It is always fun to give away pens, but especially fun when it is a pen as cool as the new Stainless Steel Sharpie Pen. Thanks to everyone who read the review and entered the contest - it is much appreciated! And the winners are:
Congrats to both Sarah and Vincent! Here is what I need you to do:
1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Email me your mailing address using the email address in the sidebar.
Thanks everyone, and have a great Thanksgiving week!
Well hello there!
That is what I said when walking down the pen aisle at Wal-Mart this morning. The Stainless Steel Sharpie Pen was on my radar, but I sure didn’t expect to run across it this morning while picking up cleaning supplies and Coke Zero.
Ever since Sharpie introduced the Sharpie Pen line, they have done a great job with regular updates to the design, function, or colors, and this Stainless Steel model is the latest - and possibly greatest - of the bunch.
Let me start with the obvious - the barrel. The simple, clean stainless steel design suits this pen perfectly. It is similar in design to the stainless steel barrel they use for the permanent marker, but in this case it is shaped like the Sharpie Pen Grip. The dimensions are identical as best as I can tell, with the only difference being the added weight of the barrel material. It is well balanced when writing, if ever so slightly top heavy with the cap posted. Nothing too noticeable though.
Ink wise, it is exactly like the Grip. Nice, clean, pitch black lines that don’t bleed through the page. Even my little mark out mess-ups in the writing sample don’t bleed, which is an impressive feat by Sharpie.
The best feature of all? This pen is refillable. I didn’t see any refills available on the shelf, but I’m sure they are coming soon. The entire grip section screws off and is replaceable, so I’m sure they won’t be cheap, but it is better than a $4.99 pen every time you run out.
Overall, this is a perfect addition to the product line, and I am very happy to see Sharpie continue to improve their offerings. What could possibly next?
Oh yeah - I bought all three they had on the shelf, so how about I give away the other two to two lucky commenters on this post. Hopefully you read this far down! Leave a comment by Saturday at midnight telling me what you would like to see next in the Sharpie Pen line. I will post the winner on Sunday. And sorry, US only please. Good luck!
The Sharpie Pen is one of my all time favorites, so I had no trouble using this pen all day long for the #OnePenOneDay project.
The long, slender barrel is very comfortable, and the plastic tip doesn’t break down as quickly as other similar type pens. I don’t even mind the sharp edge in the grip area, but it looks like that has been taken care in a recent update. I also like the original lighter blue ink more than the darker blue, which is the more common shade.
The picture above shows the paint chipping problem that many people encounter. I prefer to say that my pen has been loved. There is no reason to not own at least one of these pens.
Things have been going pretty well so far with my #OnePenOneDay project. I have made it through several days in a monogamous relationship with my writing utensil of choice, despite the difficulties. I will say that this cannot be an every single day of the year project though - there are just some days where it is not feasible. But on the days that I consider "project days" I am 100% committed to that pen, and that pen only, for the entire day.
Here are some of the pens I have revisited so far:
Pentel Tradio EnerGel Combo Pen -- I liked this pen a lot the first time around (links go to the original reviews), but the cap not staying posted is still an issue. It is hard to beat the EnerGel ink from a performance perspective, but if I am picking up an EnerGel right now it is the Euro Needle.
Uni-Ball Jetstream Sport 0.5mm Blue -- Still one of my all-time favorites. Nice, clean barrel design, great grip, and an 0.5mm tip with performance to die for. Many people believe this pen is too scratchy, but for me, it is almost perfect.
Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.3mm Black (with Grip) -- This is the one pen that I can't get enough of for note taking purposes. The line is super-fine and I love how my handwriting turns out on the page. Yes, there are sometimes startup issues when you first get writing, but one it starts up it is one of the best pens around. (In writing this, I now realize I have never reviewed this exact pen. I'll correct that soon.)
Copic Drawing Pen F02 -- I have no idea what is going on with this pen, but it is frustrating me. I was worried about it from the get go since it had been months since I used it. The ink started flowing well enough right out the gate, and for the few hours following. After that, performance was all over the place, leaving me to wonder if the ink had dried up on the inside.
Sharpie Pen -- A classic pen on top of a classic book. The Sharpie Pen is one of my all time favorites for sure. I always enjoy writing with it, and despite the new barrel styles and colors being introduced, the black ink original is still the best.
Well, that is it for this first round of #OnePenOneDay. I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions for this project, and I'll also take requests for pens you would like me to run through the gauntlet once more. Just let me know below.
The original Sharpie Pen has always been one of my favorite pens, so when the first Sharpie Pen Retractable model came out I was very anxious try try it. That anxiousness turned into disappointment very quickly with the various issues that the original RT had, such as the tip drying out (or running out of ink) at a very fast rate. So has the new version of the RT corrected all of the originals flaws? Not quite, but it is an improvement.
The visual differences between the original and new RT are obvious and a nice change on the new model. The plunger has changed from chrome to black, the grip has been streamlined, and Sharpie has added a color ring around the middle of the pen to match the ink color. Every one of those things is an improvement over the original, especially the grip. It is slightly thinner and more comfortable to write with.
From an ink perspective, the jury is still out. I jumped to conclusions with the original RT before they started bricking out on me at an alarming rate. I haven't seen the same issue with the new RT yet, but I haven't been using them as frequently either. One thing I have noticed with the purple ink in the review is that the RT is a shade or two darker than the regular Sharpie Pen purple ink. Of course I couldn't find my original Sharpie Pen to compare it to directly, but it just seems that way.
Overall, the new Sharpie RT is a noticeable improvement over the original. Some of the rattling issues are still present, but the total package is better and if the ink holds up it is a clear winner.
If you want even more details on the Sharpie Pen RT, including a dissection of the barrel, check out Office Supply Geeks great posts on the subject.
Click here for the XL review.
