For me everyday carry (or EDC) conjures up images of men who love to carry hand guns, automatic knives, tactical bottle openers and $300 flashlights in case of things like a zombie attack, or a stubborn pistachio shell. My everyday carry is a little bit less intense; I carry 1 small pen, the Zebra SL-F1, a small memo pad, keys and a phone.
So why is the Zebra SL-F1 my EDC choice? To start, it’s tiny. It measures a mere 3.25″ closed and extends to a reasonably comfortable 4.25″.
The pen can be opened with one hand, which is great for quick notes and because of the telescopic mechanism the point will not accidentally extend while in my pocket. Nothing more annoying than getting stabbed.
The SL-F1 comes with a good quality 0.7mm ballpoint refill which writes smoothly. I, however, use the Zebra Sharbo X gel refills in my pen as they come in 0.4mm, 0.5mm and a variety of colors. The gel ink runs out a bit faster than the regular ball point but the smooth gel ink is a worthwhile trade off.
The SL-F1 is quite skinny, .25″ in diameter at it widest point, so don’t plan on using this pen to write a long letter. The SL-F1 weighs 12 grams and feels high quality in hand. At $5 you cannot really go wrong with this little pen it’s great…I carry it everywhere.
Nakaya Desk Pen Stand with Nakaya Naka-ai Cigar Negoro Shiro-tamenuri
Last year I purchased my first Nakaya, a Naka-ai Cigar Negoro in Shiro-tameuri. I tried using the Naka-ai at work and found that it was a complete pain to use for a number of reasons. Being a cigar model it has no clip; I would have to use the pen with a Nakaya pillow so that it wouldn’t roll off the desk. That was annoying. The second issue is the threading on the Naka-ai; because this pen is designed to be finished with complex paintings and designs there is a lot of threading so that you cannot accidentally misalign the artwork (or in the case of the Negoro model, the scars).
These two “annoyances” make the Naka-ai unusable for quick notes. To remedy this issue I purchased a Nakaya desk pen stand and now my Naka-ai is a pleasure to use at work.
I had read that Nakaya desk pen stand is compatible with a lot of other common non-Nakaya pens so I opted for the basic plain black Urushi lacquer finish with gold trim as I thought this would work well with more of my pens.
with 1950s Montblanc 146with OMAS Paragon
I have found that the stand works very well with my Montblanc 146, my Aurora Optima, my OMAS Paragon, my OMAS Ogiva, and my Visconti Van Gogh (original model with the K locking cap. It may not work with the smaller more recent models). Nibs.com (no affiliation) lists many more compatible pens that I have not had the chance to try with the stand. Sadly it does not fit a Montblanc 149.
with Aurora Optimawith Visconti Van Gogh
The fit and finish is as good as any other Nakaya product. The lacquer is gorgeous. The stand is sturdy and will hold your pen at any angle you choose.
The base is made of wood and the bottom is not finished in lacquer as the top is; this prevents the base from sliding around.
Overall, I am really happy with the desk stand as it has made a number of my favorite pens more usable. The utility it provides makes the $140 price tag well worth it for me. I definitely recommend this stand to Nakaya Cigar owners as well as anyone that gets tried of uncapping their pens.
The Sport is easily Kaweco’s most famous model. Its ability to expand into a full sized pen is very appealing and as such I have been using one for several years now and I love it.
The AC Sport is one of the higher end models, featuring a gorgeous aluminum and carbon fiber body. Can the AC Sport really be worth five times the price of the standard Sport? Let’s find out.
Appearance
Kaweco was kind enough to send me several pens to review and the AC Sport immediately caught my eye. The red aluminum against the black carbon fiber is striking. I would have never picked this color combo but it’s fabulous.
The Kaweco Sport has a unique pocket friendly design. The cap is disproportionately large and because it is faceted it won’t roll off the desk. The small silver nib fits this pen well and the black Kaweco logo on the top of the cap is a nice touch. The carbon inside the facets though doesn’t look as clean as it could (more on this below). On the surface the AC Sport is beautiful pen.
Score: 4/5
Build Quality
Most Kaweco new nibs require a bit of breaking in, and after a lot of use and cleaning, I finally gave up and examined the nib under a loupe. I found that the AC’s double broad nib has a misshapen point that has been causing the pen to skip on upstrokes.
