Pilot Hi-Tec-C Line Width Comparison Video

Pilot Hi-Tec-C Line Width Comparison from dowdyism on Vimeo.

I have to come clean. I completely FORGOT to schedule a post for today. I had an awesomely busy weekend, and Monday's are always packed on the work side of the ledger, so it slipped off the radar somehow.

To rectify this, I am going to phone it in a bit. I recorded a video comparing the line widths of all the Pilot Hi-Tec-C sizes, but I'm not too thrilled with it. The intro is lacking and the overall vibe is somewhat dull. I am going to run with it though and I promise to keep improving my video skills.

Enjoy!

Fountain Pen Nib Comparison Video

Fountain Pen Nib Comparison from dowdyism on Vimeo.

Video reviews are something I have always wanted to do more of on The Pen Addict. My friend Patrick Rhone has been doing some really nice ones recently, and seeing his work was just the push I needed to get this started.

In the video above, I did a quick comparison of a Pilot Prera F nib versus a Lamy Safari EF nib. Most experienced fountain pen users realize there are differences in nib sizes between countries, but many beginners do not. I wanted to put nib to paper and show you what the lines really look like.

Since this is my first real attempt at a video review (not counting the few webcam recordings I have done) please be brutally honest on what I can do better. I have never launched iMovie in my life prior to this. One issue I see is that there is some shaking on the camera in several frames. I'm not sure if that is me bumping the tripod, the table, or what exactly. I'll work on that next time!

Also, let me know what other topics you would like to see videos on. I think this can be a fun change of pace at The Pen Addict and I look forward to doing more.

Pilot VBall BeGreeN 05 Review

The Pilot VBall is a pen that has been around for years and has a large following. I know several readers would consider it one of their all-time favorites. What I don’t understand about the VBall is why isn’t it easier to find on store shelves? It is one of Pilot’s main pen lines, but I had to resort to Amazon to get a pack of my own to review. And I have had it on the radar for years.

Admittedly, I’m probably being too hard on Pilot. The VBall Grip and VBall Retractable are EVERYWHERE and use the same ink. I have used both of those pens, but I wanted the original VBall experience in the original VBall barrel design. Have you seen one of those on the shelf recently?

I settled for the VBall BeGreeN, which is a fine choice considering it is made from 81.6% recycled content. As happy as I am to be environmentally conscious, what I really wanted to know is how well the VBall writes.

I think my expectations were too high.

Liquid ink is challenging, especially in finer tip sizes. The VBall ink is wetter than I remember, more so than the VBall RT that I reviewed years ago. This causes my handwriting to not have the clean edge that gel or plastic tip pens provide.

When I bought this pen, I was hoping that it would find a place in my regular writing arsenal. Unfortunately it has been relegated to backup status.