Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Diplomat Aero Fountain Pen Review

As a manufacturer, Diplomat has been making pens since 1922. As a brand on my radar, Diplomat arrived about a year ago. How did a brand that has been in existence for over 90 years just now make it into the pen communities conscious? Marketing for one, but when you have a pen as beautiful and as well made as the Diplomat Aero you don’t have to sell it too hard.

The Aero engages you immediately with its good looks. The black matte aluminum barrel features rounded grooves that taper from the middle of the pen towards the gunmetal caps on each end. The satin gunmetal look continues in the grip section as well as the long, flat clip. The design is so tight I think it is right up there with the matte black Pilot Vanishing Point as an attention getter.

It looks good from far, and even better up close and in your hand.

Performance can sometime be an afterthought, especially when a pen looks this good, but that is not the case with the Aero. The Fine steel nib is as smooth as any I have used, and the ink flow is medium to wet. This is exactly what I would expect from a German nib. The Diplomat logo is stamped on to the nib for a nice visual touch.

It feels good, it looks great, and it writes wonderfully. The last element in creating the perfect pen is price, and that is where the Diplomat Aero falls short. It’s not bad, mind you: The Aero runs around $150 street price (Appelboom has it for $132). The issue is that puts it in direct competition with gold nib offerings like the Lamy 2000, Pilot Custom 74 and Vanishing Point, Platinum 3776, Sailor Pro Gear Slims, and more.

This is a tough spot to be in for a pen that deserves more. I wholeheartedly recommend it on its design and performance merits, but if you ask me to pick the Aero or the Lamy 2000 I will choose the 2000 every single time.

If the style of the Aero piques your interest you should go for it and not let the steel nib hold you back. I’ve paid more than twice as much for steel nib acrylic barrel pens (granted most were custom), and was happy to do so. What matters most is if the design aesthetic fits you and your style, and if you will get good use out of the pen and enjoy it. There is a reason that all of the Diplomat Aero reviews online are glowing.

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

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Posted on August 15, 2016 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Diplomat, Pen Reviews, Fountain Pens.

Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Ten Pen Set 0.7mm: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I'm not much of a ballpoint pen user, but I was given a set of Paper Mate InkJoy pens to review. I've been using them to decorate my Traveler's Notebook refills, but my artistic daughter has already claimed them as soon as my review is done. Spoiler alert: I'm planning to buy my own set in the 0.5mm size because I like them so much.

The pens are packaged in plastic and cardboard. There's a hole in the back of the cardboard so you can feel the texture of the pens, which are coated with rubber for comfortable writing.

Each pen comes with a little plastic ball on the nib to keep the ink fresh. Obviously, you remove these before use.

The pens themselves are made of sturdy plastic covered with a grippy rubber surface.

The pen barrel has a clear portion that allows you to see how much ink is in the pen and the inner-workings of the click mechanism. The clip is also made of translucent plastic.

Both the clip and the back of the pen are adorned with two hearts.

The click mechanism is chrome colored as is the lettering on the barrel with the brand name and the ballpoint pen size. These pens are well designed and nice looking. They are also very comfortable in the hand.

This package comes with ten colored pens: black, red, teal, yellow, light blue, purple, light green, pink, orange, and violet.

The darker colors are highly saturated and work well on any paper. The lighter colors are harder to see on white paper and they disappear on black paper.

The gel ink flows well from the pen, though the lighter colors seem to be a little less smooth. It may be my imagination, but these lighter inks seem more viscous than the darker ones. Perhaps, because the ink colors are so light, I'm unconsciously pressing harder.

One of the claims for the InkJoy pens is that they dry fast and smear less. The ink is pretty much smear-proof after at least five seconds, though you do have to be careful not to smudge it immediately after writing. Still, the smudging, when it happens, is pretty minimal.

The ink works well on the Mnemosyne paper I used for my handwritten review. I also used it in my Traveler's Notebook and on Tomoe River Paper. The ink demonstrates considerable show through, especially in the Traveler's Notebook. In fact, when I colored in the names of the months in the TN, there was both show through and bleed through.

These pens would certainly work well for students taking notes, for general writing, and for filling in all those fancy new adult coloring books. If I were to buy a set of these pens, I would choose the fine point (0.5mm size) simply because I prefer slimmer lines. The pens only come in 0.5mm and 0.7mm, and they are not refillable. The ten pack set costs $20.00; the fourteen pack set $28.00; or you can buy individual pens for $2.00 each.

