The Most Economical Writing Instrument

[mr T.]

What is the most economical but functional writing instrument out there?....To clear up befuddlement, of course ballpoints can be purchased at the store, but it won't be free :3 Basically in a circumstance when nothing is free, what is the most economical writing instrument that can still function?

Bic Cristal bp's. Are cheap and reliable.

[myn]

Platinum Preppy converted to an eyedropper - surprisingly great nib, holds ton of ink - cost $3.95 for the pen, .25 cents for a gasket and 1.00 for silicon grease. Add to that a 4.5 ounce bottle of any Noodler's ink sold in that size and you're good to go for a very, very, very long time. total cost, $25.15 tx. not included.

[GeneralSynopsis]

The precursor of pencils are lead, so we still call the working bit of pencils as "lead". Ages ago I used a pencil made out of a thin silver wire, which worked very well, especially on gesso surfaced panels as preparatory sketches for tempera painting, but that's perhaps a bit too nerdy.

If I recall correctly...before understanding that graphite is a form of carbon, people believed it was a kind of lead, which is actually where the term comes from, rather than any kind of soft-metal stylus. Pencils under any etymologically-related name have never been made with lead.

 

However metal point (gold, silver, copper, lead) was fairly common from the 12th century up to the 17th..

Edited August 9, 2012 by GeneralSynopsis

[XiaoMG]

However metal point (gold, silver, copper, lead) was fairly common from the 12th century up to the 17th..

Sure. I was just saying it's not the reason pencil graphite is called lead.

[Seele]

However metal point (gold, silver, copper, lead) was fairly common from the 12th century up to the 17th..

Sure. I was just saying it's not the reason pencil graphite is called lead.

 

I stand corrected; but then silverpoint - like what I used as described - was common back then, so that metal pen in the video is far from a brand new invention.