Pilot FriXion Ball Knock Design Series Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

To be honest, I haven't used an erasable pen since 5th grade, and at that time they were horrible.

Apparently, a lot has changed. Erasable pens don't have to be incredibly difficult to use and marginally useless when it comes to writing and erasing. The Pilot FriXion is a gel ink pen that uses friction to remove the ink. I don't even pretend to understand how it all works, but I do know that the experience is much more pleasant than the previous generations of erasable pens. If I had these as a student when erasable pens were mandatory, I wouldn't have grown to hate the phrase "erasable pen" so much. Even now, I'm trying to use that phrase frequently in an attempt to rid it of the awful taste it leaves in my mouth.

The FriXion ink is surprisingly smooth when writing – very similar to other Pilot gel ink pens (but not quite) like the G2. The particular model I'm using is called the Ball Knock Design series, and it features a 0.5 mm point. When you first write with the pen, you can detect a slight drag from the point, but if you can remember to press very lightly then that issue almost disappears.

Writing with the pen is effortless. It doesn't take much pressure at all to put ink on the page, and I haven't seen any skipping or gunking that was extremely common with the old erasable pens. This part still blows my mind. I'm impressed by how well it writes for an erasable pen. It doesn't beat a Pilot Juice or an Acroball or any other permanent gel or hybrid ink, but this is an erasable ink and it's done pretty great so far.

So, it writes fairly well, but how does it erase? Well, I would sum it up as, "Meh." Erasing is easy – one or two strokes across the ink usually does the job, but it never completely disappears. You can always see the trace of what was written before, and that makes me a little perturbed. If it's supposed to be erasable, then I expect it to be erasable like a pencil. Sure, you sometimes can see the writing from an erased pencil mark, but it's much harder to detect than the FriXion ink. This is obviously a personal problem that I need to deal with; if you're in the market for an erasable ink pen, then the FriXion gets the job done with no hassle or frustration. It's a great erasable pen.

The top of the pen contains the rubber tip used for erasing, which is convenient and works well. I was stumped when I first used the pen as to how to operate the retract mechanism. Pressing on the rubber tip (where a knock normally is) doesn't do anything. After a few seconds of looking around the pen, I realized it's the clip that acts as the knock. Takes a bit of retraining to use the clip instead of the top of the pen, but it works well when I remember to use it properly the first time.

There is a tip on JetPens about the temperature-sensative nature of this ink. Apparently, erased ink will reappear if it gets cold enough (lower than 14 degress Fahrenheit), which could be fun to play with but unfortunate if you didn't want that to happen. Just something to keep in mind. I didn't test it out – I take their word for it.

Overall, this is a great pen and I'm really impressed by how far along erasable ink has come in a few years. If you're looking for an erasable pen, this is a great place to start.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Pelikan Twist Fountain Pen Review

There is something about fountain pens for beginners that I love. Generally, they come in cool colors, or funky designs. All have some type of molded grip to help you with the proper finger placement. And, almost without fail, the nibs prove to be excellent writers.

It makes me wonder sometimes why I spend hundreds of dollars on fountain pens given how well some of these entry level pens write.

The Pelikan Twist is clearly marketed towards children for their first fountain pen. The colors are bright, the grip is very well definied, it is a simple cartridge filler, and the plastic barrel is going to be able to handle getting beat up. Plus, it just flat-out looks cool. I can see kids enjoying learning the proper way to write with this pen.

Being a big kid myself, I found I enjoyed using it. The medium nib is dead smooth, and the output is clean with the provided Pelikan Royal Blue ink cartridge (it takes short and standard international.)

The one consideration for those who want to add this pen to their arsenal is how extreme the grip section really is. I have a traditional grip so I never mind molded grips, but there is no play with this one. The edges between each side of the section are sharp, locking you in to the preferred grip at all times. The Pilot Kakuno is much more subtle, and even the Lamy Safari feels tame in comparison.

