Pilot FriXion Ball Slim 0.38 mm Orange Review

If you didn't know this already I am a big fan of orange. Orange pens, orange barrels, orange inks, orange detailing, pretty much anything orange. There is no real reason why, other than the fact I am not a fan of red, so I use orange as my red replacement.

What I have never been a huge fan of is the Pilot FriXion line. They are completely fine pens, but usually not for me. They are growing on me though, especially as the product line matures. I think the turning point for me was the FriXion Biz, which is the only FriXion I use regularly, but the recently released Pilot FriXion Ball Slim may join the club.

The Slim has two things going for it: An ultra-fine 0.38 mm tip, and a slim but comfortable barrel design. I like these slim single cartridge barrels more than I ever thought I would, starting with the Uni-ball Style Fit. The FriXion Slim feels great in the hand and is very manuverable. The knock is placed subtly on the side of the barrel allowing for the eraser to be placed properly on the top of the pen.

I think the 0.38 mm tip is even finer than that. It writes more like a Uni-ball Signo DX 0.28 mm to me. That means there is some scratchiness when writing, which should be expected on a pen this fine.

Where the FriXion runs circles around other pens in this category is erasibility. No other company can hold a candle to Pilot in this area, so if an erasable gel ink pen is what you need, look no further than the FriXion.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Caran D'ache 849 Ballpoint Review

A Pen Addict reader requested months ago that I review a pen from the Caran d'Ache 849 series, and I was more than happy to oblige. I had my eyes on this pen for a while, and it didn't take much for me to hit the buy button.

I ordered the Black Metal version from Amazon and the photos don't do justice to how great looking this pen is. And honestly, I didn't expect anything less from a company that manufactures very high end pens. The 849 series is a way for us common folk to get in on a well-made and highly-respected Swiss pen.

The hexagonal aluminum barrel enhances the clean lines of the pen, and the chrome clip and knock add a sharp touch. My only issue with the design is that I would prefer more feedback from the knock. Maybe it is a Swiss thing, but there is no audible feedback when engaging or retracting. It is more of a squish-down, squish-up feeling and I would like to hear a more solid click when the ballpoint is engaged.

About that ballpoint ink cartridge - it is terrible. The tip is scratchy and there is a lot of white space in the line. That is normal ballpoint cartridge performance, but I expect more from a company like Caran d'Ache. I will be looking for a suitable replacement soon because this barrel deserves to be used.

One sentence review: The barrel is built to last but swap out the refill to protect your sanity.

My Fountain Pen Education: Pelikan M405 0.2 mm Masuyama Nib

The Atlanta Pen Show is coming up this weekend and I am pretty excited about it. Last year was my first pen show experience, and honestly, I was unprepared to take full advantage of everything the show had to offer. This time around, things will be different.

In the past year my fountain pen knowledge has grown immensely, but I'm still just a babe. Having someone like Thomas allow me to test out a wide range of pens and teach me about them while we are at it has proven invaluable. I am admittedly very, very lucky.

So how do I repay that luck? Let me start by telling you a little about the Pelikan M405 that Thomas loaned out to me.

Thomas sends his pens in batches and there is always a very detailed note about the contents. Specifics like any extra nib work done or some personal history behind the pen. The Pelikan M405 was part of the third batch of pens he sent, and for the first time, Thomas let me know how important a particular pen was to him. The M405 is his baby.

In fact, knowing that I don't turn pens around quickly, Thomas asked if I could review this one soon and get it headed back his way. Absolutely, I said, so I reviewed it plus three other pens over a few days and shipped them back.

And how did I repay Thomas for loaning me out his favorite pen? I forgot to clean it before sending it back.

I am super meticulous about cleaning my own pens. Someone else's pens? Even more so. I talked to Thomas about it and I think what happened was I cleaned the pens I sent back to him as a group, and somehow I missed that one among the others. I was so embarrassed! Thomas was a saint though, as he has been through this whole process. Needless to say, I don't think this mistake will happen again.

So, about the Pelikan M405 itself. This was the first Pelikan fountain pen I have used, and I can see why Thomas loves it so much. There is not a lot of pomp or flash with this pen, but everything it does have it gets exactly right. The weight is right, the balance is right, the feel is right, the look is right. I could tell all of these things the second I picked it up. And the nib, well, it is just exquisite.

The German extra fine 14K gold nib has been ground down to a Japanese extra fine 0.2 mm by respected nibmeister Mike Masuyama. This is what I am looking forward to most at the pen show that I wasn't prepared to handle last year. Mr. Masuyama will be at the show, and I plan on having him work on a couple of my nibs. I felt too green to even approach him last year, but working with Thomas these past few months has changed all of that.

And who knows, I may even come home with a Pelikan.