pen 83: jot permanent marker chisel tip

today's pen is a transitional pen that bridges the chisel tipped event and heralds the wonders that can be found at the local dollar store.

the jot permanent marker chisel tip comes in a package containing two markers, bringing the price down to around $.50 a pen, this would be a great price if the pen was a quality pen - sadly, it is not.

while the producing company got the aesthetics of the marks-a-lot body style (which i suspect actually all the surplus pre-redesign of the marks-a-lot.) the similarities really end there.

to begin with the bitching and moaning... the durability: the body is solid, tough plastic that can survive things like wedged in them in a window to keep the glass pane from closing all the way, can be useful in sculpting due to its cylindrical shape and the odd sized cap can be used for odd detail. the cap also stays where it is supposed to be which is nice because the in will wreck your self if you don't check (the pen) yourself, yo. but these things are true of the marks-a-lot.

also, like the marks-a-lot, the pen bleeds, both seepage and through the page, especially on thinner paper, and the felt tip wears down even faster than the brand name version. also, i noticed that theses pens dry out insanely fast, granted, i used these pens rather heavily for the examples but i haven't had not only one but two brand new pens die on me for one of these reviews, as is the case here. the last thing that i feel i should mention is the smell of the ink. as you probably know mostly all of the pens in the permanent marker family have a strong and distinct odor, that to me is not always unpleasant, and unfortunately that is not the case with this pen. it is pretty vile and probably, doing irreparable damage to my body, brain and on some sort of molecular level, and any money you might save by skimping on this marker is going to be offset buy the price of a filter mask, respiratory inconvenience and possible super-cancer... okay, so i'm not a doctor and i really can't say that any of that last part is true (except that you might want to look into a nice filter mask - handy things those.)  the only thing that i would use these pens for is writing on signs, student government posters, lost dog/cat fliers, chemical warfare and moving boxes - anything that you dot really care about but need to do and you don't want to waste the money on a quality pen that's going to be destroyed by the first time it's used.

i do not recommend this pen at all. do not buy it and burn any that you might come across in life. it is evil.

evil i say, pure stinky evil!

pen 82: sharpie king size chisel tip

considering that the second post here on a pen a day was the single largest marker i have ever used, the sharpie magnum chisel tip, it is a little funny that with no foreplanning this pen, the sharpie king size chisel is being reviewed exactly eighty pens later. i don't know... maybe it isn't really all that funny after all.

anyway.

the sharpie king is available in three colors, black, blue and red. it is the middle child between the magnum and the smaller sharpies chisel tip and the chisel tip pro. this pen has all the features typical to the sharpie line, they are durable, the body is aluminum (i think, it's some kind of metal anyway) it is bold the ink is dark, and dries quickly. this pen does "squeak" at times which is almost as bad as nails on a chalkboard so be aware of that. the felt tip does tend to show signs of wear after light use and , since the ink lasts longer than the tip i tend to use the blunted tipped pens for fills or ina pinch on large format projects. the sharpie king has the same issues with the smell, bleed and bleed through, the glide varied depending on what you are using it on and if the cap does come off in transit... well it has a larger tip and a ton of ink just waiting to touch paper, fabric, cigarettes and skin... and it will ruin your day and maybe a pair of pants.

i have found this pen useful for detailing acrylic paintings, drawing on finished wood, metal and glass, it works really well with is siblings in the sharpie chisel family handling areas that are too small for the magnum and tasks that would take forever to fill with the smaller versions. this pen also works really well in its own right and can be used to tag, make signs, draw sloppy pictures of naughty bits on your buddy's face when he passes out at a party, labeling boxes when moving, throwing at the neighbors cat when it's eating your cat's food, and coloring in bleached spots or moth holes (the latter requires you coloring on your skin under the hole) on your dress/work clothes... oh and they work okay on scuffed black shoes as we..

these pens retail around $2-$3 a pen, you can buy them in four packs as well and those run about $8-$10. might find better prices online, but i'll let you look for yourself on that.

as to whether or not i would recommend or not, i would. it's a sharpie and therefore never a bad purchase, go. buy. one. now.

as always, if you go out and buy this pen and don't like it - madness - contact me, i'll give you shipping info and in exchange i will send you an awesome drawing drawn with the pen you so disliked.

website:
www.sharpie.com

what they say:

All hail.

