In Pen Review

Pen Review: Sharpie S-Gel and Roller Pens

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments
Pen Review: Sharpie S-Gel and Roller Pens

When I saw that Sharpie had expanded their pen line-up to include gel and rollerball pens, I couldn’t resist giving this Big Box brand a quick look. I have always been a fan of the Sharpie Pen (the felt tip/fiber tip version) and, of course, the ubiquitous alcohol-based Sharpie Markers for labelling boxes and other big jobs. As Big Box pens go, Sharpie is a pretty safe option so I was really hoping that their new S-Gel and Roller pens would also be a bright spot in the Big Box pen world.

The Sharpie S-Gel ($1.75, available in 0.5mm, 0.7mm and 1.0mm in black, blue and red) features a knock mechanism, plastic clip and conical point. The S-Gel pen also features a hard rubber grip section and was probably the only thing I wasn’t thrilled about. The etched grooves and hard rubber surface pressed into my hands noticeably. However, the writing experience was excellent. The ink was smooth flowing and consistent, even for this janky lefty.

I got a 0.5mm red as that was all that was in stock when I ordered and the color was a clean, readable red.

Sharpie S-Gel 05 nib close up

The Sharpie Roller 05 ($2.25, available in black, blue and red and also in 0.7mm) features a snap cap with a metal clip and a needletip point. The ink was super smooth and a rich dark black. The pen reminded me of the gateway pen of my youth — the Pilot V5 — it was a delight. The V5 had a tendency to collect paper lint but in the writing I did, the Sharpie Roller seemed a bit smoother and maybe less likely to get clogged with paper fibers and gummy on the end. Longer testing will have to occur to determine for sure.

Sharpie Roller 05 pen nib close-up

So far, the Sharpie Roller is a delightful writing experience and I’ll be the first to tell you that rollerballs and I DO NOT GET ALONG. I am a lefty who tends to overwrite which causes me to push the tip and that will inevitably choke a pen feed. But not this rollerball. The longer I wrote, the smoother it felt. The smooth barrel did not have any bumpy grip section either so — surprise, surprise! — I think I like the Sharpie Roller a little more the S-Gel. I know… stunned me too.

Sharpie S-Gel and Roller 05 pens
(I took thee photos of the writing sample before I actually did my water proof test. Oops!)

 

As expected, the smooth gel ink in the Sharpie S-Gel is not waterproof or even particularly water resistant but the ink in the Sharpie Roller is highly water resistant when dry.

If you’ve been looking for a new Big Box pen to grab or add to your office stationery cupboard order, I highly recommend the Sharpie S-Gel and Roller. They will not make you groan when you have to pick up a pen off the conference room table or add to your sharing pen cup. But someone else might walk away with them — and that’s okay. You may have started someone down the path to better pens.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Ink Review

Ink Review: izumi’s Pink Rose Gold

Author Jessica ColesPosted on Leave a comment
Ink Review: izumi’s Pink Rose Gold

I recently received a lovely package from izumi Pen Company – a bottle of their store exclusive Pink Rose Gold ink, made for them by de Atramentis. The ink came wrapped in a beautiful bag with tissue paper surrounding it. The packaging alone made the ink feel extra special. Thank you, izumi!

I had not heard anything about izumi before this. The store is in the UK which brings to mind overseas shipping costs. However, even for international shipping, the price is 11 pounds ($15.50 at the moment) which feels reasonable for distance.

In the bottle, the ink appears reddish orange with plenty of sparkle. LOTS of sparkle. One interesting observation – the sparkle seems to be present in more than one slake size. As the larger particles settle, a very fine sparkle stays suspended in the ink.

The ink only looks reddish in the bottle. On a Col-o-ring card, it is PINK. A bright bubblegum pink that leans just a bit towards blue.

Pink Rose Gold is a bit darker than ColorVerse Girls Just Wanna and a bit more blue than Private Reserve Rose Rage. Diamine Cerise is the closest, but Pink Rose Gold doesn’t have the sheen you find in Cerise.

