Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Monteverde Giant Sequoia Fountain Pen: 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.)

The Monteverde Giant Sequoia fountain pen is a large resin pen with a stainless steel nib. It comes packaged in a substantial clamshell box with two cartridges as well as a converter.

The green Sequoia has sheeny turquoise, black, and silver stripes. It’s a really beautiful resin.

The pen itself is cylindrical in shape with a flat top and barrel bottom. The cap has an unadorned silver clip and a band engraved with “Monteverde USA Sequoia.” The cap screws on, and although it is postable, doing so throws the balance off considerably.

The Sequoia is a large pen both in length and girth. It is 5.7 inches (145mm) capped, 5 inches (127mm) uncapped, and 6.7 inches (170mm) posted. The grip is 10.8mm in diameter and the barrel is 15.4mm. In spite of its size, the pen itself is not heavy, weighing 33 grams capped and 19 grams uncapped.

The pen fills by cartridge or converter. Since it is made of resin and there are no metal parts on the barrel, you could probably eyedropper the pen if you wished.

The Sequoia comes with a #6 stainless steel nib. My review pen has a fine nib width. The nib is engraved with the Monteverde logo, and the Monteverde name appears twice, once near the base of the nib and once along the perimeter near the tip.

Unfortunately, this nib is scratchy, hard, and dry. Writing with it is not a pleasurable experience. It skips occasionally on downstrokes, and if you stop writing for any length of time, you have to re-wet the nib to continue.

*You can see where the nib skipped on the downstroke*

My macro photos of the nib don’t reveal any obvious problems, such as misaligned tines or tipping issues. I think the nib is just scratchy and ink-stingy. A nibmeister could probably get it writing better, but that’s an added expense.

The Sequoia is a beautiful pen, and I really like its size. My middle-aged hands prefer pens with a larger girth, especially for long writing sessions. But, the nib is a deal-breaker for me. If a pen doesn’t write well, no amount of beauty will make up for it.

You can purchase the Monteverde Giant Sequoia in green, blue, or brown from Vanness Pens. It costs $90.00 and comes in fine, medium, broad, and stub nib sizes.

Pros

The Monteverde Sequoia is a beautiful, large-sized pen that is light and comfortable in the hand.
The pen offers at least two filling methods (cartridge and converter), and it probably can be eyedroppered as well.
I really like the resin on this pen. It reminds me of the ao-tamenuri color Nakaya used to offer.

Cons

Unfortunately, the nib on this pen is scratchy and unyielding. It is also stingy with ink.

(Vanness Pens loaned this product to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Posted on December 8, 2017 by Susan Pigott and filed under Monteverde, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Mark's Hibi Ballpoint 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.)

Sometimes I buy stationery because it's cute, and for no other reason. Sometimes that works out for me, but more often I end up disappointed. The Hibi Ballpoint pen is definitely one of the cuter mistakes I've made.

Ballpoints are my least favorite of the pen families, but there are times when that's just the tool required for the job. And when those moments happen, I want the ballpoint I'm using to at least be a fun one. So when I saw these lovely Hibi pens, I decided to give one a try. I love the wood body, the sleek profile, and the vintage-feeling colors. I think the branding on the pen body is charming. It looks both modern and timeless. In the looks department, it's a total winner.

The wood body feels good in the hand, though I question its durability. It's nicer than picking up a cold metal pen. It's also very lightweight, so there's less chance of hand fatigue if you're filling out a lot of paperwork. The barrel is a bit narrow, so those who prefer thicker pens may find it uncomfortable to hold. I like the slimness, as it can be easily stowed in any pen sleeve or even inside the spiral of a notebook. Between the wood, weight, and slimness, it feels more like a pencil than a pen.

The clip is sturdy metal with a good amount of spring to it. It's well anchored at the top, so I don't worry about it bending or breaking. The click button has a good bounce and click to it, but the button screws off easily, and there is a tiny spring below it that could be lost or broken if it comes undone in a bag. And the looseness of the button means that it rattles when you're writing, which is a bit annoying.

The pen is refillable with an Ohto No. 175 NP refill. The ink itself isn't a very deep black--it's a bit of a washed out grey. The needlepoint is .5 mm, but it feels finer to me, perhaps because it's such a dry ink, and the tip itself is very scratchy. The metal cone at the tip unscrews to access the refill (held by another spring).

Overall, I like looking at this pen, and I like holding it. But writing with it is unpleasant. Both the construction and the refill work against it. So does the price tag. If it were a $3-5 pen, I'd say I got my money's worth of enjoyment out of it, but I think $11.25 is too much for this.

I haven't learned my lesson, of course. I'll buy the next cute pen, too, and find a use for it, even if it's not great. This pen lives by the kitchen calendar, where its fine tip can write in the small squares and its ballpoint ink suits the glossy paper. It's put to good use. But I don't think it suits the brand's motto of being an "everyday tool".

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Posted on November 30, 2017 by Sarah Read and filed under Mark's, Ballpoint, Pen Reviews.

Sheaffer Pop Star Wars Darth Vader Fountain Pen Review

Star Wars fans rejoice - there are now inexpensive fountain pens to add to your collection! The Sheaffer Pop Star Wars series features fountain and rollerball pens of three beloved characters: Darth Vader, R2-D2, and Yoda.

I picked the Darth Vader fountain pen for this review, although all three designs represent their characters very well. The Vader pen was just too slick to pass up with its black base and silver accents.

The barrel itself is made from plastic, and the cylindrical shape has a nice feel. The cap snaps on solidly, and posts on the back equally as well. The grip section is rubberized, which I’m fine with. It’s not slippery at all. The clip is a little thin, buts seems strong enough to last, and of course features Sheaffer’s famous white dot.

I’m in love with the look and feel of the pen, but as you know, that is only part of the story. The writing experience could be better, like the Phantom Menace if you erased all of the Jar-Jar Binks scenes.

The medium steel nib - the only size choice - is a smooth writer. Very smooth in fact. There is no scratchiness, and no skipping. But it is wet. Far too wet for my tastes. It writes like a 1.0 mm or wider rollerball pen.

I think it is the ink to be honest. The pen ships with a standard Sheaffer black ink cartridge, and it flows like a sieve from the nib. The way it spreads as soon as it hits the page - even on fountain pen friendly paper - makes me think the ink is the issue. You have to write fast to keep ahead of the ink pooling. It’s a proprietary fitting too, and I don’t have a Sheaffer converter to try other inks, and I wasn’t going to drain my only Sheaffer cartridge either.

So, what to do with this pen, and this series of fountain pens? If you want to buy this pen for someone who has never used a fountain pen I would choose one of the rollerball pens instead. Yes, it looks amazing, but the wetness of the ink could frustrate a beginner. If you want to buy this pen for someone who has experience with fountain pens then I say go for it. They can change things up as needed.

For me, I like this pen so much I’m going to buy a converter and see if I can get the performance more to my liking. The outside of the pen is cool enough to make me want to work on the inside. Plus, my son says it has have red ink, and I think he is right.

Lightsaber mode initiated.

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

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