• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Let's talk PENS!

Status
Not open for further replies.

Retro

Member
Does anyone else have a collection of trash pens in their desk for when someone asks for a pen? You NEVER get that shit back. Even if you're like PLEASE BRING MY PEN BACK they're like ok ok and they don't. Fine. You get a shit pen now.

Awww yeah, definitely.

For the longest time I actually collected cheap pens as a novelty. It started with just keeping unique/cool ones that had meaning; the first few I got from a trip to the Chicago ComicCon where I got pens for stuff like Wizards of the Coast, Marvel, DC, etc. Pretty soon people took that as my quirky 'collection' and before I knew it had people bring me back pens from hotels / casinos / whatever as souvenirs. Then my dad would see a pen for anything and ask if he could take it. Banks, landscaping services, plumbers, whatever; if it was a cheap pen with a name on it, he'd grab it. A TON of ones for medicines from pharmacies and the like...

I moved out a few years back, and now that my dad is selling the house I've had to face all of the crap that was important enough to keep but not important enough to move with me.
csbgdzy.jpg

My wife and I decided to keep them, just because she works in a government office where the customers are less than reputable, so the need for pens you'd never ever want to touch again is staggering.

Yeah but no. That's still just a cheap pen. I meant, like, a PEN. Like a "no thanks, I have my own pen, thanks" kind of pen. :) Thanks though. I see ya workin'. ;)

There's a high-end pen shop at the local high-end mall. I'm gonna ask there. Will report back any positive findings.

I doubt you're going to find anything that uses that exact pen's refills, which in my mind defeats the purpose. I skimmed Pilot's "High End" brand, Namiki, but none of them appear to use the Rolling Ball needle heads so... yeah. Good luck, let me know what you find. My wife has a hard time finding me gifts so if you find a similar ink/head type on a high quality pen, let me know.
 

FerDS

Member
I bought a Cross Century II recently, still waiting for it to arrive. Has anyone tried one, is it any good?
 

whytemyke

Honorary Canadian.
Last week when I posted in this thread I was on my phone so I couldn't really elaborate. So when I saw the thread bumped and getting activity, I thought I'd speak up and elaborate a bit. Sorry if I seem to be one of those Kickstarter lackeys...

This is the Kickstarter I was talking about. Take a look at it and tell me this executive pen doesn't look awesome.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darksucks/prometheus-writes-a-premium-3-piece-executive-pen


I'm more or less a pen noob. I couldn't tell you what's the best of the best, but I know that every time I drop more dough on a nicer pen, I'm really happy and I keep writing more and more. So here's hoping that me dropping even more on what appears to be a sharp pen will be well rewarded. The dude's got one review already and it's pretty stellar. Doesn't really mean much to me, but it's interesting none the less.

FBY8tpT.jpg


XPPs9OB.jpg




Other than this, the pen I absolutely swear by for my every day use is the UniBall Roller. Blue-Black ink always looks sharp and stands out a bit, too. For a cheap pen, I think it's really one of the best ones I've ever used.
 

iirate

Member
Okay, so being a lefty, I'm naturally attracted to no-smear pens and microns are my favorites. I've heard about how easy it can be to bend/break the tips, but it has never been an issue for me. I've had multiple art instructors compliment me on how light of a hand I have though; one even told me that I could get away with doing things with charcoal and pastels that she wouldn't normally recommend someone else to attempt, so I guess it's just a natural talent of mine.

Anyways, I haven't had an issue on that front, but I've read that microns are meant to be used at a 90 degree angle relative to the paper - how important is that? I write/draw with a pretty unusual grip, and my pen doesn't naturally rest at 90 degrees:

(note:I hold pens/pencils/brushes/whatever with a normal grip when working on an easel, this only applies to flat surfaces)

In case you haven't seen someone write like this, my pen's movement comes almost entirely from moving my wrist and pinky.

Is it worthwhile for me to try and adjust my grip to fix this? I'm not even sure if it would be feasible, but I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth it or not.
 
I'm a Bic Atlantis man myself, but I had a Delfonics ballpoint that I LOVED before I lost it. I want to get another one but they're ridiculously expensive.
 
This thread getting bumped around Iginla and Morrow getting traded to the Penguins really pisses me off.