This is something that can be fixed by a nibmeister but in all honestly, I would have a hard time shelling out the dough to fix a cheap steel Bock nib. Bad nib? Check, now on the body.
It should certainly be noted that carbon fiber is an expensive and difficult material to work with, that said, I found some issues with the carbon that sits in facets of the AC. Some of the carbon pieces did not fit perfectly into their slots and I also noticed that all of the carbon pieces on the cap has some rough almost frayed edges (see below).
If you look closely you will see that the edges of the carbon fiver looks fuzzy.
The fit and finish of the rest of the pen is good. It is worth mentioning that with use the red aluminum will scratch.
After about a weeks worth of use I noticed that the threading had scratched. Not a big deal but you need to be careful if you want to keep the finish perfect.
The black Kaweco logo on the cap isn’t the most defined and that made it a bit tricky to photograph.
The issues with the carbon are minor and forgivable for a $120 pen but for me a misshapen nib is not. This is not a cheap pen and there really should be more quality control. I flushed the pen before I used it and the water came out completely clear, normally I would expect to see a bit of ink; this is a likely indication that the pen was not tested before leaving Kaweco.
Score: 2/5
Size & Weight
The Sport’s most prominent feature is its ability to transform from a mere 4.1” capped to 5.3” posted. The AC Sport weighs in at 22.5 grams and the standard plastic bodied Sport weighs less the half of that at 10.5 grams. The AC Sport is by no means a heavy pen but it does have enough weight to feel solid in hand.
My hands are on the smaller size and I find that I can use the pen unposted without any issue though people with larger hands will definitely need to use the cap as the body measures only 4”.
The small grip section is made from aluminum and has a medium sized diameter of about 0.6”. It feels a bit constrained, as there are not a lot of choices in where you can place your fingers.
I find the AC Sport to be fairly comfortable for long writing session but those with bigger hands may not.
Score: 3/5
Performance
The nib being a double broad is buttery smooth; it feels wonderful on paper but unfortunately due to the misshapen nib it doesn’t work all that well. The nib regularly skips on upstrokes.
I also had issues with ink flow. I normally store my fountain pens nib up but for this AC Sport I found that it can take a while to get the ink flowing properly; I was able to solve this problem for the most part by storing the pen nib down.
Notice the skipping in the figure 8s at the bottom.
Score: 1/5
Filling System
We have arrived at the major downside of the Sport’s size, its filling system. Because the body is so short this pen only accepts short international cartridges. A converter is too long to fit.
On the plus side, the Sport accepts a standard sized cartridge which will give you lots of choice when it comes to ink, but if you love bottled ink like me, you may find your self needing a syringe to fill empty cartridges with your favorite ink.
Score: 2/5
Value:
Considering that this pen uses the exact same Bock nib as you get on the standard $23 Sport, it is hard to argue that the AC Sport is a good value at $123. For the same sort money you could have the Pilot Vanishing Point with an 18k gold nib or the excellent Pelikan M205.
Would I recommend the AC Sport? Nope…but in the spirit of full disclosure, the moment I saw the AC in person, I knew wanted it for my collection; it really looks that good. If the nib wasn’t such a disappointment, I would have gladly paid the full $123 for this pen.
Score: 2/5
Bottom Line: This fantastic looking pocket pen is ultimately let down by its high price and poor quality control.
Final Score 14/30
Please note: this product was provided to me at no charge by Kaweco for review purposes.
Here are some great reviews of the Kaweco AC Sport:
(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)
Confession: Retro 51 is not the sort of pen company that I like. I strangely and perhaps misguidedly want an emotional attachment to my pens and this requires one of the following a) manufacturer with a romantic or storied history, b) a detailed account of how the pen is made and c) who made that pen. You get none of that with Retro 51; the company makes a few pen models with tons of designs; there is no about page and very little company info on the Retro 51 website.
The Tornado is Retro 51s most popular model and comes in many different designs; they come in lacquer, leather, various metals, and crossword designs and so on. The one I will be reviewing is the Lincoln Copper EXT version which features an antique brushed copper finish.
