Bic Steel Review

No, this is not a review of a disposable razor, but the Bic Steel pen. This is a pen that I’ve had for a few years now. I picked it up from a locally owned office supply store in a town I used to live in. This is the only store where I was able to find it so it seems to be a rare pen. I think I paid around $8 or so it for back in 2005 or 2006.

As the name implies this is a metal bodied pen, but whether it is really steel or another metal I’m not sure. The pen is very similar in size to the Bic Widebody series of pens. In fact, the Bic Steel looks like a metal version of the Bic Widebody so it wouldn’t surprise me if the Steel is based on the Bic Widebody. The nock (the clicky part) is kinda loud and isn’t the most solid nock I’ve used but I would say it’s average and has the same feel as any retractable Bic. The clip does its job keeping the pen clipped to a shirt pocket or notebook but due to its shape, I find myself having to pull it away from the body a little bit to get it to clip to a short pocket. The name appears to be silk-screened (or something very similar) onto the clip and will wear off with use. The grip on the pen is a triangular shaped piece of rubber and is probably the biggest shortcoming of the pen. The grip attracts some dust which is somewhat annoying but the biggest negative about the grip is the fact that it rotates around the barrel of the pen. The grip will move as you put it and pull it out of a pocket and unless you don’t mind having the clip press into your hand as you write, you have to twist the grip to a comfortable position before you start writing. Having a basic rubber cylinder or no grip at all (which I think would have added to the looks of the pen) would alleviate this problem.

The pen is nicely balanced and adds to the overall writing experience. Writing with the stock refill in the Bic Steel is like writing with any other ballpoint pen with some skipping and a lot of pressure needed. Opening the pen up presents the biggest surprise about this pen. The Bic Steel uses a Bic-branded Parker style ballpoint refill so the refill possibilities are nearly endless with this pen.

While I don’t use the pen anymore, I thought it would be fun to review. For $8 the Bic Steel is a steal (sorry. I had to at some point) for a well-balanced metal bodied pen that accepts Parker style refills. If you come across one, I would recommend picking it up.