Pros

The InkJoy gel pens write a super smooth, saturated line.
The pens are comfortable to hold in the hand and the grippy rubber helps, especially if you have sweaty hands like me.
The pen design is eye-catching.
InkJoy offers a good variety of colors.
The InkJoy is priced slightly lower than comparable gel pens from Zebra and Pilot.

Cons

The InkJoy pens are not refillable which just seems wasteful to me. I don't know how long each pen lasts because I haven't used them enough to get through all the ink. The ink amount seems quite adequate, but I prefer refillable pens.
The pens are fairly wide in diameter (10.6mm), so if you're used to Pilot Hi-Tec C pens or other thinner gel pens, you might find these a bit wide.
On certain paper, especially Tomoe River and Traveler's Notebook paper, there is considerable show through.

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

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Posted on August 12, 2016 by Susan Pigott and filed under Paper Mate, Pen Reviews.

Platinum Natural Weasel Hair Brush Pen CF-5000 Review

(This is a guest post by Nick Folz. You can find more of Nick and his work on his blog, Smallberry Drive, Twitter, and Instagram.)

Brush pens are not something I am used to seeing made with flourish and style. They are usually basic looking tools encased in cheap plastic, not the sort of thing that impresses upon first appearance. So much of what makes a brush pen impressive is simply the brush, so once a pen company has mastered the inky tip, they usually decide to rest on their laurels. Not so with Platinum.

The Platinum CF-5000 Brush Pen looks more like a fountain pen when capped, but it does stop with looks. This pens has all the functions you would expect of a mid range fountain pen, minus the nib, of course. The aluminum body decorated with red marble and gold finishes has all the trapping of the fountain pen aesthetic. The overall function of the body is also very pleasing. The cap does not screw on, but glides into place. It also posts in the same manner, giving the pen a nice balance. The tip and body unscrew to give you access to the cartridge. The pen comes with an attached cart with a tiny bit of what seemed like oil to keep the bristles lubricated, and one cart of Platinum’s Carbon black.

I used the Carbon Black cartridge first and got a Platinum Converter after, they both work wonderfully. I got quite a bit of millage out of the cartridge, more than I would have expected. The converter works splendidly, dip the brush and draw up the ink by twisting the end. If you have ever used a Platinum Converter, you know the deal. I’m not a fountain pen guy (don’t shoot), so I can’t talk much about this converter vs other converters, but it is sharp. With a visible ink viewing window and gold detailing, it matches the pen perfectly. I opted for my favorite drawing ink, Liquitex Carbon Black, just to mix it up to see how flow might be affected, and it is just as consistent as Platinum’s own ink.

Speaking of the flow, the ink flow to the brush is perfectly balanced. It is sublime and I can’t overstate how big of deal this is. One of my favorite brush pens is a cheap Pentel Aquash water brush pen, but after using it for thirty minutes the brush gets too wet to do really fine lines. The Pilot Medium Brush Pen has the opposite problem and you have to squeeze the body to get consistent ink flow. The Platinum hits the perfect balance of not running dry and not getting so inky that you can’t do a hair-thin line (all without squeezing a plastic body) and looks damn good while doing it.

Aside from the ink flow, there is the tip itself. The bristles are made of weasel hair, often called kolinsky (from the name of the animal type) in the brush industry. They are the gold standard of brush material. The tip snaps back beautifully after each stroke and bends and flexes as good as my Series 7 Sable Winsor & Newton brush. The tip retention is remarkable, not once has the tip failed to spring back to it’s point.

If it seems like I’m talking sugar, it’s cause I am. This pen has become my main inking tool quicker than I would have predicted. It works splendidly and looks amazing. If it didn’t work as good as it does then the candy coating would be a farce, but it does and it makes the whole package spectacular. If I thought I could easily write notes with it, it would be my pocket carry daily, but I can only imagine the looks I would get in meetings.

Which brings me to the only sticking point. If you are not a brush pen fanatic then the price tag will turn you off. It is a bit pricy for an item you usually use in private. Fountain pens can (and are) used everywhere: taking notes in meetings, addressing letters, crossing off items at the grocery store. Settings both public and private, the right fountain pen can be as practical as it is stunning. But a brush pen? I only draw in public occasionally, usually on break at work. This is a VERY niche item in a community that is already very niche. I am going to cherish this pen, mainly because I DO use brush pens daily and this one out performs all of my other brush pens, but this one is for the brush pen enthusiast's only. But if you are, boy howdy, is it ever for you.

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

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