A
writing instrument that came into
popularity shortly after
World War II, displacing the
fountain pen. The
barrel of the
pen houses a
refill. The
ink is a
paste that is smudged onto the
paper on a rotating
ball. When the
paste-
ink is
exhausted, the
refill, including the
ball, is replaced. While this provides for an
adequate method of marking
paper, it doesn’t offer the
expressive qualities of a
nib.
Ballpoints vary from inexpensive ones that are almost common property, jumping from person to person without much thought, to fairly nice ones. They are perhaps the most common pen available today.