#PenSwag

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Review: Pilot G-2 .38

The Pilot G-2 is an absolute classic in the pen community. It has been around forever, and has crossover appeal to people in the pen community, and the average pen user. When I saw this pen in the 0.38mm tip variety I got super excited, and had to buy a pack. It's rare to find a sub 0.5mm tip in a big box store. Like all of the other sizes in the Pilot G-2 line, this pen did not let me down.

This pen looks like any other G-2. It has the same sleek body, big rubber grip, and weird brownish/yellowish substance at the back of the ink that I have always been fond of. It's like dark jeans, or a pair of Wayfarers, it doesn't go out of style and it gets the job done.

This pen writes as well as any other G-2. The ink is super dark, flows nicely, and is very reliable. With the smaller tip it does not flow as smooth as say a 0.7mm tip, which was kind of tricky for me to get used to. It is a lot more controlled. I also have fairly big hand writing which does not cater well to the micro tip. Using this pen forces me to write smaller, which I don't mind.

Overall another great writing utensil from Pilot, and the G-2 line of pens is not tarnished.

8 out of 10 mummies.

-Cody

Review: Sakura Pigma Micron 05 Marker Pen - .45mm - Blue

This pen was a surprise. I was walking out of my house and saw that the mail had arrived. I went to put it on the coffee table and noticed my name on one of the packages. I was taken aback because I had not ordered anything recently. It was a package from JetPens with the blue Sakura Pigma Micron 05 Marker Pen inside. It was a great way to start the day.

The Sakura Pigma Micron Marker Pen is a high quality pen. The 05 version writes with a .45mm line width. Even though this is a line width than most pens I am used to writing with I would consider trying the smaller tip sizes in this line of pens. At times I felt like my handwriting was getting a bit out of hand with this pen.

The ink is a beautiful blue that doesn't fade as it drys. While it may look very wet when the ink comes out it drys very fast. There was minimal show through in my Black n' Red notebook and no bleed through. In my Field Notes memo book there was a bit more show through but not enough to make deter from using the backside of the page.

The bod of the pen is very nice. Although it is plastic it feels very well constructed. The one thing I absolutely love about this pen is the way the cap looks when posted on the back. The cap of the pen when placed on the back of the pen is seamlessly integrated into the body of the pen. There are no overlaps it just fits perfectly on the end.

There are a couple of problems with this pen. Although the pen is well constructed there is one thing that drives me absolutely crazy about it. Inside of the pen there is some mystery item rattling around. It is distracting to use and it detracts from an overall good writing experience. This may just be my specific pen, but it isn't a nice addition.

The other problem is the lack of grip/design of the grip area. i grip my pens very low when writing, and the are leading to the tip of the pen on the Sakura Pigma Micron Marker Pen is very harsh. The area consists of two cylindrical shapes that are smaller than the previous placed on top of each other. This leaves two relatively sharp edges near the end of the area that most people grip their pens. Since I grip my pens a bit lower than average this leaves the edge digging into my finger while I write.

Other than those few problems the Sakura Pigma Micron 05 Marker pen in blue is a good pen. The ink is waterproof and fadeproof, and the design is well done. A few flaws keep this pen from being a really great pen

8 out of 10 mummies.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Review: Zebra Disposable Brush Pen Super Fine

I recently placed an order on JetPens which included this Zebra Disposable Brush Pen. Honestly, I wasn't very excited about ordering this pen but it pushed me into the free shipping category so i got it anyway. Now that I have the pen though I'm happy I ordered it. This pen is really interesting and fun to use.

The thing I was worried about with the Zebra Disposable Super Fine Brush Pen was with how it would write. I had never used a brush pen before and didn't know much about them. (I still don't). The pen surprised me though. It writes beautifully. The ink comes out jet black and stays very dark after it dries. There is minimal show through and no bleed through with this pen.

This pen absolutely glides across the paper. It's a different writing experience than I have had before. It just feels different. I have heard that artists enjoy these types of pens because of the varying widths that the brush tip can produce. I'm not an artist so I can't attest to that, but the varying widths the brush tip can provide by using different amounts of pressure adds a nice unique characteristic to your writing. This may just be me and my horrible handwriting but it also made my handwriting seem a lot better looking.

