[Pen/Pencil Review] Stabilo Bl@ck – Fine Point – Red & Green Ink
It’s the week before Christmas and all through the house, every creature is running rampant. Here’s one more set of red and green rollerball pens – the Stabilo Bl@ck Fine Point.
I’m…iffy…about the Stabilo pens. These are no exception. JetPens PICTURES says the Bl@ck fine points are a 0.3mm but if they are, it’s the WIDEST 0.3mm tip I’ve ever used. It’s not bad. In fact, it’s a decent line with a good pigment in both the red and the green. Dark and rich, I just have the quibble on the point size.
The barrels are a softer rubber than your typical rollerball pens. The rubberized plastic has an ergonomic taper to the end, but there are also ridges that can dig in defeating part of the claim to be a “fatigue free†writing experience. The pens are comfortable. The cap does post securely. There are some handsome details to the pen.
The Bl@cks are 5.7†long with the cap on and 6.2†with the cap posted. The pen is well-balanced and fits well in the hand. And it is a really handsome looking pen. The metal clip is strong and bright against the cap. The conical tip is relatively smooth on the paper. There’s some smearing to the ink, but it does dry pretty quickly.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 0.5 It’s decent. The point is pretty sturdy with a decent ink flow. I quibble over the point size.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It has an ergonomic flair to the barrel design. The rubberized barrel is nice, but there ridges near the point that can dig in if you choke down on the point.
3. Material – 1 The rubberized plastic is softer than the normal plastic stick pen which gives it a nice feel. The metal parts are strong. The cap posts securely.
4. Overall Design – 1 -It’s a relatively decent stick pen with decent workmanship and writing surfaces
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s a bit on the pricy side – you have to order them online from JetPens or Amazon. They run between $3 and $4 a pop unless you get a sale on Amazon for the four-pack. Not something to buy on the biggest of whims.
3.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Writer Post] The Week Before Christmas Edition
It’s the Week Before Christmas Holiday Edition of the blog post. If you want to surprise someone with one of my Yard Dog Press Books, you can find a list of all the titles here. I know I’d appreciate the love – and so would Yard Dog. Feel free to check out the other authors, too, and pick up some of those books, too. Or pick up books by any of your favorite authors.
I’m working on some of my 2016 calendar dates. One is almost completely nailed down. I’m waiting for the venue to mention it first before I do. But it’s 90% confirmed! I can’t wait to tell you about that (it’ll be all over Facebook and Twitter just as soon as I have final confirmation). Then it’ll be ConDFW for the next appearance.
Totally need to make some things happen next year – that I’ve been sitting on. Amazon type stuff – because 500 lb gorilla – but will hopefully help with reach and stuff – stuff that falls under “Business of Writingâ€.
The new contact lens paradigm failed. It’s been corrected. Now I can actually get back to work like I should’ve been doing this past week or so but had difficulties. Also thinking there might be some “Winds of Change†in Day Job stuff that could be really good (so fingers crossed).
Time to get crackin’, I guess. Let’s make stuff happen!
[Pen/Pencil Review] Pilot Super Gel – 0.5mm Green Ink
‘Tis the Season for trying to stay on track (sort of) it’s been a busy day – stuff happening, things going on. To keep with the theme, this is a green gel roller ball pen I picked up in my last JetPens order. This is the Pilot Super Gel – 0.5mm in green ink (to keep with the season).
This is a utility pen. Basic clear plastic. It’s about 5.7†long capped and 6.3†long with the cap posted and fairly well balanced. The cap posts securely (with a solid click) and has a fairly study molded plastic clip. The clear plastic of the cap and barrel let you see how much of the green ink reservoir is available. And the cap has decorative cut outs. The barrel has a ribbed grip, but little in the way of ergonomics.
