Tombow 2558 Pencil Review

I rarely find myself without a wooden pencil within reach these days.

That's quite a change, isn't it? I used to say this about fountain pens too, something along the lines of "I don't get it." Well, I'm starting to get it more and more, and I don't like being without a pencil. I may not use one every day - if fact I don't - but the comfort knowing the sweet smell of cedar is just an arms reach away is comforting.

I'm still in the discovery phase in my pencil addiction. What I have found so far is that I like good point retention and a medium/dark line. I also like nice paint jobs and dipped ends (no erasers) but those things are far down the list compared to the first two items.

For example, my two favorite pencils right now are the Tombow Mono 100 HB and the Palomino Blackwing 602. The Mono taught me that 1. Pencils can be beautiful, and 2. Point retention is a thing. I could write and write and see only moderate wear in the graphite. Certainly much less than some random #2 pencil from my school days. The Blackwing 602 taught me about smoothness and depth of color. It really leaves an amazing line on the page and is a pleasure to write with.

Taking what I like about those two pencils, I wanted to start climbing up the H side of the hardness scale to find the best point retention in combination with the darkest graphite. The Tombow 2558 H seemed like a nice place to start considering how much I like the Mono 100.

The 2558 is likely the most normal Tombow pencil going. It has that traditional yellow pencil paint job, standard size and shape ferrule, and a pink eraser. Put it in a pile with a bunch of first graders pencils and you may not be able to pick it out easily (although the ferrule has a sweet purple tint.) The looks of the pencil were a bit of a turnoff at first. Why buy something normal looking when their are so many better (for me) choices?

Fortunately, the graphite delivered what I was looking for in performance. It sharpened up well and the point held nicely through several writing sessions. Once you cross the HB middle line, the harder graphite cores are naturally lighter, and although this H is light, it is dark enough for me and how I like to write. I think I could go one to two grades harder in fact, although they are not available in this model.

While I'm not normally an eraser guy, the 2558 eraser is very nice. Probably the best I have used, although my sample size is admittedly small. It doesn't take much action to remove the graphite from the page, and the eraser bits roll up nicely for easy sweeping away.

The Tombow 2558 isn't going to knock off my favorite pencils any time soon, but every time I try something new (like this pencil), I learn more and more what my preferences are. Luckily for me, there are many more pencils to be tried.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

An Introduction To The Brush Pen Sampler

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

A few months ago, I wrote about my introduction to the brush pen genre with the Pilot Petit3. Shortly after that, JetPens began offering a sampler pack of 5 popular brush pens under the $30 mark. I ordered one right after seeing it, and I've been trying them out since. The main thing I've learned? Not all brush pens are created equal. Each one has a purpose, and as long as you understand that, you'll get along just fine.

The criteria

Recently, JetPens released a fantastic video that explains the different qualities of brush pens and how that affects the writing, drawing, lettering, etc. experience. I'm using the same qualities in my review, so let's have a quick look at what they are:

• Tip type: This describes what the tip is made out of. This could be natural hair bristles, synthetic bristles, or felt. Depending on the type of material used in the tip, the rest of the characteristics of the pen will vary greatly.
• Firmness: This can range from soft, medium, and firm. Soft tips will create wider line variation, but require more control and finesse. Firm tips are easier to use, but do not have great line variation.
• Fineness: This can range from fine, medium, and broad. This refers to the line width the pen produces, similar to your fountain pen nib sizes. Brush pens with a soft firmness can hit all three line widths.
• Elasticity: You guessed it, this refers to how well the brush tip can hold its original shape after being expanded with additional pressure. Basically, bristle tip pens will maintain the wide shape once you let off, and you'll have to fiddle with it a bit to make it fine again, whereas a felt tip pen will immediately return to its original width when the stroke is complete.
• Ink flow: Again, if you're familiar with fountain pens, this one will make sense. This refers to how much ink comes out when making marks, similar to how we refer to a nib as "wet" or "dry."
• Saturation: Another common term with fountain pens. This refers to the coloration of the ink. In the case of a black ink, a saturated ink will create a deep, dark black on the page, whereas a not-so-saturated ink will make a gray or brown shaded black mark.

Now, with that out of the way, let's take a look at these 5 pens.

