[Pen/Pencil Review] Shachihata Artline BLOX Mechanical Pencil – 0.5mm
This week’s pen is the other of the Christmas pens from JetPens. It’s the Shachihata Artline BLOX line. This is, I guess, technically (from the name) a pen more designed for artists, but this particular line is geared to those who love LEGOs or MegaBlocks (which means Kids of All Ages). I bought these are “stocking stuffers” for both Jimmy and myself at Christmas – one fiber tip pen and one pencil apiece. Today we’ll talk about the pencil.
This pencil is the Blox 0.5mm mechanical pencil. I bought the claimed the orange and blue. Jimmy ended up with the red and yellow. This pencil is more normal in length. It’s about 5.5″ capped or uncapped. The cap does not post. The end of the pencil is a green push in plunger. There is no eraser.
It’s triangular with interlocking knobs (like a LEGO but not) on two of the three sides. There’s tapering to the point so that there’s some nod to ergonomics. It’s not as weird and uncomfortable as it first appears, but it’s definitely NOT streamlined. It’s more comfortable than it should be and relatively light but balanced so you don’t get as fatigued as you probably should. It’s supposedly a “drawing pencil” but I don’t know how much someone would really draw with this? It’s more along the “novelty” lines because, hello, non-branded LEGOs you can write with.
The lead feeds in from the green plunger in the back end of the pencil. The led that comes with it is okay. I have just put extra because it doesn’t come with a lot of lead. It’s a decent pencil that doubles as a toy. The clip is non-existent, so snap them together or something, there’s no securing it to anything else It’s also a decent price point – less than $3 each It’s an okay pencil.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – The it comes with pretty decent lead. The mechanism works well.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s neither completely uncomfortable, but it’s not comfortable either. The grip is smooth plastic, but you have to adjust your hand to keep the interlocking bits from digging.
3. Material – 1 – This is an inexpensive plastic with toy bits.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – Physically the pen is well-made and designed to do what it’s supposed to – write smoothly and comfortably. HOWEVER, it’s also a novelty. The triangle design and interlocking bits may not suit a lot of people. The cap does not post, so could be lost, but attaching it to one of the sides is a bulky option.
5. Price Point – 1 – It’s pretty cheap. It’s $2.60 on JetPens. For a decent quality fiber point with toy accents, it’s an okay price point.
That’s 4 of 5 bronze pencils.
