Pelikan Jazz Velvet Ballpoint Pen Review

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

You ever pick up a pen that you think is new to you, only to discover you've used it in the past? That's me when I recently picked up a Pelikan Jazz Velvet ballpoint pen to try out. Turns out, I had picked up a Pelikan Giant 337 to try out back in 2020 and really had no memory of it at all. Even better, Brad reviewed this exact pen back in 2021, only in a different body color. Time goes by so quickly, and it's easy to miss or forget things! But I'm really glad the Pelikan Jazz Velvet and its Giant refill made it back into my life.

The Jazz Velvet is a ballpoint pen that uses the ubiquitous Parker-style refill shape. The refill doesn't use a hybrid ink formula, either. Just a huge amount of traditional blue ballpoint ink.

Given the price (around $14), I really wasn't expecting much from this pen. I assumed it would provide a mediocre writing experience and come with an ink that isn't bold or saturated. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to complain about either for the price. My assumptions were dead wrong.

This pen doesn't look like an expensive pen on the outside, and I wouldn't expect it to given the price. But what I didn't expect at all was that it feels so great in the hand. The balance is perfect thanks to the heavy top end and tapered body. For my writing grip, it's perfect and feels fantastic. The matte blue coating over the barrel has just enough texture and oil-resistance to provide superb grip. Every time I pick this pen up and start writing, I'm surprised by how much I like it.

This pen uses a twist mechanism to extend and retract the writing tip. This motion was really stiff and imprecise when I first got the pen, but after a couple dozen cycles with regular use, it feels a lot smoother and predictable. It's easy enough to operate with one hand, but I normally use two hands because that's a little quicker.

The all metal top portion of the pen also holds the signature Pelikan clip, which does its job beautifully. It keeps the pen attached to stuff and also prevents it from rolling away.

Writing with the Giant refill in this pen is another factor that makes the pen so surprisingly good to use. It's a really smooth refill that has bold, crisp ink. It starts easily, doesn't skip, and produces clean lines when writing. I love it, and I'm starting to prefer it over my trusty Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 refills for this refill shape.

At $14, I think the Pelikan Jazz Velvet is a sleeper and a fantastic deal. Since the refill costs almost $12, it's even more shocking that the pen feels so great in the hand. Seriously, just add one to your next order and have some fun using it and comparing it to your other favorite Parker-style refills.

(Goldspot provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Faber-Castell Grip X Ballpoint Pen Review

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

Faber-Castell isn't a brand that I typically associate with ballpoint pens, but turns out they have a lot of options in that category. The one I've been trying out lately, the Grip X, is a ballpoint pen that does well against other popular ballpoint pen refills.

The Grip X is an odd-looking pen — let's get that out of the way. The light gray and silver plastic body and color-matched silicone grip section and clip aren't my favorite features. It looks similar to a fineliner, but upon closer inspection you can tell it's a retractable pen with a fairly low-cost plastic barrel. While you can definitely unscrew the nose cone of the pen and remove (and replace) the refill, I don't think these were meant to be refilled. Similar to Bic pens, these are disposable. You can purchases these pens in bulk to stock up the office supply closet. Durability and longevity are not a main consideration with this pen.

Looks and disposable build quality aside, this pen is a fantastic writer and compares well against other low-cost disposable ballpoint pens. The pack I have included three 0.7mm pens in blue, black, and red. I'm not sure there are other color options (at least not widely available), but these at least cover the basics for office use.

The Grip X is a three-sided barrel with a soft silicone grip section (that also has three sides). The tri-sided grip is subtle, but I can feel the edges when writing with the pen. This makes the pen easy to control and handle when writing. The barrel is fairly slim, so the silicone grip and three sides add just the right small amount of tactile grip that it needs to make it really comfortable. I've found writing with the Grip X for long sessions is quite comfortable.

Getting to the real attraction of this pen: the refill. The 0.7mm tip produces exactly the line width you'd expect when comparing to other ballpoint pens. It's a fine line with crisp edges and smooth flow. It can take a couple of scribbles to get the ink flowing after the pen has been sitting for a while, but it's really quick to start in most cases.

The low-viscosity ink formula makes for a smooth flow, easy starting, bold ink colors, and clean lines. All three colors are fantastic. The black is dark and thick, and the blue and red are both bold and bright. As far as basic ink colors go, these do a great job.

