Review: Post-it flag pen

(Note: Please welcome aboard Dan, who joins Amy and Kalina as a regular contributor to The Pen Addict.)

It's easy to be suckered into a seemingly flashy pen near the register at big box stores. You can play with them. You've probably never had that pen before. They're cheap.

I fell for the trap, picking up the blue Post-it flag pen for $1.50.

Aesthetically, this shiny white pen is nice from a distance. It's thick near the plunger narrowing down toward the tip. There are 50 disposable blue flags at the top. Do I need the flags for anything? Maybe not. But do I have a pen that dispenses a tape and paper product? Nope.

So the non-functional components of this pen grabbed me.

The writing quality of this pen is about what you'd expect out of a standard ballpoint pen. The line it produces on the paper is like an old lumbering Cadillac – it's slow and thick but can be a workhorse. But be honest here, when is the last time you used a full cartridge on a ballpoint pen?

Handling the pen really isn't an enjoyable experience, and why I haven't gotten a lot of use out of it. It feels awkward with either the clip pushing into your hand or the flags flicking against your skin. The college-ruled flags are a unique touch, but as I'm not a student or someone flagging papers that need signed, they've gone unused.

If you can get past things strangely rubbing against you as you write, the grip is decent. It has little give, and but is still soft. It has seven ridges with the space between them widening as they go up the grip. Over the past week of use, the grip has developed a slight tackiness to it.

The other big negative about the Post-it flag pen is its weight. I prefer some heft in a pen and this one is pretty light. With the whole thing consisting of plastic (other than the tip), that's expected. Still, thicker plastic would have made for a better writing experience.

As I mentioned, this may not be a pen for me since I don't have a use for the flags. Speaking of me, and since this is my introductory post, here is a little bit about your's truly:

My main usage of pens comes at work. I'm a member of the mainstream media (boo, hiss!) and used to write in shorthand a lot. Because of that, I like a pen that writes quickly and doesn't require a lot of effort to hold.

I write a good bit of notes at work, but now my main area of pen use comes while watching college football. In my spare time, I run a website centered around the NFL Draft. It's an extremely nerdy venture that involves evaluating players and how they'll translate to the NFL. Because of that, I fill up notebook after notebook with notes on players. Weird, I know. I also journal some when time allows it. My current notebook is the Cambridge City business notebook.

The main pen I've been using lately is the Acroball 3 multi-pen. The pen I picked up the most in 2010 was probably the Sharbo X ST3. I used it a lot not just because it's a good pen, but I wanted to justify owning such an expensive writing utensil.

I'm always in search of the perfect spiral notebook. I've never really used fountain pens. My pens can typically be found in my desk, pants pocket or a bag I insist is a European handbag.

Everyone I know thinks my growing pen addiction is odd. But that's what attracted me to the Pen Addict. Every post here is a learning experience. I'm happy to be writing here, and hope you're happy to read it.

(Apologies for a lack of a writing example. Apparently my camera is not so hot on close-ups)

Review: County Comm Embassy Pen

I had been lusting after the County Comm Embassy Pen for a while, and needing to tell my in-laws something to get me for Christmas, I figured this would be a perfect fit.  I really had no idea until Christmas day whether they actually bought it or not (they aren't big fans of the internet shopping thing), but I was pretty psyched to see a pen sized package heading my way that morning.

The packaging for the Embassy Pen was pretty unique.  It comes in an oversized clear plastic tube - similar to a test tube - sealed with a screw off cap like you would find on a two-liter soda bottle.  I would have taken a picture of the container, but my kids discovered that it was a pretty cool toy, and I haven't seen it since that fateful morning.  Needless to say, it was unique looking enough that my mother in-law told me she had to do a double take when she first received it, not knowing exactly what this thing was.

Once I opened the tube and got the pen in my hands, it was everything I imagined it would be.  It is extremely heavy duty, feeling almost like a mini-baton.  It's not a pure tactical pen like some other pens on the market with the dedicated window breaker tip, but it is more than substantial enough to do some damage if that is your thing.  Put it this way - I wouldn't want to deal with bringing this through airport security very often.

From a construction standpoint, the pen body is constructed from T6061 Type 3 Anodized Aluminum with a stainless steel clip, and a machine knurled body and grip.  Short version:  It is substantial.  The stock ink cartridge is a medium black Fisher Space Pen refill, and while that is not my personal favorite, it is a perfect choice for this type of pen.  This is essentially a field pen, and the Fisher Space Pen refill is almost mandatory.  What I need to do is hunt down is a finer point Fisher refill, so I'll let you know how that turns out (and am open for suggestions).