I used a JOWO 1.5 stub in a Woodshed Pens pink ribbon demonstrator as an eyedropper. Pink was everywhere.

I found that the sparkle in Pink Rose Gold is quite dependent on the lighting and angle of the page to that lighting. In the photo below, I have tried to show what the page looks like with non-direct lighting.

But angle the same writing towards the light and it shines.

I noticed that the sparkle stays in the ink much longer than other sparkle inks, even others from de Atramentis. Typically, the first line of writing with a sparkle ink contains the shine but the sparkle is gone halfway down the page. Pink Rose Gold had sparkle during this whole page. This page is in a Cosmo Air Light notebook from Musubi.

I had to see just how much sparkle I could get in big drops.

In the right lighting, it is super shiny! While the ink was still wet, it was difficult to tell the color of the sparkle. Once dry in these large drops, though, the coppery rose gold is obvious. A small amount of feathering occurred at the edges of the drops but the ink didn’t bleed through the page! Plus one for Cosmo Air Light paper.

On Tomoe River paper, there was no feathering, but the bubblegum pink was slightly less saturated.

The sparkle was still everywhere, though.

Overall, Pink Rose Gold was not what I was expecting from a sparkle ink. The particles stayed suspended much longer than other sparkly inks I have tried but I never experienced the dry writing or clogging I have seen in other inks. In fact, I’ve had it in my pen for over a week now and have yet to see even a slow start.

For me, that means I will absolutely use the ink often, although I will keep it to large nibs and use it only in pens that are easy to clean out. One small note of caution – this sparkle will stick to facing notebook pages and your fingers even after the ink is dry!

I loved the personalized note included with this bottle of ink, complete with a store sticker. I look forward to seeing the future of izumi!

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purposes of this review by izumi Pen Store. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Up, Down or Over?

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Up, Down or Over?

Today’s intro is going to be a little brief. This weekend I came down with a cold. By Sunday, I had to wonder… is it a cold? So, in a torrential downpour on Sunday, I went for a COVID-19 test, just to be sure. It was negative. Yeah, I don’t have the ‘rona. But I still have a cold. So, I have been slogging through the week with the sniffles and a cough and today my voice sounds all weird and gravelly — more so than usual. But no ‘rona. So I’m relieved, but still annoyed. 

I highly recommend reading our lone pencil post this week that delves into some patent disputes in the history of pens and pencils. It makes me wonder if these patent disputes regarding pen and pencil shapes could or do happen today?

Two lifelong debates are settled here this week: the first about how to store your pens and the other on which way toilet paper should be rolled.

Finally, big thanks to Laura and her exhaustive efforts, the Pen Show Schedule has been updated and includes all current show dates and links for 2021 and what we know for 2022.

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

We need each other. Please support our sponsors and affiliates. Your patronage will let them know you appreciate their support of the pen community. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In Paper Review

Notebook Review & Giveaway: TRU RED Notebooks and Pens

Author Laura CameronPosted on 51 Comments

A few weeks ago we were contacted by Staples e-commerce team to see if we were interested in reviewing the TRU RED line of notebooks and pens. TRU RED is a brand developed and carried by Staples.com, but you can also find TRU RED products at Target and Walmart.

The TRU RED Expert Notetaking Collection was designed to expand and enhance the process of note taking. Studies of all ages have shown that taking notes with pen and paper is often more effective than taking notes digitally. For some reason your brain seems to remember and retain more through the process of physically writing. Taking notes by hand also allows you to doodle, sketch and add a little more creativity to the process. When developing the TRU RED line, the development team spent two years studying note taking techniques used by thinkers like Leonard da Vinci, Charles Darwin and Richard Branson to incorporate the best practices into the notebooks. The result is a line including Pocket, Starter, Explore and Mastery options to help you map, chart, and take great notes. They’ve also added some rollerball and gel pens to help you in the process (and add a little color coding).