Comparing these ballpoints to others in the same price category, they stand up really well. I still prefer using a Pilot Acroball or Uni Jetstream over this, but it's a close call. When it comes to something like a Schmidt EasyFlow or Parker Quink, the difference is even smaller. Pretty impressive considering how much more the Schmidt and Parker refills cost!

Overall, I've been pleasantly surprised by these pens. At first glance, they look boring. Since they look boring and old, I expect them to have a sub-par writing experience too. In this case, I'm happy to be wrong.

The Faber-Castell Grip X isn't ubiquitous in stationery stores, so you might have to search local online retailers and stores to find some. In the US, you can find the three color pack on Amazon for less than $10. The Grip X has been a great reminder to me than cheap, disposable pens can still be surprising and exciting regardless of your level of addiction in this hobby. Give them a try if you find them!

(Faber-Castell Malaysia provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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

Zebra bLen Ballpoint Pen Review

I was late to the Zebra bLen party.

When the 2020 OKB48 results dropped, a pen I had never heard of slotted in at number two. New pens sneak up on me all the time, but I would expect them further down the 48-pen list. Not directly into the number two spot.

I had a friend reach out at the time and offer to send me over one to check out, as they were only available in Japan on launch. And it was good. I liked it. And then I misplaced it, or maybe even gave it away. Why I didn’t slot it into the review queue at the time is odd for me, but now that the bLen has become even more popular, and propagated worldwide, it is time to correct that miss.

The marketing of the bLen revolves around two things: Zebra’s emulsion ink technology, and unique barrel construction.

Originally launched as Z-Mulsion ink, this was Zebra’s answer to the hybrid ballpoint ink technology popularized by the Uni-ball Jetstream, and later, the Pilot Acroball. What hybrid ballpoint inks offer is a far superior ink formula over the purely oil-based traditional ballpoint ink. It’s smoother, darker, cleaner, and more consistent. In short, this ink is far better than typical ballpoint ink.

Z-Mulsion didn’t exactly take off for Zebra on it’s first go-round. But going back to the drawing board and building around a solid refill put them on the path to a better product in the end.

In collaboration with Japanese-Canadian designer Saki Oki, the bLen barrel was engineered for silence. How often have you heard that in pen design? And if you haven’t, you know exactly what it means. Often times when using pens, primarily retractable pens, there is rattling going on in the barrel. It could be from the tip area where the refill is exposed, or it could be in the internals where the knock mechanism resides. The bLen was designed to eliminate all of that sound and vibration.

And it works. The Zebra bLen barrel is lightweight, and solid. The knock engages cleanly, and is quiet. The tip is cushioned, and smooth. Overall, Zebra delivered on their design ideas.

That design allows the refill to shine. Zebra always had something with the Z-Mulsion ink, but it didn’t land from a design and marketing perspective. Now with this unique barrel design, the refill performance is able to be noticed. I have an 0.5 mm Blue and an 0.7 mm Black in hand to test, and they are fantastic to write with. The 0.7 mm will win the popularity contest due to the tip size, but I, of course, have a soft spot for the 0.5 mm.

As much as I like this ink (especially the Blue 0.5 mm,) I do think both the Uni-ball Jetstream and Pilot Acroball do it slightly better. If the Jetstream was a 9 out of 10 ink performance, the Acroball is an 8/10, and the bLen is a 7/10. Still good, but a clear third place for me. The barrel practically makes up the difference, though. It’s that good.

The lines on both pens are consistent, and fine. Compared to similar tip sizes in gel and rollerball pens, the line from ballpoints is narrower on the page. The ink doesn’t spread on the page like the other two, despite the same manufacturing size of the tip.

I did see a little bit of what I call “spidering” in some of my writing, more from the Black 0.7 mm tip than the Blue 0.5 mm. If you look at the word “meaning” above, you will see a strand of ink from the bottom left of the A, to the top of the I-like a spider’s web.

I’m really enjoying the Zebra bLen now that I’ve given it some dedicated usage time. At $2.50, they are competitively priced, and have become more widely available. With the success Zebra has seen with this pen barrel, they launched a gel ink bLen option as well, which I’ll be looking at soon.

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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