This pen isn't all positives though, there are some problems. The tip of the pen is a bit concerning to me. I have been using this pen moderately for about 2 days and signs of wear can already be seen on the tip. The tip has already changed shape and sees to have shrunk a bit. Sadly I didn't take a picture of the tip before I used it, but it happened. Also, the cap when posted is not extremely sturdy. It doesn't wobble or shake or anything like that, but it is very easily knocked off the back which can get a bit annoying.

The body of this pen is super cool. It's navy blue with gold lettering, a classic color combo that never gets old for me. The body is also covered in Japanese/Chinese text which I can't read. Originally I thought it was Japanese text. However, when I looked on Zebra's international catalog this pen is listed as a Chinese Version. So I'm not positive what language the text is in. The foreign text on the body just adds a bit of mystery and intrigue to the pen, and makes it a bit more fun to use.

I was not expecting much from this pen at $2.50 from JetPens, but it surprised me in a good way. Although it is far from a perfect pen it really is interesting and fun to use. The Zebra Disposable Super Fine Brush Pen is one of my new favorite pens to use. It may not be great for marathon note taking sessions, but it is great for a quick note or letter to a friend.

8 out of 10 mummies.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Review: Black n' Red Casebound a4 Notebook

I first heard about the Black n' Red brand of notebooks in an article about improving one's schoolwork. The article said to buy a high quality notebook which will make you want to take notes. Those writers hit the nail on the head with their recommendation of the Black n' Red Casebound a4 notebook.

These notebooks from England are some of the best notebooks I have ever used. The a4 Casebound notebook is no exception. At first glance you can tell that it is a high quality product. Minimal branding, which I love, on the front cover gives the Black n' Red a sleek, professional look.

When you open the book the inside left cover features a 1 year planner. This planner consists of 12 vertical columns representing the months. What makes this feature very handy is the fact that there is no year on the planner so you can start using it at any time of the year and continue using it into the next year. This page also features a small section for planner notes.

The inside right cover page is reserved for personal information, a guide to book contents and important contact information. I don't know why but I love that they leave room for you to write a table of contents.

When you turn the page you come to one last information page. There is a world time zone map and plenty of useful conversions. Most useful for me is the listing of European paper sizes. No more confusing a4 and a5 for me.

After that last info page you get to the real star of the Black n' Red Casebound a4 notebook, the paper. There are 192 pages of 24lb ruled paper in this book. This paper is white with grey rulings. This paper is high quality, and super smooth. Writing on this paper doesn't feel like writing but more like gliding along.

This high quality paper also prevents bleed through and show through. I did an ink test with a wide variety of pen and ink types, but there was nothing to show for it. The reverse side of this ink test looked like a brand new page with nothing on the other side. I even scribbled and drew a dark circle with a 1.5mm calligraphy pen and nothing showed through. This paper is awesome.

When you get to the end of the notebook there are several maps for you to use. There is a map of North America, as well as metro/subway maps of New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Chicago.

The back of the notebook has information on the paper used inside the book, and a link to the Black n' Red website. Oh, and I forgot to mention the ribbon. The Casebound notebook comes with a nice red ribbon, a feature I always enjoy.

The Black n' Red Casebound a4 notebook is a high quality product that makes other notebooks look like trash in comparison. This is definitely one of my favorite notebooks.

9 out of 10 mummies.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

JetPens Delivery!

Last week I placed an order on JetPens.com and today it arrived.

I ordered a 1.5mm Pilot Parallel Calligraphy pen, a Zebra super fine brush pen, a Pilot Hi-Tec-C coleto 3 color multi pen body, 2 .4mm Hi-Tec-C coleto refills in red and violet (i thought the body came with a refill, hence me now only having 2 of 3 refills), a .5mm Rotring Tikky Rollerpoint Extra Fine liquid ink pen, and a .35mm Pentel Energel Euro.

Expect to see these reviewed in the coming weeks.
Have a happy Hump Day!
Coffee and Cody