I was sent quite a few products to review, and some duplicates for giveaways, so away we go!

The TRU Red Mastery Journal + Pocket Journal ($19.49)

The Mastery Journal has been designed for the “experienced notetaker.” The notebook is a simple black canvas hard cover journal, measuring 8.5″ x 10.25″ (the paper is 8″ x 10″), has approximately 96 sheets/192 pages of narrow ruled white paper. The front inside cover has an envelope for holding loose leaf notes. The first full page outlines the features of the book including: elastic closure, room between the pages and the edges of the journal for a pen, and three different colored ribbons for marking your place (red, black and white). Pages in the journal are numbered and include an index at the front, highlighted top corners for easy bookmarking, small tick marks to aid in adding lines to a page (for creating easy columns), and handy reminder tips at the bottom of the pages. The last pages of the book include a wrap-up section to summarize the contents of the book and highlight anything you might want to explore further.

This package also included a small pocket journal, measuring 3.5″ x 5.5″. The pocket journal has a soft red canvas cover, and contains approximately 24 pages of the same white paper.

The verdict: This is a reasonably priced journal with lots of freedom for note taking, journaling and recording your ideas. If you’re interested in keeping your notebooks longer term (as opposed to taking notes and tossing when you’re done), this is a nice choice. The slim line will be easy to store on shelves and keep things neat and tidy. I do like the metal reinforcements where the elastic loop fits and think they add a nice design touch, as well as a way to keep the edges of the notebook from getting bent with use. The paper is these notebooks is not bad (no specifics – just labeled as white premium paper). The rollerballs and gel pens that are part of the collection worked well, as expected. The paper did handle some fountain pen inks as well though I noticed some feathering of the Colorverse ink. Overall not much bleed through on any of the options. I’d say if you’re a fine to medium nib user and have a light hand (which I do not), you’ll get away with using your fountain pens with this one.

TRU RED Starter Journal ($17.99)

The TRU RED Starter Journal is designed for the notetaker who wants to accomplish their goals. This is a  textured grey hard cover journal, measuring 8.25″ x 10.25″ (the paper is 8″ x 10″), and has approximately 96 sheets/192 pages of narrow ruled white paper. The front inside cover has an envelope for holding loose leaf notes as well as some tips on how to best use the book for note taking. Other features include an elastic closure at the bottom right corner and an elastic pen loop at the spine. Pages in the journal are numbered and come in a variety of formats: plain, narrow-ruled pages for note taking, and every 5 pages a perforated edge for to-do lists, or blank pages for idea sketching.

The verdict: This journal is kind of a mixed bag in terms of what you could use it for. If you find yourself needing to take notes, make to-do lists and occasionally sketching out creative ideas this book might be a good fit for you. The paper in this journal is the same as that up above, albeit with slightly different formatting. Rollerballs and gels work just fine, use some caution with your fountain pens.

TRU RED Graphed Journal ($13.99)

The TRU RED Graphed Journal is a journal for those who love graph paper! The synthetic leather cover is a cross between a soft and hard cover – it has definite form, but it doesn’t feel like there is a harder bit of cardboard inside. The inside front and back pages are a grey and black graph design, and the remainder of the pages are ivory. The book contains 128 sheets/256 pages. There is also an elastic loop for closure, and there are two ribbon bookmarks in black and grey.

The verdict: This is probably the best format for me, mostly because of size and flexibility in taking notes, although of course I’m a dot grid girl. To me this is the perfect book to throw into a purse or a bag; large enough to take decent notes and sketch a design idea, and small enough to be portable. The paper in this book is slightly different, and I found a lot of bleed through with both the Rollerballs and the fountain pen inks. This book might be best for gel pens and ball points.

TRU RED RollerBall Pen (Assorted Colors, 3-pack, $5.99)

These are pretty standard RollerBall pens with a 0.5mm tip, available in Red, Blue and Black. I got one of each in a three pack. The pens are marketed as airplane safe, and have a black matte finish with a steel clip. One bonus is that they do have a small ink window so you can see when you’re running out of ink!

