Review: Pilot Just Meet Slim 0.5mm Mechanical Pencil

I generally feel the same way about mechanical pencils as I do about ballpoint pens.  I like how they look, I like how they write, I like their functionality, but 9 times out of 10, I am going to grab a pen, and most likely a gel ink one.  That being said, the Pilot Just Meet is a good example of a nice mechanical pencil.

The big selling point of this pencil is the barrel made from Japanese Ash Trees.  JetPens has the full details:

Just try and resist the pro baseball good looks of the Pilot Just Meet. The pencils are made of high-quality wood from Japanese Ash trees reserved for the production of baseball bats. The trees are over 80 years old when harvested. Thus the pencil has a strong body and a satisfyingly smooth feel. It is a perfect gift for the baseball fan in your life. What a home run by Pilot!

I chose the gray body, but it also comes in natural and orange.  By the looks of it, you would think the pencil would have some weight behind it, but it is reasonably light overall.  Possibly too light for "Godzilla" Matsui, but Ichiro might like it after a run through his humidor.

The one dilemma I have with this pencil - and really all mechanical pencils in general - is that the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga has me completely spoiled.  I'm not enough of a pencil connoisseur to delve into the minutia of why I prefer one pencil over the next, but I do know that writing with any other pencil besides the Kuru Toga leaves me a little frustrated.  I see the lead flattening out and becoming fainter on the page and I long for the auto rotation mechanism of the Kuru Toga.  Am I the only one who feels this way?

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Ohto Tasche Ceramic Rollerball

The Ohto Tasche Ceramic rollerball has been on the short list of pens I have wanted from JetPens for as long as I can remember.  I was finally able to squeeze it into a recent order, choosing the orange body from the blue, pink, and purple barrel colors available.  The main feature of this pen is the ability of the pen to be carried as a compact pen with the cap on, but with the cap posted, it turns into a full size writing instrument.

The Tasche pulls this off well, but I had quite the time getting used to taking the cap off of the pen.  When I first took the pen out of the envelope, I thought I knew how to get the cap off, but I had to fight it for a few seconds, put it down and think about it, and then go after it again before successfully opening the pen.  Ok, I thought, now I can do this every time the same way.  Next try, same difficulty, but after those first couple of times I knew what the pen wanted out of me when taking the cap off.  Since it sizes down so small when closed, there is a long sliver of barrel in the longer than usual cap.  This made it a bit tricky, but I've got the hang of it now and it is no problem.

When it was time to put it to the writing test, it performed very well.  Better than I expected actually.  The ink in my Ohto Orca Ceramic roller spread a little bit when I first used it and I eventually swapped out that ink cartridge of a gel ink refill.  I am having no trouble with this cartridge though on my Doane Paper.  I think the Ohto tasche is going to find a nice home in my backpack.

Click here for the XL review.

Ink Links

-- Sharpie as a Tack  (Dave Duncan)

-- Diamine Fall 2009 Ink Swatches  (All My Hues)

-- oh, I love pens  (Angry Chicken)

-- Equology Scholar Planner (another post with too many pictures)  (Unposted)

-- Rhodia Pad No 12, Paul Smith  (Inkyjournal)

-- The Sharpie Pen Grip – Evolution of the Sharpie Pen  (Office Supply Geek)

-- User Review: CopyGuru and the Large Webbie  (Rhodia Drive)

-- Review: Doane Paper Notebooks  (Notebook Stories)