The Uni Woodnote has a body made of North American cedar that is the same width and shape of a wood pencil, together with a bright green cap the pen looks fantastic. The Woodnote uses a Uni Signo gel ink refill and can take refills from the Uni Style Fit Multi Pen System so there are a lot options.
Everything sounds great right? WRONG! This the only pen that I can think of that is actually painful to simply hold. You have to be careful where you grip the pen because there are sharp points where hexagon body meets a cylindrical plastic section. The cap is loose when the Woodnote is capped and posted; this creates an annoying rattle. Take the cap off and you can hear the refill rattling in the body as well. The Woodnote is not a heavy pen by any means at 5.5 grams but it is too heavy to feel like a wood pencil. The Uni Signo 0.38mm refill is good quality and writes well for such a small point but considering the Woodnote is painful to use and costs $4.60 you would have to really like the pencil shape and/or pain to have a use for this thing.
The new Field Notes Drink Local EditionThe new Field Notes Drink Local Edition Back Cover with Coasters
As I have stated before in my Field Notes Calendar Review I didn’t like Field Notes right away because the paper was not fountain pen friendly. Not too long ago I saw a friend’s collection of limited edition Field Notes and I stopped caring so much about the paper.
Let’s talk about the paper; it’s okay, not great. I use my Field Notes with fountain pens and and there is some bleed through and very minor feathering with juicy pens. Some editions have slightly thicker paper than others but in general Field Notes do not do that well with fountain pens.
As you can see there is quite a lot of bleed through from the Montblanc and some minor spotting with both of the Auroras.
I love the Futura typeface and all of the interesting and amusing things that they print onto the covers. I also really like that they list how each Field Notes was manufactured and what materials were used. Here is the cover of the California County Fair Field Notes:
Field Notes measure 3.5″ x 5.5″ and come with 48 pages of blank, ruled, or graph paper. There are more variations in the limited editions, for instance, the Drink Local Edition has an amber colored grid paper and the Night Sky Edition used a reticle graph paper. You can subscribe to their Colors Subscription for $97 a year and you will get 4 quarterly shipments with two three-packs of the most recent limited edition as well as two three-packs of the standard Field Notes for a total of ten three-packs per year.
This is my modest collection of Field Notes…no Butcher Blue here
There are not many collectable paper products out there and certainly none that have been executed as well as Field Notes. If you are into pens and paper Field Notes are pretty hard to resist…I am contemplating a second Colors subscription.
I usually carry at least one Field Notes in my Midori Traveler’s notebook as they are really easy to slide in an out when I don’t need all the other notebooks in my Midori.
Here are some great Field Notes reviews:
(I have no affiliation with any of the sites linked below)
The Otho Graphic Liner is a roller ball pen with pigment ink that is both water proof and fade proof. There is a line width for everyone, 0.3mm to 1.5mm. The 0.5mm is my favorite as it is ultra smooth while still laying down a fine and sharp line. The Graphic Liner feels a bit like a porous tip fine liner with the smooth ink flow and a bit like a roller ball with the hard metal tip; it’s a great combination. The O.3mm is a little more needle-like than I prefer but it is still smoother than most 0.3mm pens I have tried, including the Pilot Hi-Tec-C gel pen. These pens are labeled with numbers that correspond to their various line widths, however they aren’t labeled in millimeters, instead the 0.3mm is a 005 and the 0.5mm is a 02 so be careful when you purchase. The Graphic Liner isn’t the most attractive with it’s black body and orange accents. The clip is strong and functional.
Otho classifies the Graphic Liner as a “free ink roller pen”, meaning that the pen has no “fibrous ink reservoir” (if anyone knows what that actually means please let me know). The Graphic Liner only comes in black but Otho makes other free ink roller pens that come in multiple colors, so I will definitely be giving those a try. At $2.50 ($2.65 for the 005) I highly recommend it; it is easily one of my favorite non-fountain pens.
Here are some great reviews on the Ohto Graphic Liner:
Pilot Ageless Pen – tip position 1 – fully retracted
The Pilot Ageless line comprises high quality pens with a patented two staged twist mechanism that completely retracts the pen tip. They come in two flavors: gel and ballpoint (the refills are not interchangeable). There are two barrel options that come in a variety of colors, the Future has a metal barrel with a silver grip section and the Presence has a plastic body with a translucent grey grip section.
Pilot Ageless Future – tip position 2Pilot Ageless Future – tip position 3
The design of the pen is nice and clean and is great for pockets as the tip completely retracts; no more getting stabbed by your pen. I like the Carbon Grey body of the Future which looks and feels high quality. The clip is small but strong. The Future is nicely weighted without being too heavy.
The Ageless Gel is one of the smoothest gel pens I have used. The refills only come in fine 0.7mm with blue or black ink and they aren’t that cheap; a pack of 12 costs $37 (about $3 a refill). The fine 0.7mm line is on the fatter side and the ink doesn’t look that sharp but I do enjoy writing with this pen and I can’t say that about many gel pens. The pen comes in a white tube which works as a storage box as well as a pen stand. The Pilot Ageless Future Gel makes a really nice gift for someone who wants a great everyday pen.
While I already wrote a review on Zebra Arbez EO, the Piitro was actually the first pen in the Arbez line. The Zebra Arbez Piitro was designed by a young Finnish designer to look like a icepick. The pens come in lightweight white or black plastic bodies with black, blue, or red ink. The ballpoint seems to be the same crappy one you get in the EO. This pen is more about the design (which I like much better than the Arbez EO) than the writing performance. The Piitro is different without looking like something made by Fisher-Price as the EO does. This pen features a nice twist mechanism and a plastic clip that is integrated into the main barrel section. There is a seam that goes right down the middle of the pen which is unfortunate and the top of the pen has some extra plastic but for $1.65 it’s not the end of the world.