:lol So salty

Okay, so being a lefty, I'm naturally attracted to no-smear pens and microns are my favorites. I've heard about how easy it can be to bend/break the tips, but it has never been an issue for me. I've had multiple art instructors compliment me on how light of a hand I have though; one even told me that I could get away with doing things with charcoal and pastels that she wouldn't normally recommend someone else to attempt, so I guess it's just a natural talent of mine.

Anyways, I haven't had an issue on that front, but I've read that microns are meant to be used at a 90 degree angle relative to the paper - how important is that? I write/draw with a pretty unusual grip, and my pen doesn't naturally rest at 90 degrees:


(note:I hold pens/pencils/brushes/whatever with a normal grip when working on an easel, this only applies to flat surfaces)

In case you haven't seen someone write like this, my pen's movement comes almost entirely from moving my wrist and pinky.

Is it worthwhile for me to try and adjust my grip to fix this? I'm not even sure if it would be feasible, but I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth it or not.

How is that even comfortable?
 

SummitAve

Banned
Okay, so being a lefty, I'm naturally attracted to no-smear pens and microns are my favorites. I've heard about how easy it can be to bend/break the tips, but it has never been an issue for me. I've had multiple art instructors compliment me on how light of a hand I have though; one even told me that I could get away with doing things with charcoal and pastels that she wouldn't normally recommend someone else to attempt, so I guess it's just a natural talent of mine.

Anyways, I haven't had an issue on that front, but I've read that microns are meant to be used at a 90 degree angle relative to the paper - how important is that? I write/draw with a pretty unusual grip, and my pen doesn't naturally rest at 90 degrees:


(note:I hold pens/pencils/brushes/whatever with a normal grip when working on an easel, this only applies to flat surfaces)

In case you haven't seen someone write like this, my pen's movement comes almost entirely from moving my wrist and pinky.

Is it worthwhile for me to try and adjust my grip to fix this? I'm not even sure if it would be feasible, but I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth it or not.

That's some straight caveman shit. Are you able to produce things that don't look like they were written by a baby? And please tell me you don't hold your silverware like that too. But hey...if it works, it works.
 

Zaptruder

Banned
Okay, so being a lefty, I'm naturally attracted to no-smear pens and microns are my favorites. I've heard about how easy it can be to bend/break the tips, but it has never been an issue for me. I've had multiple art instructors compliment me on how light of a hand I have though; one even told me that I could get away with doing things with charcoal and pastels that she wouldn't normally recommend someone else to attempt, so I guess it's just a natural talent of mine.

Anyways, I haven't had an issue on that front, but I've read that microns are meant to be used at a 90 degree angle relative to the paper - how important is that? I write/draw with a pretty unusual grip, and my pen doesn't naturally rest at 90 degrees:


(note:I hold pens/pencils/brushes/whatever with a normal grip when working on an easel, this only applies to flat surfaces)

In case you haven't seen someone write like this, my pen's movement comes almost entirely from moving my wrist and pinky.

Is it worthwhile for me to try and adjust my grip to fix this? I'm not even sure if it would be feasible, but I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth it or not.

Dude. It's a pen, not a penis!
 

Timo

Member
Okay, so being a lefty, I'm naturally attracted to no-smear pens and microns are my favorites. I've heard about how easy it can be to bend/break the tips, but it has never been an issue for me. I've had multiple art instructors compliment me on how light of a hand I have though; one even told me that I could get away with doing things with charcoal and pastels that she wouldn't normally recommend someone else to attempt, so I guess it's just a natural talent of mine.

Anyways, I haven't had an issue on that front, but I've read that microns are meant to be used at a 90 degree angle relative to the paper - how important is that? I write/draw with a pretty unusual grip, and my pen doesn't naturally rest at 90 degrees:


(note:I hold pens/pencils/brushes/whatever with a normal grip when working on an easel, this only applies to flat surfaces)

In case you haven't seen someone write like this, my pen's movement comes almost entirely from moving my wrist and pinky.

Is it worthwhile for me to try and adjust my grip to fix this? I'm not even sure if it would be feasible, but I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth it or not.

