Hello fellow writers!
Some of those who know me know that I really love a good writing utensil, whether that be a ballpoint, felt tip, brush pen or pencil. Having tried my fair share of writing instruments, here are my thoughts on some of the ones I currently own. I’ve done my best to find links to all the ones commercially available. For those that are still being sold online, I’ve tried to find links directly to the company that sells them to cut out the middle man.
Pencils
Wooden
Ticonderoga #2 HB
A classic must have! Did you know that this standard yellow no. 2 pencil was first made in 1913? Ticonderoga #2 are excellent quality. Ticonderoga has been making pencils for a whopping 196 years and continues to make quality products. The lead is soft and smooth, the eraser removes marks smoothly and easily without smudging. Check out how they make the pencils here. I’ve gotten positive remarks from my friends on this pencil. Without further ado…
Mechanical
Pentel Twist-Erase Click 0.7mm
I’ll start out with one of my favorites. I love this pencil because its clicker is located on the side, making it easy to pump more lead out. Also, the twist eraser works well and is much longer than the Ticonderoga pencil, for example, so you won’t have to replace the eraser as often. One eraser can last a very long time.
Pilot Spark 0.5mm
This one I received from an old friend from her travels to Japan. I love this pen because it is unique in that you shake it to discharge the lead. The barrel is the thickest out of all my pencils and it has a nice non-slip rubber grip. The eraser, however, is nothing to talk about. If you lose the eraser somehow (which I did — oops!) you’ll have to figure out a way to plug up the lead tube otherwise the lead will slip out! (I’ve done this with a bit of kneaded eraser.) I was unable to find this pencil commercially available online.
COLNK 0.5mm
The barrel of this one is thick and sturdy. The clip flexes widely and easily. The eraser is small and under the metal cap. The ones I bought came in very light hues. It is an average mechanical pencil which looks nice and is good as a gift.
Pens
Ink
Staples OptiFlow
The OptiFlow has great ink flow that is a bit on the heavier side, and I like the writing experience. The nib is precise and doesn’t let too little or too much ink out. It would make a good inking pen as it dries quickly.
Pilot G-2 10
This is one of my favorite commonly used pens. It also has good ink flow which tends to be on the heavier side. It has a nice dark ink and feels great in your hand. The design of the pen overall is sturdy and comfortable.
Buy Here (these are actually the 0.7mm pens, but basically the same pen just with a narrower nib)
Felt Tip
Pentel Sign Pen
This is a thicker felt tip pen with dark gray ink and a plastic barrel. The pen itself isn’t very impressive but it has lasted for a long time and the ink is still flowing freely. A simple and effective tool that delivers a bold line.
Erasable
Uniball R.E. 0.5mm
I personally didn’t like these as much and wouldn’t buy them again. The ink for these pens is gray and skips sometimes. The clicker locks based on the position of the pen: if the nib is facing down, it releases and you can click it, but if the nib is facing up the clicker locks in place. I can actually hear the little ball inside as I flip the pen. The barrel of this pen is of low quality plastic. Besides the erasability and locking clicker, I find that there is nothing special about this pen.
Frixion Point Knock 04
I did not enjoy this pen simply because of the scratchiness of the nib. It produces a very thin line and the clicker and clip are one and the same. The eraser is at the end of the pen just like a regular wooden pencil.
Pilot 3 Colors Frixion Slim
Funnily enough, this multi-colored pen is not slim. I feel like the design could be better — the barrel is basically straight from tip to eraser — , and I only enjoy using it because I replaced the original ink cartridges with smoother ones. However, I did like the shade of purple it came in (I’m very particular about colors.)
Other
Highlighters
Zebra Mildliner
These are absolutely excellent, especially for people who are sensitive to bright colors. These highlighters come in soft colors that don’t hurt your brain. Some of the colors are more opaque than others, like the brown, magenta, red and dark blue. They also have a fine tip on the opposite end which you can use as a regular marker. The Mildliner is a great product that I would recommend to those who like to highlight using multiple colors.
Pilot Frixion Colors
These highlighters are erasable! I bought the purple, light and darker green ones and the ink is very light. The nib is also a bullet nib so not the typical chisel nib one would expect of a highlighter. It doesn’t have a clip. I like the look of this highlighter’s body. It’s not chunky, the end is rounded and the cap bullet-shaped. The ink for the Frixion Colors isn’t as dark as the Mildliners and I prefer the Mildliners.
Colored Pens
Pilot Juice 0.5mm
These pens have a bold color and are true to color. However, they are on the scratchier side, so if you want a smooth writing experience, do not get these pens! Other than that, the barrel is made of clear plastic and the clicker is nice. They also have a clip that you can open easily by pressing on one end. Not a bad experience overall.
Ink Joy gel 0.7mm
These colorful pens are very inky. You can tell this right away as even light pressure releases a heavy flow of ink onto the page. Its simple round body is sturdy and easy to grip. The clicker has a tight spring coil and a metal end cap. Well made and simple.
Bonus: Pencil Sharpener
Kum AS 2
I have used so many simple sharpeners, but I think this two-holed sharpener is especially effective if you don’t want to spend the money for an automatic one. It is easy to use, just twist your pencil in the hole labeled (1) and the wood will be shaved back. Shape the lead by using hole (2) which brings it to a fine point. This sharpener never lets me down in contrast to the smaller, simple hand-sharpeners.
While writing this, I realized a good portion of my writing instruments come from Japan. I recommend Japanese-made writing instruments since they generally make well-designed products.
You’ll notice that there are no ballpoint pen or brush pen reviews listed above. The few ballpoint pens I use are either free from companies promoting their brand or a cheap generic pen. These work fine for me. The brush pens I use have names written in Japanese, which I’m still working on learning.
I hope you found my reviews helpful and enjoyed seeing which writing instruments I use.
Happy Writing!
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