[Pen/Pencil Review] Kikkerland Wooden Bamboo Ballpoint Pen

Every so often I buy a Kikkerland novelty (or novelty like) piece at World Market, or more often, Half Price Books. Half Price always has cool stuff near the register. This was a two-pack of Bamboo ball point pens – real bamboo. I had to try them.

The Kikkerland Bamboo pens actually have wooden barrels and caps. The wooden barrel gives the pen a warm, smooth feel. They’re gorgeous to look at, long enough to be comfortable bordering on too long. The pen runs about 6.75″ long capped and nearly 7″ with the cap posted. The ink is a decent size – about 0.7mm or 0.8mm. The ink is smooth, doesn’t smear much. It’s a good ink.

It’s not the writing that makes this a less than stellar pen. Of two pens, I pretty much cracked and lost one of the caps in the first few uses. The cap is thin, weak, and doesn’t post well (which is why I cracked it – I used too much force to get the cap to post). I’m not fond of losing caps since I tend to carry pens in my purse or work bag and don’t like ink marking up linings or whatever’s in the work bag.

These ran about $4 at Half Price, which isn’t bad, except for the cap issue, which makes them a bit of a non-starter for me…but I do like the feel of the bamboo. I wish the pens were hardier.

To the numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 The pen itself works well. I like the smoothness of the ink and the lines.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – There’s no ergonomics, but it’s a stick pen. I don’t expect that. I like the smooth, almost soft feel of the bamboo.
3. Material – 0/5 The bamboo (maybe a veneer) around the barrel is fine. The cap? Not so much. The cap is thin and breaks too easily.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – I wish I could say the cap issue doesn’t matter, but it does. A lot. If the caps don’t break, they stick, requiring more force than should be needed to get them on and off. This also leads to breaking the caps.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – The price is…meh. $4 for a two-pack isn’t a lot but it’s more than I generally want to spend on a novelty (especially one that has a structural flaw) – and that’s at Half Price Books, which means the retail may have been higher at one point. Definitely wouldn’t spend MORE.

3.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils

Tags: Ballpoint, ballpoint pen, bamboo, black ink, Fine Point, novelty