The Pen Addict

Identify This Old School Pilot Ballpoint

Pen Addict reader Yohan doesn't want me go to all of this trouble to help him identify his pen, but I am more than happy to share it with the masses. I know as well as anyone how important some of the pens we grew up with are, if nothing else for sentimental reasons.

The pictures below are great, showing a classic retractable ballpoint design and the Pilot holographic sticker. Yohan originally bought this pen growing up in Indonesia, and used it heavily in the early 90's.

Can anyone come up with a model number for this Pilot ballpoint?

Pilot Hi-Tec-C Line Width Comparison Video

Pilot Hi-Tec-C Line Width Comparison from dowdyism on Vimeo.

I have to come clean. I completely FORGOT to schedule a post for today. I had an awesomely busy weekend, and Monday's are always packed on the work side of the ledger, so it slipped off the radar somehow.

To rectify this, I am going to phone it in a bit. I recorded a video comparing the line widths of all the Pilot Hi-Tec-C sizes, but I'm not too thrilled with it. The intro is lacking and the overall vibe is somewhat dull. I am going to run with it though and I promise to keep improving my video skills.

Enjoy!

Fountain Pen Nib Comparison Video

Fountain Pen Nib Comparison from dowdyism on Vimeo.

Video reviews are something I have always wanted to do more of on The Pen Addict. My friend Patrick Rhone has been doing some really nice ones recently, and seeing his work was just the push I needed to get this started.

In the video above, I did a quick comparison of a Pilot Prera F nib versus a Lamy Safari EF nib. Most experienced fountain pen users realize there are differences in nib sizes between countries, but many beginners do not. I wanted to put nib to paper and show you what the lines really look like.

Since this is my first real attempt at a video review (not counting the few webcam recordings I have done) please be brutally honest on what I can do better. I have never launched iMovie in my life prior to this. One issue I see is that there is some shaking on the camera in several frames. I'm not sure if that is me bumping the tripod, the table, or what exactly. I'll work on that next time!

Also, let me know what other topics you would like to see videos on. I think this can be a fun change of pace at The Pen Addict and I look forward to doing more.

Pilot VBall BeGreeN 05 Review

The Pilot VBall is a pen that has been around for years and has a large following. I know several readers would consider it one of their all-time favorites. What I don’t understand about the VBall is why isn’t it easier to find on store shelves? It is one of Pilot’s main pen lines, but I had to resort to Amazon to get a pack of my own to review. And I have had it on the radar for years.

Admittedly, I’m probably being too hard on Pilot. The VBall Grip and VBall Retractable are EVERYWHERE and use the same ink. I have used both of those pens, but I wanted the original VBall experience in the original VBall barrel design. Have you seen one of those on the shelf recently?

I settled for the VBall BeGreeN, which is a fine choice considering it is made from 81.6% recycled content. As happy as I am to be environmentally conscious, what I really wanted to know is how well the VBall writes.

I think my expectations were too high.

Liquid ink is challenging, especially in finer tip sizes. The VBall ink is wetter than I remember, more so than the VBall RT that I reviewed years ago. This causes my handwriting to not have the clean edge that gel or plastic tip pens provide.

When I bought this pen, I was hoping that it would find a place in my regular writing arsenal. Unfortunately it has been relegated to backup status.

Pilot Explorer Extra Fine Black Review

Raise your hand if you remember this pen.

I certainly do, as it was one of my favorites growing up. The Pilot Explorer has a very unique design, especially for a pen whose heyday was back in the 80’s and 90’s. To a youngster like me, it looked like it was from outer space. The best part about the Exlplorer though was how it wrote. I remember fine, crisp black lines, unlike the majority of the pens on the market at that time. So how does it hold up today?

It hasn’t skipped a beat.

Seth from Good Pens was kind enough to send me one from a stash he found at a stationery store in Europe. He has been on a mission for a while to find a good source for the Explorer, but has run into dead end after dead end.

From all appearances, the Explorer has been discontinued. You can find some strays available from various online office supply stores, but more often than not they are out of stock. I have looked through every Pilot Pen foreign site to no avail. I have even emailed the store in Denmark where Seth found them and got no response.

So, Pilot Pen, if you are listening - where can we get these pens?

The Explorer is as good as many of the pens that Pilot has on the market today. They write similarly to the Pilot VBall RT Extra Fine, which is very popular. I loved using one again and I think on nostalgia alone this pen would sell very well.

Please bring back the Pilot Explorer!