Pentel Sign Pen Review

There are many pens with long and respected histories but not too many can compete with the history of the Pentel Sign Pen. What pen can claim they were left for dead shortly after introduction only to be resurrected by a US President and go on to live a long and healthy life? (More on this later)

Surprisingly enough, I have never reviewed the traditional Pentel Sign Pen before. Despite their history, they aren't the easiest pens to find on a store shelf, and I never bothered with buying a dozen from Amazon or ordering directly from Pentel. Luckily my dealer - street name "JetPens" - came through recently with flying colors. And by colors, I mean 11 of them.

Instead of going with the standard blue or black that would have made me feel more Presidential, I went with Sky Blue, which made me feel more, I don't know, fun? It is a fantastic color.

The Pentel Sign pen is more of a marker than a pen but I can see why it was so popular for signatures back in the day. This pen is designed for big, loose, sweeping strokes, allowing the user to tear through hundreds of signatures with consistency and ease. The fiber tip pen leaves a bold line that is unmistakable.

Is there much use for this style of pen today? Outside of artists and designers, maybe not, but it is worth owning at least one so you can say you own a piece of writing history.

Want more on the history of the Pentel Sign Pen? Don't miss this amazing manga .pdf about its creation.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Pentel TRFS Tradio Mini Fountain Pen Review

When someone says Pentel Tradio this is the pen I think of. Black barrel, windowed cap, and most importantly, angled felt tip. It has been around for years and seems to be the traditional model. Pentel has found a way to dilute the Tradio line with several unrelated models, such as the Tradio Energel, Tradio Fountain Pen (some people refer to the original as a fountain pen too), and the disposable Pentel Pulaman, which uses the original Tradio tip. Is the Tradio name more about the barrel design than the tip design?

I'm confused, but we are not done yet. Say hello to the Pentel TRFS Tradio Mini Fountain Pen.

The Mini takes the traditional barrel design, shrinks it, makes it translucent, and adds a medium steel fountain pen nib. The size of the pen is nice, but I'm not a fan of the grip area. It almost has a convex feel to it. The nib is decent, although not as glassy smooth as the full size model, but it does take short international cartridges, which is a bonus.

All that said, I don't see a need for this pen. Mini fountain pens are a tough nut to crack and no one does it better than Kaweco. They are well made, come in many price points, and have wonderful (and swappable) nibs.

I'm interested to hear from you on this: Do you have a go to mini fountain pen?

Pentel Vicuna EX 2 Color 0.7 mm Ballpoint Multi Pen + Pencil Review

Among the hybrid ballpoint ink pens the Pentel Vicuna is a sneaky good option. For me, it ranks only behind the Uni-ball Jetstream and the Pilot Acroball, and it may have darker black ink than both of them. The Pentel Vicuna EX Multi Pen stepped up the Vicuna's game with an upgraded barrel to hold two ink cartridges (red and black) plus an 0.5 mm pencil.

The three cartridge setup works well with the pen design. The barrel diameter is just big enough to fit everything and not have an overly large pen. In fact, it is just about the perfect size. Some multi pens get too wide or have cartridges that come out at a slight angle but that is not an issue with the Vicuna EX.

As I anticipated, the ink cartridges are as smooth, solid, and vibrant as the single color pens. The black leaves a solid line and the red is sharp and bright (my photo makes it look duller than it actually is). The 0.5 mm pencil is a nice addition, and unlike many other multi pens it contains an eraser under the end of the cap.

I won't be leaving my Jetstream's for the Vicuna anytime soon but it is a tougher decision than you would think. Maybe one day Pentel will see fit to bring them to the US.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)