Sailor Ink Studio 442: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

A few months ago I reviewed my first Sailor Ink Studio ink: Sailor 123. It is a fascinating color that shifts and changes before your eyes. Around the time I bought Sailor 123, I also purchased Sailor 442 from a different retailer.

Sailor 442 is a blue ink with purple tones. On my Col-o-dex card, the swab looks like a basic blue, but there is some green sheen in the splats. Shading isn’t very evident on the card because my Brause Blue Pumpkin nib was pretty saturated. You can see better shading in my other writing samples.

I tested the ink on Rhodia dot-grid paper with three Lamy Vistas in different nib sizes and the 2.4mm Pilot Parallel (dipped). The ink is a medium to dark blue with good shading in wider nibs. The purple tone comes out slightly in the broader nibs, but is most evident in the water test. The ink dries quickly but seems well lubricated when you write with it.

Chromatography reveals all the different shades combined to create this ink (light blue, purple, lavender, turquoise, green, and yellow). It’s a shame these colors don’t show up in swabs or shading. Unlike Sailor 123, 442 is not a shade-shifting ink. It’s quite striking in chromatography, but rather bland in the nib.

Even in my Handwritmic nib, which best displays the color variations, shading, and sheen potential of an ink, Sailor 442 was disappointing. There’s a good amount of shading, but only slight hints of the color variations found in the chromatography test. On the Midori Cotton paper, sheen was not evident.

After the magical experience of Sailor 123, I must say I was disappointed with 442. It’s not that it’s a bad ink--it’s actually a very nice blue with good shading and medium wetness. I just expected more from this rather expensive little bottle of ink. I now know that only certain Sailor Ink Studio inks have the shade-shifting characteristics of Sailor 123. I definitely plan to purchase those. I’ve read that the higher the number given to Ink Studio inks, the more sheen they have.

For an amazing overview of all 100 Sailor Ink Studio inks, I recommend Mountain of Ink’s blog. Not only can you read about the collection as a whole, there’s a detailed review of each one.

I purchased Sailor 442 from an eBay seller for around $21.00 plus shipping. Now you can purchase Sailor Ink Studio inks at $18.00 a piece (plus shipping) from Dromgoole’s (though you have to do so over the phone).

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Posted on September 20, 2019 by Susan Pigott and filed under Sailor, Ink Reviews.

Zebra DelGuard Limited Edition Mechanical Pencil Review

The Zebra DelGuard mechanism is pretty effective and ingenious, and I can't figure out why they've put it on an otherwise sub-par pencil. The trick of the mechanism is that there are springs inside that will retract the lead if too much vertical pressure is applied, or extend the nose tip if too much diagonal pressure is applied. This is meant to reduce lead breakage. I tried to break the lead on this pencil and couldn't do it. If you're a heavy-handed pencil user and frequent lead-breaker, this pencil may solve your problems.

The pencil body is made of lightweight plastic. The bottom third of it is clear, and the top two thirds are decorated with a pretty limited edition color gradient. There are other color gradients available, as well as some more plain colors, and some adorable Ghibli character prints, like Totoro and Kiki. I fully admit I would use a Totoro pencil no matter what the quality of the build, but in general this model has enough strikes against it for me that I don't see it finding a spot in my rotation.

My primary issue with the pencil is the uncomfortable grip. It has a lot of inexplicable bumps and grooves and I can't find a spot on it where it feels like my fingers should rest. The plastic is also slippery, and the ridges--numerous though they are--don't aid in grip at all. It's the worst of both worlds.

Another issue is the itty bitty eraser that also doesn't do a very good job erasing. I don't care for the minuscule erasers that seem to top so many mechanical pencils. And what's with the wee metal hat for it? I'm amazed I managed to keep track of that piece for the duration of the review period. I'm sure I'll soon lose it, but perhaps not before I run out of this sliver of eraser.

The lead that comes with this pencil is quite hard and draws a very pale line. It takes quite a bit of pressure to make a darker line, which works okay, since the lead hasn't ever broken for me. I'd be curious to try this mechanism with a softer lead. It can take any .5mm lead, so it should always be easy and convenient to find refills for it.

One nice thing about the build is that it has a sturdy but flexible clip. It can easily clip onto a stack of pages and it doesn't feel like it's going to snap or warp.

For me, for $8, this pencil isn't quite worth the cost. There are other models of the DelGuard that have cushioned grips that might be worth further inspection, though they're also a bit more expensive. I think the overall idea is fantastic, I just don't think it has been effectively executed. Which does not dissuade me in any way from ordering the Totoro one.

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

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Posted on September 19, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Zebra, DelGuard, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Nomadic PW-11 Boat Shaped Pen Case Review

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

With the pens and pencils we choose to take with us on our adventures in the world, choosing the right case is half the battle. Just like choosing what clothes to wear, a lot of it depends on what we plan on doing while we're out. Because of the variety of circumstances and environments we find ourselves in every day, these decisions can make or break our day. While choosing the wrong pen case isn't as bad as forgetting an umbrella on a day with a heavy rain forecast, it certainly isn't ideal. No matter what kind of argument I try to construct on behalf of having a pen case (and pen!) for every occasion, it all comes down to the fact that there are so many cool cases available, and I'd like to try them all.

The Nomadic PW-11 Boat Shaped Pen Case might sound like something suited for monsoon season, but it's actually an incredibly versatile case that has plenty of space inside a lightweight but strong exterior. At its core, it's a zippered pen case with one large pocket inside, but it also has a couple of neat tricks.

From the outside, this case is a two-tone beauty made from lightweight ripstop nylon (150D to be exact) and features a small, quiet zipper on top. The bottom of the case has some padding, but the sides are all single-layer nylon. A feature I've really enjoyed is the two zip pulls that are provided on this case, meaning you can open/close it from either end. Along with the double pulls, each side of the zipper has a small magnet embedded in the nylon folds to keep them tucked neatly to the side of the case. This makes the case easy to spread open when you're trying to see what's inside, but it looks more streamlined when it's all snapped together. Along with the magnets to keep the zipper flaps tucked to the side, you can also fold the top of the case down on itself to make it look like a large pouch. This also makes everything inside just a little more accessible and visible. It's a really nice design touch!

Inside the case, there are two small slot pockets on one side. The pockets are wide and deep enough to fit a pencil sharpener, some tape, a small box of ink cartridges, some AirPods, or anything else that's fairly small. At a minimum, it keeps those small objects from getting lost in the open sea of pens and pencils in the main compartment.

One the other side of the case is a flap that has three elastic pen loops built in to the top. This flap opens out of the case to expose the larger compartment in the middle, but then lays back on top when you're ready to zip up the case. This provides quick access to three of your favorite or most-used pens, and also provides extra protection for those lucky three. There's no padding in the flap, but the double layers of nylon are plenty of protection in such close quarters. This flap also keeps the pens in the main compartment from moving around too much when everything is zipped up. Overall, it's an interesting design that works really well in practice.

I've really enjoyed using the Nomadic PW-11 over the past few weeks. My first reaction was, "Do I really need another pen/pencil pouch?" But it quickly won me over with the lightweight material and extra perks both inside and outside the case. At just under $20, it's also a great deal.

If you're not a fan of the yellow-green I chose, you can also pick from a range of other classy colors, like Navy, Light Blue, Pink, and Black.

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

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!