Holiday 2011 Favorites

I get asked for pen, pencil, and paper recommendations all of the time so I wanted to put together a list that might help you out this holiday season. All of the products listed below are items I own and use frequently, so I can give them my highest personal recommendation.

If you are looking for something specific that is not covered in this list feel free to leave a comment below. Happy Holidays!

Kaweco AL Sport

This fountain pen provides one of the most pleasant writing experiences in recent memory. I didn’t know what to expect when I first used it, but I haven’t stopped being fascinated by it yet. The aluminum body construction it top notch, and the fine nib is as smooth as it gets. (review)

Blackwing 602

Many of us were not able to know and love the original Blackwing 602 pencil. The brand was brought back to life over the past year and has turned me into a woodcase pencil fan. Even the most hardcore pen geek will appreciate these. (review)

Doane Paper Idea Journal

Paper is a big deal to me and Doane Paper is far and away my favorite. My all-day, every-day notebook of choice is the Idea Journal. It has a permanent home on my work desk and packs up easily in my backpack for when I want to work outside of the house. The quality is unparalleled.

Pilot Hi-Tec-C 10 Color Set

Is this the best gel ink pen on the market? Your won’t get much of an argument from me. The lines are clean and sharp, and the ink colors are vibrant. This has been my favorite every day writing pen for years and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. (review)

Fisher Space Pen

The original every day carry pen. It uses a pressurized ink refill which allows you to write on wet or dirty surfaces, hot or cold temperatures, and even upside down. This is the pen you want to have on you when you leave the house.

Pilot Prera Fountain Pen Review

(This is a guest review by Bryan Gushikawa)

The Pilot Prera is one of the best fountain pens ever made! I can say that without reservation because there are no other pens out today that offer the same blend of style, comfort, smoothness, and value. It's an excellent pen for beginners and it also offers a lot to experienced fountain pen users. I can spend pages and pages just writing paens to the Prera, so let's get into the specifics of why this is such a great pen!

General Notes: This pen is a little shorter than a typical fountain pen, but the thickness feels nice in the hand. The body comes in many colors and the nibs come in a range, with M and F nibs being excellent choices for most users. The Japanese nibs write smaller than their Western counterparts, so expect to get an M nib for daily writing (~0.6mm) and F nibs for fine work (0.4mm lines).

Smoothness: This pen uses a stiff, steel nib, made by Pilot, and offers a very smooth point. Although a large part of the smoothness of a fountain pen is based on the ink used, the tip contributes quite a bit to the feel of the pen on paper. The Prera is a big winner here, with a tip that glides effortlessly across the paper.

Grip and Balance: Not thick and not thin, but JUST right. Although there is no texture in the grip area, it's sufficiently sized and the plastic isn't so slick to make it hard to hold. When posted, the pen balances well and the weight is distributed evenly.

Ink Flow: Again, although this can be dictated by ink choice, the feed on every Prera I've owned is perfect right from the factory. No skips or blotches here and there's enough flow to allow the pen to start without scribbling.

Build Quality: Wow! Thick plastic and metal accents! The clip is securely affixed to the cap and WILL hold the pen in a pocket. There is a cushioning effect of air when capping the pen, letting you know that the cap is airtight and your pen won't be drying out while capped.

Capacity: Pilot offers a superior range of converters, from the squeeze-type CON-20 to the larger piston CON-50. They all fit the Prera and so do the Pilot cartridges.

Clip: Excellent. Simply excellent!

Post: Secure and rigid. The posting is wonderful! You'll want to post the cap to make sure it's long enough to grip properly.

Overall: I really love this pen and recommend it to everyone! You really will never be disappointed by this pen. It's nice enough to be business ready, but cheap enough so that you don't feel anxious about taking it to the office. A definite recommend and a must buy! Note that you'll get excellent results from the Pilot line of inks, but converters will let you try brands from other companies, as Pilot pens can only fit Pilot carts, not international standard cartridges.

Pilot MultiBall Liquid Ink Pen Review

(This is a guest post by Brian Draghi. You can follow Brian on Twitter @Sketchscape)

I was rather skeptical on whether the Pilot MultiBall would actually write on multiple surfaces as it claimed based on its description. I was quite shocked to find that it does indeed write on nearly every type of material and it is also one of my favorite writing pens now.

I was blown away by how dark, smooth and even the ink rolls off the onto the page that it doesn'€™t even require any effort to use. The overall line constancy is very dark black and writes the same way regardless of the surface type. It works on glass, plastic, mirrors, metal and cloth; materials that are usually only reserved for markers. One of the interesting things about this pen is the ability to wipe off any type of mark you make on any nonporous surface with a damp cloth. Once the ink has dried for a few hours, it becomes permanent like a Sharpie.

Taking off the cap, the rubber grip is rather comfortable. The grip is textured just enough to create an ideal balance between your thumb and index finger. It can definitely provide long endurance sessions of writing notes or sketching without any hand fatigue. Design wise, this pen has a bold striking shape that is lightweight and sleek to hold. It has a look similar to tactical pens that are available to its long and pointed body.

The MultiBall does have some issues adjusting to certain surfaces. Writing on a mirror, for instance, takes a few seconds of adjustment for the lines to start appearing. This is such a minor issue for an otherwise great pen.

Overall

The Pilot MultiBall is easily one of my top five pens due to it's surface versatility and smooth writing ability. The fine point works perfectly with my own writing style and I can always count on it to write the same way every time I use it. The Pilot Multiball is a such steal on JetPens.com for $1.65 that there should be no reason not to at least try this jack of all trades pen.

Rating 5 out of 5 pens

Pros

- Smooth and dark lines every time

- Writes on nearly every surface

- Very affordable pen

- Long writing period without fatigue

Cons

- Brief time to adjust between surfaces