Appearance
When I first saw this pen I immediately wanted to touch it. The antique bushed copper finish looks fanatic, similar to that of an old penny. I cannot think of another pen with a similar finish. The cap features the knurling at the top, which is the Tornado’s signature feature. The copper is brushed at an angle and is consistent on the cap and barrel. At the top (just under the knurling) and bottom of the cap is a darker bushed copper, which is bused at a slightly sharper angle. Despite its thin appearance the clip feels very strong.
Under the cap is a big stainless Schmidt nib and a matte black plastic section. I would have loved to see an ancient copper colored nib with a Retro 51 logo but at this price point it’s not a huge deal.
Overall, I like the Tornado’s appearance; it is very casual looking but in a good way. If you are looking for a pen a diplomat would use, this isn’t it.
Score: 3/5
Build Quality
Plastic threading in the cap.
The weight of the metal body gives the pen a nice feel in hand. The threading on the barrel is metal and the threading on the inside of the cap is plastic. The twisting the cap on isn’t the smoothest but I haven’t found it to be distracting. The section threads are poorer and don’t feel nice in use. The nib and section look to be completely unmodified Schmidt components which is an indication that they didn’t put a lot of thought (or money) into making this pen a fountain pen. The matte plastic nib section looks cheap but feels fine to the touch and has no seams that I can see. The Schmidt nib has a plastic feed and is a bit out of alignment. While there clearly isn’t much handiwork used to produce the Tornado, I cannot really fault it too much at this price point. Are the best materials used? no, and while plastic section really doesn’t belong, everything on the pen is decently made.
Score: 3/5
Size & Weight
The Tornado measures approximately 5.5″ capped, 6.5″ posted and 5″ uncapped. It weighs just under 33 grams with an empty converter. The cap weighs about about 15 grams with most of its weight at the top of the cap and unfortunately this results in a poorly balanced pen when posted. I believe that its size, uncapped, will be comfortable for most people. The cap does post nicely but I do not recommend doing so other than to jot down some quick notes.
Score: 2/5
Performance
My Tornado came with a medium point Schmidt nib and it writes quite well. The nib is smooth and the flow is ample. I have had no issues with skipping or hard starting and I have left the ink in the pen for over a month. The feed is a bit out of alignment but I found no performance issues. The grip section is big and comfortable making this pen a good candidate for long writing sessions. The nib isn’t a nail but it is stiff and like most nibs in this price range, does not have a ton of character.
Score: 3/5
Filling System
The Tornado uses a converter/converter filling system. It was nice to see that a Schmidt converter was included with Tornado. I used the Schmidt converter in my tests and it works well and holds a good amount of ink for a converter but it isn’t a show piece; it is all plastic and its body isn’t as crystal clear as other convertors I have used. The plastic feed is large and was surprised by the mileage I got from dipping the pen. I can almost fill an entire A4 page before it ran out of ink.
Score: 3/5
Value
The Tornado in Lincoln Copper costs about $50 and in the $15-75 price range it is really about looks…when you start getting up to the $100 mark some pens will have more distinctive features like gold nibs, or piston fillers and so on. Retro 51 didn’t modify the Schmidt nib and section and while that isn’t a deal breaker, it definitely does not make the $50 price tag easier to swallow. The Copper finish is unique and if you love the look I could see shelling out the dough for this pen. I definitely recommend the Lamy Al-Star/Safari or Pilot Metropolitan over the Tornado as a starter pen because they give you more value for your money and have nibs that are easy and cheap to swap.
Score: 2.5/5
Bottom Line
The Tornado is a great pen but you really have to love its looks to justify the price tag. Final Score: 16.5/30
Please note: this product was provided to me at no charge by Retro 51 for review purposes.
Here are some great reviews of the Tornado:
(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)
The Rotring Tikky Graphic is a fiber tip drawing pen that features water resistant pigment ink. The Tikky comes in seven different tip sizes with black ink only.
The Tikky features a brown body with the famous red Rotring ring. There is a translucent ink view window that continues into the feed section. I like that you can see the ink level while the pen is capped. The look of this pen is quite pleasant despite the branding. I also cannot think of another disposable pen that uses a brown body, so in that way it is unique.
Rotring is famous for making excellent quality German-made technical drawing pens and to be honest the Tikky is a letdown. While I generally like fiber tip drawing pens, the Tikky is hands down the worst I have used in recent memory.
