Best Pen for Balls/Silver for Bats

[17ROCKIES12]

I was wondering what the best pen is to get game used baseballs signed with. Is it blue BIC? or does something else work better?

Thanks

[Sabresfreak]

A blue Bic pen has always worked good for me. I cringe when I see someone using a sharpie or a black pen on a ball.

[geoff]

Use Only Blue Pens.Black pens fade over time.Sharpie's also fade on balls.I also hate when I see someone using Sharpie's on balls.On Photo's use blue Sharpie's.I learned over The Years of doing Autographs what works.

[Skizzick]

Blue bic crystals work the best. They write the first time they're used and the ink always stays sharp. NEVER SHARPIE!

[xpress34]

Blue BiC Crystals are good, but I personally prefer Blue BiC Velocity. Using them for over 10 years and have as yet to have an auto fade and I display my stuff.

- Smitty

[Griffey24fan]

Uniball jet stream 1.0

[mlupo]

Personally, I only use BLUE Papermate classic ballpoint pens, I was always told by long time collectors to use blue Papermate and I have noticed that is the brand provided at most signings when you pay for autographs. We can argue about what brand is better, but as long as you use blue ballpoint pen you are probably fine.

[Chris78]

I have been using blue BIC Atlantis this season and they always write the first time. They seemed even better than the blue BIC Crystal.

Chris

[allstarsplus]

Uniball jet stream 1.0

Yep, that is what I switched to for my signings last year. The signature is so much more vibrant.


Sorry for the flashbulb glare...

43906

[caffeinated2003]

I have been using Staedtler fine point.

[Shipp_96]

Though I agree with everyone on here about the Blue Bics, I have to say that the two baseballs I have gotten signed with black Sharpies are still going strong 10 years later. Maybe because they are MLB authentic baseballs, and not the cheap ones. But I have displayed them in a UV ball case, and never seen them fade one bit.

Both were instances of the players (Zito and Chavez) that were signing at A's Fanfest, and since they had a Sharpie with them...that is what they signed with. Both baseballs are signed on the sweet spot and still look nice.

Do not get me wrong, it is not my preference, and when possible I go Bic Blue. But I just wanted to say I think the Sharpie is getting a raw deal, from my personal experience.

[freddiefreeman5]

All of mine are signed with blue ball point pens except one. That one is signed with a black ink ball point pen and it is as strong and vibrant as the others after several years in a UV protected ball cube.

[Klattsy]

Jeez, and here I was using Sharpie's all this time! I had no idea! If anyone has the exact brand name of the Bic's I would appreciate it. Would be glad to switch to blue...
Thanks,
Mark.

[Griffey24fan]

My favorite bic was always the white barrel ones. Just the cheap ones 10 pack for .99 at Walmart.

[jake33]

I kow people are against using sharpies on a MLB ball, but I have great success with them. I will have the player use a sharpie then put the ball in a dark closest for 24 horus, then seal it in a zip lock bag for 3 months and the autogrpah olds great. Looks better than a pen and you can see the auto from across a room.

[philsfan]

Blue ball point pen only on balls.

I used Sharpies on game used balls througout the early 90s and most look terrible now. They haven't been displayed and are sitting in a box. Most are either fading or showing some smudging. Very strange. It is also difficult to make out who signed the ball if there are multiple signatures. You have no such problems with a blue ball point pen. So unless Sharpie is making a new style pen that I am unaware of, why take the chance?

[5toolplayer]

great info guys

[ahuff]

I also believe it is not only the type of pen, but also the quality of the leather/baseball, as well as the temperature/humidity level at the time of signing, and how many people sign the ball. I have had TERRIBLE luck with the Blue Bic Crystals in my area. I think some of it has to do with the humidity levels in the midwest as well as I typically have baseballs signed by entire teams. It honestly is a crap-shoot with them anymore, as some will hold the ink great and others bleed by the winter. I switched last year to the Fine Point Bic pen (where there are 4-colors in each pen). Those seem to be working great, but I did mess up yesterday. I purchased a medium tip one rather than the fine point...totally zoned out I guess. Anyway, the first ball I had signed looks fine now, but I can tell it will bleed as it left WAY TOO much ink on the leather. That one was signed with the new medium tip pen. I switched back to the one I was using last year with the fine tip, and that ball looks perfect.

[Chris78]

I also believe that in addition to the leather of the ball, the more scales that the ball has, the worst the signature is going to be. I do agree that the temperature also plays a role in how the signature will turn out. It seems that almost all of the signatures that I paid for at a show look real good, but sometimes the signatures at a game can look crappy with a blue pen. This can also deal with that the player/coach may not be taking his time with the signing of the item.

Chris

[Redsman20]

Hello, excuse my laziness, I know there have been post about it before but looking to see everyones opinion on the best pen blue and black to sign OMLB Baseballs and best silver sharpie/marker to sign on black bats.

Thanks

[jshortt]

IMO, the best ball point pen I have come across in years is the Bic "Round Stic Grip" FINE point. It's slightly bigger than a normal white barrel "fine point," but smaller than a medium point. It allows for detailed signatures, and still gets enough ink on the ball for a nice pop without the possibility of the blobs.

For silver, definitely go with Deco Color "fine point" paint pens. They use a felt tip about the same size as a normal Sharpie, but the paint pops and sticks well, and they're super reliable.

-J

[Redsman20]

Thanks a lot ...I'll check those out!