The gel ink is decently dark and rich with a conical roller ball tip. It has a smooth action across the page. It’s a decent, no frills pen with a seemingly huge ink reservoir. You’ll write with this pen for a good long time. It’s also relatively inexpensive that makes it a decent investment – even if you have to order it online.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s decent. No frills. But it’s a good fine point gel stick pen
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s an inexpensive, plastic, no frills pen. The ribbed grip gives it traction without much else.
3. Material – 1 It’s okay for what it is. It’s a solid clear plastic stick pen with a good cap and a solid clip.
4. Overall Design – 1 -It’s a basic stick pen with a nod to ergonomics. It’s a nice thing but nothing out of the ordinary.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s a solid pen for a decent price. These pens are $1.65 on JetPens. They’re not available in stores, just online. And you’d have to get a lot to qualify for free shipping.
4 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Writer Post] Day Late… AGAIN
And… another blog post that’s a day late and a probably a dollar short. But it’s December – a busy time of the year. About to start the holiday baking marathon. We did our Christmas shopping this afternoon. Work is … work. But there are Winds of Change starting to blow (or potentially anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me, please.
Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers for my dad last week. He’s out the of hospital and on the mend and looking into preventative measures to keep this situation from happening again.
I’ve gotten through the first read of a collaborative effort novel – now I need to actually need to do the edits and add the additions and answer the questions. WHEE! All while I’m still adjusting to a new contact lens paradigm. But it’s a good project – weird project – but good project.
I have some plot bunnies hopping around. We’ll see if any of them actually get corralled.
[Pen/Pencil Review] RERUN – Boxing Reindeer Ball Point Pen
I’m doing a repeat post a day late because I had my annual eye doctor check up yesterday and had the REALLY GOOD pupil dilation drops. And I’m adjusting to a whole new contact lens – a bifocal contact lens. Trippy. Reading/writing last night DID NOT HAPPEN. 😎 So.. Day late…
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It’s not a holiday season without at least one funny novelty pen. This one was a gift from my mother. And after this review it’s not going to actually ever really be used as a pen again. It’s much more fun as a toy.
This is a boxing reindeer ball point pen. The ink point is either a 0.7 or a 1.0mm – I’d bet on the 1.0, it’s becoming the more “standard” pen ink. The pen is over 6 inches long and fairly wide in diameter. It’s wider than I’m comfortable with on a regular basis.
For a novelty pen, it does write fairly well. I used it one day at work and wasn’t completely fatigued by it. The ink flows remarkably well for a silly novelty pen. And I apologize for my photos. For a photographer – I’m a decent writer. A setting was changed…darn it.
But that’s not why I love it. I love it because it’s a silly boxing reindeer — with a glowing nose. This last week before my play and during other Christmas stuff, it was my favorite threat — Don’t Make Me Get Out The Boxing Reindeer.
The Numbers.
1. How does it work? – 0.5 – It’s better than I expected. It’s decent ink and flow. It’s wider than I like.
2. Look and feel – 1 – It’s not bad for a novelty pen. It’s long and wide, but fairly well-balanced for all of that.
3. Material – 0.5 It’s inexpensive plastic with a boxing mechanism and a glowing nose. There are parts to break, wear out, or die.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s an amazing boxing reindeer pen. That’s all there is to say.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – This is not a cheap novelty. It’s not stupidly expensive, but I think it runs about $4. If you’re looking for cheaper – this is not the pen. If you’re looking for a toy… there could be less expensive.
3.5 out of 5 bronze pencils.
[Writing Post] [Conventions] Tipping Points
Welcome to Wednesday and blog post day. It’s been a very weird week. But then, I’m weird, so it’s to be expected… I made it through the initial panic of Grandma coming for Thanksgiving. It turned out fine. That was followed by a very quiet weekend reading a wide variety of books and novellas while it torrentially rained.
