Category Archives: Utensils

Review – Pink, Orange, Turquoise, Burgundy, and Lime

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And now for five more Pilot G2 colors! These are the the more “regular” colors, but just a bit different, so let’s go.

pilot pen comparison

The first is pink, which is very pink. It’s probably the brightest and most visible color in the set, though it fortunately isn’t an eye-searing hot-pink. It runs fairly thick and as pinks go, is quite deep, closer to red than to rose.

The second is orange, which is fairly bright, the second hardest to read of the bunch. It is plainly orange though, and will be a stark contrast to any other color in the set. Like most of the other colors, though, it is done well, and is not painful to look at or too difficult to read.

Next we have turquoise, which is a greenish-blue color. Honestly, it just looks like turquoise, which is a very pleasant color. It’s appealing and subdued, it almost looks like sky or clear “caribbean” sea. It’s a fantastic color, especially if you want a bluish color, but a bit lighter and happier.

Fourth is burgundy, which is a deep, purplish red. It’s almost like a red-black. It is very readable on the page, but gives writing a bit of flair not seen in a red, black, or purple ink that would be close. The ink is a bit thick though, and has some starting problems, but that just means it should be used more often.

And lastly for this set is lime, which is obviously a very light green. It actually looks nothing like a lime (like most colors called lime). It is the hardest to read of the bunch, but still isn’t quite offensive to the eye, though I wouldn’t write with it. I think it’s still the worst here, though, as it doesn’t match the nice qualities of the rest of these inks, and it’s a bit dry on the page.

Next up are the more uncommon colors.

Review – Pilot G2 Colors – Black, Blue, Red, Green, and Purple

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I don’t believe I have talked about G2 Pilot gel-pens before, I will do a full review later, but first I want to talk about most of the different colors that they come in. I have collected 15, and will split them into three groups, the first of which is the “normal” colors of black, blue, red, green, and purple.

ink tests

Starting with the black: it’s black, there is literally nothing special about it. It is a bit of a warm black, and it goes on smooth. It doesn’t have any magnificent qualities, it is just an all-around black.

Now for the blue, which is a fairly dark but basically standard blue, very similar to the black. It is probably one of the darkest standard blue pens available, and it is a fairly cool blue, like a deep lake. Again, though, it has nothing particularly special to offer.

The red is a medium red, which is a bit different. Most companies go for either an eye-bleedingly light red, or a deep red that is much more pleasant. As far as reds go this is in the middle, but it certainly isn’t neutral. It has no tint of pink, and is most definitively, starkly, red.

The green is surprisingly dark for a standard green. It’s almost a grassy color, and not the light, lime-ish color most other companies associate with green (it’s like the cherry flavor of pens). It is definitely green, but is unoffensive and pleasant. It sticks out, though, making it seem like one of those “replace red because it hurts people’s feelings on grades” pens (I’m no psychologist, so I know nothing about whether that is good or bad, it’s just what I thought of). I think it’s nice.

And finally the purple, which is the black sheep of the normal colors. It is a light, almost violet or deep rose color. It is warm and goes on a bit less smoothly than the other colors here. I really don’t like it, it’s just far too light, and it doesn’t go with the deep other colors at all. It really won’t stick out on a paper either, so it’s just kind of there, it has no natural color akin to it, so it has limited art utility as well.

Overall these are a very good set of office colors, and if you’re just looking for some smooth-writing different colors that aren’t too wacky, I’d look here first. But they do all have limited art potential, so you may want to delve further to get just the right color in that case.

 

 

Review – Sharpie Pen Colors

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I have reviewed the Sharpie pen before. And the ink in that pen was a bit of a muted black. Now it’s time to look at some more of the Sharpie pen color palette: the blue, red, green, purple, and orange pens.

pen comparison sharpie 2

Colors not exact representations.

Starting off with the blue, which is a typical blue, if a bit washed-out looking. It is a subdued blue that would be appropriate in most work environments. They say that all of the colors are water-proof and smear resistant. I will say that is mostly true unless under extreme circumstances, but don’t expect them to be as all-around useful as their marker cousins. They also dry fairly fast and are supposed to be non-toxic, but I’m not checking that.

Now to the red, which is the most disappointing of the bunch. It is faded and looks almost pinkish. It’s hard to tell it’s really a red and it certainly lacks the intensity most look for in a red ink. That being said, it is subdued and will work better in a work or school environment where one would want a less aggressive color.

The green is, say it with me, subdued. It is undeniably green, and being as laid back as it is almost intensifies it. It’s the hardest to read out of the bunch and is almost eye hurting after a while. Strangely it is almost identical to Micron green.

The purple is flat, but deep. It is easily the darkest and most readable of the bunch. It is also fairly close to a Micron purple and provides a nice, neutral color, that is still quite different.

Now finally the orange. The orange is the only intense color out of the bunch, and even then for orange it is fairly flat. It does jump off the page and provide the kick one would expect from a nice orange. I’d say it’s probably the best color of the bunch.

So there are a few colors. Aside from looking almost identical to Micron colors I’d say they’re good. I haven’t the foggiest as to why that is but it is a bonus in my book. Anyway, if you like Sharpie pens, and want some nice, pleasant colors for work or some such, I’d take a closer look at these. And due to their subtlety they also look much more natural in drawings than standard, intense colors.

Review – Sharpie Liquid Pencil Black

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Want the bold line of a pen, but the correct-ability of a pencil? Well, good for you! Erasable pens have moved up leaps and bounds, and Sharpie has one, called the erasable pencil.

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The barrel of the pen is a clear plastic with the branding on it. The grip is a light rubber, but it is more smooth than grippy. The tip is a cone that leads to the tip which is retraceable with a click mechanism. The entire back third of the pen(cil) is the click mechanism, with an eraser and flimsily little clip. Sharpie is written on the clip, but small and indented. The mechanism is cheap, it simply sits on the back and doesn’t fit into place on the back, it wobbles and bounces while one is writing. It makes the pen feel unnecessarily cheap and plastic-y.

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The ink is black, but it is a bit thin and grey, though not nearly as grey as say, a pencil. There is nothing else particularly spectacular about it. It is fairly permanent, but it is less fade- and water-resistant than most inks, because of course it can be erased. And it can be erased. Depending on the thickness of the line it goes away completely, or to such a faint line that it is unnoticeable. It is truly a liquid pencil.

So it doesn’t exactly have the boldness of a pen, but it is more bold than a pencil, and it is erasable like one too. So if you were looking for a happy medium between the two, then look no farther. But if cheap-feeling construction and not-so-bold lines put you off, then I’d suggest looking elsewhere.

Review – Zebra F-301 Ballpoint

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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.

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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.

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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.