• Industrial Strength for the toughest marking jobs
• Durable aluminum barrel and felt tip stand up to heavy use
• Excellent for marking corrugate, wood, metal, foil, stone, plastic, leather and more
• Marks on wet and oily surfaces
• Water resistant and dries quickly
• 3 bold colors

pen 81: sanford mr. sketch scented watercolor marker

as a fun study in contrasts (for me at least, i am easily amused.) i decided to follow yesterday's $300 pen set for one that will set you back less than $10. if you are roughly as old as i am or younger you probably have used these pens, in fact i was a little surprised to see that they are currently still in production and for sale not only online but worldwide and in actual stores like walmart, target, staples and pretty much everywhere art markers are sold. the particular pen that i used for this review has somehow survived at least ten years and several hundred miles that i moved during my twenties. this is happening, today's pen is the sanford mr. sketch scented watercolor marker, although it is probably remembered as the only markers that we were not only allowed to sniff, but kinda encouraged to. it kinda reminds me of those fake cigarette candy sticks that had a hole running down the length with powdered sugar inside, or the bubble gum cigarettes... yes, those did exist (and actually still do except they no longer can "puff" powder sugar out, the tip aren't dyed red and they are called candy sticks.)

but i digress.

these pens came in a variety of colors, limited in scope to the amount of "non-toxic" odors the were legally allowed to use. (i'm not saying that's accurate, just that it sounds as plausible as any other reason)

the reason that i was a bit surprised that they were still being made is that, even in the second grade i knew that all these pens had going for them was that they smelled nice and that, sadly, that did not translate to them tasting good - don't judge, you know you tried it too.

so other than the scented factor there really aren't any reason to buy these over say, a crayola set. the felt tip wears down extremely fast, especially when you consider that these pens are used by children, and children are hard on delicate things. they dried out quickly with use or if you left the cap off, water could kind of re-activate them but once dry, you might as well throw it out. these pens are smooth, good glide, thick bodied for little fingers, and messy, the ink will stain your hands and clothes, even if you're careful you'll probably end up with ink on the heel of your hand. so consider that before handing these over to a child.

i wouldn't recommend these pens, they don't send a good message about sniffing things like paint or markers, there are cleaner tools out there, they are not durable (the only reason i had one still was that it somehow survived years of pen purging, that i haven't used it at all, and will be discarding it after this post.) basically, if you want to get a kid a pen set go with crayola or rose art. you'll have better results with those brands.

websites:

it seems that sanford has opted not to include this product line on their website: http://www.sanfordb2b.com

you can find more information on these pens here: wikipedia and here: staples

what they say:

• Premium watercolor markers are long lasting and provide vibrant colors with fun scents
• Chisel tip for bold of fine print
• AP certified nontoxic
• Ink won't bleed through paper

(edit: for a nsfw version of the third sketch go here: nsfw)

pen 80: prismacolor chisel-fine double ended art marker

okay, so it only took me eighty posts to get to the single largest art supply investment (in terms of non-electronic) that i have made, these pens are hands down the standing titan of price tags that i have yet to surpass.

so since i've made a big deal about the price, i guess i should address the pricing on these pens. when i discovered these pen, around 2000-01, they were selling them individually for around $2-$3 as i recall (note that the pens that i own from this era are slightly different that the pens they sell now, i believe its mostly cosmetic changes but i haven't taken the opportunity to try one out) they came in different sets as well, primaires, metals, warm/cool/french grays, that were like twelve pens to a set. there were also sets of around like twenty-four, thirty-two, 120 and the holy grail, aka, the 144 pen complete set.

