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Anyone Here Ever Try A Bic Cristal 1.6 Mm Ballpoint?


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Haven't tried that point size with a BIC, but a Pilot ballpoint and it's absolutely glorious! Very smooth and you don't need much pressure at all, it really works like a flex nib: little pressure gives a fine line and a heavier hand gives a broad line.

The smoothness is dreamy.

The ink line is really good, but I find that someone who's into pens (and even people who aren't nuts about pens) is able to tell whether sth was written with oily or liquid ink. Even in this gif above there are tell-tale signs it's a ballpoint (eg the ink blobs).

 

I plan on eventually purchasing a few of the Pilot 1.6 ballpens.

Maybe also a uni Airball... That writes nicely as well.

But uni gelpens have so far been always a disappointment (the 207 railroaded and the 307 had a loose ball so would give an ever thicker line, lightly leak, one would dry up writing, the whole pack was faulty).

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Broad Parker and Waterman ballpoints also write more easily than most and the wider line seems more readable. Montblanc and Monteverde also make them in broad.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Yes!

 

These are really nice ballpoints to write with.

 

As someone commented in the post in Reddit, the paper used is a thick, absorbent paper. If you try to write like this on thin paper the line variation would not be nearly the same.

 

Tadeo

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I love 'em! Fun to write with and dead cheap.

 

I've been fiddling with an Ohto Fude Ball rollerball that's about the same size, but in the end I think I prefer the Bic – it doesn't bleed or feather, just blobs a bit.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've used them, and over half of the ones I got leaked like mad. A few of them wrote for a while, then wouldn't anymore, even though there was ink in the tube.

 

 

If you use the Biros, be prepared to buy lots of them. If they don't leak or flake out, then they run out super-fast. Mine that worked held up to only 7-10 days worth of normal classwork. An inexpensive entry level fountain pen + water-resistant bottled ink turned out to be far cheaper in the long run. Most of my non-math classwork was done with a Pilot Kakuno with Namiki Blue ink. I think I spent something like $19 on Amazon for both combined, and I still have both the pen and around 1/4 of the bottle of the ink left. A box of 24 Biros at 1.6mm may be only $7, but I was getting reliable/non-aggravating use out of only 10 or so of them, per semester. Four years' worth of those would have been $56, with nothing to show for it but a bunch of landfill junk.

Edited by Aquaria
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Unfortunately I have to concur with Aquaria.

 

I recently, eight hours ago, got some 1.6mm BIC Cristal "Shine" pens in the mail (I'm going through a bit of a cheap ballpoint & stationary phase, don't hate me...).

 

Now while I have nothing but praise to sing about the regular 1.2mm Cristals (except when our local village shop wants £1.60 EACH for them!)? These "Shine" 1.6mm's are awful. Big blobs of ink gather on the point the opposite side of where you are currently applying pressure/writing, meaning as soon as you change the angle of the pen or rotate it slightly in your fingers? That blob comes in contact with the paper & vomits its self into position on whatever you happen to be writing.

 

And that is when it decides to write at all.

post-148485-0-53676000-1570572539_thumb.jpg

Edited by Sui-Generis

Arguing with people on the Internet is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are at chess, the pigeon will just knock the pieces over, s**t on the board and strut around like it's victorious.

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These BIC Cristal 1.6mm Xtra Bold Ballpoints really do offer decent line variation - when they work. However they work best on heavier weight paper, or regular paper with plenty of sheets underneath (like with a pad or notebook). Writing on a blotter or a cutting mat works well too. I'm fairly certain the line variation comes from more of the ball's surface area being exposed to the paper when more writing pressure is added. This lays down more ink in a broader line, but only on a surface that "gives" with pressure. This pen plus thin paper and a hard surface is a recipe for disappointment.

These pens come in 8 different colors! [black, Red, Green, Purple, Teal, Blue, Light Blue, & Pink.] As of my post time you can get a pack of 24 of these 1.6mm colored ballpoints (3 sets of 8 colors) on Amazon for $5.27 (Prime OK) plus tax and shipping (if any). That comes down to $0.22 per pen (before tax & shipping). That's nice. :thumbup: Note however, I have seen this same pack of 24 colored pens online before for a little less than $4.00 (before tax and shipping).

Here's the Amazon link and a picture:

https://www.amazon.com/BIC-MSBAPP241-Ballpoint-Assorted-24-Count/dp/B075CGYY5P

81W1QahFvXL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

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I'm fairly certain the line variation comes from more of the ball's surface area being exposed to the paper when more writing pressure is added. This lays down more ink in a broader line, but only on a surface that "gives" with pressure.

Based on the video linked to in the first post I think you are right. The calligrapher there appears to apply significantly more pressure in the downstrokes to get them thicker.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Not tried one, but I like the look of them.

I have a lot of time for cheap, efficient writing instruments and often alternate between (eg) Bic Cristals and expensive fountain pens. I'll definitely try and grab some of these.

 

In Drone's picture, the barrels seem to have more girth than the standard Cristal? Or is that just the packaging?

 

Thanks for the information - I'd never heard of these.

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In Drone's picture, the barrels seem to have more girth than the standard Cristal? Or is that just the packaging?

Pictured is a 24pk, there's 2 layers in the blister - 8 infront, 16 behind... optical illusion.

 

I bought an 8pk some wks ago, they're stock std Cristal barrels that we all know & love.

 

 

Not just gotta get around to playing with them :)

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The broad Schmidt P900 ballpoint refill has a ball diameter of 1.0 cm. This is significantly smaller than the Bic's 1.6 mm and it shows when you compare the lines they produce.

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When I was selling tires I found how quickly pens got lost, thankfully I never brought a nice pen in. But I started using the 1.2 Cristals and they worked super well in that industry. The wrote well enough to make smallish notes on repair orders but worked well enough for signing them as well. I actually want to buy some but online they are super expensive relative to in-store prices and I always forget to get them when I'm in store.

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