Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen Hard Tip, Neon Color Set Review

One of the greatest pleasures in the stationery world is cracking open a brand new brush pen and making those first lines. Brush pens, like other plastic tip pens, change continuously from the moment you first use them until they run out of ink, or the tip degrades completely. So that fresh tip feeling is fleeting, but there is one type of brush pen - at least for me - that can sustain longer, even with my heavy-handedness.

Hard tip brush pens offer a fun writing experience, and Tombow has been making some of the best ones on the market for some time now. Why do I like the so much? Because I mostly write with them. Sure, they are extremely popular with artists for the fine line variation they have, but for me, they give my lines great character.

I love writing with plastic tipped pens, such as drawing pens and brushes. This type of pen gives my line an edge, as if I were writing with a chisel tip or stub nib. My handwriting looks awesome, and these Tombow Fudenosuke Neon Color Brush Pens add a whole new level to the awesomeness.

Look how bright they are! These are highlighters in brush tip form. Hard tip brush form at that. They make my handwriting look clean and sharp, and the colors leap off the page, as they should.

The colors are so fluorescent, I think I’ll be using them more for marking, highlighting, and notes rather than pure writing. The blue worked well in my Theme System Journal, and is the perfect marker for filling in the habit tracker circles. The ink doesn’t feather, bleed, or ghost.

Shockingly enough, it didn’t bleed through the paperback book I tested it on either. I’m no book paper connoisseur, but the pages in this book did feel a little nicer than the lowest common denominator paperback paper. That said, I thought it would still soak right up and show through to the back side of the page, but it didn’t. Not even the dots at the end of my lines.

This type of performance means there is a place in my stationery lineup for this set of brush pens. Color-wise, I think pink is the best, followed by orange, red, blue, green, and yellow. The yellow is highlighter only it is so light. The red surprised me with its nice coral tone. The only color that would make this set better is purple!

The Tombow Fudenosuke Neon Color Brush Pen set runs $14.00 at JetPens ($2.33/pen) or $2.80 individually. These may be worth going the individual route rather than the entire set unless you think you will get that much use out of them. Regardless, I’ll be keeping one or two of these handy at all times for my notes and habit tracker.

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

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Tombow, Brush Pen, Pen Reviews.

Tombow Zoom 505 META Rollerball Pen Review

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

In a world that's absolutely full the brim with excellent gel ink, hybrid ballpoint, and fountain pens, it can be easy to look over the humble liquid ink rollerball category. This category isn't as full as its relatives, but there are some really strong contenders to take note of.

One I've been using quite a bit lately is the Tombow Zoom 505. I reviewed the standard model a few months ago, and I was impressed with the build quality and writing experience that the Zoom offered. Today is a similar review, but this one is a special Zoom 505 - the META in Hairline Black.

The shape and feel of the META is identical to the standard Zoom 505. That means it's very comfortable in the hand, it looks more premium than it costs, and the included refill is dark and crisp. The additional cost of the META, however, is due to the increase in material quality.

The Tombow Zoom 505 META features an anodized, brushed aluminum body and cap that is paired with a matte black brass section. The section is also covered in a luxurious rubber grip that makes using this pen a delightful thing.

To quickly recap, the META uses the same refill as the standard Tombow Zoom that I wrote about a few months ago. The refill contains a good portion of ink, comes in several sizes, is affordable, and is also available in black and blue. The refill that came with this META is a bit scratchy, but I'm confident that it's a one-off issue. I have a few other refills for the Tombow rollerball pens, and they don't have any issue with being scratchy. What they do all have in common, though, is the dark, crisp lines that they produce on paper. There's not much that's more satisfying than the lush dark lines that a liquid ink rollerball produces, and the META is no slouch. I love writing with this refill. While it's not the ubiquitous Schmidt P8126/7 refill that we all know and love, it's a pretty close second, and much more affordable to boot.

Now, getting into what makes this pen unique to the standard Zoom, the materials and aesthetic of this blacked-out edition is something I really enjoy. The black brushed aluminum is sleek but still professional. It has an unassuming look while also looking unique, which is a hard line to balance. The logo is a dark color as well, adding to the allure of the pen. When you see it on a desk, you're not really sure what it is, but you are certainly tempted to pick it up and use it for a bit.