as i recall i think that i found that set, on sale, from an art supply store on lower market street in san francisco, a few blocks from the main campus of the college i was attending. the sale price was like 10% off and i believe that i paid around $300. i just looked this set up online and discovered that the price i remember paying is pretty damned close to what they still are selling for, go here: Sanford Berol Prismacolor Art Marker 144 Color Set if you're curious.

at the time of this purchase, i was still in the more traditional art classes, not so much the computer editing and animation courses and these pens made my life so much easier. the mid-term and final projects looked really sharp and professional, and over time i learned how to work around the peculiarities of these pens.

so let's start with the praise: these pens are bold, saturation is awesome, the bleed is potentially moderate but if you have something under the page you are working on its not all that bad, and when coloring around the outlines of whatever you can start to anticipate how much the bleed will creep and let the ink work for you, especially if you are moving slow. the pens dry very quickly, it is alcohol based and that means it evaporates, the smell of the ink is not unpleasant, and really the only thing that i can think to compare it to is itself which really doesn't help out much if you've never smelled one.

the inks can overlap to get some interesting results and the strength of their gray selection is extensive making for extremely fun layering work in monochromatic backgrounds, storyboards and concept art, this also lends itself to the other lighter colored pens and the darker ones will have limited effectiveness with the grays that fall into the 60%+ range.

the drawbacks are unfortunately numerous, however, many of them can be worked around if you're careful. first, when got the set home i discovered that several of the pens were dry, as in never had ink in them, lame, i had to argue with the store to get a replacement pen, luckily they were common colors and the store had them on the shelves, the other annoying discovery was that a few of the labels were all crooked and in some cases backwards indication the wrong direction for the wrong tip. i know that this sounds picky but come on, i paid $300, sale or not it was a lot of money at the time... who am i kidding, it still is. the ink, while it does dry quickly can be blended with the blending pen which is nice but that blender gets all mucky after a few uses so meh, also the caps, if not SECURELY, like fort knox secure, and you might think you've capped it but double check, for serious, because if any air gets to circulate inside the pen will dry out faster than something that's like crazy fast. i dunno, its late, sue me. the caps are tricky, they don't seem to stay on the pen very well, and if you're carrying them around in a bag they tend to fall off on their own. i have used up an entire pen several times from usage, mostly the black and various grays, but i have lost more pens to a loose cap than i'd like to remember.

i know that this post seems to be focus on a lot of negative things, but for the price tag, these pens should work better. as i mentioned earlier, they have made some changes to the pen design and i do not know if they have addressed any of these shortcomings.

i should also point out that even though they were expensive, they were incredibly useful, i loved these pens at the time, and the only reason i would not buy these pens now is that there are other brands, like copic, that are better quality and yes, more expensive. the other reason i don't think i would but a set like this again is that i do most of my coloring digitally these days, for the price of the pens i could get a pretty snazzy printer - yes, i know it's not the same, but that's just where my focus is these days.

website:

www.prismacolor.com

what they say:

Every artist can appreciate these double-ended art markers. The ink is formulated to give the richest color saturation with silky smooooooth coverage. The duality of the thick and skinny tips let you change it up whenever the mood strikes. One ink source ensures color consistency from either end. It’s an alcohol, dye-based ink that’s non toxic.

pen 79: prismacolor premier chisel tip

i believe that i bought this pen as part of a set around a year or two ago. despite the fact that i love microns, and to a lesser degree, staedtlers (these were in my pre-copic-era days) i decided to sink invest waste around $15 on this prisma set based on the fact that i thought i liked the prismacolor pen line that i bought and used back in my college days.

sadly this purchase was the final straw and has soured me on the prismacolor brand.

since i'm not reviewing the chisel/fine marker until tomorrow i won't get into the frustrations that i experienced prematurely, but i will say that with the perspective of hindsight i really see that i probably should have not been so surprised.

