Bic Accountant Fine Ballpoint Review

Raise your hand if you have ever owned one of these classics!

I raise mine proudly to not owning just one Bic Accountant Fine ballpoint, but many. This was one of those pens in the 80’s that I hunted down and hoarded when I was lucky enough to find them. Coming across a fine ballpoint back then was the equivalent to finding an 0.38 mm pen on the store shelf today. They were few and far between.

I received this Bic from my friend George at My Supply Room. He acquired a few dozen recently and was kind enough to send several out to readers. I was happy to get one not only for nostalgia purposes but also because these may be even harder to find now than they were back then.

These days, the Bic Accountant ballpoint does not compare well to its competitors. That’s not surprising - it isn’t trying to. Bic has other products to take up that task. The accountant is old school, and makes no bones about it with its design. Just look at that clip. So rad!

The red ink is nearly pink on the page it is so light. If a pen company came out with a pen that writes like this in 2012 I would eviscerate them, but I can’t help but smile every time I use this one. It does write impressively clean though. Not many present day ballpoints can say that.

It is great to shed light on great old pens like this Bic Accountant ballpoint. Thank you George for sending it my way!

Zebra Arbez Piirto Ballpoint Pen 0.7 mm Review

It is great to see manufacturers branch out from the norm and come up with fresh pen and pencil designs. Zebra takes it a step further by holding an annual contest for young designers around the world, and the Zebra Arbez Piirto was the winner of the 2011 event.

The winning design is based around the slim and simple form of an ice pick, which makes sense when you realize the designer is from Finland. It is quite stunning, especially when you consider that part of the design process was to make it as inexpensively as possible. Mission accomplished on all fronts.

Many pens use a rotation or twist mechanism to extend and retract the pen but where the Piirto differs is that the mechanism is in the grip area as opposed to the upper barrel area. It functions quite well and does not get in the way of the writing experience at all.

What does get in the way of the writing experience is the ballpoint ink cartridge. This is your basic cheap ballpoint refill, so set your expectations accordingly. A Zebra Surari refill would make this pen a knockout but would also raise the price, which goes against the reason the Piirto was created.

The Piirto ballpoint is available with black and red ink cartridges as well as a black barrel design. There is even a mechanical pencil version that is designed similarly. While it may not perform like a world beater, the design and price made it an easy choice to add to my collection.

Identify This Old School Pilot Ballpoint

Pen Addict reader Yohan doesn't want me go to all of this trouble to help him identify his pen, but I am more than happy to share it with the masses. I know as well as anyone how important some of the pens we grew up with are, if nothing else for sentimental reasons.

The pictures below are great, showing a classic retractable ballpoint design and the Pilot holographic sticker. Yohan originally bought this pen growing up in Indonesia, and used it heavily in the early 90's.

Can anyone come up with a model number for this Pilot ballpoint?