Roller Ball

Hermes Nautilus Rollerball Pen!

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After finishing a very nice meal in Osaka I received the bill and inside the folio I found an Hermes Nautilus.

The Nautilus is a capless pen produced by Pilot for Hermes and when it was released in October of last year for an eye-watering $1,670 USD I wrote it off (pun intended) as an overpriced Pilot Vanishing Point.

Well I was wrong…the pen amazed me to the point that I felt compelled to shoot a quick video of it:

[wpvideo 3jbB6jVM]

It really feels wonderful in hand and the mechanism is butter smooth.  The rollerball version I used is slightly cheaper at $1,380 USD but if you are going to spend that much money you might as well get the fountain pen.

I am quite smitten with this pen but $1,670 is simply too much.  If they did a Pilot branded version for half the price I would buy it.

 

Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Roller Ball Pen Review

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Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Roller Ball Pen

I received this pen as gift and while it was a lovely gesture, I didn’t like the pen.  Touching a perfectly polished piece of sterling silver was unpleasant for me.  I tried using it but found that I was spending more time polishing it with the robin’s egg blue Tiffany sleeve than actually writing with it.

Recently, upon cleaning out some drawers I found the pen again and started using it.  This time I told myself I wouldn’t endlessly try to polish the pen I would just use it.

The pen is a very simple straight sterling silver cylinder with a clip that has been engraved “T & CO”, “925” (92.5% silver), “1837” (Tiffany’s founding year).  Around the bottom of the cap reads “Tiffany & Co. 925” and “Germany”.

Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Roller Ball Pen

The pen weighs 27.4 grams and measures 14cm long and 1cm wide.  This is a pretty thin pen but I have found it comfortable enough to write with for a longer period of time.

Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Roller Ball Pen

I believe that this pen is manufactured for Tiffany & Co. by Waldmann of Germany.  The grip section is a seamless resin with a stainless steel (?) point that does not match the sterling silver on the cap and barrel.  It is quite noticeable to me that these two silver colored metals do not match.

Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Roller Ball Pen

The Tiffany branded Schmidt rollerball refill writes well but it’s nothing noteworthy.  I am going to see if I can find a fineliner refill for this pen.

Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Roller Ball Pen

The more I use the pen the more I like sterling silver as a pen material.  Sterling silver evolves sort of like a urushi lacquer and I like that.

From what I can tell these pens cost about $200 which isn’t a terrible price for solid sterling silver though this isn’t something I would buy for myself but I like it nonetheless.

I think I see a sterling silver Yard-O-Led fountain pen in my future.

Uni-Ball 5 Roller Ball Pen Review

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Uni-Ball 5 Roller Ball Pen

The Uni-Ball 5 is a roller ball pen that I can find almost no information on.  I couldn’t find this pen on Mitsubishi’s (Uni) Japanese site (http://www.mpuni.co.jp/) nor on their US site nor on Google.  Here is what I do know:

I bought this pen from Itoya in Tokyo for 100 YEN (a bit less than a $1USD).  It is a roller ball with a 0.5mm point.  The ink is ultra smooth and fast drying.

Uni-Ball 5 Roller Ball Pen

I put the Uni-Ball 5 up again three other traditional roller balls, the Pilot V Ball, the Pilot Precise Rolling Ball, and the Uni-Ball Deluxe Micro (all 0.5mm).

Uni-Ball 5 Roller Ball Pen

The Uni-Ball 5 was the clear winner for me.  The lines are tight and sharp and it’s the smoothest writer out of all of them.  In terms of price its most clear competitor is the Pilot Precise Rolling Ball and comparing them more closely the Pilot had a more liquid and fluid feel where the Uni had a more viscous, thicker feel (though clearly a liquid ink).  I also found that the dry times for the Uni-Ball 5 were faster than that of the Pilot Precise.  With that said the Pilot Precise’s feel on paper is more unique and a bit more fun but objectively it really isn’t a better pen.

Uni-Ball 5 Roller Ball Pen

In short the Uni-Ball is the best writing disposable roller ball pen I have come across under $1.  I almost think I might like it better than the Ohto Graphic Liner.  I don’t know how to buy them in the USA, so if anyone out there knows of a place or has more information on this pen I would love to hear from you.

Uni-Ball Vision RT Roller Ball Fine Pen Review

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Uniball Vision RT

The Uni-Ball Vision RT is a retractable roller ball pen.  Uni states that this pen has “triple protection against ink leakage” and is airplane safe.  I am not certain what consists of triple protection but it sounds nice.  The fine point retracts when you pull on the clip making it a safe for pockets.  I quite like the design of this pen; someone clearly put thought into it.

In the writing sample I incorrectly state that the pen is not refillable; it is in fact refillable.