so to start with the positive. these pens have good flow, they have no odor, they dry instantly and is a very clean pen. i should also mention that they don't have any noticeable bleed, including (mostly) through the paper. the felt tip of the chisel model is fairly rigid but wears quickly, especially with heavy use. the price for a single chisel tip pen on amazon is around $2, you can also find the sets for a fairly wide range of prices, but if you're under $15 you are probably doing ok (don't forget to figure shipping into the price, yo.)

sadly that's the limit of things that i can point out as positive features.

the ink is rather light, it takes a few passes to get a fully saturated color, in this case, black. its a good thing that it takes a lot to bleed through the paper - you really have to be trying hard to do so - because of the lightness of the ink. this pen, like the other chisel tipped pens that i have reviewed, is an äll or nothing" pen which is a little ironic in a way because the lack of deep color doesn't really translate as a useful shading technique... although that joust might be me and my skill level with inking. the other major flaw that i have noticed is that if you decide to erase the pencil marks you used as guides, the ink will rub off as well, requiring a second round of inking to touch-up parts that lightened during the cleaning process.

overall, i would not recommend this brand of pen to anyone, they are too expensive for what they are and there are other brands out there that cost the same and work so much better. if you are thinking of buying this for yourself or as a gift for a developing artist i would strongly urge you to go to an art supply store and pick up either a micron set or a staedtler set, it's not that much more and the pens are far more durable than the prismacolors. meh.

website:
www.prismacolor.com

what they say:

These markers have you covered no matter the task at hand. Take your pick from multiple tip sizes to experience paintbrush-like strokes in the convenience of a marker. Go with the fine tip for serious precision and control. Lettering, outlining and free form drawing look exceptional with the chisel tip. But why limit yourself? Pick up an assorted set with a variety of tip types for all your drawing needs.

These markers contain premium pigmented acid-free, archival ink that is lightfast, permanent, non-toxic, and water resistant. Use these markers for crisp, detail work in artistic and technical applications.

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 77: sharpie chisel tip permanent marker

so as promised yesterday, today i am taking a look at the regular or "civilian" sharpie chisel tip permanent marker.

a few quick notes on this particular pen. the ink is just as saturated and bold as any other sharpie, this pen had no range of value in between black and white. shading is limited to fills, hatching, cross-hatching and stippling, unless you are writing on some kind of painted or plastic surface and the you can smudge the ink to get some value range. warning, this technique is very messy, and depending what study you read may or may not lead to things like ink poisoning and/or cancer... i probably out to do some actual refreshing research before making such claims - but as a person who writes on his hands and arms all the time i hear these little gems an a near daily basis.

the tips on these pens are felt, and not suited to precision detail work after using for relatively short amount of time. i find that after several uses i tend to throw them in a box i call the sharpie graveyard and only used when i need to fill large areas of white space and don't need to worry about the detail work, i usually use several pens when drawing and this one pen a day thing has been challenging in that i feel extremely limited by the singe pen approach...

on the other hand, it has caused me to work in size formats that i haven tried in years, is forcing me to find creative solutions and is probably making me a stronger artist. still, it can be a pain in the ass at times.

these pen tend to fall in the $1 - $3 dollar range (edit: as of the time of this post office max is having a sale on sharpies - 25 cents a pen, limit three pens per customer.), i've seen packaging  with four or five pens in a pack and you can often find them in singles in a sharpie display that most stores ive been to lately seem to have. the other and last thing that i feel that i should mention is that these pens come in black, and eight additional color choices, which can be useful when making signs banners labeling or just to feel all special and pretty.

website: 
www.sharpie.com

what they say:

• Versatile chisel tip marks both broad and fine line widths
• Unique anti-roll barrel design
• Permanent on most surfaces
• Fade and water resistant Quick-drying ink
• AP certified nontoxic formula
• 8 bold colors
• Broad and fine strokes. You'll excuse our split personality.

pen 76: sharpie professional chisel tip

welcome to day three of chisel tip week, it's a lot like shark week only waaaay more boringer... that's right, i said it, boringer... deal with it.