The 0.5mm tip is not particularly smooth, resulting in a considerable amount of resistance on the Rhodia pad I used. The lines are messy and I found that my lines began and ended with what I will call “snake tongue” (see below). I found no issues with ink flow or skipping.
Notice the “snake tongue” at the bottom of the Rs the T and the N.
I looked at the tip under a loupe to see if the tip was misshapen and I could not see any flaws; it looked perfectly formed. Even though I couldn’t see any problems with the tip, I may still have gotten a dud.
The Chinese-made Tikky costs $3.60 which is $2.30 more than the excellent German-made Steadtler Triplus Fineliner and a $1.10 more than the popular Japanese-made Sakura Pigma Micron. I cannot recommend the Tikky; a high price and poor performance do not go well together. Avoid this one.
Here is a great review of the Rotring Tikky:
(I have no affiliation with the site linked below)
The Sheaffer Taranis is the first modern Sheaffer fountain pen I have used in a long time. As with the Parker 51, it has been argued that Sheaffer’s vintage fountain pens are so plentiful (and consequently affordable) because in their day they were the best in the world. Take the Sheaffer Snorkel for example, these pens had one of the most complicated filling systems which allowed the user to fill the pen without dipping the nib in ink. I know us Montblanc lovers rave about the telescopic filling system used in the 1950s and earlier but on engineering merits alone the Snorkel goes far and beyond. I bought my Snorkel dirt cheap and it performs beautifully.
Sheaffer Taranis and Sheaffer Snorkel
Sheaffer has dubbed the Taranis “groundbreaking” so let’s see how the it measures up.
Appearance:
The Taranis gets its name from the Celtic god of thunder and as far as appearances go I don’t see a connection. Designed by architect Charles Debbas, the Taranis’ main feature is the patent pending grip section and semi-hooded nib. The idea behind the grip is that your fingers touch the resin parts, while the metal remains exposed such that you can see the Sheaffer name running down the section.
I like the design, however I have a few problems with the looks of the nib; viewed from the side, you can see that the nib really isn’t flush with the section which would be fine if the nib didn’t stick out so far, but it does. I think an inlaid nib would have looked better. The second issue I have (and perhaps this is just my problem and not the pen’s) is keeping the point in the correct position on the paper. I find that I am rotating the point away from its sweet spot and at quick glance it is not obvious; as a result, I find I am spending more brain cycles than normal trying to right its position.
Overall I am a fan of the tapered black resin body and the elongated clip with the classic white dot. It is a nice clean simple and balanced design. The Taranis comes in several colors; the black resin model that I am reviewing is referred to as “Stormy Night”. You can see from the pictures this pen is fingerprint prone. Score: 2.5/5
Build Quality:
The Taranis feels high quality and for $145 (retail), it really should. The bottom of the barrel has a nice brass lining and the cap is lined with plastic. The resin body has no seams and feels quite nice to the touch. The cap clicks securely on to the barrel and requires little effort to remove. The clip when viewed from the side looks a little cheap as it is hollow and thin looking but it does feel strong and tight. I was a little disappointed when I found out that the Taranis is made in China; I do not think that this necessarily is a negative on the quality front but I do think it should be pointed out. The Taranis is on par quality-wise with the majority of its competitors. Many pens in this price range have gold nibs and I would have definitely liked to have seen that on the Taranis. Score: 3/5
Size and Weight:
The Taranis weighs approximately 35 grams which is a comfortable weight, though a bit heavier than I normally like. The pen is well balanced such that it does not cause any comfort issues for me. Being that the brass lining is only in the bottom part of the barrel the pen has about the same balance capped and uncapped which is a rare quality that I quite like. Capped the pen measures 5.5″ and uncapped about 4.75″. At its widest point the Taranis is 0.5″ thick. This is a average-sized pen very similar in size and weight to a Pilot Vanishing Point. Score: 4/5
Sheaffer Taranis next to Pilot Vanishing Point
Performance:
The Taranis I tested has a steel medium point nib. The nib is quite smooth to write with but it is one of the narrowest medium nibs I have used. I would compare it to the medium on a Platinum or Sailor; the medium nib on my Pilot Vanishing Point was noticeably wider and juicier. The nib on the Taranis is definitely a nail and out of the box it had no character; as the nib broke in more, the character improved but it’s definitely not a lively or fun nib. I tried a couple of different inks in the Taranis and I found that the flow was a bit drier than I prefer but I have had no issues with skipping or hard starting. Score: 2.5/5
Filling System:
While a cartridge/converter filling system is not the most interesting, it is becoming my favorite as it’s the most easy to deal with on a daily basis. The Taranis uses Sheaffer’s proprietary cartridges and converters; this is a big drawback if you like to use cartridges, as you will be stuck with Sheaffer inks. On the plus side the converter that comes with the Taranis is nicely made and holds a decent amount of ink. Score: 2/5
Value:
With chrome trim the Taranis is $145 and with gold plated trim the Taranis is $195. I cannot say that this pen is a value. For $140 you can buy a Pilot Vanishing Point with an 18kt gold nib. The price for me is way to high to be compelling. There are so many great pens at this price point and by comparison the Taranis falls short. I really wanted to love this pen but sadly it just didn’t happen for me. Score: 2/5
Comes with a large nicely branded box.