On to the bad…

Uniball Vision RT

When I first used this pen I thought it was a ballpoint because the pen wrote so dryly. “Roller ball” usually means liquid ink but Vision RT feels pasty like an oil based ink.  The lines as you can see in the image above are not clean.  This is easily the worst writing roller ball I have come across.  At a dollar I would say it’s passable but $2.00 is too much for this level of performance.  Uni usually makes excellent product but the Uni-Ball Vision RT is a rare miss.

Here are some reviews of the Uni-Ball Vision RT Roller Ball:

(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)

A Penchant for Paper – Uni-ball Vision RT Bold 0.8mm Black

Office Supply Geek – Uniball Vision RT .6mm

The Pen Addict – Review: Uni-Ball Vision RT

Gourmet Pens – Review: Uni-ball Vision RT 0.8 mm Rollerball Pen

J. Herbin Refillable Roller Ball Review

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J. Herbin Roller Ball

J. Herbin is the oldest ink manufacturer in the world and was established in 1670.  The J. Herbin roller ball is special because it is designed to use fountain pen ink.  It takes short standard international cartridges which gives you a very wide variety of inks to choose from.  I have been able to fit a Monteverde mini ink converter and now the ink possibilities are endless.

When I received the pen the first thing I noticed was that it was quite small at 4.5″ capped and about 5.5″ posted.  The translucent demonstrator body is decently made.  If you look closely you can see some seams but you cannot feel them.  The metal clip feels pretty sturdy.  I don’t like the “J. HERBIN” in red along the cap; I would have preferred something more subtle. There are three little holes on the bottom of the body so this pen could not be used as an eyedropper.  The cap snaps on to the body to close and posts securely.  Due to the small size of the pen, some people will need to post the cap to use this pen comfortably.

J. Herbin Roller Ball

I filled the pen with Diamine Turquoise and the roller ball wrote quite well.  Nice clean lines no skipping or any other bad behavior to report.  It is not as smooth as a hybrid gel ink roller ball but that is to be expected.  The line is about a medium width.  The Monteverde mini converter does not hold a lot of ink so the standard international cartridge may be a better choice for some.

J. Herbin Roller Ball

Overall I really like this little pen; it’s well-made, a good writer and can use all my favorite inks but if you are willing to put up with the hassle of fountain pen ink and cleaning the feed when changing colors why wouldn’t you use a fountain pen instead?  I can’t come up with any reasons.

Here are some great reviews of the J. Herbin Roller Ball:

East West Everywhere – J. Herbin Rollerball

Paper Pens Ink – Review of the J Herbin rollerball

The Well-Appointed Desk – J. Herbin Rollerball Fail

Life Imitates Doodles – Review of the J Herbin Rollerball Pen and Ink Cartridges

Ink of Me Fondly – J. Herbin Refillable Roller Ball Pen

Pentel EnerGel Euro Liquid Gel Pen 0.5mm Blue – Reivew

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Pentel Energel

The Pentel EnerGel Euro uses a liquid gel ink that writes very smoothly and dries quickly.  The line is crisp and a true 0.5mm.  The pen has a blue almost metallic-looking body made of partially recycled plastic.  The body has a lot writing on it as well as a bar code which make the pen ugly and generic looking.  The latex free grip is quite comfortable and I like translucent blue plastic between the grip and the metal tip; it has these unusual faceted points.  The cap also snaps onto the body when posted which is a feature I love.

Pentel EnerGel

The EnerGel Euro comes in black, blue, and red as well as four tip sizes 0.35mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm and 1.0mm.  The EnerGel Euro costs $2.75 and is not refillable.  This is an excellent pen and if you don’t mind the generic looks I highly recommend it.

Here are some great reviews of the Pentel EnerGel Euro:

 

No Pen Intended – Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle-Point Gel Ink Pen – 0.35 mm – Black

Office Supply Geek – Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle-Point Gel Ink Pen

The Pen Addict – Review: Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle-Point Gel Ink Pen 0.35mm Blue

A Penchant for Paper – Pentel EnerGel Euro 0.35mm Black

Gourmet Pens – Review: Pentel EnerGel Euro Black 0.5 mm Needle Point

Morning Glory Mach 3 0.38mm Roller Ball Pen – Review

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Morning Glory Mach 3

The Morning Glory Mach 3 is a disposable roller ball pen with a fine 0.38mm tip.  The Mach 3 writes with a crisp and clean line but it is not very smooth.  The ink is neither waterproof nor archival safe.  There is an ink level window on the pen body and the grip is made of a translucent plastic that lets you see the feed.  I like that the cap snaps onto the body when posted.  The look of this pen is pretty mediocre and the clip has rough edges that gives an air of cheapness.  At $2.00 the Mach 3 is well priced but for a little bit more you can have a much better pen such as the Pilot Hi-Tec-C and the Otho Graphic Liner.

Here are some other reviews of the Mach 3:

(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)

Good Pens –  Surprise…Morning Glory Mach 3

The Pen Addict –  Morning Glory Mach 3 Roller Ball Pen 0.38 mm Review