JetPens Order!!!

Yesterday, my JetPens order was waiting to be opened by an anxious pen enthusiast, when I rushed home from school, opened the mailbox, squealed with joy, had about six other people looking at me, ripped the package open right then and there, and squealed even louder. What made me so ecstatic, you ask? Well, I ordered...



Charcoal Lamy Fountain Pen: Fine Nib
Lamy piston converter
Pilot Hi-Tec-C: 0.38 mm in "bengara" (ferrous oxide)
Uni-Ball Signo: 0.38 mm in bordeaux-black
Mitsubishi Boxy eraser

The main bulk of my order was the fountain pen, since this is my first "fancy" fountain pen. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to fill ink in it yesterday (I won some ink bottles in a giveaway that I never had a chance to review), so today I'm hoping to fill it, squeal with joy again when I get to write with it, and I'll have a review of the pen up shortly. (and by shortly, I DO mean shortly. I mean it this time.)

Pilot FriXion Point: purple 0.4 mm

This FriXion is a huge improvement from the original Pilot FriXion. The FriXion Point is thinner than the original FriXions, taking corrective precision to a new level.

Instead of the top of the cap being useless like its predecessor, on it "04" is printed showing the tip size. The cap is transparent bearing the Pilot and the FriXion logo in silver. The rubber end is translucent and pointier than the the original FriXion counterpart. It's thinner too.





As far as the ink goes, the purple ink is a nice, pretty dark purple for an erasable pen. Moving onto the main event of this pen... The rubber end is much, much, MUCH better than the original. It doesn't leave eraser-like residue, it doesn't rip the paper, basically it's much better than the original FriXion. However, the rubber is still located at the butt of the pen, meaning you either take the cap off to use it or leave it off.

So to recap...

Pros: Huge improvement from the original FriXion
-Rubber doesn't leave shavings, doesn't rip through paper
-Wider variety of colours to choose from
Cons: Rubber is still at the wrong end of the pen
Costs: $3.30 at Jetpens

Overall, I give this pen a 9.6/10!

Pilot FriXion: Blue 0.7 mm

Previously I reviewed one of the better versions of the FriXion, the FriXion Color Pencil-Like. I feel it's time I reviewed the original pen. So here it is, the Pilot FriXion pen in blue!



The pen comes in a 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm in eight different colours. he pen has silver flames painted on the body with 0.7 in the midst of the flames. On the cap is printed "Pilot FriXion" in silver. The 'eraser" is on the butt of the pen, making it inconvenient to erase. You either have to leave the cap off or take it off to erase. There's a dimpled grip by the tip of the pen, and it's pretty comfortable. There's a small area at the tip of the cap that's unused. Why couldn't have Pilot put the "eraser" on top of the pen cap? Oh well, I guess that's why they made the Color Pencil-Like line... And with more colours too.



Now to the ink... The blue is more of a watercolour than an ink, but that's one of the downsides of having an erasable pen. The ink flows pretty well, no problems of skipping. But let's get down to the main function of the pen: the FriXion. The "eraser" is a gimmick. The "eraser" leaves residue reminiscent of eraser shavings. If you don't wipe those shavings away, the eraser could smear it into the paper, making it almost impossible to get out. If you erase it harder, you might even rip the paper. Basically, the ink is what brings out the good in this pen. The whole purpose of this pen is...mediocre.

So to recap...

Pros: It's an erasable pen!
-It erases, yay.
Cons: The eraser isn't that great
-Leaves eraser shavings
-If left on the paper, eraser shavings smear
-Eraser's on the butt of the pen
Costs: $3.00, extra for packs

Overall, I give this pen 8.6/10. (Really, the ink saved it from getting a much lower score.)

Pilot FriXion Color Pencil-Like: Aquamarine 0.7 mm

This pen was on my first order at JetPens. I've had it for about a month and I haven't reviewed almost anything from there! So to start off...


(The pen's a lot more blue than in the picture. Sorry the quality's bad.)

