Morning Glory Mach 3 Roller Ball Pen 0.38 mm Review

The Morning Glory Mach 2 Roller Ball was a popular pen in its day. It was one of the few options if you were looking for a fine point, needle tip, liquid ink pen. Unfortunately, its run was short lived, despite its many fans. Morning Glory has stepped up with a replacement though: Enter the Mach 3 0.38 mm Roller Ball.

At only $2.00, the Mach 3 is priced as an entry level pen but plays above its weight easily. It's not often you get to use a sub-0.5 mm liquid ink pen and this 0.38 is very nice. I was continually impressed at how sharp and clean my lines were when testing it out. You may have to click on the picture above and enlarge it to see what I am talking about since lime green isn't the most photogenic ink color, but trust me when I say it is exceptional.

The barrel design is unique, not in that it brings something new to the table, but rather borrows from several existing pens for its look. The body is very similar to the new Pilot FriXion Point 04 (minus the eraser) mashed up with the grip of the discontinued Zebra Regal Roller and the cap of the similarly discontinued Uni-ball Signo Bit. In total it is fine, but the grip does end up being a little slick.

While it is not going to replace my gel ink pens in the same price and size range, the Morning Glory Mach 3 can certainly hold its own. If you are looking for a micro tip liquid ink pen this is the way to go.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Rhodia Webnotebook Giveaway

"Rhodia. We are better than Moleskine."

There is your new official slogan Rhodia. You're welcome.

Everyone loves Rhodia, myself included. The paper is wonderfully smooth, and if you can accept the longer ink drying times (the tradeoff for smoothness), Rhodia could be your one and only. I'm not that monogomous in my stationery relationships, but I recommend Rhodia more than any other paper brand on the market.

If you have never used Rhodia before I am here to (hopefully) help you out. I have two Rhodia Webnotebooks of the Black, 5.5" X 8.25", Dot Grid variety courtesy of JetPens to give away. I love this product, and I think you will too. Here is how to enter:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is open to US and International readers.

2. For this contest, I will pick two winners at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the numbers of the winner.

3. The contest winners will be posted on Friday, September 13th. The winners will have one week to email me via the Contact link at the top of the page to claim their prize.

Thanks and good luck!

Chris Reeve Sebenza 21 Review

My friend Tony from Everday Commentary had a great idea a few months ago: Let's swap and review some of our favorite products. He had his eye on my stealth black Pilot Vanishing Point - a great choice for many EDC'ers - and he offered up one of the holy grail knives in his collection - the Chris Reeve Sebenza 21.

I'm not going to lie, I had never heard of the Sebenza before Tony offered it up for review. After some quick Googling I realized how respected and lusted after this knife is. To put it in pen terms, this is the Nakaya of blades. Own a Sebenza and your collection is nearly complete.

I don't own a Nakaya yet but had a loaner in my hands recently (review coming soon). It is a spectacular pen, but there is one area where my comparison between it and the Sebenza falls short, and is possibly unfair: Usability. If and when I own a Nakaya, it will be treated with museum-quality care. The Sebenza, on the other hand, begs to be used.

I carry a pocket knife nearly every day but am hardly an expert in this realm. My daily carry is a choice between a Spyderco Delica 4 and a Victorinox Bantam Alox. The Delica is a combo edge (1/2 plain edge, 1/2 serrated) which helps me cut a wide array of things from cat-5 cables to simple boxes. The Bantam goes with me nearly everywhere else and is unbelievably handy. That is my entire blade arsenal in a nutshell.

When looking at a more serious blade like the Sebenza many other specs come into play, not just "hey, that looks good" which is how I have shopped before. From Tony's perspective, the things he grades on are steel, grind, blade shape, lock, design, fit and finish, deployment method, retention method, grip, and carry. Sounds kind of like a certain pen obsessive we know, doesn't it?

While I can't speak fluently on all of those topics I do know one thing: Put a knife the quality of the Sebenza 21 in your hand and the differences become apparent quickly. The blade alone - I don't know what to say - I've never used anything like this. I could shave with the edge that has been put on this thing. It feels strong with surgical precision. Unbelievably nice.

The handle is very sturdy and fits perfectly in the hand. It has a good weight to it and the balance is spot on with the blade engaged. Being used to the Spyderco hole method of deployment, the thumb stud took some getting used to. A few minutes of dedicated opening and closing had me all set. A strong clip is mandatory for me as well and the Sebenza stuck to my hip like a puppy in a thunderstorm.

So what is a person like me to do? I believe in paying for quality but I haven't been living up to that philosophy in regard to my knife carry. I turned that corner with fountain pens within the last year. Time to step it up with another essential item I carry with me every day.