128: liquid sharpie

i wish i could remember where and when i bought this pen, i'm fairly sure it was back in college and that would suggest that i would have gotten it at walgreens or rite aid.

as near as i can figure this pen has been discontinued, or perhaps, rather that i evolved into the current stained brush tipped sharpie pen line.

i was unable to find anything about these pens after a quick check around the internet, that it would be discontinued, well, that doesn't surprise me, it seems that they always discontinue the best pens.

go figure.

this particular sharpie seems like it was a missing link between the traditional sharpie and the newer models that use ink that is bleed free and brush tip liquid ink pens that work really well for painting on all sorts of different materials.

the liquid sharpie has a solid body, a window to the ink reservoir, a slightly stubby version of the fine point tip, and smells more like rubbing alcohol than the chemically smell we all love about our sharpies.

the ink doesn't bleed the same way the standard pens do and it seems to go on smoother, giving the lines a nice velvety look.

if you have a chance to buy one of these pens, do so... buy two actually and send one to me, i'll send you a drawing in return.


pricing: n/a

website: n/a

what they say: n/a

pen 78: sakura pigma callipen

today's pen, the sakura pigma callipen, should have an asterisks next to it for two reasons: a: it isn't strictly a chisel tipped pen although it it does have a square-ish plastic tip, and b: this pen is apparently no longer in production.

i can't remember when i purchased this pen, it may have been back in those early art school days. this pen was produced by the same company that makes the holy micron pen that are universally loved. when i started doing a little research (read: i googled it.) i discovered that this particular pen does not seem to be in production any longer, although it seems that there are a few places online that you can still order from. sakura has since replaced that model with the pigma calligrapher, a pen that i have yet to use, because of this there really isn't any official company description that i can find for the discontinued pen.

the callipen that i have for this review is a plastic tipped 1.8mm calligraphy pen, and in this case, black. the tip is very rigid and durable, and i remember that back when i would use this for outlining or filling art, had a great flow, supersaturated black ink that made life so much easier as opposed to using the fine-tipped pens that i was using at the time, the fact that i was able to use it today and have a reasonability amount of ink flow is kind of impressive consider its age and the usage i have gotten out of it, no mistakes here, it is/was a workhorse of a pen. having never really pursued the fine art of calligraphy, i cant really say how effective it was in that field, but for the price of around $2-$5 (estimated) i feel like i more than got my money's worth. the question, would i buy another? my answer is probably not, i have since found better pens that perform better for around the same price, some of those being pens that simply did not exist when i bought this. i would be open to checking out their new line of calligraphy pens, if only because i like the quality of pen that sakura has produced for as long as i can remember using the micron.

since this pen is no longer in production there is no actual page for them on the sakura website, but there are pages for all the rest of their fine product line.

website:
www.sakuraofamerica.com

pen 66: tul ballpoint stick

get them while they last, apparently these pens are no longer being made, which really irritates me, seems like my two favorite pens have been discontinued... meh.

these pens were originally available at office max, and their website www.tul.com. you can still find them on amazon and i believe i have since seen them at safeway as well.

the tul ballpoint stick was a pen i bought because it was inexpensive and i needed a pen to fill out some paperwork while i had lunch at in and out. initially i really didn't care for them, it wasn't until later that i used one of these for drawing and i quickly fell in love. the pen is reliable, consistent in flow, doesn't really skip or stutter, it has a rubberized grip and a full range of value, making it a good pen for sketching inking and writing. there are a few shortcomings, however. the ink doesn't dry as quickly as some, the cap gets loose after a while and won't stay on either side of the pen the ink also builds up on the tip that can cause blots if you're not careful.





like i mentioned, these particular pens appear to be discontinued, the pricing as far as i can remember was around $7-$10 for a package of four pens and seem to be going on amazon for around $6 per pen.

i'm not sure that i would recommend this particular pen as there are some issues that i have pointed out out on pens that aren't really all that useful, but for me, i work around the flaws and just enjoy the pen for what it is.

pen 60: papermate kilometrico plus

today's pen is a blast from the past. the kilometrico is a pen that was purchased sometime in the 90's for back to school supply shopping. in some way i think it is a little fitting that summer vacation is coming to an end and everywhere i go i see people stocking up on their school supplies.

anyway.

i have no idea how this particular pen managed to survive being in my possession for at least 16 years, through several moves around the state and various purging attempts to streamline all the dumb crap i've collected over the years. it is a little amazing when i think about it.

after an exhaustive five minute search, the only place i could find that carries these pens were located in australia and won't ship international. these pens are discontinued in the united states as far as i can tell, and while they do have some good points i'm not entirely sure if that is any great loss.

the pen itself is more or less a typical ballpoint pen, much like the paper mate write bros. the body of this one is a real unfortunate magenta with a blue tip. the pen has poor glide, need to be warmed up, occasionally skips and stutters... oh and the ink has a particular smell that i cant really decide if its good or bad... its probably toxic and is giving me super cancer as we speak, er, read.

whatever.

the lack of glide isn't all that bad, i personally like pens that interact with the paper i like friction, i like feeling what i'm doing when i draw. another plus is that the ink is a really cool dark blue that i haven't seen in any other pen i've used over the years.

since there almost no way you can get your hands on this pen it doesn't really matter if i recommend it or not. as an oddity and having such a funny name it may be fun to use but there really isn't


that much difference between this pen and the other basic pens that paper mate still produces.

pen 52: pilot explorer

this is one of those pens that, by all rights, i should never have used, let alone own. like the varsity featured for #50, this pen was given to my by a good friend, and in some odd way makes me a little sad knowing that, like those summer romances before the internet, the relationship has an expiration date and
makes me wonder is ignorance is bliss because i now know about its existence and will feel its lack in my heart, in my soul.

what?

the pilot explorer is an amazing pen that has, for whatever reason, been discontinued. it's solidly constructed, has an bizarre but comfortable ergonomic grip that allows for several different grips, made of durable plastic that has an albeit "dated" overall look. this pen looks more like a syringe than anything else really.

when i went online to search for outlets that might still have a few of these babies left. i was met with frustration, it seems that there are none to be found, which isn't all that surprising i'm sure that anyone who owns them use them and treasure them.

the thing that really irritates me is that there are probably boxes of these pens lying unused in landfills following the death of a grandparent or the closure of some company in middle america. i was a bit surprised to discover that there are a few grass-root campaigns to get this pen back into production - i don't know how that's working out for them but i plan on researching it further and adding my support to the cause.

as i mentioned, the explorer is a well built tool, the ink is quick drying although it does build up on the tip and can create blotches if you aren't careful, it's a wonderful pen to write with, it inks over pencil and is perfect for contour, gesture and detail work. if you can find one, count yourself lucky and if you find two, please consider sending me one.

the greatest praise i can think of, when it comes to pens, is that i like this one so much that i don't want to use it, if that makes sense.