The Color Pencil-Like line of FriXions was supposed to resemble a wooden pencil with erasable ink. Unlike the other FriXions, Pilot got it right and put the eraser on the cap instead of the butt of the pen. The body of the pen is supposed to resemble a wooden pencil.



I'm very fond of the dark, almost blue-black aquamarine ink. The ink is much richer and darker than the original FriXions, not to mention it glides on the page. It erases easily and cleanly. In my opinion, this is a huge improvement from the original FriXions. All in all, these pens are great for note-taking. In fact, this pen is part of my current 'A-Team'! =D

So to recap...

Pros: Much better than the original FriXions
-Rich, dark ink
-Erases cleanly
-Eraser's on the right end of the pen for once!

Cons: Takes a few seconds for the ink to dry

Overall, I give this pen a 9.6/10/!

Pilot G-2: 0.38 mm

One day, my former Biology teacher asked us all if we had a favourite pen to write with. He liked to write with a fountain pen, though he didn't correct papers with it. I asked this to myself later that day and figured the Pilot G-2 was my favourite. Little did I know, those were the only pens I had along with a few dried-out Gelly Roll pens. In fact, the G-2 was the gateway pen to my addiction. I was fond of its dark ink, how it was cheap, found everywhere, and how it never failed on me. The rest is history...that and I'll tell more on another day.

This pen is one of the most widely-used pens in America. Known for its consistent ink flow and its cheap price, it's no wonder this pen is so popular. Most people have used the 0.5 mm and the 0.7 mm, but one of the finer tips –the 0.38 mm– hasn't had much of a chance to shine in the spotlight of office pen cups everywhere. In fact, I always thought the 0.38 mm was available only in Japan until now! I've been using the 0.5 mm version, but let's give the finer points in life a chance. No pun intended.



First of all, the body of this pen is quite basic. Grip, clip, plunger (that thing on the top of the pen you push), pen refill, etc. The clip is printed with "PILOT G-2 0.38." Going to the pen refill, there's a sickly yellow liquid that looks like concentrated urine sitting atop the black ink. Why, why, why does it have to be that colour? Why couldn't it be clear like the other colours? Then again, it brings a bit of...colour to the black pen...I guess.



The pen is scratchier than most 0.38 mm pens, but I guess that's what you get when you have a thin roller-ball pen. The ink flow is consistent and produces a nice, dark, fine line. There's no problems with skipping or the ink clotting on the tip.

So to recap...

Pros: Great quality for its price, produces fine, dark lines
Cons: Sickly yellow liquid in the refill, tip is slightly scratchy
Costs: $1.80 at Jetpens

Overall, I give this pen a 9.3/10.

First JetPens Order

I just came back from a trip to China and bought quite a few pens (although Japanese imported) from the department stores. Before I left, I made my first order on the JetPens site and it arrived the day I left (good timing, huh?). I made the order early because I there were some things I wanted to order that were in the close-out section, and I didn't want to come back to find out it's been sold out. So I ordered... (from left to right) (Sorry for the bad picture quality...)

Nomadic PE-06 Side Zipper Pencil Case - Light Green
Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Red
Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Mandarin Orange
Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Golden Yellow
Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Green
Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Blue Black
Uni-ball Style Fit 5 Color Gel Ink Multi Pen - Pen Body with Clip - Black
Pilot Hi-Tec-C Gel Ink Pen - 0.4 mm - European Colors - Olive
Pilot Hi-Tec-C Gel Ink Pen - 0.3 mm - European Colors - Yellow Ocher
Pilot FriXion Color-Pencil-Like Erasable Gel Ink Pen - 0.7 mm - Yellow Ocher
Pilot FriXion Color-Pencil-Like Erasable Gel Ink Pen - 0.7 mm - Ultramarine
Pilot FriXion Color-Pencil-Like Erasable Gel Ink Pen - 0.7 mm - Purplish Red
Pilot FriXion Color-Pencil-Like Erasable Gel Ink Pen - 0.7 mm - Dark Green
Uni-ball Fanthom Erasable Gel Ink Pen - 0.5 mm - Violet

Reviews to come later. But for now, trying to combat the jetlag...~