Kuretake Disposable Pocket Brush Pen, Fine

The Kuretake brush pen is a fine felt tip pen that is really easy to use. It's disposable, which means that once the ink dries up, you throw it away. The barrel is a sparkly dark blue color with gold text. The cap sits firmly on the pen when closed.

• Tip type: Felt.
• Firmness: I think this pen errs on the side of firm, but you can get some decent variation if you press hard enough.
• Fineness: Fine
• Elasticity: The tip returns to its original shape immediately.
• Ink flow: Very good ink flow, as it requires the slightest pressure to put ink on the page.
• Saturation: Very dark saturation.

Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen, Soft

Of the felt tip brush pens in this pack, the Tombow is my favorite. I love how it writes, even if it isn't so pretty on the outside. This pen also comes with a handy little lettering guide, but I honestly haven't found much use for it. The body is a dark gray color with white text and lots of little graphics.

• Tip type: Felt.
• Firmness: I'd call this a medium because you can get a bit of line variation fairly easily.
• Fineness: Fine to medium.
• Elasticity: The tip returns to its original shape almost immediately.
• Ink flow: Very good ink flow — requires almost no pressure to make a mark.
• Saturation: Very dark saturation.

Zebra Disposable Brush Pen, Super Fine

The Zebra, even though its called "super fine," is very similar to the Tombow. You can get a decent amount of line variation, but it doesn't write as well as the Tombow. It's an excellent pen, but just a couple marks behind the Tombow. The body looks very similar to the Kuretake — dark sparkly blue with gold text, so it's very easy to confuse them.

• Tip type: Felt tip.
• Firmness: Firm to medium, but not as soft as the Tombow.
• Fineness: Fine with the ability to reach medium.
• Elasticity: Returns to original shape very quickly.
• Ink flow: Very good ink flow, but a tad drier than the previous two.
• Saturation: Very dark saturation.

Pilot Pocket Brush Pen, Soft

Ah, the Pilot brush pen. Of the broad, "lots of variation" group, this is my favorite. The pen is black with gold Japanese lettering on the body and red lettering on the cap. There isn't a word of English on this pen, so I only know it's the Pilot from a process of elimination.

• Tip type: Felt.
• Firmness: Very soft.
• Fineness: Capable of making fine to broad lines easily.
• Elasticity: Returns to original shape fairly easily, but might need some help after making broad lines.
• Ink flow: Exceptional ink flow for such a wide tip.
• Saturation: Very dark saturation.

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen for Calligraphy

Of the bunch, this is the only bristle tip pen, and it's a hoot to use. This one takes the most practice and patience when using, and it's absolutely not suited for writing. The pen body is black some minimal silver text on the cap. Also, of the bunch, this pen uses an ink cartridge, so you can refill it after its empty.

• Tip type: Synthetic bristles.
• Firmness: Soft — very soft.
• Fineness: Medium to broad. You can get an insane level of variation from this one.
• Elasticity: Needs help returning to a medium point. It likes to stay pretty broad when making lines.
• Ink flow: The ink flow is "good enough" for most things, but it's not nearly as good as the other 4.
• Saturation: The saturation also leaves something to be desired, as the lines can look a bit brown on the page.

Conclusion

All in all, this sampler pack is a great way to break into the brush pen genre. For me, I still feel like I have no idea how to use these properly, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the heck out of them. I don't consider myself an artist, but these pens make me want to draw, and for that I'll eternally love them.

If you're curious about brush pens, I highly suggest you start here.

Tombow AirPress Ballpoint Pen Giveaway

Image via JetPens.com

I am a fan of the utility of pressurized ballpoint pens and there are none better in my book than the Tombow AirPress. I first reviewed it in 2010 and to this date I have not found a pressurized refill pen to perform any better, including the Fisher Space Pen.

Tombow USA reached out and has offered up three of these great pens for giveaway, all in the Stormtrooper-esque white body, as pictured above. The 501st Legion would be proud.

Here is how to enter:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Saturday 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 three 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 winners.

3. The contest winners will be posted on Sunday, November 23rd. The winners will have one week to email me via the Contact link at the top of the page.

My thanks to Tombow for sponsoring this giveaway, and be sure to check out all the excellent Tombow products available from JetPens.