Tuesday, February 03, 2009

A (cheap) pen for us lefties

Being left handed I have fought smearing of my writing since age 5, whether pencil or pen. Indeed, I seldom use pencil because it always smears. But a pen with quick-drying, permanent ink fills the bill. First, it dries quickly enough, because the main problem is smearing what you wrote seconds ago. Second, it stays dry. My third requirement is price. I have enough frights with misplacing my cell phone and iPod. I don't want to be frantically searching for my $40 pen. So they must cost less than $3 apiece. I have been on this quest for over 20 years. During the 1980s one of the big Japanese manufacturers had a line of pigment pens that filled the bill. But they disappeared without a replacement. At least not a cheap enough one. Uni-Ball has come through. I discovered the Uni-Ball Jetstream about a year ago. Here is the Jetstream Stick Roller ball pen, which sells for $2.39 online and a similar price at RiteAid stores here. It also comes in a click version.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ron, you must write quickly. I have been known to smear, but not to the point that it was a recognized problem.

All people are born right-handed. Only the strongest are able to overcome it.

Rick Hebron