Pilot V5 Hi-Tecpoint Cartridge System Roller Ball Pen Review

Image via JetPens.com

(This is a guest post by Johnny McClung. Find more from Johnny at the awesomely-titled blog Johnny Anypen and on Twitter.)

The Pilot V5 Hi-Tecpoint is the latest in the Pilot V5 line of pens. I have enjoyed these pens since I bought my first capped Precise V5. I was so excited when I first saw the new Hi-Tecpoint had a cartridge! Now, I could use practically any color in my favorite pen.

The standard black that comes with the pen seems to be the same ink as I have come to know and love. It may not be exactly the same, but the performance was equal, if not better than the Precise V5 retractable.

I'd like to thank Mr. Dowdy for agreeing to send me a Pilot CON-20 converter to see if it would work with the Hi-Tecpoint. In addition to the Pilot cartridge, I put ink in the standard cartridge to see if that would work. Although I have yet to try it, this pen could be converted into an eyedropper. The O-rings available at Goulet Pens fit around the barrel of the Hi-Tecpoint. And the barrel held water. With a little Silicone grease, I think this pen would work.

I had some trouble cleaning out the black ink which may be inexperience on my part and not a reflection of the pen. I received my ink order before the converter arrived so I tested out the standard cartridge first. I did have some trouble getting the ink down the feed, but eventually, the wonderful Diamine Emerald ink shown on the paper. When the converter arrived, I transferred the ink over to the converter and used it. With this push converter, I found it much easier to get the ink down the feed.

This is an excellent $3 pen and with another $3 you can pick up a CON-20 converter and have a superb pen in any color you choose. Since Pilot's cartridges are proprietary, this converter should work in most other Pilot cartridge pens.

I have seven more sample vials of fountain pen ink that I am just dying to try out in this pen. Highly recommended.

The Pen By Ajoto Review

I didn't back the original Ajoto pen Kickstarter. In retrospect, that was a huge mistake now that I have one in my hands that Ajoto graciously sent me. It is an exercise in beautiful simplicity, which is often times difficult to get right. Ajoto has nailed it with The Pen.

The first thing you notice when opening the envelope is the packaging surrounding the pen. I'm not a packaging guy in general, most of it hits the trash after all, but what Ajoto did here makes you take notice. The pen itself lays in a molded cork tray which slides into an anodized aluminum box. And not just that, there are additional printed cards included to top the cork box with (that also includes your product serial number) and a great little folded card covered in the Ajoto logo that holds the refill. If Ajoto cares this much about their packaging, then what is contained inside must really be special.

And it is. The overall feel of the pen is not just solid, but completely in sync as a whole. This is done by limiting the moving parts and having a smooth twist deployment mechanism for the refill. It is quiet, easy, and simple. To top it off, the refill the pen is built around is the Schmidt P8127, which for my dollar is the best rollerball refill on the market.

All of the fawning up to here would be pointless if the Ajoto pen didn't live up to its design beauty when ink hits the page. And there, it excels. In a metal machined pen, in this case brass, balance is key. Many first time pen manufacturers miss this critical point, but not Ajoto. At 50 grams, weight could be an issue, but the way the pen is balanced makes it feel almost weightless as the pen glides across the page. An impressive feat for sure.

The elephant in the room with the Ajoto pen is the price. It is very expensive, with aluminum models starting at £125 (~$188), and moving on up the charts for Brass, Rose Gold, Rhodium, and 14ct Gold barrels. This is not a purchase to be made without consideration.

After using the pen, I understand the price. This is a high-quality production that will last a lifetime. That doesn't make it any easier to pull the trigger though, and I would have a hard time recommending it over pens a fraction of the price. But, if you are looking for something unique that will make an impression in the hand and on the page then Ajoto is a brand well worth checking out.

My thanks to Ajoto for providing this pen at no charge for review purposes.

Machined Beauty: The Tactile Turn Mover

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

Machined pens are quite a thing over on Kickstarter. They're a fascinating genre of pen because they're created by small shops from pieces of metal and eventually shipped to your door. While Tactile Turn now has a shop that you can buy from anytime, the didn't start off that way. Brad took a look at their pens a year ago and came away impressed. I joined the second round of their Kickstarter that featured new materials, and I'm really happy I did.

I have to be honest — it was extremely difficult to pick a style of pen. It was equally as difficult to select a metal and color. They all look good and if money were not object, I'd own one of each. But, money is certainly a consideration, so I went with a black aluminum Mover.

Let's back up a little. There are two main styles of these pens: The Mover and the Shaker. The only real difference is the length of the pen. The Mover is designed to accept anything similar to a Pilot G2 refill, while the Shaker is designed for a Parker style refill. It boils down to choosing the body that supports your favorite refills. Being a huge fan of the Pilot Juice, I went with the Mover.

Apart from the choice between the Mover and the Shaker, you then have a chioce of several metals, of which the aluminum can be had in different colors. Here are your options: titanium, polished bronze, polished copper, polished brass, raw aluminum, and anodized aluminum. The latter comes in the following colors: dark red, black, teal, dark blue, and olive drab.

I really liked the looks of the olive drab pen, but eventually decided to stick with black for now. I'm slowly convincing myself that I need an olive drab Shaker.

The pen you purchase comes with a refill. The Mover comes with a blue Pilot G2 0.38mm refill, and the Shaker comes with a Schmidt Easy Flow 9000.

So, how does this look and feel in person? Like a high-quality piece of art that can withstand abuse and write like a champ.

I've used other machined aluminum pens, and none of them have the right balance for me. They're usually significantly heavier on the nock end, which makes them feel top-heavy when writing. Not so in the case of the Mover. It has a wonderful balance. Another feature that I love about this particular machined pen's design? The textured grip. This is the first one I've tried that has one, and I love it. An alumnium barrel can get slick, and that makes it difficult to control. With the Mover, I haven't had this problem.

The nock used in this pen is the same one that was used in the Retrakt before it. It's a high-quality, smooth, silent mechanism that works like a charm. Personally, I think it looks really nice, too.

The clip is strong, but easily slides on and off when attaching it to my jeans pocket or in a Nock case. Other machined pens I've used have clips that are a bit tight and sometimes require two hands to operate.

The thickness of the barrel is another thing that I love about the design. It's the perfect width for writing. The diameter is really close to my Lamy 2000, which is a pen that I enjoy writing with more than most.

The build quality of this pen is superior, but that's something that you should expect from a machined pen. These make great EDC pens given their simple, excellent design and strength. They also make excellent gifts — they look fantastic and they accept "normal" refills that non-addicts understand.

Prices for these pens range by material. Aluminum bodies are $69, and prices range up to $139 for the titanium model.

All in all, if you're looking for a high-quality machined pen that accepts a wide range of refills and also looks and feels great doing it, the Mover and/or Shaker are a perfect choice. I can't wait to make my collection a pair.