The Pen Addict

Uni-Ball Kuru Toga + Doane Paper = Giveaway!!!

Chad Doane of Doane Paper fame was asked to create a special run of his Doane Paper Utility Notebooks for a recent Uni-Ball gathering, and not only am I lucky to receive serveal of those notebooks to giveaway, Uni-Ball chipped in with a handful of their famous Kuru Toga pencils as well. Six of you will get the opportunity to try out two of my favorite products from two of my favorite companies, so be sure to get your entry in. Here's how:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.  You are limited to one entry.  Feel free to link this giveaway on your blog, or share it with anyone you feel is a true pen addict.  If you have a blog, I would love a link back, but it is certainly not required for entry into the contest.

2. For this contest, I will pick six winners at random from the comments section of this post.  The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on.  The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winners.

3. The contest winners will be posted on Friday, April 1st.  The winners will have one week to email me at the address posted in the "About" section on the right sidebar.

4. I will ship internationally.  I know there are many international readers and fans of The Pen Addict, and I will gladly ship to you at my expense.

I truly love the products in this giveaway and want to thank Chad and the gang at Uni-Ball for sending me these items. You can check out their websites at the links above, as well as their Twitter feeds @doanepaper and @uniball_usa.

Uni-Ball Kuru Toga Video Review

 

The Uni-Ball Kuru Toga Roulette is the latest Kuru Toga release stocked by JetPens, and since I have already done written reviews for the Original and the High Grade, I decided to do a quick video with all three. A few notes:

1. I am still figuring out how to best do these videos. I am just using my laptop webcam, which does a decent job, but I had bad lighting in this one, plus the sound is low. Still a work in progress.

2. I wised-up after my last Ustream chat - record video AFTER the kids go to bed.

3. I don't script or edit any of my videos. This is not some random stance I am trying to take, but I just don't have the time. I have a general idea in my head of what I want to talk about, and stumble and stammer through it as best as I can. I'd love a higher production value, but that is a long way down the line.

Anyway, check it out, and let me know if you have any questions or suggestions in the comments section.

Giveaway: Uni-ball Alpha Gel Kuru Toga Combo Mechanical Pencil - 0.5 mm

The Uni-ball Alpha Gel Kuru Toga is a relatively new product at JetPens, and while I haven't reviewed this exact model, I have reviewed the individual parts that make up this Frankenpencil.  The body style and the grip come from the Alpha series, of which the black Jetstream model is one of my all time favorites.  I have also reviewed the original Kuru Toga Pencil, as well as the Kuru Toga High Grade.  They are now the bar to which I compare all other mechanical pencils to.  So, the Uni-ball Alpha Gel Kuru Toga Combo has to be completely awesome, right?  Well, I will let one winner find out.  Here's how:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.  You are limited to one entry.  Feel free to link this giveaway on your blog, or share it with anyone you feel is a true pen addict.  If you have a blog, I would love a link back, but it is certainly not required for entry into the contest.

2. For this contest, I will pick one winner at random from the comments section of this post.  The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on.  The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

3. The contest winner will be posted on Friday, June 25th.  The winner will have one week to email me at the address posted in the right sidebar.

4. I will ship internationally.  I know there are many international readers and fans of The Pen Addict, and I will gladly ship to you at my expense.

Thanks and good luck!

Top 10 Pen Reviews of 2009

Since this post was such a hit last year, I want to make this an end of year tradition here at The Pen Addict.  The rankings below consist of the top 10 pen review posts for the 2009 calendar year as determined by Google Analytics.  This list isn't my top 10 favorite pens, but rather a snapshot of what was popular over the last 12 months.

Zebra Sharbo X - Pen of the year?

1. Zebra Sharbo X
I had no idea I would like this pen so much.  The price tag is a barrier to entry, but I'm glad I finally broke down and bought one (and then two).  This is a very well made pen, fun to use, and fun to look at.  If you want to strut your cool Japanese pen stuff, then the Zebra Sharbo X is definitely the way to go.

2. Pentel Slicci 0.25mm
As long as I write this blog, the Pentel Slicci will have a prominent place in these pages.  For my money, this is one of the best micro point gel ink pens around.  The 0.25mm model may be a stretch for some, but it is very easy to write with, and the colors really pop off the page.