Then a question arose… and a quandary. There’s been a small show that I’ve supported for a few years now. And in the last year or so, I’ve watched the table prices rise (and rise and rise). Sadly, there hasn’t been a corresponding rise (and rise and rise) in attendance or sales. Which highlights a situation that seems to occur in a lot of “for profit” shows…expenses rise – either a new venue or floundering attendance – so the show raises the price on tables to cover it – creating a bigger financial burden for the artist/creators who are also part of the draw of the show – especially if it’s a small show where panels are problematic due to space constrictions or what have you.
Jim C. Hines and Me – taken by John Husisian for Jim C. Hines
The question/quandary comes when the artist/creator then has to decide what the breaking point is – continue to support a show that you love so you still have an avenue to sell books/prints, or cut the losses because the odds of actually making the money back is iffy at best. You’d think that wouldn’t be a big question but it is. The venues for branching out to new audiences isn’t as…prolific…as one would hope in the area – so you want to take advantage of the opportunities. HOWEVER, you can’t keep pouring money into losing propositions. And this is not JUST profit shows, you have to sometimes make this call on fan run shows – like literary conventions – as well.
You’d think that would be an easy answer… lose money, stop going to show. Except it’s not all that clear cut if you like the organizers and you can see the potential of the show (whether it’s realized potential or not). Many times you have to look at as an investment in the career (sometimes what I’ve not made in sales, I’ve made up for in networking and contacts) – but you can’t immediately pay rent with networking. There’s a tipping point – and that’s where I struggle. Deciding where that point is.
![IMG_3061[1]](http://www.rhondaeudaly.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_30611-300x225.jpg)
So what’s your tipping point? How do you decide if you stay or go?
[Pen/Pencil Review] TUL Rectractable Pen – 0.5mm Red & Green Ink
Okay, so I know Office Max and Office Depot are technically the same thing, but I still think of them separately. Though, it’s getting harder. There’s one line that still exists in the Office Max Universe – the TUL pen line. Which makes me happy this holiday season, because I like their 0.5mm retractable pens. And for the next month, I’ll be exclusively working in RED and GREEN… because fa lalalalala.
The TUL retractable pens are about 5.75″ long with the tip retracted and extended. The barrels are plastic with color coordinated dimpled rubber grips. The clips are metal and sturdy with color coordinating accents. The plunger is clear plastic with color coordinating plugs in side. There’s not a ton of squish in the grip, but they’re pretty comfortable.
The ink is decent. I’ve actually had these for a while, and they still work well, even on the rough handmade paper. The color is rich and smooth, especially for a 0.5mm. I’ve enjoyed working with these pens off and on for a while now. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t reviewed them before. But I looked, and lo, behold!
I’m more impressed with the green. Green is hard to get a good dark line in finer points, but these TULs do a good job. I think you may still be able to get smaller packages than a dozen in the multiple colors, but even if you can’t the 12 pack in multiple colors are still pretty affordable.
These are good utility pens. Solid mechanisms with good ink for a decent price. You can go pretty far with these pens. I’m sticking them in my bag for work pens this month. Along with some Pentel EnerGel Xs and probably others. 😎
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – These are solid pens. The ink doesn’t skip in the fine point. The ink is dark and rich. It has a good feel.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – It’s a utilitarian pen. Has a nod to ergonomics with the dimpled, rubber grip. It has a good length with decent balance.
3. Material – 1 It’s a solid plastic and metal retractable pen. It’s good for what it is.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s solid. It’s utilitarian. It works.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – These run between $1.50 – $2.00 a piece, which make them affordable, but I’m not sure how easy they are going to be to get any more other than online. Since TUL was an Office Max “house brand” I don’t know that Office Depot kept them on. Get them while you can, if you can. Or order them online.
4.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Pen/Pencil Review] A Thanksgiving Rerun
Yeah, sorry about this… but so much to do in the next few days I had to give one thing up. So enjoy this post from 2014. And hey, BROWN INK in the theme for Thanksgiving! So enjoy!
