Guest Review: Kaweco Liliput Al Fine Nib Fountain Pen

(This is a guest review by Ben Dahl. You can follow Ben on Twitter @TheBenDahl)

Between show reviews for Lost in Concert, posts for Cool Material and a general desire not to forget any brilliant ideas (upon reexamination most of them are anything but, but I wouldn'€™t know that if I didn'€™t write them down), my list of demands when it comes to pens includes everything but a jet fueled and waiting on the tarmac.

It has to be convenient enough that I won'€™t mind carry it all night, but durable enough to take a beating without it also serving as a paperweight. Reliable enough that I don't have to worry about turning it into a Shake Weight in the middle of a performance. Comfortable enough that I won't mind filling a few Field Notes with chicken scratch over the course of a day. Other bonuses include, but aren't limited to: not having a cap I have to hold and/or lose, not looking like a weapon (you'€™d be surprised how anal retentive security guards are), affordable and good looking. In other words, I'€™m asking for a lot in a single writing implement. When Brad suggested a fountain pen I thought he was crazy, but the Kaweco Liliput Al delivers.

The first thing everyone notices about the Liliput Al is its size. It'€™s tiny. Closed, it's about as long as a standard wallet and only slightly longer than a cigarette. With the cap screwed onto the end for writing purposes it'€™s barely longer than an iPhone. It fits into every place I can think of to put a pen: pockets, bags, pen slots, cups and office organizers. In fact, I'm having difficulty thinking of a place that this pen won't fit. That's fantastic, but it's also the only real flaw with this pen. If you're not careful, there's about a 75% chance you will lose this pen. It's ended up in the washer on more than one occasion simply because I didn'€™t realize it was still in a pants pocket. Obviously it'€™s tiny, but what about everything else?

In case a few trips through with the dirty laundry isn't enough of an inclination, the Liliput Al is built like a tank. The full aluminum body and stainless steel nib (F in this case) make it all but impervious to trips down stairs, being thrown at a wall (What? I had to test it!) and getting stepped on. I did everything short of running this thing over with a car and none of it even marred the gorgeous matte black finish.

You can beat it up however you want and nothing bad will happen, but there'€™s only one real way to write with it. If you don'€™t screw the cap on the back of the pen it'€™s about as comfortable and easy to operate as a stylus on a Palm Treo. It's as fun as Calculus so not at all. Once you put the cap where it belongs, though, writing is a breeze. There's no drag on the page, no tearing and no ink seepage. Once the ink's on the page, it doesn't bleed and dries quickly enough that you don'€™t have to worry about everything turning into a blob if you use a notebook that closes. It'€™s not beer resistant, but that's to be expected with liquid ink (standard cartridge).

All things considered, the Kaweco Liliput Al is a fantastic little fountain pen. I would happily spend $55 on one of these pens and recommend it to anyone looking for something a little out of the ordinary. You can take it with you everywhere without worrying about it, and you'€™ll always know it'€™s ready for service … as long as you don't lose it in your pocket.

Uni-ball Signo 207 Bold Review

So, is the Uni-ball Signo 207 Bold a new product, or not?

I don’t recall ever seeing these on the store shelves before, and some of Uni-ball’s packaging had the “New” splashed across the front, but I have a few questions. One, according to Amazon.com, they have been around for a while - at least since last summer. The picture even shows the old packaging, while the ones I bought were in the new packaging.

Secondly, the Uni-ball 207 Impact Bold has been around for ages. I don’t have one handy to test with, but it is a 1.0 mm 207 model Super Ink Technology gel ink pen. Is this the same refill just now in the standard 207 barrel?

Finally, isn’t is weird that I get so worked up about little things like this?

I’m not really that worked up about it. I was thinking this was a new addition to an already solid product line, but it is really more of a rehash/rework of some pieces that were already in place.

Once I got down to actually using the pen instead of trying to decipher its lineage I found it very enjoyable. It is hard for a gel ink pen this wide to dry in a reasonable amount of time but the 207 Bold dries as fast as any. It certainly dries faster than the Pilot G–2 1.0 mm. The line is solid, smooth, and dark as well. It was a great writing experience and I can see myself using this pen more than I originally intended.

Deleter Neopiko Line 2 0.3 mm Review

(This is a guest post by Brian Draghi. You can follow Brian on Twitter @Sketchscape)

The Deleter Neopiko Line 2 line quality is similar to the Sakura Pigma Micron felt tip drawing pen with its strong, clean, dark lines. It’s easy to compare these two pens together since they are so similar but there are a few small differences that set them apart. Felt tip pens are one of my favorites because they serve a dual function where I can use them both for sketching and writing. The ink is waterproof, archival and dries instantly making them perfect for left handed users. The Neopiko even works great on thiner paper types because it shows little to no bleed through on the page.

One great feature of the Neopiko is how securely the cap posts on the pen. The cap contains about a quarter of an inch of extruded plastic that extends on the end of the cap that snaps perfectly into the ring shaped groove on the bottom of the pen. The cap will stay locked in place even if you drop it and will stay put until you decide to remove it. The Neopiko is sightly smaller in length when posted compared to similar pens and has a nice balance and weight to it.

While there are many positive aspects about the Neopiko, there are also a few major drawbacks that create some problems. Compared to most of the other felt tip pens on the market this seems to have a smaller, more delicate tip that may give trouble to some of the heavy handed users out there. There is even a warning on the pen to avoid pressing the tip too hard. The Deleter Neopiko is also the most expensive of the felt tip bunch at nearly 5 dollars a pen. The problem with this is the ink for the Neopiko does not last long enough to warrant such a price.

This is a deal breaker for me considering that you can purchase a Micron pen for nearly half the price of a Neopiko with the same level of quality. Despite the drawbacks, this still is a great quality felt tip pen to use, just not something practical I would grab on a regular basis.