today i am going to look at the sharpie chisel tip professional permanent marker.

so this pen is the super hardcore version of tomorrow's regular sharpie chisel tip pen. the professional is a durable pen that is made for things that require wearing heavy leather gloves. the tip is reinforced, though not as durable as the bic marks-a-lot. still this pen is going to last longer under heavy use than the civilian version. the body of this pen in roughly flat, making it less likely to roll of surfaces, and has the additional perk of having a yellow rubber covering down the side improving grip. the last feature to note are the odd bumps near the bottom of the cap, as far as i am able to figure these provide further traction when wearing gloves, aside from the practical feature of the pen, it is a basic utilitarian pen, comes in only one color, black. like the black of the evil soul of someone... evil. yeah, that one fell flat. 

the ink is dark, the saturation heavy, and the bleed considerable. it eventually will dry out, especially if you are laying down a lot of ink, but usually replacing the cap and waiting a few minutes allows the tip to rehydrate or whatever. this pen will write on paper, wood, tile, stone, canvas, on top of watercolor, acrylic, and latex paints, it should handle gesso, and i haven't tried it over things like dried oil paints or pastels but it will cover graphite, charcoal and other forms of ink.

as for the cost, these seem to retail between $3 - $5 for a single pen but when you consider the versatility of the pen and it's life span i would honestly rather have one of these in my bag than three of the civilian version. 

is this pen worth the cost and would i recommend this pen? yes, without hesitation, or reservations... i urge you to give this pen a spot in your arsenal of art supplies.

website:

www.sharpie.com 

what they say:

Mark it like a pro: Permanent on most surfaces, including wet, oily, abrasive and nonporous surfaces 

Stronger professional chisel tip lasts 50% longer than standard Sharpie chisel tip on abrasive surfaces 

Non-slip barrel and cap design make cap easy to remove even when you're wearing gloves 

val shaped barrel will not roll off flat surfaces 

Quick drying: AP Certified nontoxic formula The Sharpie professional chisel-tip permanent marker is designed for use in rough conditions, so it's a great choice for use in warehouses, on construction sites, or in other places that tend to wear out standard markers. The ink is water resistant and resists fading, so it won't wear off no matter where you use it.

Stronger Tip: The Sharpie professional chisel-tip permanent marker is designed with a tougher tip, so it lasts 50 percent longer than standard permanent markers. You can use it for difficult jobs without worrying about the tip wearing out too soon.

Writes on Multiple Surfaces: The Sharpie professional chisel-tip permanent marker also writes permanently on most surfaces, including those that are wet and oily, abrasive, or nonporous. Unlike regular permanent markers, you can use these professional-strength markers just about anywhere. When you need a finer point for precise writing in tough conditions, you can use the Sharpie industrial extra-fine-point permanent marker.

Convenient Barrel Design: With their convenient barrel design, these Sharpie professional chisel-tip permanent markers are also easier to use in difficult circumstances. The rubber barrel and cap are easy to remove, even with gloved hands, and the oval design means they won't roll away when you put it down.

pen 75: avery marks-a-lot

the avery marks-a-lot is one of those pens that, like sharpies, are found in nearly any place selling anything. these pens are everywhere. junk drawers, garage and workshop benches, office supply rooms... simply everywhere.

the marks-a-lot is a felt-tip permanent marker that is cheap, disposable and fairly good at what it does under the proper conditions and usage.

like the mark-it this pen bleeds, i know i said yesterday that i wasn't going to worry about the bleed but having used this pen i found that there is bleed and then there is bleed. the marks-a-lot, when used on regular copier paper not only soaks through the paper but will bleed over detail work, especially if whatever you detail is on the smaller side of the scale. if you are using heavier sock paper or bristol the bleed is not nearly as pronounced. i will say that judging this pen on criteria that i hold other smaller tipped pens is not exactly fair, so take that for what it's worth.

the felt tip tends to dry out under constant use, like filling in large areas of black and sometimes requires a few minutes to refresh, or you can be impatient like me a make several passes until the desired saturation is reached. one the other difference between this pen and yesterday's is the durability of the felt tip. unlike the mark-it, the marks-a-lot wears down quickly, especially if you're pressing hard on the paper. once the tip is worn down, detail work is next to impossible and the pen is either used as a fill pen or ready for the trash can.

the ink dries pretty quickly, and reeks of alcohol, so use in in open areas, try not to breathe it in too much, they say its non-toxic, but the smell can't be good for your brain. if you hate having a functioning brain and you want to change that unfortunate fact this might be the pen for you. on last thing - if you are inking, be sure that your hand isn't all sweaty, i know it sounds a little gross, but i have found that, especially when it's hot outside and you you don't move your hand around much this can happen. despite avery's claim that it is water resistant, i have evidence to the contrary, the heel of my hand is now a purplish black... so, yeah.

okay, so my final thoughts on this pen. the cost ought to fall in between $1-$2 a piece, although they do sometimes sell these at the dollar store. this pen is pretty basic and hard to mess up, would i recommend it? meh... i guess if its the only option but there are better chisel tipped pens out there for roughly the same price that perform better.


website:

nk marks virtually any surface and resists rubbing, water and fading to deliver marks that last. The ink is low-odor, nontoxic and certified. The quick-drying formula minimizes accidental contact with damp ink. A chisel tip allows you to vary the width of your strokes for legible notes on small surfaces and broad strokes on high-visibility signs. With this marker, the convenience is as enduring as the ink.

• Permanent ink is water-resistant and withstands fading
• Chisel tip allows you to write with a variety of line widths
• Marks virtually any surface, including cardboard and plastic
• Dries quickly and is rub-resistant to minimize smudging
• Nontoxic formula allows safe use by children

pen 74: bic mark it chisel tip

welcome to the second semi-a pen a day- even...

chisel tips.

that's right, from labeling moving boxes, making garage sale signs, highschool banners, "have you seen me"missing pet flyers, and of course, tagging public property, the tool of choice is usually the felt tipped chisel pen.

to kick of this sub-set of pen, i am going to talk about the bic mark-it!

okay so there are things about the permanent marker that are simply universal, things like bleed, they all do it, cleanliness is another, if you aren't careful you will get this stuff on your hands, so i wont really talk much about things like that.

the bic mark-it! is available in 36 colors and packaged in 2, 4, 8 and 12 pen packages. the tip is felt but the thing i really like about this pen in particular is that it is a freaking durable tip, where other pen seem to soften over use this pen can lay down a lot of ink and still keep a nice edge which makes things like detail a lot less difficult than some of the other chisel pens out there. the ink does dry fast, and fairly clean, and the odor probably won't get you high, dizzy or lightheaded, for me it brings back memories of the swab they use on you before you get  a shot. the color is bold, strong, there is no real value range, this is an all or nothing pen. you can shade larger pieces by using different techniques, like stippling hatching or cross hatching. i use these pens for several different tasks, like large scale drawings, detailing over acrylic or watercolor paintings and filling in large areas of black,. especially when photoshop is not a viable option. as for the cost, if you can find them for around $1.50 a pen you're doing good. i highly recommend this pen and i don't do that very often for whatever that's worth. again, feedback and your thoughts on this pen are always welcome.

websites: 
http://www.bicmarkit.com/
www.facebook.com/BICMarkit

what they say:

chisel tip permanent markers provide a tank-style permanent marker with a chisel tip for those larger projects, such as tag sale signs or wall murals!

permanent markers offer long-lasting color and durable nibs that are great for marking on surfaces such as plastic, metal, glass, cardboard, wood, photos, oily and damp surfaces. all markers contain acid-free ink, no added acid; no measurable pH. And with 36 colors, the creative possibilities are endless!

a pen a day event, #b: chisel tips

(tell your friends)