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I don’t know why some Mondays are a bigger struggle than others, but they are. This one is one of them. I left the pen I’m reviewing at home, so I don’t have it physically in front of me, but I’m going to do my best. This is one of my last batch from JetPens (may have to do another order soon), it’s Morning Glory Mach 3 roller ball pen in brown ink.
Haven’t heard of Morning Glory? Don’t neither had I. They’re a South Korean pen maker. According to JetPens and the TradeKorea website – Morning Glory is the “biggest Fancy Stationary Manufacturer” based in Seoul, Korea. The Morning Glory Mach 3 collection is the current collection JetPens carries.
The Mach 3 line has 13 different colors in a 0.38 needle tip, roller ball design. I chose the brown ink – occasionally I want something different. Brown takes care of that. The barrel color matches the ink color. There’s a view port to see the ink levels in the side. The grip is molded plastic with only a nod to ergonomics. The cap color matches the barrel, but the plastic is transparent with a steel clip.
The roller ball and ink are smooth and dark for such a fine line (which I like). The tip can be a touch “scratchy” but that gives it a bit of character. I didn’t see a lot of skip or stutter. The needle tip felt solid and not about to bend if you write heavily. The length was consistent with these types of pens to give a decent balance. And it has a good price point for a disposable roller ball pen. I’ll probably try a different color.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – For such a fine point, it works really well. A solid, dark line with little skipping. Dries quickly with minimal smearing.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – I’m knocking a half point for nod to ergonomics. The grip is a decent diameter, but it’s smooth plastic and hard. If you’re a hard gripper, it’ll be tiring. There’s also a ridge where the cap seats that can dig into fingers.
3. Material – 1 – This is an inexpensive, disposal roller ball. It is what it is. Plastic and steel, but it feels sturdy
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – It is what it is. It’s a good design for an inexpensive roller ball. I like the view port for the ink levels. It’s meant to be used and done. It’s good for what it is. There aren’t any ergonomics. The roller ball can be scratchy which some might not like.
5. Price Point – 1 – It’s pretty cheap. It’s $2.00 on JetPens. For a decent quality roller ball, it’s an okay price point.
That’s 4 of 5 bronze pencils.
[Writer Post] How I Was Ripped Off
It’s Wednesday. Time for a blog post. Whee… So I checked out a meme on Facebook a few weeks back – how will you die based on your Meyers-Briggs personality test. Mine sounds about right – ESFJ, dies by telling the wrong secret to the wrong person. Yep. I can see that. It’s not that I go out intending to blab secrets just sometimes being a storyteller it just happens. And sometimes it’s a situation where the ‘the story needs tellin’…” (kinda like the “just needed killin'” defense).
It’s time to tell one of those stories. I’ve mentioned in the past that I was ripped off by a Kickstarter project. Out of deference to people who know this person and the “benefit of the doubt” good person in me, I’ve put off point fingers and naming names. I’m done with that. Yes, I realize Kickstarter is a risk. But this is completely different this was a scam from the beginning, and I got sucked in. This is a project specific thing not a sweeping condemnation of crowdsourcing – just to be clear.
About a year ago I backed a simple little Kickstarter because it would be a fun promotional thing for my writing stuff. I had the creator on Facebook. We had tons of people in common. So I started out with a minimal investment – that after a discussion with Jimmy was bumped up to a bigger investment. The project was a thing called “Pencil Dice” – it’s a wooden pencil with monogramming and pips on the six sides that you can “roll” in a game. It was cheesy and funny and we thought they’d be a good thing to give out at conventions. So we bought in at a storefront level for like a 1000 pencils for $250. This thing blew through stretch goals like nobody’s business. The updates were encouraging and often. Then… it all went to crap.
