January: History of ballpoint pens

The star of the month at Hive-collectors is the ballpoint pen, an instrument for writing ink on paper. Inside, it consists of a plastic or metal tube filled with ink and a metal ball at the tip that rotates freely. This ball is usually made of steel.

This tool was invented by Lazlo Biro in 1938.

I started using pens when I learned to write continuously, that is, in the third grade of elementary school. I already wanted to write letters, and I had already learned about the structure of a letter. At home, we had a task of writing a letter to my paternal grandmother every month, which my older sister and I would do together. The popular pen at the time was the Paper Mate brand made in the USA, and later they were made in our country, Venezuela. I felt happy writing my letters on lined paper and seeing the results of my handwriting after practicing calligraphy, which our teacher required us to do for each assignment.

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At my high school graduation, I received two gifts: a Parker pen from my father and a Scheaffer pen from my mother, each engraved with my name. They were made in the USA. Since I couldn't use them at work, I bought a Scheaffer pen made in my country. And then I used a Bic pen 🖊.

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This was a gift from a dear friend. Brand: Máxim. Ideal size for a coin purse.

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This is a common pen woven by a person in prison, who sold them on commission.

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A Parker and two Scheaffer pens belong to my husband. So do the pen and stamp with his first and last name. These were made by a company in the capital city that went to workplaces so that employees could purchase them in bulk, making them less expensive and very useful.

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In our country in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, items made in the US were purchased, with their spare parts, especially for gifts, and those made here were also of high quality. After several years, even the spare parts were no longer available, and the fine pen was put away. Now they are disposable, sometimes not so cheap; however, the quality is very low. I bought a box of 12 Ofimak pens, gave two away, used two, and the ink ran out very quickly. I looked for the ones I had saved, but they had dried up. None of them worked. What do you think? Then I decided to write my notes with a graphite pencil, ha ha ha.

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I was looking through them and found these ones that I kept because of their color, and others because they are promotional gifts from businesses. I know that the white one and the pointer have ink on them.

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I love participating in this initiative because searching for each item brings back fond memories, reminds me of people, and takes me back to a trauma-free time in my life. It also helps me see the damage to each object, so I can clean them and store them in another drawer or box. Now my pencil holder is tidier and cleaner, and I know which pens still have ink in them, ha ha ha.

It was a pleasure to share my humble collection of pens. I hope everyone in this #Hive-Collectors community enjoyed it. Your opinions are welcome…