of care. It also great that the refill became the defacto style of refill for many other brands. The Jotter is really the only non-disposable pen I would consider.
 
When I was a teenager, my cousin kept gifting me these fancy pens and pencils she had sent to her for free. She had graduated Med school, and apparently at the time, the pen companies were trying to get that industry hooked with their lines/refills. I was always afraaid of loosing it, scratching it, theft, or having to track down or mail order expensive refills.

At the time, school papers were written. Going for a 30 page written assignment meant really getting to know the ergonomic issues with the disposable pens, as well as the technique issues with the way I wrote. Making "fans" for memorizing words in foreign languages was another fun treat... I would have the pen's shape dented into my finger for an hour. I usually had to take breaks after a few pages because it would hurt after awhile. Of course, I probably had too much pressure with my grip, but that was one way to make sure a cheapo disposable pen wrote consistently.

About 25 years ago, although some papers were now required to be printed out (anyone that thinks that Apple's don't crash never had to play the every-10-second "save" dance on the old school Macs bac in the day), many papers were still hand written. With the increased work load I decided to try a Pilot "Dr. Grip" gel pen. It's been 25 years and it's still my go-to for paper work. My EDC pen is a Fisher pen with cap and Keyring hole... I don't know if they DC'ed that model.

Side note, I used to really like the Cross Ion pen as a pocket pen. However, the refills seemed to be hard to get, and many of the refill options were dry out of the box. I gave up on them years ago, but would go back in a heart beat if they got their refills act together.
 
I don't know much about pens but I know this. I love gel pens. I just need a basic, clicky gel pen with no cap to lose.
 
I prefer a nice metal pen. I have 5 different ones that take the Fisher ink cartridges. I use the plastic throw-a ways for loaner purposes.
 
gazz98 said:
I don't know much about pens but I know this. I love gel pens. I just need a basic, clicky gel pen with no cap to lose.
Click to expand...

Yup, that's my preference, Pilot Gel pens are great, and Zebra makes some awesome all metal ones for cheap.
 
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