The creator stopped communicating regularly – and when he did it was platitudes and then flat out lies. Lies that were documented. We confronted him on social media, through Kickstarter, and in person – Pencil Dice wasn’t the only project he failed to complete. The comment lists on Kickstarter are long and voluminous – and angry. Other people and companies got involved to help other projects out because their names were being tarnished. But time has passed. Nothing has happened. And when noise started rising about law suits and official paper work, he moved to another state (for personal reasons) and changed his name (slightly). He’s been defensive and derogatory to those who have chosen to confront him – when he deigns to reply at all. He’s removed his Wikipedia entry and scrubbed his company D20 Entertainment off the web. And I’m done.
He’s still on Facebook – we still have friends in common – but Ken Whitman, I will never let anyone I know do business with you. Don’t let is “cute” name change to “Whit Whitman” (for acting purposes I’m sure). You’ve screwed over me, hundreds of other people for thousands of dollars. You’ve damaged the reputations of companies and artists who gave you license to use their names or their products. You’ve shown no remorse, all the signs of a pathological liar. My $250 isn’t a lot of money – but it was a large chunk of my promotional budget for this last year, which kept me from doing more things for my readers/fans. Ken Whitman hurt my business, my budget, and my faith in humanity. Ken Whitman’s lies, cons, and cluelessness are documented and should not be allowed to stand.
Yes, there are at least two sides to a story. This is my story. My experience with this man. I’m almost glad he changed his name and his Facebook profile. I kept him on my feed to see if he’d come clean, apologize, admit to any wrong doing. Now I don’t have to bother with unfriending him. (Actually he took it private and blocked me.) It’s done. I’m done.
Seriously, I know Crowdsourced things are a risk. But if you overextend, have issues come up, or simply screw up – man up and admit it. That’s all a lot of us asked for in the beginning. And I know manning up is hard (I had the screwed up credit to prove it’s hard to admit to some things because I wanted it to “just go away), but in the long run it’s better all around. This is so far beyond that now.
[Pen/Pencil Review] Pentel Orenz 0.2mm Mechanical Pencil
I still have a few things from a past JetPens order that I haven’t reviewed yet. This mechanical pencil is one of those – the Pentel Orenz. The Orenz comes in a 0.2mm lead – so I had to try it…
Apparently I have a “sweet spot” when it comes to fine points – it’s between a 0.3mm and 0.7mm. This pencil ran a bit too fine point for me. I’m to firm a writer – no matter how “light” I keep my grip, I snap part of the lead almost immediately. No matter WHAT the website/literature says. The good thing is that the lead still manages to extend from the shield so you can still write with it. But still… it’s an adjustment.
The barrel is a classic Pentel style. I bought the black barrel. There are rings etched in every narrowing circles along the grip leading to a concave point with stepped ridges down to the retractable shield – letting the lead guide hold the lead secure, and the guide is rounded. It doesn’t grab paper. I think this pencil will work better for artists who know how to work with such a fine lead. Or if you only advance it a teensy bit beyond the guard at a time.
For a mechanical pencil, it does feel good in the hand. It’s about 5.5″ long with a balanced feel. The silver metal clip feels secure and matches the eraser cap. The pencil feels light but solid, as I would expect from Pentel.
This is a pencil that has to be ordered from a retailer like JetPens. This is still a Japanese line and not yet widely available in the US.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 0.5 It works better than it should, but the packaging that says the mechanism PREVENTS breakage isn’t completely accurate. I still snap the lead.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – It’s a basic Pentel barrel. There’s a nod to a grip in the plastic barrel, but not much. The barrel is plastic with metal accents that feels good for what it is.
3. Material – 1 It’s strong quality plastic with solid metal clip and tip. The lead protection guide is where the innovations went into the pencil.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – It’s solid. They tried really hard to make the super fine lead as unbreakable as possible but it’s still a super fine lead and there’s still breakage..
5. Price Point – 0.5 – You have to get this online or through a retailer like JetPens. It’s running $8.25 (which is a bit pricy for a mechanical pencil) and it doesn’t come with extra lead – so it’s more of a specialty thing. But if you’re a connoisseur/collector it’s not that bad. But you still have to invest in lead.
3.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils