I often find lots of great retro items on Amazon, so I've decided to start a regular series where I blog about the items I received, along with links for the retro loving masses. This week's finds were classic BIC writing pens. You see, pens were a much bigger deal back in the day, and for many decades BIC had the market cornered in the states.
BIC Orange Original fine pen and 4 Color Classic Ball Pen
I recently began a new job that requires me to reach for a pen all day long, and I've been none too happy with the ones available at work. I stopped at the store to buy a pack of pens for myself, and was shocked at the lack of quality pens available. There was a lot of flashy but cheaply made plastic pens and lots of gel pens that I absolutely hate using. Rather than running around town, I turned to Amazon and once again it paid off.
The BIC 'Orange Original fine'
I absolutely love these pens and they were my go-to pen all throughout school. They are pretty much the same exact pen as the Bic 'Cristal', only the body is orange rather than clear.
I remember always having these pens around from the 70s to the 90s in both blue
and black ink. In school, certain assignments were required to be written in black or blue. After I graduated, I learned it was the same thing in real life as well. Over the years, I've had to sign all manner of legal documents in blue or black ink.
These pens are easy to grip like a traditional pencil, and have a fine 0.8mm point size for a fine line width, which I've always preferred. It's the same way with mechanical pencils for me. I much prefer a 0.7 pencil over a 0.5. I just feel like I have better control with a finer writing tip. I've stocked my hoard of 25 pens in the cars, desks and junk drawer. The only thing I'm unhappy about, is that I didn't see there was a box of 50 of them also available for only about $3.00 more.
The Classic BIC 4 Color Ballpoint Pen
Now who doesn't remember these awesome pens? You were a Big Shot if you had one of these bad boys! These things were/are incredible for color coding and organizing notes, journaling, doodling.. you name it.
I remember many imitators and knock-offs of the Bic retractable 4-color pen over the years. Other pens boasted of having five, six, eight, or even ten different colors. An interesting concept for sure, but every one I ever used couldn't even hold a candle to the Bic 4-color. Even if you found one that was decent, you were more than likely unable to obtain refills for them. The Bic 4-color ink seemed to last forever, with the ink being refillable and readily available.
I'm beyond happy with this week's retro finds! For decades, I always carried a pen on me. Nowadays, with cell phones and digital tech, you don't always need to have one at the ready, but there are definitely times you'll wish you had one. Decades before Covid-19, I remember folks saying that pens at checkout counters and cash registers were some of the filthiest things you could touch. This always stuck with me, and for sure rings in my mind when I have to use a 'public pen' in this day and age.
MORE BIC Goodness on Amazon that I maaay spend my money on..
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While I will use the heck out of these pens I bought, I am still searching for my all time favorite writing pen which was also made by Bic. Simply called the 'BIC Clic' these were incredible pens and an engineering marvel. I'm currently on the hunt for some, and will be posting an article soon about them, so stay tuned.