The clip on the cap is really strong and also features a matte black finish to tie into the rest of the unassuming theme. Even the cone and grip section are blacked out. If you're a fan of that sick blacked-out look, this pen is entirely in your alley. The only non-black thing on this pen is the refill tip.

Uncapping and capping the pen is fairly easy as long as you line it up correctly. Since the grip section is a rubber material, it tends to stick and drag against the inside of the cap if there's too much of an angle. This isn't a big deal once you practice the motion a few times. Securing the cap on the pen produces a nice tactile "slide and bump" when it's in place, and pulling the cap off feels equally smooth. I can tell there's a specially-designed mechanism inside the cap that accepts the grip and cone perfectly, which means there's a good seal around the open refill when the pen is capped. This prevents it from drying out when it isn't being used.

The cap can also post on the back of the pen, but it produces a metal on metal feeling which puts me off. This isn't a big deal, but I can't help but cringe when I feel it, and I have to wonder if repeated use would leave any markings on the back of the pen body after a while.

Overall, writing with this pen is incredibly pleasing. The refill is crisp and dark, and the grip is cushy and comfortable while also providing a firm place for your fingers to rest while you write. The blacked-out aesthetic is definitely a perk with this model, but it doesn't have that cheesy "tactical" look that some all black products try to achieve. This pen is at home in a military-style bug-out bag, but it also looks equally at place in a suite pocket or leather folio.

At $33, the Tombow Zoom 505 META is a bit more expensive than the standard model, but that extra bit of cash is worth it for me. The all-black look is classy and awesome, and the matte aluminum materials are a big bump for the longevity of the barrel over the standard lacquered version. This makes a great gift or daily carry pen!

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

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Tombow, Rollerball, Pen Reviews.

Pilot Vanishing Point 2019 Limited Edition Tropical Turquoise: 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.)

Every year Pilot comes out with a limited edition Vanishing Point fountain pen. I’ve never forgiven myself for missing out on the 2015 Twilight limited edition (Hey, yo, if anyone has one of those they’d like to sell, I’m your girl!). Even though I wasn’t as excited about the Tropical Turquoise, I liked it enough to buy it.

The photographs that were initially released made the Tropical Turquoise look rather bland--a flat turquoise color with black swirls. But, the design is much more appealing in person. The turquoise sparkles like water in sunlight and the black swirls give the color depth and interest. The pen looks very much like beautiful tropical waters. It is complemented with rhodium trim.

The Tropical Turquoise comes in a special limited edition box. It’s white with turquoise lettering. The top lifts up to reveal the pen. There’s a built-in drawer that contains one ink cartridge and a Vanishing Point pamphlet.

The Vanishing Point is a medium-sized pen in length at 5.4 inches/138 mm with the nib exposed. However, it is both heavy at 32 grams and rather wide in diameter at 11.5mm (where your fingers grip the pen).

Like all Vanishing Points, the clip is part of the grip portion of the pen. This forces you to hold your fingers in a particular position as you write. Some people can’t stand this design, whereas others find it quite comfortable (I’m obviously in the latter group). You can do a “clipectomy” and remove the clip entirely, but I have no desire to alter the pen.

Limited Edition Vanishing Points come standard with medium nibs, but some retailers, such as Casa della Stilographica where I bought my pen, offer it with any nib size. I chose a stub. It wrote perfectly right out of the box, and I’m quite pleased with my choice.

I love the Vanishing Point mechanism, because when I’m in class, I don’t write constantly. The click mechanism allows me to write quickly when I need to and to retract the nib when I don’t. The stub nib is wet and provides interesting line variation that suits my writing style.

My only complaint about Vanishing Points is the teeny, tiny converter system. It only holds about .5ml of ink. I realize they have to keep the converter small because the pen is already rather heavy. I just wish they could find some way to increase the capacity to 1ml or so. Filling the pen is simple, but if you run out while taking notes in the middle of a meeting, you can’t exactly stop, take out a bottle of ink, unscrew the pen, remove the converter, fill it, wipe it down, and reassemble the pen without creating a bit of a distraction. Obviously, having a back-up pen handy is a good idea.

Pilot created 2,019 pens for this limited edition run. Many retailers have already sold out, so if you’re interested in the Tropical Turquoise, act soon. The pen retails around $250 but I’ve seen prices as low as $206.

(I purchased this pen with my own funds.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!