The Invention of Dr. Grip Writing Instruments Based on a common need for a more comfortable writing instrument, Pilot set out to give people the writing solution they were looking for. In 1995, Pilot launched Dr. Grip, a pen and mechanical pencil collection designed to provide superior writing comfort and be the solution to that demand. By 1996, the entire Dr. Grip line earned the Ease-of-Use Commendation by the Arthritis Foundation. More recently in 2012, a three-month study conducted by the Georgia Tech Research Institute found Dr. Grip Center of Gravity (COG) surpassed key competitors in overall comfort ratings for users both with and without arthritis. In the study, Dr. Grip COG was proven to be almost 2X more comfortable than key competitor brands*.