Ink Links

-- An Interview With Sketchnote King Mike Rohde  (Hi, I'm Grace Smith)

-- Webnotebooks From Rhodia  (Unposted)

-- Shiny writing implements  (Halophoenix's Moblog)

-- Bic Round Stic Medium USA  (The Pen Collector)

-- Legendary Pilot Murex and M90  (Scription)

-- Carolina Pad Sasquatch Recycled Notebook Reviews  (Office Supply Geek)

-- Review: Picadilly Leatherlook Journal  (Spiritual Evolution of the Bean)

-- Nomadic PD-04 Khaki Roller Pencil Case Review  (Lung Sketching Scrolls)

-- Doane Paper at Laywine's  (Doane Paper Feed)

-- Compare and Contrast: Canteo and Moleskine Journals  (Pentamento)

-- London Underground pencils  (Pencil Talk)

-- Review: Stabilo Point 88 Mini Pens - 18 Color Set  (The Pen Chronicles)

-- Toolbox: Writing/planning tools  (Make Online)

-- A disposable fountain pen?  (Quo Vadis Blog)

-- A4 Size Moleskine Folio Portfolio  (Notebook Stories)

-- Why didn't I have this in High School---Cheater Pen  (Good Pens)

-- Uni-Ball Gel Impact  (248am)

-- Growing list of fountain pen ink samples  (The Harmless Dilettante)

-- New additions to my pen case  (Therapist Girl)

-- Pencil Holding  (Interesting)

-- Pilot, Dr Grip G-Spec/Center of Gravity  (Alexa's Mechanical Pencils)

-- Do you like pens, too?  (Kathleen Gabriel)

-- Pentel Multi Pencil  (Super Eggplant)

Review: Styb Pens

This slew of Styb pens was sent to me by Pen Addict reader Carmen from Puerto Rico (sorry this took so long).  She emailed me about these pens, mentioning how she used them everyday at work, and was wondering if I had heard of them.  I hadn't, and she graciously offered to send me some in the mail.  Little did I know that "some" meant "an envelope stuffed to the gills" - thanks Carmen!

The variety that Styb offers is pretty impressive, especially since this is only a sampling.  From plastic tip pens, to liquid ink, to fountain pens - both large and small - Styb looks to have things covered.  My favorites of the bunch are the first two pictured at left, which are the Styb Precision 04 and 08.  They are a plastic tip pen, but the firmness of the tip is something I haven't experienced in a pen like this before.  It is very rigid, and writes a very sharp line, which I like.  The other pen I liked a lot was the Styb K2 Megaroller 07.  It reminds me a lot of the Uni-Ball Vision, which is an excellent liquid ink pen and high praise indeed.

I was shocked to see a fountain pen included in this lot, but there was one, and reminds me a lot of the Pilot Petit fountain pen, size wise at least.  I couldn't really get the ink flowing well with this model though, so the jury is still out on this one.  I'm not sure what the difference is between the Styb Sprinter Roller and the Styb Glider Megaroller are, but I didn't really care for either.  The ink bled too much on both, especially the Sprinter Roller.  It also laid down a line much wider than the 07 K2 and it is apparently supposed to be an 05 width.  The Signpen, on the other hand, is great.  It is the perfect size and design, and writes just how I would expect it to.

Overall, there are some good pens in this bunch, and only a couple that I really didn't care for.  Huge thanks to Carmen for sending these to me.  You can read more about Styb pens and additional products at their website.

Click Here for XL review.

Review: Monami Plus Pen 3000

Close-out sales make people do funny things, like take a chance on pens you have never heard of just because the price was reduced.  That's how I came across the Monami Plus Pen 3000.  A box of 12 at JetPens was 50 % off, and I am a fan of porous tip and plastic tip pens, so I took a shot on them.  Right out of the gate I was pretty happy, but the more I wrote and doodled, the more I found that they weren't for me.

The main issue I ran into is that the tip of the pen was almost a cross between a porous tip pen and a brush pen.  Both on their own are perfectly fine, but by the looks of this pen, I wouldn't expect to find much - if any - feedback from the tip.  I am used to smooth writing from other porous tip pens I have used, but this one flicks when writing, like a bristle on the tip is caught going the wrong direction.  The clicking noise it makes is unmistakable.  This pen designed nicely, so it is a shame that this problem is frequent and unavoidable, even causing ink splatter on the page in most instances.

I'll leave this pen to the pen spinners out there, which is how this pen is tagged at JetPens anyway.  I guess I should have taken a cue from that.

Click Here for XL review.