Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Lamy Xevo Ballpoint Pen Review

The Lamy Xevo is exactly what an entry level pen should be.

When I first saw pictures of the Xevo I was intrigued. Is this a metal barrel? Plastic? Twist mechanism, or knock? $50? $25? I really liked it, but the answer to those questions, plus its performance, would determine how much.

To answer a few of those original questions, this is a plastic barrel pen with a twist mechanism to deploy the refill. And the price? $10.

The Xevo is a Lamy design from top to bottom. If you are into stationery even just a little bit, you can pick a Lamy pen out of a lineup with relative ease. I think that is great. Even the outlier designs - like the Safari or Tipo - are pure Lamy. They have great cohesion throughout the brand.

And they have me spoiled, too. I’m as hard on Lamy as I am on any company, but that is because 1. Everything they do, they do well, and 2. I want more of it. The second part is my problem, and this beloved German brand certainly knows their job better than I do. A boy can dream, right?

I picked up the Light Grey from Goldspot recently, and what I found is a workhorse pen that is great for any writing situation. The plastic barrel is lightweight and comfortable, especially with the triangular grip that you are free to rotate in your hands to your heart’s content. The twist mechanism is solid, with a short, station-to-station engagement. A quick twist clockwise engages the refill, and a quick counter the opposite direction snaps it back.

It should come as no surprise that the clip is great, too. This is Lamy, after all.

Writing wise, the Xevo uses the standard M16 ballpoint found across many Lamy models. It’s a great ballpoint, but you are mostly stuck with it. There is no Parker-style, or Pilot G2 compatibility - only Monteverde makes a matching refill, with a few more ballpoint ink colors than Lamy offers.

The medium black lines from this refill are dark and smooth, and there was no spidering or ink blobbing to speak of. It’s one of the “good ones” as far as ballpoint refill types go.

And the Xevo is one of the good ones as well. It surprised me for many reasons, primarily the quality for the price. It is in the Tipo category, and for my money, that’s a good place to be.

Now, when orange barrel, Lamy???

(I purchased this pen at Goldspot using a 10% off coupon code.)

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 December 6, 2021 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Lamy, Ballpoint, Pen Reviews.

Namisu N1 Pocket Fountain Pen Review

If there's one thing that the stationery world doesn't lack, it's pocket fountain pens. There are a few go-to models, but not a ton of choice. That's why it's always exciting to try out new pocket-able fountain pens when they come out. They're a niche that not everyone is into, but for those of us that love a good fountain pen in a small size, it's just our thing.

I've had the opportunity to use the Namisu N1 for a few months now, and I've been really happy with it. The Namisu N1 is a small pocket fountain pen made from machined metal. It's sleek, simple, and durable, and the small size is just the cherry on top.

Measuring just 104mm (4.1"), it's roughly the same size as a capped Kaweco Sport. The pen body by itself is just under 100mm (3.9"). But, when posted, it can vary between 123mm (4.8") and 146mm (5.75") thanks to the triple o-ring friction fit design that keeps the cap in place. Due to the perfect amount of friction, you can easily adjust the length of the full pen without worrying about it sliding while you're writing. I've really enjoyed being able to adjust the length of the pen so easily — you can quickly change the feel of this pen by just extending or reducing the length.

The o-rings slide against the aluminum easily enough, but they also have plenty of friction to keep the cap in place when capped or posted. I don't have any worries about the cap moving around unless I want it to. The tolerance is just right. This pen would be terrible if the friction was any different.

The model I have was a limited run made from aluminum. The two-tone contrast of the bright polished aluminum body and the anodized blue cap is awesome. The matte clip is sleek and strong, and the knurling along the top of the pen body and the grip section is fantastic. It has a great texture and feels great when writing with the pen or when pulling the pen body out of the cap for use.

The grip section unscrews from the rest of the body, and this is where you can replace the cartridges. I'm using an international short cartridge right now, but you could fit something up to 68mm long. Some cartridge converters will fit, but it really depends on the length as well as the diameter. You should probably surrender to using cartridges with this pen if you decide to pick one up.