TRU RED Gel Pen (Assorted Colors, 5-pack, $7.29)

These might have been my favorite part of the package because I’m a sucker for a gel pen in fun colors! All of these were 0.7mm and are available in the standard red/blue/black as well as assorted color packs. My 5 colors were red, orange, lime green, teal blue and purple. The green is a bit light, and I didn’t feel like it showed up as well on the ivory paper, but I enjoyed these and will definitely keep using them! They were included as part of this collection so you can color code your notes (I’m totally nerdy enough to love that).

Keep reading for the Giveaway!

So if you’ve read through the reviews, now it’s time for the giveaways. Staples.com was generous enough to send us extras for two prize packages which are:

Prize Package 1 (above):

Prize Package 2 (above):

THE DETAILS: Two lucky winners will be selected from the comments on this post to win their choice of either of the above prize packages.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us which prize you’d prefer to win and which journals/pens you find the most interesting in this review! Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by midnight CST on Friday, May 21, 2021. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Saturday. Winners will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 7 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purposes of this giveaway by Staples. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

What’s Up With “A” sizing?

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

In the stationery world, there are two types of “A” sizing: the European paper-based “A” designation and the US system based on envelope sizes, specifically envelopes referred to as “A” size or Announcement envelopes. The A-sized envelopes are frequently used for greeting cards, invitations and personal stationery. The envelope sizes specifically correlate to the size of the flat or folded card inserted into said envelope. The most commonly used A-sized envelopes in use in the US are A-2, A-6 and A-7. There is also arcane reference to baronial or 4-bar envelopes which are occasionally called A-1. 

Square Flap Envelope

The biggest distinction between Announcements envelopes and Baronial was that announcement envelopes originally had square flaps and baronial had pointed, triangle flaps. At some point though, envelope converters and paper companies made it possible to get envelopes with either square or pointed flaps. 

Pointed Flap Envelope

There are several other envelope categories like business envelopes (the Classic no. 10 envelope holds a sheet of US letter paper folded in thirds), catalog envelopes, remittance, coin, etc. and, depending on the source you use, these envelopes can have square flaps or pointed flaps. Of course, you can have custom envelopes produced with different flap shapes and a different size but that just muddies the waters when talking about the standard options and the arcane naming systems. 

Announcement (A-sized) Envelopes US from PaperSizes.org

The European “A” size is based on the paper size and the original uncut sheet of paper that was used. A-size paper starts with a full sheet at 841 x 1189mm (33.1 x 46.8 inches). When cut in half on the long edge those two sheets are considered A1, an A1 cut in half becomes two sheets of A2. Once an A2 sheet is cut in half to become A3 (297 x 420mm or 11.7 x 16.5 inches), the sheets become more manageable sizes and comparable to US ledger sized paper (11×17”). Then that sheet is cut to create the European A4 or standard letter-sized sheet (210x297mm or 8.3×11.7”). The sheet is continually cut in halves to the A10 measurement which creates tiny pieces of paper just 26x37mm or 1×1.5”. I can’t imagine that paper companies or mills find that size needed very often. I seldom see mention of stationery paper smaller than A6 or A7.

European A-Size Paper diagram from PaperSizes.org

So, if you ever find yourself wondering who in the world would be selling A2-sized cards and envelopes and thinking “that sounds enormous!” Consider the likelihood that it is an American vendor referencing the A-size based on Announcement envelopes and not the A-size based in European paper sizes. 

