[Pen/Pencil Review] Smaller is Better – For Editing – the Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.25mm

This is the last one of the “Smallest Pen” mini-series. Though not small in length, it is the finest point I’ve knowingly used. Today’s pen is the Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.25mm in brown ink. With the onrush of Steampunk in literature, I’ve had “brown” days…and I don’t have TONS of brown ink pens.

At first I thought I’d finally found a pen that was “too fine” for my writing tastes and styles. Though the steel needle-point nib is sturdy and doesn’t make me feel like I’m going to break it, I do occasionally have the fear that I’m going to rip through paper. I do put quite a bit of pressure on my pen points when I write – I’ve tried to stop that, but it’s a bad habit (like eating too fast).

I also initially thought that the narrowness of the line took away from the richness of the ink, and that is a factor. There’s no way you’re going to get a deep, intense line with something this fine pointed. That’s just a given. So I was starting to despair that I’d finally found my limits.

Then, I made an amazing discovery…this is (for me) the perfect pen for editing and proofreading manuscripts. Oh, my gosh, yes. The Hi-Tec-Cs are 5.5″ long capped, and 6.25″ with the cap posted, which makes it long enough to be comfortable in the hand. It’s a good diameter – a little on the narrow side, but a decent grip size, even though it doesn’t have any cushy grippy parts. It’s all-in-all a good, every day pen.

What makes it fantastic (for me) for editing? The super fine 0.25mm point can get into small typeface places for editorial marking and notes. And, if I’m working on a basic, 12-point Courier New, double-spaced manuscript? There’s WORLDS of space for revisions, notes, and changes with this pen. In fact you can see that in this tiny bit here:

This may just turn out to be my “go to” editing pen — and I definitely want more colors in this size for that purpose (I do tend to edit different drafts and projects in different colors). There is a difference in ability to get in and do good editing with the 0.25mm as compared to even the same pen in 0.4mm. This is the one case where SMALLER is BETTER.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils, just because it’s now a “specialty” pen. I’d use them for a specific function, not necessarily all over writing.

Tags: 0.25mm, brown, editing, Hi-Tec-C, pen, Pilot, writing instrument