Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Pentel EnerGel Philography Pen Review

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

The Pentel EnerGel has been around for quite a while, and it's also really accessible since you can find it at most big box retailers. If you're lucky, you might even find them in your office supply closet. Like the side of the regular pen says, the refill is a type of liquid gel ink that lays a really nice line. How do you improve on a pen that works great already? Well, you put a sleek metal body around it.

If you've never tried an EnerGel before, let's cover the basics. It's similar to other gel pens on the market, and the writing experience is incredibly smooth. They are either retractable or capped, depending on the model and price. The ink is the star with these refills because it's a deep, dark black with clean edges and plenty of flow. They're some of my favorite gel cartridges, but they also aren't interchangeable with a wide range of pen bodies. That being said, the regular EnerGel bodies aren't bad, but they also don't fit in an executive or dressy setting. The refills come in a conical tip with several sizes and colors, and you can also get a 0.5mm needle tip (which is what comes with the Philography) that makes precise writing a bit easier.

In short, the EnerGel refills are stellar. Now, the Philography body is the star of this show. It's a bit slimmer than the regular plastic retractable pen, but it's still very balanced in the hand. In my experience, it's been really comfortable to use.

The grip area does not have any texture, which may be a negative for some people that enjoy a bit of additional grip. The anodization process for the metal adds a bit of texture to the entire body, though. I've not had any issues with the pen slipping or feeling unstable while I write.

Another major difference with the Philography compared to the standard body is the retracting mechanism. The Philography features a smooth twist mechanism to extend or retract the refill from the tip. It feels great, doesn't require much of a turn, and also doesn't unscrew too easily. In order to access the refill, you turn the grip counter-clockwise until the tip is fully retracted, and it eventually starts to unscrew.

There's minimal branding on the pen — just a "Pentel" and "EnerGel" located above the band that separates the top and bottom sections. There's also a peculiar pair of swooshes at the top of the pen that are supposed to add some visual interest, but I think they detract from the overall aesthetic. The top of the pen is a shiny chrome material that, sadly, loves to collect fingerprints. The clip is strong and sturdy without being difficult to operate.

As an added bonus, you can also use a few other refills with this pen, such as the Zebra Sarasa and Uni-ball Signo retractable lines. This opens up the possibilities for several more colors and tip sizes.

Overall, this metal version of the classic EnerGel is a big hit in my book. I love metal-bodies pens in general, and I was pleased to find that the execution on this model was done well.

The model I have is the Turquoise Blue, but you can also pick this up in Black, Silver, Dark Blue, and White. You pay a bit of a premium for the nicer material and build, but it's worth it in my opinion. At $23 a piece, you can significantly improve the writing experience and presentation of the EnerGel line.

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

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Posted on June 14, 2017 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pentel, Energel, Pen Reviews.

Sailor 1911 Large Ballpoint Pen Review

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

Sailor are known for their high-quality, well-made fountain pens. There are several Sailors on my wishlist, but they can take some time to purchase given the high price tag. After all, well-made goods cost more than cheaper ones.

When I received the 1911 Large ballpoint to review, I was curious to see how it performed since I only associate Sailor with fountain pens and inks. The 1911 looks similar to the fountain pen version of the pen, except it uses a twist mechanism to extend and retract the refill tip.

At first glance, the top portion of the pen seems too large compared to the grip section. I've seen fountain pen versions of the 1911, and they don't have the same "out of balance" look since the body is longer and untapered at the end. That thought hasn't stopped popping up every time I look at the pen. And, it adds a bit of extra heft to the top of the pen while writing, too. This can cause some balance problems if you're not accustomed to writing with a top heavy pen.

Initial impressions weren't bad, and I was excited to see how it wrote. That's where my impressions took a big hit, and they're still struggling to recover. Yes, this is a ballpoint refill, and I was expecting something in that ballpark, but the writing experience with this refill was less than satisfactory. It's perfectly smooth (almost too smooth), but it skips and constantly looks like the refill is almost dried out due to the light black to medium gray tone it puts down. The lines are not sharp and tend to deposit artifacts outside of the main line as you write. When compared to my favorite ballpoint refill, the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000, it just doesn't compare.

Shortly after writing a few lines to try out the refill, I was optimistic that I could just swap in another refill that worked better. But, as I went through my stash of regular refills and eventually crossed them all off the "compatibility" list, I realized that this refill is proprietary to this pen and that I was just stuck with it. Bummer!

For that reason alone, I find it difficult to recommend this pen. The refill looks like a standard Parker refill that has been slightly modified to make it unique to Sailor. That doesn't feel right, and the fact that their stock refill is mediocre just hurts more.

Maybe I'm being harsh on this pen. After all, it's beautiful! This complaint is similar in nature to buying a $150 fountain pen that has significant nib issues that make the writing experience negative without some kind of nib tuning. It just shouldn't happen. With this pen, however, tuning isn't an option due to the proprietary refill.

At nearly $100, that's just unacceptable. This pen oozes executive class on the outside, and it feels great when you pick it up and operate the twist mechanism. Once you start writing, however, the experience is similar to the dollar-a-dozen Bic stashed in the office supply closet. At this price, you're not far off from the fountain pen version. My recommendation is to spend a little extra money on the fountain pens that Sailor has figured out and perfected!

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

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Posted on June 6, 2017 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Sailor, Ballpoint, Pen Reviews.

Uni-ball R:E Erasable Gel Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

The Uni-ball R:E Erasable Gel Pen seems to be aiming to create some competition for the Pilot FriXion with this new line of erasable gel pens. There are a lot of similarities between the two. Uni improves the body design in some ways, I think, but hasn't improved on the overall ink quality. The FriXion pens have been fairly popular, and fans of Uni-ball may like these as well--but I have a lot of issues with them.

The feel of the pens is great. It's a sturdy, good build and doesn't feel like it's too delicate or flimsy. It has a nice rubber grip, decent clip, and a satisfying click mechanism. The eraser is located under a clear plastic cap on the click button. Uni has devised a special system that prevents the pen from clicking when it's inverted, so you can erase without retracting the tip. I noticed it sometimes takes an extra shake to disengage the lock mechanism. It also means that if you're in the habit (like me) of flipping your pen to click it against your leg or the desk, you'll have to adjust. The clear plastic cap that covers the eraser also has a short life expectancy. Being tiny and clear, if it rolls away, it may be difficult to find.

The ink is where my real issues with the pen come in. It's very unsaturated, as all of the erasable gel inks I've tried are. The black is really grey, and all the colors have a muted look to them. Uni accounts for this by calling the color "Off-Black", but I think that's marketing speak for "as close to black as we can get it". The muted tones are pretty, if you're expecting muted tones. I don't dislike the colors--I even love the orange in this set--but I'd love to see some more vibrant tones in the line.

Like the FriXion pens, the ink is heat-reactive. It's the heat from the friction of the plastic eraser that causes it to disappear. The eraser never wears down and doesn't leave a messy residue or dust. It does an okay job at erasing. It doesn't leave totally clean paper, but it's close. However, after about ten seconds, some of the ink begins to reappear. The pink and red did this the most--after about ten minutes a large portion of the erased area had reappeared, even at room temperature.

Because the ink disappears at temperatures over 140 degrees, and reappears at temperatures under 14 degrees, it's not recommended for important documents, signatures, or addressing envelopes. With ink that might disappear at any time, I can't think what it might be good for except for magic tricks and espionage. Every time I try to write with an erasable gel pen, I end up putting it back because of this volatile trait. I can't help but think of it as unreliable ink.

It's totally fun, though. As an experiment, I wrote a test page, and then I held it over a warm toaster. The ink vanished in seconds--though when I held the paper at an angle to the light, I could still see the texture of it on the page. Then I stuck it in the freezer. All the ink returned in less than three minutes, though even more muted than it had been before. It's a cool trick, but I wouldn't want it happening to my class notes or journal pages. While you can always freeze your page if your ink disappears in a hot car, if you've erased your work and then written over the same area--and then your page gets cold--you may have trouble reading the text. It can't be un-reappeared.

If you love erasable gel pens, and you love the Pilot FriXion, you might want to give these a try. They're a great version of a product that a lot of people enjoy. But the unreliability of the ink is a deal-breaker for me. It might be because I live somewhere that spends a good portion of the year below 14 degrees, but it all sounds too risky. I'd only use them to write something fleeting and unimportant, but I don't need 8 colors for that. Would be swell if I had black, though.

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

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