Here are some great reviews of the Zebra Arbez Piitro:
(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)
I have been using a Staedtler Triplus Fineliner since my school days and it is still one of my favorite fineliners. The Triplus fineliner comes in 30 different colors and features a long thin triangle-shaped barrel with a metal encased tip. The tip is on the softer side but manages to still feel precise and ultra smooth. The Triplus fineliner puts down a very clean and crisp line that Staedtler measures at 0.3mm. I enjoy writing with this pen but others may find the line too wide. By changing pressure you can get some line variation.
The Triplus fineliner also features “DRY SAFE” technology that allows the pen to be uncapped for days without drying out. I haven’t tested this claim beyond 30 minutes but others have and attest that the Triplus wont dry out after a few days of being uncapped. It is worth noting that the ink is neither archival nor waterproof.
For a pen of this type, the Staedtler Triplus fineliner lasts a long time and at $1.30 a piece you can’t go wrong. Also if you buy these pens in a set the box turns into a pen stand which is awesome.
Here are some great reviews of the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner:
The Pilot 78G is a great looking budget fountain pen. The pen I will be reviewing has a bold nib that is actually a stub; I do not know why Pilot doesn’t offer this pen with a round tipped bold nib.
The nib writes quite well with some feedback but it is a bit dry for my taste; I may have to experiment with some different inks to find what works best with this pen.
The Pilot 78G comes with an aerometric-style converter and also accepts Pilot cartridges. It is rare for pens at this price point to come with a converter. For example, the ultra popular Lamy Safari at $35 doesn’t come with a converter; you have to pay an extra $5 to get one. Unlike the aerometric filling system found in a Parker 51 the Pilot’s doesn’t hold a lot of ink. If you plan to do a lot of writing you would be better served by using this pen with a cartridge.
The body is made of a lightweight black plastic and features a gold plated steel nib and clip. The 78G weighs in at about half an ounce which is lighter than I prefer. Capped it measures about 5.25″ and is 0.5″ wide at its widest point. The grip section is a problem, at less than a quarter inch wide I find it too skinny to be comfortable for long writing sessions. If you have larger hands or a tight grip this pen may be a bit too small for you. The body of the 78G seems to scratch quite easily but at this price point it’s not that big of a deal.
I have been using the Pilot 78G for 7 days straight now and it is great for taking notes. Compared to my Lamy Safari w/1.1mm stub, the Pilot 78G writes better, looks better and costs a fourth of the price. In short the Pilot 78G is great entry-level fountain pen that I highly recommend.
Pilot 78G fountain pen writing sample. Diamine Ultra Green ink on Maruman P160 Report Pad.
Here are some great reviews of the Pilot 78G fountain pen:
While there are a lot of things I don’t like about the Pilot FriXion Clicker Erasable Gel Pen, it is easily the best erasable pen I have used.
Sorry about the picture quality. Out of town for the weekend and forgot my camera.
One thing I didn’t mention in the written review is that the eraser doesn’t make a mess like a normal pencil eraser. The ink disappears with heat caused by the “frixion” of the eraser against the paper.
I have never been a fan of non-gel ballpoints; the ink is generally inconsistent and not particularly vivid. I have received ballpoints as gifts on a number of occasions and on a pen blog it would be wrong to ignore them.
The S.T. Dupont Liberté ballpoint is made from a brass barrel finished in black lacquer (not the more expensive Chinese lacquer S.T. Dupont is famous for) with palladium accents. The tapered design is elegant and the top of the cap its faceted with “D” in metal. Even though this is a lower end model for S.T. Dupont it still costs a whopping $480 retail. The Liberté is a fingerprint magnet and that drives me nuts but the fit and finish is exceptional.
The Liberté weighs in at 1.16oz which makes it a heavier pen but in my hand it is incredibly well balanced. The body of the pen attaches to the cap with threading on the INSIDE of the barrel (see below). To deploy and retract the ballpoint you simply twist the pen. The twist mechanism is both very smooth and very crisp.
The ballpoint is an S.T. Dupont branded EasyFLOW Schmidt refill that is unusually smooth. It is so smooth in fact that I felt inclined to write in my normal cursive-esque hand. Unfortunately the look of the ink is unusually hideous. The easyFLOW refill always starts up without delay which is nice but when the ink looks this washed out and faint who really cares?
With a better refill The S.T. Dupont Liberté would be a great ballpoint pen that quality-wise is superior to many pens in the same price-range (the modern version of the Montblanc Meisterstück and the Cartier Diabolo come to mind).
I want to start off this post by saying that I love fineliners. Fountain pens are my favorite but fineliners are a close second for their lovely feel, portability, and ease of use. Now on to the review:
The Stabilo Sensor features a micro-cushioning “sensor” technology that is supposed to make long writing sessions more comfortable. The fineliner tip retracts into the metal casing when pressure is applied. For me it feels a bit weird. The pen feels bouncy on the paper and I don’t feel quite as in control as I do with other fineliners. The tip is smooth and glides along the paper nicely. I am not really sure I care for the looks of this pen. The “aluminum look” doesn’t look back but I don’t care for all of the big bold branding; to me it doesn’t have a professional look, it looks like a marker. The Sensor comes in black, blue, red, and green. For $1.60 this isn’t a bad pen but I can’t say I will be rushing out to buy another one.
The pros:
The tip being cased in metal is durable and works well with a ruler
No ink bleed on to the paper
The cons:
The black isn’t as dark as other fineliners like the Ohto Graphic Liner (review to come)
Ink is non-archival
Springy tip feels odd
Here are some great reviews of the Stabilo Sensor:
(I have no affiliation with any of the sites below)