I've seen some good artists that ink in a similar fashion. Tradd Moore kinda holds his brush like that, it allows for all of the movement to come from you're elbow, and constantly controlling how wide a brush line you are making becomes dead easy. I just can't fucking do it.

I've been using a Noodlers Ahab recently, it's getting better the more I use it. I really just want a Namiki Falcon with the aftermarket edit to the nib to turn it into more of a wet noodle of a fountain pen. I also have a Kuratake No. 40 Sable hair brush pen, but I'm about to send the tip back because it seems to have almost dulled down after 2 months of use, which is way wrong (I've had other sable brush's for years and they still hold an amazing point).
 

Tunesmith

formerly "chigiri"
Okay, so being a lefty, I'm naturally attracted to no-smear pens and microns are my favorites. I've heard about how easy it can be to bend/break the tips, but it has never been an issue for me. I've had multiple art instructors compliment me on how light of a hand I have though; one even told me that I could get away with doing things with charcoal and pastels that she wouldn't normally recommend someone else to attempt, so I guess it's just a natural talent of mine.

Anyways, I haven't had an issue on that front, but I've read that microns are meant to be used at a 90 degree angle relative to the paper - how important is that? I write/draw with a pretty unusual grip, and my pen doesn't naturally rest at 90 degrees:


(note:I hold pens/pencils/brushes/whatever with a normal grip when working on an easel, this only applies to flat surfaces)

In case you haven't seen someone write like this, my pen's movement comes almost entirely from moving my wrist and pinky.

Is it worthwhile for me to try and adjust my grip to fix this? I'm not even sure if it would be feasible, but I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth it or not.

I know people who write beautiful cursive script that way. While I'm also a leftie I personally don't, I hold a pen "normally" but by routine use my pinky as a sort of a stand/stabilizer on the paper, which raises my palm above the paper ever so slightly and thus doesn't attract smearing.
 

iirate

Member
How is that even comfortable?

Dunno, but it is. *shrug*

That's some straight caveman shit. Are you able to produce things that don't look like they were written by a baby? And please tell me you don't hold your silverware like that too. But hey...if it works, it works.

I'm a drawing/painting major, so I'd hope that I could do at least a little more than scribble that way! I actually USED to hold silverware that way when I was younger, thank god I got over that. Also, yes, primitive is a good way to describe it - I hate writing things out for strangers, I'm always self-conscious of what they're going to think and my family/friends love to rib me about the monkey grip.

I've seen some good artists that ink in a similar fashion. Tradd Moore kinda holds his brush like that, it allows for all of the movement to come from you're elbow, and constantly controlling how wide a brush line you are making becomes dead easy. I just can't fucking do it.

Yep, I have excellent control over line thickness this way. The biggest drawback to this grip(aside from ridiculous smearing risk) is speed; I'm making wider motions with my hand to control the pen so it does slow me down, which is especially apparent when writing. I've never met anyone that naturally grips a pen like I do, although one of my drawing buddies way back in daycare taught himself how to do so(and he became surprisingly good with my style of grip) and I've had several art instructors that have told me stories about a peer or student they know with a similar grip.
 
Our office just got in some Frixion pens and OH LAWD.

They really are a game changer. Erase neater than pencils + white erasers.
 
31BRUKB1-dL.jpg


Tul

My work had these when I first started.

TUL pens are my favorite everyday disposable writing ones. Pretty good for sketching too if you don't have specific art ones available. I have a set of Micron pens for drafting sort of work and I like those.

The TUL pens are really high quality and feel great for the price though.

My People!

my everyday pen @ work is a TUL. I love the design and the feeling is great! the ink is amazing and the price is perfect for a throwaway work pen.

<3

It's Dangerous to Go Alone! Take This
RNbw6zg.jpg
 

Oxirane

Member
Just got a TiBolt from Kickstarter, as a gift. It feels nice to write with and the bolt action is nifty.

I mainly use an old Parker reflex clicky that I've had for about a decade, although the rubber grip has since disintegrated.
 
Just got a TiBolt from Kickstarter, as a gift. It feels nice to write with and the bolt action is nifty.


I mainly use an old Parker reflex clicky that I've had for about a decade, although the rubber grip has since disintegrated.
That thing is sick. Good taste, man.
 

