Ball Point Pen

This article looks at an essential office and business equipment item ... the ball point pen!

Most of us have used a ball point pen at one time or another but few of us consider how this ingenious device actually works. Many of us don’t take the inner workings of their ball point pen into consideration simply because they have too many other things going on. I, on the other hand, have nothing except free time so I thought that I would investigate.

My first inclination was to take a ball point pen apart. Tearing the items to pieces would not only help me discover how the thing really works but it would also relieve a lot of tension as well. I came upon this rather bleak experiment by accident or by aggravation.

You probably can relate to my frustration. How many times have you grabbed a ball point pen that didn’t work properly? You scribble and scribble only to see the indentations from the inkless device on your paper.

At times you may have used these indentations as a means of recording the information. Later, you scan the paper closely to see what you had engraved into the soft surface with your nearly useless ballpoint pen. You may have even found yourself lightly coloring over the indentations to retrieve the information.

Other times the writing device expels too much ink. You find your writing with a gushing ball point pen that leaves a sea of blue ink on your paper. Reading your own handwriting in this case can prove to be a great challenge and your efforts are for naught.

Of course this all happens while you are in a hurry. I have had my most serious run-ins with dysfunctional ball point pens while I was on the phone taking a very important message. I actually lost a job as a secretary because of an unworthy ball point pen that did not allow me to record the correct message.

As I took the ball point pen apart, I discovered that it is really a simple device that works much like roll-on deodorant. There is a tiny ball that presses down to release ink on to the paper. This simple invention is pure genius but it does have its shortcomings.

There are so many things that can go wrong. Just like the underarm deodorant that dries and caked on to the dispensing ball, the ink can dry up as well. On the other hand, the ink can overflow if the ball is too loose.

I am pleased that I discovered how the contraption works. However, I really need to know how to fix the ball point pen when it is acting up. Now that would be pure genius.

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