REVIEW: Sharpie Metallic Trio

As we know, I loves me a Sharpie!  Add a bit of metallic and BOOM! We got ourselves a par-tay!

Total bummer that the caps don’t have a clip. Not that I put them in my shirt pocket. It’s just a bit weird without the clip.

I used these to sign some of the Christmas cards I sent out last year. A fun look.

Fun on white paper.

Wait for it….

Amazing on black paper!  Dude. Love the color.

I should do product photography, hm?

REVIEW: Sharpie White Paint Marker

Sharpie love.

Individually wrapped.

Shake well before using.

To get the ink flowing, I just pressed it gently against a scrap piece of paper.  I remember in years past having to press press press to get things like this going.

Sharpie must have strange definitions for fine points. They’re all a bit on the thick side.

I loooove the look of this paint marker on black. Looks like a chalk. Glossy would also be good, but this is a nice look.

We’re not really having all of that for dinner.  It’s more likely that we’ll have salmon and asparagus. Or cookies. What are you having?

PEN REVIEW: Bic Multipens

Way back when, I wanted one of these Bic multipens oh-so-bad. Maybe even more than I wanted the holiday “book” of Lifesavers candy! They were definitely a “luxury” item and only a few kids (and some teachers!) had them.
Now, they are quite readily available – and even in four fancy fashion colors.

Made in France! Who knew!

So. Many years later, I have to say – I’ll stick with fountain pens!

PEN REVIEW: Uni-Ball Signo Pack

I love fountain pens, but let’s face it – they are not perfect for every situation.

For vibrant gel pens, these Uniball Signo pens are among my favorites.

And (bonus points!), they help prevent check fraud! (Not really sure that’s a selling point for most people who are handling their check writing electronically these days.) (And I’m not really sure banks would appreciate checks written in some of these colors.)

Here’s the blurb about check washing from the back of the package:

I love the pretty colors. They really are quite vibrant.

Love the click action. The clips are nice if you’re into those (I’m not).

Like most packaged pens these days, these come with the protective blob at the tip to prevent leaks.

The grippy section is – well, grippy. The texture has a good feel to it. I’m not completely sold on the material used for the grippy section – it feels a bit rubbery to me, but it’s not awful.

How do they write?  Lovely, that’s how!

click to make bigger
Nice!

too pale to be useful?

Love purple!

my favorite!

At around $10 per pack (eight pens), it’s hard to go wrong.

If there’s a negative, it’s that I wish these came in a finer tip. The .7 mm is a bit thick for my preferences – but I’m assuming they’ve asked around and this is what most people want.

When you’re not using a fountain pen, what are you using?

xo

PEN REVIEW: Diplomat Ballpoint

A quickie review of the Diplomat Excellence A Guilloch Rhomb Ballpoint Pen.
Visually, it’s quite appealing. Matte black finish with gleaming chrome accents. (Can you make out my reflection in the chrome?)
Isn’t that inlaid grid (how’d they do that?) incredible? So unique.

I love the lines this pen creates. 
It’s the combination of masculinity (the hardness of the metal barrel, the solid lines, dark color) and femininity (the rounded clip, the softness of the logo) that sold me on this pen.

Twist Mechanism

I bought this last year at the SF Pen Show. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year!

I have no idea what I paid for this pen. It’s a ballpoint, so I’m guessing I wasn’t keen on spending too much for it, but I see that it’s listed all over the place for around $200 and that seems like a lot, doesn’t it?

When I got this pen out of its box to take photos, Jeff (the kind, patient, loving man of my dreams – hi, Jeff!) asked, “Hey, isn’t that the pen you gave me?”

Yeah. Right. Me. Give away a pen. Ridiculous! (Actually, I think he might be right – at the time, he was not at all into fountain pens and I wanted him to have something from the show – mostly to assuage my guilt for spending so much!)

This year, Jeff suggested we take cash to the show. “You know, so we don’t overspend.” I looked at him like he had three heads and he didn’t say another word.

Pretty, Pretty

So. The Diplomat Excellence A Guilloch Rhomb Ballpoint Pen (what a mouthful!) is a beauty. But. It’s not without flaws. It feels heavy and poorly balanced in my girly hand. It is also hard and cold – the whole thing is metal – and my hand feels fatigued after writing a bit.

And this: even though everything is well-seated in the pen, it makes a bit of a click-click noise when I’m writing. It’s almost as if the refill is tapping around inside the pen – inside the $200 pen. Unacceptable.

Ballpoints. Love ’em or hate ’em?