Review – Pentel Finito Porous Point Pen

Looking for a porous-point pen, and none of the standard ones are doing it for you? Maybe you might want to look at the Pentel Finito porous-point extra fine pen.

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The cap is all plastic, with a clip molded into it that does the job, but isn’t spectacular in any way. Inside is a small piece of plastic that covers the tip and is held in place by a spring, keeping a tight seal on the tip. This is visible through the clear plastic of the cap. The barrel is a black-covered plastic and has all necessary info on it. The grip section is clear and through it one can see the fins of the feed and a small bit of the ink reservoir. The grip section is very smooth and can easily become slippery. After a small bit of metal tapering, there is an extra-fine porous point at the end.

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The ink is fairly black, and fairly standard, not really permanent or fade-proof. The point does spew a lot of ink out: in fact, I would tend to call this pen a fine rather than an extra fine point due to the sheer amount of ink it leaves on the page. This makes the line considerably wider than just the point of the pen. This gushing also leads to points of bleed-through that are not seen in higher-quality porous point pens like Sharpies or Microns.

Overall I’d say the Finito is a mediocre pen that has no purpose as an art supply. There are many pens out there that do what this pen does better, and for the same price. If you want a pen that gushes, or will not dry out for long periods of time this pen may be worth a look, but I’d try something else first.

Review – Papermate Flair Part 2 Red

A while back I reviewed the Papermate Flair pen, and I was going to say that this was a review of the red version of the same pen; but really I intend this as a continuation of the last review after some more use, and as a review of the red color for the pen.

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I can confirm that the inner cap will keep the tip dry for extended periods of time. The clip is very difficult to use and is easy to get bent out of shape. And while the black pen has a problem with the color rubbing off, the red has no such problem.

The red color itself is more of a pinkish, and it’s kinda washed out. The line for the medium is spread out enough that it is very noticeable as a not-quite red. It isn’t very aggressive, so if one was grading papers and such and wanting to use something that didn’t offend the viewer, this would work. However, as far as I can see there are no other practical applications. Perhaps marking on technical drawings, but again there are easier and better solutions. Using the pen on a very absorbent paper will make a much deeper color, so that is an option.

Overall the Flair is still a great pen, but I wouldn’t recommend the red color as it is not a very strong red, or a good covering color.

Review – Pilot P-500 Rollerball Pen

When I was a kid I loved the stationery section, and office supply stores were like candy stores to me. One day at one of these stores (Office Depot?) my parents bought me a pack of pilot P-700s which I loved and used for almost all of middle school and some of high school until they all got lost or dried up. I liked them so much I only did personal work with them and not any regular school work. Recently I found a P-500 (one size smaller) in a store and decided to see of they were really as good as I remembered.

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The cap of the pen is clear, with a little black bit in the top.There is a visible small black bit inside to keep it dry. The clip is metal and very tight, it’s got a ball on the end and very easy to slip into a pocket. It has a 0.5 printed on it to denote the size. The barrel has all necessary information printed on it (extra fine). There is a granite texture covering it with a clear end ball. The grip section is ribbed and very grippy for how slick the plastic is. There is a gradual slope to a very thin metal rollerball point. The section is clear making the ink supply visible.

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The line is an extra fine (0.5mm I’m guessing) and is advertised as being precise, which I have a hard time believing with any gel ink pen. Maybe it’s just my hand, but when writing or drawing with a gel or liquid ink pen everything just slides all over the place. This pen is no exception, though I will say that it puts ink where you tell it to put ink and nowhere else, and does it very consistently.

The inks color is black, almost the same as the pilot G2 black but a little warmer and a little lighter. It is a very good black for almost all writing and drawing purposes. It doesn’t cover well, but who uses an extra fine pen to cover anyway? The ink is very consistent and really nothing special in any of its properties otherwise. It flows as well or better than one would expect from a  pen of this price-point.

Overall, these are great pens, both for writing and drawing, but they are not technical pens and cannot replace them for a finished product. They are comfortable to hold and smooth writing. Just better enough than other pens to justify their price. They are a good in-between or starting pen, but not to be used for a finished product.