One point to mention with the Embassy Pen - and it is clearly marked on their website - is that the cap is not made to post on the end of the pen, so you will be writing with the cap loose.  Their exact quote is as follows, which is one part funny, and one part cryptic:

NOTE: The CountyComm Embassy Pen industrial design purposely DOES NOT provide for the cap to fit on the back of the barrel. There are several reasons for this, one will become apparent when someone asks to borrow your pen - loan them the pen while you hold the cap and you will get your pen back! Other more discrete reasons are best kept quiet! If you require a pen that holds the cap on the barrel while writing, there are thousands on the market to choose from. If you are looking for a rugged, failsafe, multi-purpose EDC pen, we hope you will choose our distinctive Embassy Pen.

In the end, I really love this pen.  For me, it is not an every day at my desk writer, but I don't hesitate to grab it and clip it to my shirt or jeans, and write anywhere and everywhere I please.  Plus, it looks cooler than just about any other pen I own.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Hero M86 Chinese Calligraphy Pen

This review is by Kalina Wilson, who can also be found at geminica.com.

Once again, my review is inspired by an Urban Sketcher.  This time, it's the wonderful Tia Boon Sim of Singapore and her use of the Hero M86 Chinese calligraphy pen.  The pen has a beautiful and solid (albeit heavy) black and silver body.  

See that bulbous cap?  It's too heavy for the pen, and doesn't post well.  Hmm.  At least it's stylish.

The only source I know of for these pens is ISellPens.com.  Scroll down towards the bottom of the linked page to find it. Right now it's selling for $12.88 plus shipping.  

This pen has a bent nib which is sometimes referred to as a "ski jump" nib.  Due to the bend the line is generally quite broad; however, when you tip your hand forward (bringing the pen into a more vertical position, up to a right angle from the page), you get a fine line.  Additionally, as also works with other fountain pens, inverting the pen results in an even finer line.

 
The first two writing samples are on Aquabee Super Deluxe paper which is fairly toothy, and shows the lines available by changing the vertical angle of the pen.   (Sorry for the blur.) The third sample is on smooth "Pen Sketcher's" paper.  Also see Tia's video demonstrating her use of the pen; it's subtle, but you can see that she changes the pen's angle to the paper quite a bit and also uses it in the inverted position for awhile.

      

I believe it's because of the strange way you need to hold this pen to achieve line variation that it has such particularly idiosyncratic results.  Tia achieves gorgeous fluidity in her sketches using this tool (this is one of my favorites of hers - so beautiful!).  That's Tia, though.  In my hand the pen produces a very different style.

The Hero M86 is so unlike other pens that it takes special attention and practice.  Luckily it's a lot of fun, as well!

As for ink, I took no chances and filled up with Noodler's Bulletproof .  Use an economical ink in any case because you can blast through it fast with this pen. 

The pen comes with a pump filler ink reservoir. This brings us to the pen's one major flaw that I've found, besides the minor annoyance of not being able to post the cap:  ink flow has been inconsistent.

Often I need to open up the pen and manually push the slider to force ink towards the nib, being careful not to push too far, which would flood ink onto my hands and paper. I haven't heard of others encountering this problem with the Hero, so it may depend on how you hold the pen or it could be a manufacturing issue.  Tia recommends moving the ink pump very quickly in order to reduce air bubbles.  Following that advice reduced but did not eliminate my ink flow problems.  See her discussion here; note that my ink reservoir is the one she states is newer, printed with "Hero" rather than "Made in England".

Like most other fountain pens and brush pens, this pen doesn't do well in a Moleskine sketchbook or, indeed, on any paper that has a non-absorbent coating.  The copious ink just pools up.  Toothy watercolor or mixed media paper has a strong effect on the line, but it takes the ink well.  In general, an artist may need to be a little more selective about paper when using this pen than they would when using a standard fountain pen like a Lamy Safari.  My accounting ledger paper resisted the ink a little bit which resulted in some smudging and a greyer tone, but other than that the effects were nice.

This is an exciting pen for artists.  I highly recommend the Hero M86 for anyone who desires great variety of line and loves to discover new possibilities in their tools... as long as they are willing to spend some time getting to know the pen and don't mind working around the unpostable cap and potentially unreliable ink flow.

Thanks to Tia for showing her gorgeous sketches made with this pen at last year's Urban Sketchers Symposium... and to my partner Mike for putting the Hero M86 under our Christmas tree!