Ekdrm2d1

Member
Just ordered some Uniball Vision Elite Micro (0.5mm) pens. Assorted color pack of the BLK series and the regular lineup. I'll have so many colors!

I've read the reviews on both Amazon and Office Depot. People rave about them, saying they're the top end of the disposable office pens. (For this type anyway.)

BLK series
Uniball-Vision-Elite-BLX-620x350.jpg


Regular line
44642439.jpg


The BLK ink seems very interesting.
BLX ink, black ink infused with color. Differentiate yourself with deep, rich business colors
Brown/Black
Green/Black
Purple/Black
Red/Black
Blue/Black

46898.jpg


46899.jpg
 
Alternative thread - which pens are most delicious to chew on?

I always like a classic Bic Round Stic - they're sturdy and have a smooth plastic taste that's just consistently pleasurable.

round_stic_300dpi2.jpg


But these... oh man, these ones are a treat. They have a nice soft end that squishes perfectly between the teeth. The only drawback is they aren't as durable so the chew doesn't last as long. Also if you aren't careful and chew on the plug too aggressively you can end up with a mouthful of ink - it tastes gross, I've been there.



What you want to avoid at all costs are the hard plastic / clear / see through ones. There's nothing pleasant about shards of plastic in your mouth.

Excellent. Just excellent.

What my work gives me:

51uZ1EP2dyL._SY400_.jpg
 

Ekdrm2d1

Member
These pens are so good. So. Good.

Yee.

Planning on buying a dozen of black (maybe also blue) if they're tremendous like people say. I don't like the fact I only will receive one black and one blue in the above assorted sets. Need more blacks! - The main pens I'll be using daily

I was forced to buy them because my old favorite, Uniball Vision Exact isn't sold at Office Depot anymore. Best disposable pens yet.

I liked the micro point (0.5mm)

6324668582_3ebccd11f9.jpg



L996987.jpg



6323914563_7b99e8deb7.jpg
 
Yee.

Planning on buying a dozen of black (maybe also blue) if they're tremendous like people say. I don't like the fact I only will receive one black and one blue in the above assorted sets. Need more blacks! - The main pens I'll be using daily

I was forced to buy them because my old favorite, Uniball Vision Exact isn't sold at Office Depot anymore. Best disposable pens yet.

I liked the micro point (0.5mm)

[ig]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6226/6324668582_3ebccd11f9.jpg[/img]


[ig]http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/3/L996987.jpg[/img]


[ig]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6226/6323914563_7b99e8deb7.jpg[/img]

Did you do that test page? If so, you need to start a blog and do that will all pens you come across!

Right now, I'm using a Pilot Precise V5 RT and a TUL pen. Not sure what the "model" is on the latter pen, but it's smooth as butter.

2118151168_0e9fcbce22_z.jpg


8146596769_5838b8c612_z.jpg


Pens of da gawds.
 

Ekdrm2d1

Member
Did you do that test page? If so, you need to start a blog and do that will all pens you come across!

Right now, I'm using a Pilot Precise V5 RT and a TUL pen. Not sure what the "model" is on the latter pen, but it's smooth as butter.





Pens of da gawds.

Shamelessly, I did not. I stole the images.

I used to love the Pilot Precise V5's but fell off of them as of late. I prefer the Uniball Deluxe Micro and the Uniball Vision these days. Possibly the V5's were too inky, they bled a lot of ink when righting. Maybe a user's eror though?

Interesting, I've never seen a retractable V5! Do you prefer it over the almighty Vision Elite? ha

Looks like we have the same ideas of good pens :cheers:
 

Ekdrm2d1

Member
Khalifa Jayy,

I received both of the Uniball Vision Elites today.

hlm6.jpg


I spelled your name wrong! :embarrassed:
g5km.jpg


Impressions not on the "review."
You do not have to press a lot to get a good writing stroke. Really smooth.

The physical colors for the BLK series could be more different. Hard to tell the two series apart.

I wonder why I prefer the Uniball Vision Exact more. They both feature the Exclusive pigment-based ink and the uni-flow ink system.

The differences are,

Vision Elite:

Airplane safe

Vision Exact:
Needle Point and Soft grip

Guess I prefer the more exact needle point and the comfort handle. Odd though, they're both 0.5mm! Perhaps the needle point makes it even more precise and exact.

