Pen Reviews by Andrea Joseph

I am honored to be able to share with you these great pen reviews by my friend Andrea Joseph. Her ballpoint ink drawings are some of the most amazing pieces of art I have laid my eyes on, and I am very grateful to her for sharing these with the readers of The Pen Addict. Be sure to click on the drawings to read the reviews. Thanks Andrea!

When I approached The Pen Addict about doing a ballpoint pen review I felt there was only way to go about it; draw it! At first, I intended to review blue ballpoints but I couldn’t stop there. So, here are some of the ballpoints that I use for drawing and doodling. They are by no means my favourite pens or the only ones that I use, they are just a random selection. Actually, maybe not that random, they were selected because they worked well in the over all composition of the drawings. I hope!

A little about me; my name is Andrea Joseph and I am a ballpoint addict. It doesn’t just stop at ballpoints; I am a pen addict in general. I have three bulging pencil cases for ballpoints alone (there are, of course, all the other pencil cases with fine liners, fountain pens, colour pencils etc.). These drawings are a selection from each of them.

If you’d like to see more of my ballpoint drawings, you can find them on my Flickr page. For more information on drawing with ballpoints you might be interested in my ballpoint zine or my ballpoint ‘starter pack’. They can be found in my Etsy shop. And, for all other news on my work check out my sketchblog.

Zebra Sarasa Clip 1.0mm Review

It is a well known fact that I am a Zebra Sarasa Clip fan. From placing the 0.3mm at number one on my personal Top 5 Pens list, to ranking the 0.4mm as one of my Top 5 Micro Tip Gel Ink Pens to recommend to new users, it’s pretty clear that I like the pen. The Zebra Sarasa Clip 1.0mm is a little bit out of my range for every day use, but I know many readers are fans of 0.7mm tips and greater, so let’s take a look.

If there is one thing that is consistent across all of Zebras product lines it is how vibrant their ink colors are. All of the colors really pop on the page, and the black is a very deep black. The red ink of the Sarasa is especially nice, and for some reason, I thought the red pen performed better when writing than the blue or black inks. I felt it gave a sharper, cleaner line, but it could just be an illusion.

Another thing that is consistent across all of Zebras products is that their gel ink cartridges run out quickly compared to other gel pens. This has been the case ever since I became a heavy Zebra user over 15 years ago, and still holds true to this day. Based on my experiences with the 0.3mm and 0.4mm models, my initial thought was I am going to blow through the ink on these 1.0mm pens at an epic rate, but Zebra has a little trick up their sleeve. The 1.0mm cartridges have more ink in them than the smaller tip sizes.

I guess this is done so that a 1.0mm cartridge will last approximately as long as an 0.3mm or 0.4mm cartridge, but I sure would like to see this wider ink reservoir in the smaller tip sizes. You can see the differences in the photos - the 0.3mm cartridge has a thicker plastic wall than the 1.0mm. Again, my guess is Zebra doesn’t want the 1.0mm to run out so fast, but I would love to see the 0.3mm last longer.

Ink cartridges be damned, this is still a good pen. And the 1.0mm is refillable in the three colors shown here, so you can always have a backup on hand if needed.

Top 5 Micro Tip Gel Ink Pens

I have been getting several emails a week asking for pen recommendations, so I have decided to break down some of the questions into very specific lists. This is not my personal Top 5 List, but like that list, it will be constantly changing and evolving, so I will try to update as needed.

One of the main questions I get is concerning gel ink pens and all of the micro tip options. I consider a micro tip a pen with an 0.5mm tip size or less. 0.5mm is really pushing it on the upper end, but since some manufacturers actually market that size as micro, I’ll go with the flow.

My recommendations for the Top 5 Micro Tip Gel Ink Pens are:

1. 
   

   Uni-Ball Signo DX 0.38mm Black
   If you have never bought a pen under 0.7mm, much less 0.5mm or smaller, this is where you should start if you want to get into the world of micro tip pens. The Signo DX writes incredibly well, with sharp lines and a dark black ink. The barrel is the perfect combination of minimalism and durability. I never have any issues with this pen, which makes it my top reccomendation.

   
   


2. 
   

   Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.4mm Blue Black
   Many readers require that their pens be retractable, and the Sarasa Clip fits that bill as well as any. The blue black gel ink is one of the most popular around, and at just $2.00 per pen, the Sarasa Clip is a great value.

   
   


3. 
   

   Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle 0.35mm Blue
   This pen has been a real sleeper hit. Admittedly, the 0.35 needle tip lays down a line closer to some 0.5mm pens, but wow does it write well. It is a wonderfully designed pen, and the blue ink is my favorite of the bunch.

   
   


4. 
   

   Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.4mm Grip Black
   While this would rank higher on my personal list, I almost never recommend the Hi-Tec-C to first time buyers. The pens tend to be a little finicky on occasion, mainly the ink flow when starting to write. If you are willing to work past that, they are awesome to write with, and are the best sketching/drawing pen of the bunch.

   
   


5. 
   

   Uni-Ball Signo RT 0.38mm Lavender Black
   Why not have some fun? The Lavender Black is one of my favorite non-standard colors. And if the regular RT barrel isn’t for you, these refills pop right into any Uni-Ball 207 barrel, including the Premier.

   
   

Those are my recommendations for the Top 5 Micro Tip Gel Ink Pens. What are your favorites in this category? What other categories would you like me to cover next?