Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Pentel B100 45th Anniversary Pen Set Review

When the Pentel B100 45th Anniversary Pen Set first crossed my eyeballs sometime last year I knew I would have to get a set, but that wouldn’t be the easiest task. They were made in France for the Japanese market and ended up being bought at a shop in England. How’s that for worldwide!

My good buddy Myke stopped by Present & Correct in London last year before I arrived for his wedding to buy me a set. I’m not sure what I was more excited about - these pens, his wedding, or exploring London for a few days with my wife. Oh, who am I kidding. It was the pens!

These pens bring back memories of a young Brad rummaging through unused desks in my dad’s workplace in search of stationery gold. Often times, I left empty handed, but on a good day I’d score a few pens and mechanical pencils. The Pentel Sharp Mechanical Pencil was always a big score, followed closely by the Pentel B100. Why the B100? It was like a marker in rollerball from.

It still is, which is both its good side, and its bad side. It is designed to be a writing, editing, and sign pen for those times when big, bold lettering is required. It is more consistent and durable than most markers, and stands out on the page more than a ballpoint.

For this set, Pentel produced 7 colors in retro-styled barrels. Black, red, and blue are the standards, with orange, green, purple, and brown added to the mix. And they are all fantastically saturated without running or bleeding all over the page - similar to what I would expect from a marker.

The rollerball tip is marked as 0.8 mm on the barrel, but the actual line on the page is in more of the 1.0 mm to 1.2 mm width. If you are looking to write in small places, this is not the pen for you. But everyone - even me - needs a good marking pen from time to time.

*(Note: You can find discussion about my R.E.M. Top 10 on* *Instagram, and listen to the playlist on* *Spotify*.)

As I alluded to up top, the only real kicker is availability. Present & Correct still has them in stock for £22, but a quick Google search shows them available at the London Graphic Centre for a MUCH cheaper £9. If you don’t need all of the colors and want only black, Amazon has a 10-pack for under $10. With a bit more digging you may be able to do even better.

The Pentel B100 is a trip down memory lane for me. It’s not the best pen, and it’s not the best price, and it’s not easy to acquire, but it makes me smile. I have fun when I break this set out to draw, doodle, and highlight, and they are something I always want to keep handy on my desk. Now, if I could only get my hands on a half dozen of the orange ones I would be thrilled.

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Posted on February 11, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Pentel, Pen Reviews.

Visconti Mirage Fountain 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. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)

I'm usually pretty well behaved, so it's no surprise when Santa brings me stationery. I must have been REALLY good last year, though, because Santa did surprise me with my very first Visconti pen—the Mirage, in a lovely Evergreen color.

I've admired Viscontis before, but their high price points mixed with rumors of dodgy quality control have always put me off. I was very excited to finally get a chance to try one.

The Mirage is a new entry-level Visconti pen to celebrate the company's 30th anniversary. Their previous entry-level offerings have often been priced higher than many folks' upper limits, so adding a new tier was, I think, a great idea. I did worry, though, that if the quality of their expensive pens varied so much, what sort of pen would be on offer for 1/5 the price?

Well, apart from an introductory hiccup, I think they've offered a very decent pen. The hiccup, though, required some resources that many new pen buyers won't have.

My first impression of the pen was good--it's beautiful. The body is a rich, shimmery, swirly vegetal resin that catches the light like magic. The body has fluted grooves and a decorative palladium-plated cap band that give the piece a very Art Deco look. It has the signature arched clip with the Visconti name engraved in it. The bottom finial has a metal Visconti logo that can be removed with a magnet and replaced with your initials or a gemstone. The grip section is smooth and round, in the same material as the body. The nib is a new steel design, with more Art Deco-styled etching.

Maybe it's because I associate that clip with high prices, but this pen looks more expensive than it is. With the lower price, as one might expect, it doesn't have a lot of the fancy Visconti features, but it does have a few. That magnetic finial is one, another is the spring-loaded clip, and there's also the self-aligning magnetic cap. The cap holds securely and closes with a satisfying self-propelled click. It's almost too fun, and between that and the springy clip, the cap is a meeting-fidgeter's delight.

The steel nib writes smoothly and with the perfect amount of wetness. It's very pleasant to write with.

My hiccup with the pen had to do with the converter. The converter included with the pen does not actually fit in the pen. It kind of, almost, sort of fits--just well enough that you can tell something is wrong. You can use it, but it doesn't get a good seal, so it's difficult to fill and tends to leak. The metal band at the neck of the section is too narrow for the plastic body of the converter, so you have to wrestle it in place. Mine did not stay in place.

The good news is, Visconti does make a converter that fits. You need to get the threaded piston converter. But that's not the one they included, because--well, because Visconti. Fortunately, I (I mean Santa!) purchased the pen from Anderson Pens, so I was able to bring the pen in, show them the issue, they swapped the converters, and I walked out a few minutes later with a pen that functions beautifully.

Most customers, though, would be purchasing the pen online and having it shipped to a pen-store desert. If you're doing this, be sure to request that the shop swap the converters for you. My worry is more for the casual shopper or inexperienced pen buyer who may pick one of these up, thanks to the accessible price. They're going to struggle to assemble and fill the pen, then get a lot of ink on their hands. If they're not tenacious enough to contact the shop, they may decide that fountain pens are fiddly and messy and nope right out of the hobby.

So, mostly bravo to Visconti for creating a new port of entry into their brand and fountain pens in general, but I hope they'll note this converter issue and start packing them with the proper accessories. If you're going to launch a product priced to attract new customers, you've got to make that first impression perfect. Especially when the product is otherwise so excellent.

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Posted on February 7, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Visconti, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Zebra G-402 0.5mm Gel Pen Review

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

Back in my high school and college days, the Zebra F-402 was one of my prized possessions. It was classy, dependable, and comfortable. In that period of my life, the 0.7mm ballpoint didn't bother me too much, but I did wish for a bolder line and smoother feel.

Many years later, Zebra have delivered on that wish. The Zebra G-402 is the same pen with one very important difference: the refill. Instead of the classic ballpoint refill, this pen is equipped with a Sarasa refill. The possibilities for refill tip size and colors are much greater with this refill type, and that's really exciting.

The included refill is a 0.5mm black refill that writes smooth and leaves a bold, crisp line on the page. I've always been a fan of the Sarasa line, and this variant is no slouch.

The rest of the pen is identical to the older ballpoint version, so if you've ever used one of those, you'll have a great idea of what to expect with this one. For me, the grip is comfortable for most short writing sessions and the weight feels great in my hand. The clip is strong enough for most circumstances and the stainless steel barrel is resilient to scrapes and bumps. Over the course of its lifetime, the steel develops more character and the rubber grip starts to shine a bit more from use.

The G-402 uses the same refills as the Sarasa multi-pen line, which are easy to replace. One thing I'll mention is that the direction of the spring actually matters with this pen! If you install it the wrong way, it slips down the body of the refill too far and doesn't provide and resistance.

The Sarasa multi-pen line of refills isn't as extensive as others, but it certainly provides more options over the standard black and blue that Zebra offers on the ballpoint variant.

JetPens stock all the various options, so you're sure to find a combination that fits your style or need for every situation.

I've been so delighted to use an old favorite with a fresh refill. I'm sure if I'd never used the F-402 years ago that I'd still think this was an attractive pen. It has a classic and professional design that a lot of people can appreciate. While the pen isn't available on JetPens (as of this writing), you can pick them up at Amazon and peruse the various refills from the selection that JetPens keep in stock.

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

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