I have been a long time fan of the traditional capped version of the Sharpie Ultra Fine permanent marker, but every time I take it out of the drawer, I have to prime it on a piece of paper before I get down to business on what I really need to write on. Annoying, sure, but it's the best permanent pen on the market, so I dealt with it. When a reader emailed me about the new retractable ultra fine pen, I headed over to Staples and grabbed a three-pack (Black/Blue/Red) to try out. Right out of the packaging the pen was writing with no issues whatsoever. I'm not sure if the tip is wider (the line seems a touch wider to me), the ink flow has improved, or the retractable housing is doing a better job of keeping the pen fresh, but it is working like a champ. This is my new go-to permanent marker.
Tips & Tricks: Restarting an ink cartridge
I was cruising along yesterday writing with a blue Uni-Ball Signo DX 0.38mm when I decided to switch over to black ink. I reached for the hacked Pilot G-2 with a Mont-Blanc refill that I keep on my desk at work, but no ink was coming out of the tip. Dry as the Sahara. I scribbled around with it for a while and got a partial ink flow, but nothing like it should be. This made me wonder what the best way was to get an ink cartridge to flow again? I've heard of taking a match to it, or maybe wetting it a little and scribbling - do you have any secrets to resurrect a pen that you know still has life left?
There are some good suggestions on this wikiHow page: How to restart a dry ballpoint pen. I forgot about trying to write on an eraser. Maybe that is my next move.
Review: Pilot G-Knock 0.38mm Blue
Roberto on Flickr tagged me for a writing meme, so this gave me the chance to review my new Pilot G-Knock 0.38mm blue gel ink pen. I have reviewed the Pliot G-2 0.38mm and the Pilot G-Knock barrel, so if you combine those two reviews, this is essentially what you come up with. The results are very nice, and when I don't use my G-2 0.38mm pens very frequently, I forget how nice and clean they write. As soon as I was done with this meme, I just wanted to keep on writing with this pen. It is that nice, and very reasonably priced.