Have you ever tried the Vision Exact?
 
Khalifa Jayy,

I received both of the Uniball Vision Elites today.

hlm6.jpg


I spelled your name wrong! :embarrassed:
g5km.jpg


Impressions not on the "review."
You do not have to press a lot to get a good writing stroke. Really smooth.

The physical colors for the BLK series could be more different. Hard to tell the two series apart.

I wonder why I prefer the Uniball Vision Exact more. They both feature the Exclusive pigment-based ink and the uni-flow ink system.

The differences are,

Vision Elite:

Airplane safe

Vision Exact:
Needle Point and Soft grip

Guess I prefer the more exact needle point and the comfort handle. Odd though, they're both 0.5mm! Perhaps the needle point makes it even more precise and exact.

Have you ever tried the Vision Exact?

I have tried the Vision Exact, and they're pretty good all-around. The grip helps tremendously. That's crazy that the BLX pens have colors infused into their ink. I'm sure it makes for a pretty unique page of writing, but I think I'd prefer to stick to either true black or blue for my note-taking needs, heh. Brown just looks strange to me. Almost black but not black. It would bother me for ages lol. One thing I hate about these types of pens is the way the ink will continue to flow if you sit on one spot too long. It makes your writing look atrocious, but I guess that's more incentive to keep moving and/or learn to write in cursive, haha.
 

Ekdrm2d1

Member
Khalifa Jayy,

Here's my current lineup at the office. Photo is touched up, I took duplicate pens out and rearranged them so they look nice.

cs7w.jpg


Top to bottom:

Uniball Deluxe Micro black
Pilot Precise V5 black
Pilot Precise V5 red
Pilot Precise V5 blue
Pilot Precise V5 green
Uniball Vision Micro black
Uniball Vision Micro red
Uniball Vision Micro blue

As you can see, I'm a huge fan of the "micro" 0.5mm tip :p

My "dream" is to have a dozen each of the Uniball Vision Exact in black, blue, and red. The three primary colors to me.
 

Ekdrm2d1

Member
I have tried the Vision Exact, and they're pretty good all-around. The grip helps tremendously. That's crazy that the BLX pens have colors infused into their ink. I'm sure it makes for a pretty unique page of writing, but I think I'd prefer to stick to either true black or blue for my note-taking needs, heh. Brown just looks strange to me. Almost black but not black. It would bother me for ages lol. One thing I hate about these types of pens is the way the ink will continue to flow if you sit on one spot too long. It makes your writing look atrocious, but I guess that's more incentive to keep moving and/or learn to write in cursive, haha.

haha. Good deal :)

Yeah, not too sure about the BLX ink. I just wanted to get each color.

I understand that flowing problem haha
 

Sam Vimes

Neo Member
Wow I feel so lame. I saw the thread title and unconsciously uttered an excited "Oooh!"

And subscribed immediately

Edit: The worst part is reading THROUGH the thread and seeing how many people read "Penis" and here I am just nope I got overley excited about a discussion on nice pens..
 

Sam Vimes

Neo Member
I've always used this

4A11ED86DF280671E1008000AC193D36.JPG

So these things are the best. I worked in a mental hospital for 3 years. The bulk of my job was writing on a clipboard about where patients were and what they were doing. I wrote ALOT. These things were the greatest things that would show up in the hospital so randomly, it was like finding a pot of gold I swear. When I found a secret stash one time I stocked up and never looked back. The best was taking out all of the green and blue pens and gutting two other pens for their black part and making a super pen. I needed the red ink for reasons.
 

lbk62

Member
i have two of this bad boys, but mines are in gold and silver, this is just stainless steel.

its really heavy, a smooth writing, and girls love it.
Edit: My pen
iscsPKZ.jpg

my piece of crap CROSS, silver and gold
oeAvJS9.jpg
 

Watevaman

Member
Thanks to this thread I'm going to try writing my notes in pen today and see how I like it.

I've got a really old Papermate Accupoint 0.5mm that I can't find a picture of, but I do like writing with it. I'm thinking about picking up a Lamy Safari though, per this thread.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom