disposable

Review: Kuretake Bimoji, Brush Pen, Medium Point

by Andrew

Kuretake Bimoji

I don’t have much experience writing with brush pens like the Kuretake Bimoji, but I was quick to learn that they take a bit of skill to use. Writing with the Bimoji is a lot like writing with a fine-point permanent marker; its porous tip narrows to a point, creating a line width that varies depending on how you angle the pen in your hand. Consequently, the handwriting of an inexperienced brush pen user can look very sloppy, but once you got the hang of it, the Bimoji is a really fun pen to use.

The Bimoji stands out among all my other pens both for how it looks and how it writes. Using a light touch, it can create a really unique style of handwriting with clean lines and no bleeding. But despite the nice rubbery grip, I found it difficult to write with this pen for very long. At a normal writing angle, the lines produced by this medium tipped Bimoji are too thick, and contorting your hand to write perpendicular to the page is a difficult position to maintain.

Brush Pen Doodle

Really, the Bimoji brush pen is for artists (and for writing in Japanese characters). I personally couldn’t stop doodling all over my notebook with this pen, so I’d suspect those who have drawing skills might downright love it. Maybe a fine-tipped brush pen would be more appropriate for writing, but for now this Bimoji will have a place as my go-to doodle pen.

Kuretake Bimoji review

Extra Links

  • The review at Natto Soup mentions that the cap posts on the end of the barrel in a strange way. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure that the cap was intended to post, so I just kept it off to the side whenever I used it.
  • JetPens has a short video of somebody writing Japanese characters with the Bimoji, and it’s beautiful – it looks like art.
  • Pocket Blonde’s review mentions that the extra fine tipped Bimoji is good for writing.

Review: Inc R-2, Rollerball Pen, 0.7mm

by Andrew

Inc R-2 Rollerball

The Inc R-2 rollerball pen has a thick, sturdy look about it, and it feels like a permanent marker in the hand. It’s fully disposable, yet seems durable enough to hold up to the abuse of banging around in a backpack. I was excited to use the R-2, but when I finally had a reason to pull one out and write, I was quickly disappointed.

The R-2 has a decent grip, making it fairly comfortable to hold, but it delivers neither the smoothest nor the cleanest lines. It has a really nice dark ink, but it bleeds through the page. Worst of all, the flow is just no good – there is no consistency in line width, and the ink frequently skips out.

Inc R-2 bleed through test

The R-2 is an inexpensive pen – I bought a 2-pack for one dollar – but they’re still not worth the trouble. The writing is so inconsistent that they’ll only frustrate you. Instead, spend an extra dollar or two to get something at least a little better.

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Review: uni-ball Air, Rollerball Pen, 0.7mm

by Andrew

uni-ball Air

Between the name and the design of the pen, the uni-ball Air makes me feel like I’m writing with a Blackbird stealth jet. It’s a black, all-plastic rollerball pen with a faint hexagonal pattern on the barrel and a grey swoosh near the tip. It looks really cool.

uni-ball Air tip

The Air has a very interesting feel while writing.  It’s somewhat waxy on paper and is almost like writing with a crayon. The ink is very rich and dark, and it spreads out on the page so much that it feels much thicker than a 0.7mm tip. Though it doesn’t smear nearly as much as I expected, it does seem to bleed readily through paper.

One of the main advertising points of the Air is that it writes at any angle, and I think it actually produces a finer, cleaner line when writing upside down. If uni-ball offered the AIr in a smaller tip size, I’d probably jump to recommend it. At 0.7mm, however, it runs and bleeds enough that I’m inclined to pass it up.

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Review: Sharpie Pen Retractable, Porous Point, Fine

by Andrew

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Having passed by the Sharpie Pen on the store shelves for years, it was a revelation to me when I finally used one for the first time. Its clean, consistent lines seem to improve the way handwriting looks, it barely smears, and Sharpie even managed to make the pen look nice. Because I have a predilection for retractables, I was eager to grab the Sharpie Pen Retractable, and though this version improves upon the original, I’m sorry to say that it didn’t quite meet my high expectations.

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Let’s start with the good: The Sharpie Pen Retractable has the same great writing performance as the original, adding a couple great features. The grip was a good idea – though I never had too much issue handling the original, a grip makes it much easier to write with for longer periods. The thicker design helps too, making the whole pen feel a bit more durable, and the flimsy clip of the original has been replaced with metal.

On the other hand, the clicker/knock mechanism is annoyingly long, there’s some slight rattling in the barrel while writing, and, although it’s slightly heavier than the original Sharpie Pen, it still could use a bit of added weight for a good balance. These are all very minor complaints, but at more than twice the cost of the original Sharpie Pen (at all the places I looked), I can’t say that the Retractable is a particularly good value for a non-refillable pen. It might be better to just stick with the original Sharpie Pen.

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Review: The Sharpie Pen, Porous Point, Fine

by Andrew

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It may be enough for me to say that The Sharpie Pen has become one of my go-to writing instruments. It’s a porous point pen that makes very clean lines, has very minimal smearing, and dries to a fairly dark black. Consequently, I find that it really improves the way my writing looks, and the consistent ink flow and sleek design make it a great pen to use on the go.

That’s not to say that it’s perfect. While the packaging advertises The Sharpie Pen as no-bleed, I do see some bleeding occasionally while writing – and plenty more bleeding while doodling. The pen is also very light and could use a little bit of added weight to give it some balance. The lack of any grip area, too, makes it a little harder to write with for longer periods of time.

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Still, I really like this pen a lot, and I even prefer this disposable version over the stainless steel model. If you haven’t used The Sharpie Pen before, I heartily recommend it. It’s a good pen to always have available.

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