Mildly Relevant Reviews – Skilcraft Executive Burgundy Pen Set
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Review – Sheaffer Maxi Kit Viewpoint Pen Body
I have talked a lot about specialty pens and the like. Now it’s time to talk about another one, this one specifically for calligraphy. In this several part review I’ll be talking about the Sheaffer Calligraphy Maxi-kit. In this first part I’ll talk about the included pens, the Sheaffer Viewpoint.
The cap of the Viewpoint is a cylinder with a slanted top. This slant has Sheaffer written on it as well as the size of the nib meant to go with the pen (in this kit at least). The bottom of the cap has a chrome band with Sheaffer written on it. The clip is simple, but functional, having a small ball at the end, up near the top is also the white dot that signifies a lifetime Sheaffer warranty (possibly).
The barrel of the pen is also a simple cylinder, except it has a rather large hole cut in two sides to create a viewing area for the cartridge or converter (get it). The barrel’s end is also rounded so it won’t stand up.
The (grip) section is made of dimpled rubber and is sufficiently grippy and un-intrusive. Just after the grip is a small piece of plastic (color matching the barrel) and then the nib directly. There is a rather steep step to nib from the section, making the nib look perhaps a bit small. The feed is well hidden and works fine for the purpose, but on some pens can be finicky.
Overall the Sheaffer Viewpoint body is a sturdy, and functional design, even if it’s not the most comfortable. Its real purpose is to get a nib to the paper and it does the job quite well. Though it is a bit weaker than previous Sheaffer models due to the hole.
Review – Pilot G2 Teal, Hunter Green, Navy, Periwinkle, and Caramel
This week I’m gonna take a look at some of the weirder colors of Pilot’s G2 pens. Let’s dive right in.
First up is teal, which is a deep, bluish-green, almost like an aquatic plant. It’s very subdued and seems almost workplace-friendly (sort of like a blue-black, but with green). It goes on the page a bit thick and is a bit of a hard start when it’s not been written with for a while. A very soothing color overall.
Next up is hunter green, which is a deep, swampy green. It looks like a camouflage color, which I guess it’s supposed to. It isn’t the most pleasant of colors to stare at, but it is quite subtle. This color is probably the thickest ink and has the most problems with startup and skipping of the bunch.
Third is navy, which is a blue-black. It doesn’t really remind me of any previous navy colors I’ve seen, it is simply a very dark blue, but not a deep blue. It looks just like a combination of blue and black. Very work-friendly, I would say, but has no real art application save for maybe a night ocean.
Fourth is periwinkle, which is a light, sky blue. This is one of the lightest and easiest to read light blues I’ve seen. It isn’t quite as light as possible, but that makes it readable. It has a bit of shading (inconsistent color) but not too much. This is likely the most versatile ink color of the bunch, being a close to work-friendly “happy” color, and a realistic color that could be found in both water and skies.
And finally is caramel. Caramel is a light, almost hard-to-read brown. Again it is subdued enough to not hurt one’s eyes, but is very light and not particularly pretty. It does flow well, and really looks like caramel, so if you need a caramel colored ink, this is the ink for you.
That concludes my look at the Pilot G2 pen color types. I hope these were useful, they really do cover the gamut and provide ink colors for a variety of different uses. Unfortunately, I believe they only come in a large, expensive pack, so I would recommend having uses for a few of these pens before purchasing them. They are great reliable writers with most of the ink colors, especially the more common ones (which are available individually) and can be used almost anywhere.