Mildly Relevant Reviews – Skilcraft Executive Burgundy Pen Set
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Review – Zebra F-301 Ballpoint
Sometimes even the most pretentious artists or religious fountain pen users have to use a ballpoint pen. Now they could just use a ballpoint insert in a more expensive pen, but they might not want to do that. They also might not want to use a Bic ballpoint. So now we enter the level of not entirely expensive or cheap ballpoint pens. The first being the Zebra F-301 ballpoint pen.
The pen is made of stainless steel with a round barrel with the model number on it. The (grip) section is a checkered plastic that is grippy and between comfortable and uncomfortable. It really does nothing for me. The cone near the tip is nothing spectacular. The clips is a simple stainless steel, with a plastic back and a metal button. The button does not lock down when depressed so it does shake when one is writing. Otherwise, the body is very study and light. Denting is hard; scratching is fairly easy, though.
The point is very fine. It writes smoothly and the ink is standard ballpoint black. It is slightly grey and skippy unless one pushes down hard. It is not waterproof, but it doesn’t smudge after drying. I will say that the pen I have used is more prone to globs of ink off the tip than almost any other pen I’ve used.
So overall the additional expense of this pen (which isn’t very much, but still…) over a regular ballpoint is obviously its design. It will hold up better and is much more pleasant to hold than any other cheap ballpoint. The writing experience is about the same, which, to be fair, doesn’t get much better with the more expensive pens. It really is just a matter of taste and how much you want to spend on this one.
Review – Staples Medium Ballpoint Pen
Pens, they’re necessary things. If not for art, then for simple, day to day life. You won’t believe how may people I’ve run into that need pens and don’t carry them around. Okay, maybe you wouldn’t, but I’m still going to quickly talk about a cheap way to get your pen fix so you can jot down notes and stuff (as in peoples’ numbers): the Staples Medium Ballpoint pen.
The pens are simple: a small plastic tube, containing a smaller plastic tube filled with ink. The tube is slick, but not slick enough to have the pen slip out of your hands while writing. It has the logo and name on the side in plain lettering that isn’t prone to rubbing off. The cap also fits on nicely and allows the pen to be loosely held in a pocket. Overall, the body does its job.
But what about the point? The tip is a ballpoint which produces a medium weight line with a very universal width. It will take a little bit of skill to get variation from this pen. But what one would want out of a pen like this is reliability, and that is given to one by the constant line. The pen, however, does at times need to be coaxed into writing and will dry up beyond usability if neglected for too long.
It’s a nice cheap pen. It’s nothing spectacular, but for the price, nothing is. It is great for jotting notes, getting ideas down, writing drafts and piling around the house so you’re never pen-less.