Don't let that scare you away though. Learn how to grip a pen the right way! If nothing else, kids will appreciate how cool and fun this pen is to use, and they won't even know that you are creating muscle memory that will last them a lifetime.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Stipula Splash Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

My experience with flex nib pens is fairly limited, but it's always been an interest that I'd love to explore. Before owning a proper flex nib fountain pen, I dabbled in dip pens and flexible nibs, but that didn't really help me decide if I like the pens or not – the process of constantly dipping for ink is romantic at heart, but ultimately inconvenient.

So, when Brad sent me the Stipula Splash fountain pen to review, I was delighted. So far, I only own a Pilot Elabo that features a flexible nib, so I was eager to try out more. In short, it's not fair to compare the two because of the price difference, but the Stipula is an enjoyable flex nib pen.

Aesthetics

The Stipula Splash has a very noticeable aesthetic as it's part demonstrator, and part solid. Personally, I think the color choices make it look cheaper than it really is, but that notion completely vanishes once you pick up the pen and start using it. It's a solid pen made of quality parts. I think the biggest drawback for me regarding the pen's looks is the blind cap (the part you twist to operate the piston). It's a bright chrome accent, and it doesn't seem to match the rest of the pen. I'd prefer it to match the color of the cap, but that's a small discretion.

The design of the pen isn't overly flashy or decorative – the only real decoration I can find it on top of the cap, which features an inlay of a leaf. Apart from that, the pen is plain and classy. If it weren't for the unorthodox color, you might believe it's a boring business pen. But who writes business letters with a flex nib, right?

The entire section is clear, so you can see the piston parts working and also get a very good look at the ink supply. As with all demonstrators, this pen looks great with a bright ink in the reservoir.

Feel

The pen isn't light, which leads me to believe that the parts are made of high-quality materials. When operating the piston, everything feels smooth, if not a bit tight. After working the piston a few times, it became less tight, so I imagine it would break in to an even smoother feel once it was used for a while. Overall, I don't worry about any parts on this pen failing under normal use. I haven't tried disassembling the entire pen for cleaning, but it's been a piece of cake to clean without doing so.

Writing

The writing experience with this pen is a bit quirky, but a lot of fun. The unit I have has a nib that can be a tad picky about the angle of attack, but as long as I use the sweet spot it's a great writer.

As a sidenote, this pen will have flow problems if left for a week without being used. Nothing dramatic, but you will have to expel some ink through the feed by moving the piston slightly before the pen will write smoothly. Once I figured that out, it's been a fantastic pen to use. In my case, the symptoms were all about slow starts and skips over quick or long letters. Pushing a bit of ink through the feed cleared it up immediately.

How about that flex? It can flex quite a bit for what I believe to be a fine nib, possibly even an extra fine. In my tests, I could easily flex the nib to a line width the size of a BB nib. Not bad, right?

On the flip-side, the nib is made of steel which can make the flex a bit difficult to control. Again, this is something that can possibly get better with age, but a fair warning is needed. With practice, you can learn how to flex the nib smoothly, but it isn't natural when you first pick it up. I'm comparing my experience to an Elabo, but that's a 14k gold nib that features a much softer flex. Like I said, with practice you can make it flex beautifully and under full control. To achieve a BB line width, you have to press with a great deal of pressure, and I don't think that a thin paper could handle much of it. I haven't tried this pen on any Tomoe River paper, but I would exercise caution if using it.

Overall

This pen is a lot of fun to use. I've used it plenty while writing normal notes, and the added flex adds a unique flair to my handwriting – plus, when you want to flex more on purpose, that choice is also there. The nib does have a sweet spot when writing, but it's a fairly generous one and likely not the same on every unit. If you're looking at trying out a flex nib pen made out of quality materials that doesn't break the bank, give the Stipula Splash a try. If blue isn't your thing, there's also a dark red and a graphite color for your consideration.

Hand-crafted pens from Italy are new to me, and I'm eager to try more.

(Pen Chalet provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)