Writing with the pen is such a great experience. The weight of the pen is just right, and the knurled grip provides fantastic grip and comfort. On top of that, you can adjust the overall length of the pen by sliding the cap up or down the body to find that perfect fit for your hand.

The pen is fitted with a Bock nib unit — EF in my case. The nib is okay, but I wish it flowed a little better. I could fix this pretty quickly, but it's worth pointing out that it was perfectly tuned out of the box. It writes fine, but the line feels a little dry compared to other EF nibs I use consistently. There isn't any Namisu branding on the nib — it's a standard Bock nib.

While you can't get the two-tone aluminum version any more, you can grab a new titanium version of this pen. It is surely lighter than this aluminum version, but I don't think will detract from the writing experience at all. In fact, I think I'd like the lighter weight even more than this one.

Normally £98.50, this feels like a fair price for a custom machined pen that has been designed well and feels great in the hand and while writing. You can find them on sale or even nab some prototype units for a little cheaper (50% off) while they're available. Either way, this is a fantastic pen. If you like the aesthetic, try one out!

(This pen was purchased from Namisu via Kickstarter.)

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 December 1, 2021 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Namisu, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Kokuyo X Platinum Preppy Perpanep Fountain Pen Review

The Kokuyo X Platinum Preppy Perpanep Fountain Pen could be the next highly sought after disposable pen. I’ll explain that thought in a moment, but first we have to get one thing out of the way: The name of this product line is atrocious.

From Kokuyo:

“The brand name "PERPANEP" is a combination of the words "pen" and "paper". This stationery series was designed with the best combination of pen and paper in mind.”

They did this on purpose. They sat in a meeting, brainstormed, and decided this was a good idea. Kokuyo, one of the largest stationery brands in the world, with what has to be a sizable marketing budget, chose Perpanep. An anagram of “pen” and “paper.” Again, on purpose.

Le sigh.

The Perpanep paper lineup consists of three notebooks, each with their own paper type - Ultra Smooth, Smooth, and Textured. The Ultra Smooth and Textured papers are recommended for Fineliners and Fountain Pens, while the Smooth is recommended for Gel Pens, Ballpoint Pens, and Pencils. I hope to have a review here soon of all three notebooks, but in the meantime, check out Ana’a breakdown at The Well-Appointed Desk.

At launch, there were no pens or pencils designed to bring you the “best combination of pen and paper.” There were only notebooks. Certainly, if Kokuyo made pens and pencils to match, I would have jumped on those, but at least they collaborated with Platinum for a branded Preppy model.

This pen was an insta-buy the moment I saw it while browsing Yoseka Stationery. Why such an immediate positive reaction to what is ostensibly an overpriced Preppy? For that, I need to share with you the story of the Sailor Ink Bar.

When I posted my Ink Bar review in July, 2009, I had just received it from a friend in Japan. The pen eventually made its way to JetPens, and I acquired a few more. Then they vanished - no longer available for purchase anywhere.

As a nascent fountain pen user, I loved the Ink Bar. It was simple, self-contained (unrefillable,) had a great nib, wrote well, and cost $3. As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one who liked it. Once they became hard to find, the amount of emails I received about the Ink Bar increased. People LOVED this pen, and Sailor did away with it, never to return.

The Perpanep, visually speaking, brought me right back to the Ink Bar, making it an instant purchase.

This pen is 100% Platinum Preppy outside of the logo on the barrel. That means, it is already one of the best inexpensive pens you can buy. The 03 Fine nib is round, smooth, and writes wonderfully. It’s refillable, using Platinum proprietary cartridges, and the cap contains their patented Slip and Seal mechanism to keep the nib from drying out.

The only true difference between the Kokuyo branded model and a traditional Platinum Preppy is price. You will pay $3 more ($7.50 vs. $4.50) for the artwork, and the beauty of the word “PERPANEP” stamped on the side of the barrel.

For me, it was worth it. The basic white plastic aesthetic is something I love, and combined with an already great product in the Preppy there was no doubt it was heading to my house. The only problem now is I am forced to figure out other stationery anagrams to get ahead of Kokuyo’s next branding adventure.

(I purchased this pen from Yoseka Stationery at full retail price.)

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