3. Sharpie Pen RT
One of the two new Sharpie Pen models this year, the Sharpie Pen RT really changed things up from the original.  The barrel is much better, and the rubber grip is a great addition.  I have been running into an issue of late where the pen tip firms up more than the original, so that is something I am going to dig into more soon.

4. Lamy Safari Charcoal/Black EF Nib
Any and every Lamy Safari post is always a huge hit, and this one was no different.  One of these years I am going to get off my butt, buy a converter, and start testing out other fountain pen inks.  Maybe.

5. Uni-Ball Signo 207 0.7mm Needle Tip
It took me FOREVER to come up with one of these pens.  A reader actually sent my my first one, then I finally came across some on the shelf at an Office Max on a trip to Florida.  This is a really cool variation on the Uni-Ball 207, but I wish it was more accessible.  You hear me Uni-Ball?  :)

6. Uni-Ball Jetstream 3 Multi Pen
Jetstream + Multi Pen = win.  I am a big multi-pen fan, and find myself using the Jetstream more and more, so this pen is a no-brainer for me.  Black, blue, and red are the three ink colors, and with some nice barrel colors available and at just $6.00, this pen is a great value.

7. Uni-Ball Kuru Toga High Grade 0.5mm
Along with the Zebra Sharbo X, this is one of my favorites.  This is the only pencil I carry with me on a daily basis, and I have yet to find a reason to carry any other.  Plus, I just like saying Kuru Toga.  And Mount Wannahockaloogie.

8. Zebra F-701
This is a hugely popular pen with the Every Day Carry crowd, and one I was missing out on for the longest time.  The construction of this pen is awesome, with a sleek stainless steel body and knurled metal grip.  If the ballpoint ink cartridge was a little bit nicer this pen could crack my top 5.

9. Bic Triumph 730R
Bic has always been a second tier pen company to me, ranking behind the big boys like Uni-Ball, Pilot, Pentel, Zebra, and others.  But this year, Bic brought a couple of nicer pens to market, including this 730R.  It is a refillable needle tip liquid ink pen, very similar to the Pilot Precise V5.  Good job by Bic on this one.

10. Pentel Energel Multi-Function Pen
This is an interesting pen to round out the top 10.  The Energel is one of the best writing gel inks around, and is nice to have available in in a multi pen version.  I also appreciate the fact that the cartridges are 0.5mm instead of 0.7mm, which is more common in the American market.

Review: Uni-Ball Kuru Toga High Grade 0.5mm

I first reviewed the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga back in December of last year, and now that the Kuru Toga High Grade model is available at JetPens, I wanted to try out some new things.  In my original review, the Kuru Toga was an 0.3mm model, and while I liked it a lot, I felt that the lead size, combined with my writing style, didn't take full advantage of the core rotation mechanism that makes the Kuru Toga what it is.  This time around, I went with the 0.5mm size and did a little more accurate testing with the pencil.

My normal writing style involves a bit of spinning the pen or pencil in my hand when writing.  I write a few words, pick up the pencil, rotate it a bit in my fingertips, and put it back to paper.  It is a fraction of a second thing, but to really get a feel for how the Kuru Toga works, I need to let the pencil do its job.  So for this writing sample, I decided to punish myself like I was in 4th grade, forcing myself to write "I will not rotate the pencil in my hand when writing" over and over again until the page was full.  I made a concerted effort to keep the lettering on the barrel perfectly square between my thumb and index finger throughout this experience, and was successful in doing so.  If you didn't realize this already by looking at the page, the Kuru Toga really, really works.  Any other pencil around would have a huge flat spot on the lead, making for wider and lighter transfer to the page.  The Kuru Toga rotated properly the entire way through, keeping the lead sharp and ready to go with every word.  There is no difference in line width or darkness between any line on the page.  Fantastic results!

The design differences between the original Kuru Toga and the High Grade are not that different other than the materials used in construction of the barrel.  The original has a plastic grip, plastic clip, and is a touch shorter, while the High Grade has an aluminum grip section, metal clip, and is a bit longer.  The eraser section is also designed a bit differently as you can see in the photo, and the original is a hair lighter, but they are both lightweight pencils.  The biggest difference is price, with the original costing $6.50 and the High Grade at $15.00, so it just depends on what you are looking for in a pencil for which one you should buy.  The High Grade is striking looking, but my next Kuru Toga will probably be another original.  You can't go wrong with either.

Click Here for the XL review.