Ah, the extremely shitty pen that scratches so bad you might as well carve your message into the paper. Lasts maybe 3 lines before it starts skipping but who cares. It exists to be as cheap as possible so your customer you don’t respect can pocket it after initialing twice and signing something.
I hate bad cheap pens so much. I never would have gotten into fountain pens if there wasn’t the counter example of how bad a writing experience can get.
For filling in circles? Yeah, they’re fine. The circular movement tends to keep the ball moving and picking up new ink.
For writing? Hot garbage. When I switched to nicer pens (fountain pens and OHTO graphic liners), I had to unlearn pressing down so hard and cramping up my hand. A good pen can glide across the surface with little effort, and you don’t feel like you need to stretch your fingers and wrist afterward.
In English, “biro” is the generic name for what is known elsewhere as a “ball-point” or “ball pen”. There may of course still be a “Biro” company somewhere, separate to that.
[Edit] I mean English as in “language spoken in England” - I’m sure some of the other “Englishes” use a different word.
This is why I got into fountain pens too! These days I find myself using a good rollerball or mechanical pencil for day to day, since they’re a little more practical, but man oh man I do love a fountain pen…
Ah, the extremely shitty pen that scratches so bad you might as well carve your message into the paper. Lasts maybe 3 lines before it starts skipping but who cares. It exists to be as cheap as possible so your customer you don’t respect can pocket it after initialing twice and signing something.
I hate bad cheap pens so much. I never would have gotten into fountain pens if there wasn’t the counter example of how bad a writing experience can get.
American bics may be made in a different way because here in Spain they are so reliable they are a de facto standard for people taking an exam.
Same in Brazil. The closest competitor, Compactor, will either smudge everything or fail twice as much as Bics.
For filling in circles? Yeah, they’re fine. The circular movement tends to keep the ball moving and picking up new ink.
For writing? Hot garbage. When I switched to nicer pens (fountain pens and OHTO graphic liners), I had to unlearn pressing down so hard and cramping up my hand. A good pen can glide across the surface with little effort, and you don’t feel like you need to stretch your fingers and wrist afterward.
I think actual Bic-from-the-Bic-Company biros tend to be pretty good (especially the orange ones with black lids).
For a truly scratchy experience, you need a cheap, unbranded biro.
Biro is a brand
In English, “biro” is the generic name for what is known elsewhere as a “ball-point” or “ball pen”. There may of course still be a “Biro” company somewhere, separate to that.
[Edit] I mean English as in “language spoken in England” - I’m sure some of the other “Englishes” use a different word.
Its like googling something, i use the term even when i’m not on google. Biro is used as a generic term for pens a lot of the time.
This is why I got into fountain pens too! These days I find myself using a good rollerball or mechanical pencil for day to day, since they’re a little more practical, but man oh man I do love a fountain pen…
It’s extra nice when you have to sign something and pull it out. Did it at the dentist and it’s almost always a conversation starter.