Posts by reudaly:
[Pen/Pencil Review] Pentel Vicuna Retractable 0.5mm Pen – Red Ink
I’ve been doing a lot of editing lately – so I’ve pulled out all my red pens and have bought a few new ones. Today’s pen is one of them. It’s also, apparently, one of the few things I’ve picked up on JetPens lately that’s NOT from Pilot. This is the Vicuna retractable ball point pen from Pentel.
The Pentel Vicuna is an extremely low-viscosity ball point ink with a very smooth ball point. The ink is rich for the fine point line – these pens come in my favorite 0.5mm point. There’s a tiny bit of smearing on smoother paper – but in the most cases it’s negligible.
This retractable pen comes in at least the major colors – look like some fashion color barrels. The primary colors – like this red – the barrel matches the ink. The mechanism is smooth and secure. The plastic barrel is actually referred to as an “elastomer” – which is a slightly softer polymer? There is some give to the barrel and the ridged grip. But the lines of the pen are comfortable. It’s about 5.5″ long – which is typical of a standard retractable pen. The clip is fairly sturdy for being plastic.
It’s a great workhorse of a pen. I’ve used it a A LOT in the past couple of weeks – it’s been in high rotation. It’s a nice little pen. It’s not the cheapest thing you can get, but it’s not outrageously priced. And JetPens does seem to have refills for them.
The Numbers.
1. How does it work? – 1 – This is a solid working pen. The ink is good. The point is solid. The retractor mechanism is pretty standard.
2. Look and feel – 1 – It’s a decent link, but it has a good look and feel – artistic and sleek with a nod to ergonomics and balance.
3. Material – 0.5 – It’s your basic plastic (even though they call it elastomer), it’s plastic.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s functional. It’s an average length retractable pen with some artistic details. It’s got a good color ink and fine point. It’s a good point.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – This pen is affordable but not the cheapest pen ever. On JetPens, they run $2.50. It is refillable.
4.0 out of 5 bronze pencils.
[Spotlight Post] Elgin and McCullough – RIP
I was going to dedicate this post to the North Texas Comic Book Show wrap up, but some stuff happened, and I will address that first. Once more we have a Memorial Post. January 29th we found out Suzette Haden Elgin passed away. I’m sure I’ve met her at some convention, but she wasn’t the […]
[Pen/Pencil Review] The Lamy Tip Rollerball Medium Point
This week’s pen review is a “nicer” rollerball (but fun) pen from Lamy. I picked up the Lamy Tipo Rollerball from JetPens in December. It’s referred to as a “medium” point, which I think is a 0.7mm. Part of what makes it “fun” is, in fact, the box the pen comes in. The Lamy Tipo […]
[Spotlight Post] Return of Procrasti-Brain
Welcome to Friday – I have “Procrasti-Brain”. “Procrast-Brain is a condition that hits when you realize you have a ton of things to do in a relatively short period of time and suddenly the house needs cleaning, the closets need reorganizing, and that one misplaced gizmo that you haven’t needed in six months is now […]
[Writer Post] Oh Hey, It’s Wednesday
Oh hey, right, it’s Wednesday… time to get a blog written. I’ve been getting exercise in by raking and bagging leaves (I’m done with leaves now…what’s left in the back yard will become mulch). So now I’m pretty much looking forward to “behind in chair”, kinda done with the moving for a while. I’ve got […]
[Pen/Pencil Review Post] Zebra Sarasa Study Retractable Pen
This week’s pen review is a basic, workhorse type pen with some fun little details. It’s the Zebra Sarasa Study – in a 0.5mm point and black gel ink – because they’re good like that. I picked this one up on a JetPens after Christmas shopping order. The Sarasa Study has a nice, dark black […]
[Writing Post] Hitting the Ground Running
Oh, hi….I’ve been distracted today and still have stuff to do. It’s shaping up to be an interesting month… if it’s going to be the Chinese version remains to be seen. The big writing news this week – at least in my world – is Gordon van Gelder stepping down from F & SF and […]
[Pen/Pencil Review] The E+M Germany Shaper Ashwood Ballpoint Pen
This is a new pen for me. Picked it up on JetPens because it was cool looking. I give you the E+M Germany Shaper ballpoint pen with blue ink. This is a unique capless stick pen that’s utilitarian while being unique and sustainable – and responsible. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sets standards for harvesting […]
[Spotlight Post] Remembering John Manning and Plain Language
Hello, Friday, you’re looking nice (if Holy Cow, COLD – for Texas). It’s seriously time to rethink the Friday Blog Posts – I’ve run out of steam for most of the spotlights. I still want to do a blog post on Friday, but I need to think about alternate topics and themes (and hopefully something […]