In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Moonman S1 with Fude Nib

Author Laura CameronPosted on 8 Comments

Review by Tina Koyama

Readers of the Desk may associate me more with pencils, erasers, sharpeners and brush pens and less with fountain pens. Several years ago, however, I took myself on an epic journey to find my ideal fountain pen for drawing – one that would give me variable line widths. Although I tried a variety of specialty nibs and semi-flexible nibs, nothing gave me the lovely, organic line of a fude nib, and using one felt more natural and intuitive than other nib types. Ultimately, I found my grail (spoiler alert) in the then-hard-to-find 21kt gold Sailor Naginata Fude de Mannen (which is apparently not as elusive as it used to be; Pen Boutique has it in stock occasionally. Incidentally, if I had to choose a second-best fude that is more affordable and slightly easier to acquire, it would be Franklin-Christoph’s).

Before acquiring my grail, I tried many steel fude nibs, and even after, curiosity occasionally prompted me to continue trying fudes that crossed my radar. That curiosity still gives me a nudge now and then – which brings me to the Moonman.

I didn’t know much about the Chinese pen maker other than that its pens generally seem to be getting decent reviews (Ana and Laura have reviewed different models here at the Desk). When I saw that JetPens offered a fude version, I decided it was a good opportunity to give a Moonman a try. I chose the S1 model in koi red ($23.50) with bent nib. (I know that fude nibs are colloquially known as “bent” nibs, but why give something as elegant as a fude, which means brush, a descriptor like “bent”? I’ve heard every joke about whether I have dropped them, stepped on them or taken pliers to them to get my fude nibs to look that way. Yawn.)

I don’t usually have much to say about pen packaging, but it’s worth mentioning that my Moonman came in a simple but sturdy cardboard box that can be recycled easily. As you might guess, I have a bunch of plastic clamshell boxes that can’t be recycled, and since I don’t resell my pens often, they can be a nuisance. I appreciate simple, recyclable boxes.

The resin pen body weighs 15 grams, which is comfortable for me, as I tend to prefer lighter-weight pens. While some pens with fude nibs have long bodies to emulate traditional Asian calligraphy brushes or have ridiculously huge or heavy bodies (the Duke Confucius comes to mind; I needed a winch to lift it), the Moonman’s barrel has a conventional size and shape. The screw-on cap posts securely, which is a non-negotiable detail for me when I sketch on the street (believe me, a pen cap that doesn’t post will not remain with me long).

As mentioned earlier, I’ve used several steel fude nibs, and the Moonman has a bit more finesse than others in a similar price range. Its curved profile looks similar to several other Chinese fude pens I have owned (most of which were so terrible that I won’t name them).

The fude I cut my teeth on is Sailor’s 55-degree Fude de Mannen (steel nib). The 55-degree Sailor has a sharply angled bend, and it can be a challenge to learn to use. The Moonman’s curved nib is much easier to use by comparison. Since the price is not too much out of the range of the 55-degree Sailor, I’d probably recommend the Moonman over the Sailor to someone who wanted to try a fude for the first time.

The Moonman S1 comes with a converter that contains a spring-like agitator.

I inked it up with Diamine Sargasso Sea and took it out for a walk. Right away, I was pleased by how flawlessly it started. Smooth and responsive, it didn’t need any “breaking in,” like shoes, as some pens do. I chose some trees and shrubs in an alley to see the range of organic marks it could produce. Practicing the full range in this one sketch, I turned its widest angle sideways to get the broadest marks, like the large shadows. (Sketch made in Field Notes Brand Sweet Tooth notebook.)

Pleased with it, I came home and gave it a more formal scribble. That’s when I realized I had forgotten to test its reverse side on the sketch. I don’t use a fude nib upside-down too often, but occasionally when I need an extra-fine line or detail, turning it over comes in handy. Unfortunately, the Moonman’s reversed nib is dry, scratchy and non-useable. (What – you’re not supposed to use nibs upside-down?) That was disappointing, because otherwise the nib performs very well at all right-side up angles. (Testing done in Maruman Mnemosyne Special Memo Notepad.)

Upside-down usability is not a deal-breaker for me, but it might be for others. For a fude nib in its price range, the Moonman is a good value. I’m going to enjoy taking it out for walks.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.