Bottom Line:
The Taranis is a good pen with an interesting design but at this price point it just doesn’t make sense. Final Score: 16/30
Please note: this product was provided to me at no charge by Sheaffer for review purposes.
Here are some great reviews of the Sheaffer Taranis:
The Uni Jetstream 3 is a refillable three color (black, blue and red) ballpoint multi pen. The Jetstream 3, like all pens in Uni’s Jetstream line, writes very smoothly. The ink is fast drying and the pen always starts without a hitch. Being a ballpoint, the pen lays down lines that are not particularly clean and there is more resistance on the paper than you get from the equivalent roller ball or gel pen.
The translucent black body and rubber grip give the Jetstream 3 a simple and clean look.
Overall, the Jetstream 3 is a good ballpoint pen and I have found myself using it more than I thought I would.
Please note: this product was provided to me at no charge by JetPens for review purposes.
Much like the Pilot Precise, the Pilot Razor Point is a classic. The Razor Point is a simple felt tipped pen that (to my knowledge) has remained unchanged for at least a decade now. The completely opaque metallic blue plastic body and the thin metal clip are clues that this pen was designed quite a while ago. I personally find the design refreshing as I am so used to loudly colored pens with horrible branding and translucent bodies.
The Razor Point has an extra fine felt tip that writes with a smooth wet line and manages to stay true to its specified 0.5mm width.
There are a couple downsides to the Razor Point that its modern peers do not share. First off, the ink in the Razor Point tends to bleed more than other porous tip pens like the Copic Multiliner or the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner. Second, the tip is not particularly durable; in my experience the tip gets worn out before the pen runs out of ink.
While there are better felt tip pens out there, the Razor Point is really quite likeable and I think worth a try if you are curious about it.
Here are some great reviews of the Pilot Razor Point:
(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)
The Pilot Precise Rolling Ball pen is the predecessor to the very popular Pilot Precise V5 (and V7) and has been one of my favorite roller balls for quite a while now. Compared to the V5, the Precise is more satisfying to write with; to me it provides the right combination of smoothness and feedback.
The basic beige plastic body wont turn any heads but its understated looks really appeal to me. The Precise features a durable tungsten carbide ball and stainless steel point as well as the same clip and overall shape of the V5. Unlike the V5, it does not have an ink window or a visible feed. You wont find the Precise in most office supply stores anymore but they can easily be bought online. I still highly recommend this pen.
The Pilot VBall BeGreen is a roller ball pen with a body made from “81.6% recycled content”. First off, this isn’t the VBall I remember enjoying years ago; the design is much better but the pen as a whole is worse.
I really love the clean and elegant design of this pen; the inset metallic branding and the blue plastic cap combined with the translucent body and feed are excellent. For a disposable pen the VBall BeGreen gets an A+ in design.
As for writing, the VBall is quite scratchy. I compared it to the Uni Ball Micro Deluxe (another traditional liquid ink roller ball) and the difference was night and day. The Uni glided across the paper with more ease and left a cleaner line on the page. As I spent more time with the Vball I noticed that some parts of the tip were smoother than others; by twisting I could find both smooth and scratchy parts of the tip which makes me think I may have gotten a bad one.
I haven’t come across many duds that were made by Pilot in Japan but this might be one.
Here is a great review of the Pilot VBall BeGreen:
(I have no affiliation with the site linked below)
