Posts filed under Ohto

Ohto Flash Dry Gel Pen Refill Review

This is one you are going to want to try.

I have a lot of pens, and, shockingly enough, I have a lot of refills. But I don’t always want to use the refill that came with the pen, or sometimes, the pen that came with the refill. The Ohto Flash Dry Gel Pen Refill solves the first problem in a big way for one of my favorite pens.

Like many Pen Addicts, I have a fondness for the Retro 51 Tornado. It’s a great feeling pen that comes in fun styles. I find the stock refill for the Tornado - otherwise known as the Schmidt P8127 - to be quite nice. It provides a bold, black, 0.7 mm rollerball ink line. It works on many paper types, but you will hit one eventually where it doesn’t. Water-based inks - like rollerball ink - will feather and bleed on certain papers. Plus, the P8127 is wider than many writers like.

I’ve turned to the slightly smaller P8126 refill (0.6 mm) for most of my Retro 51 needs, and I enjoy it. But, I do prefer a nice, fine, gel ink line the majority of the time. That’s where the Ohto Flash Dry fits into my writing arsenal perfectly.

This is a Parker-style refill - a common type that many pen brands - Parker or not - use in their product lineups. To confuse matters, it is known as the G2 size refill on the international market. What makes this one special is that it offers something almost no other Parker-style refill does: It uses gel ink, with an 0.5 mm tip size. :Head explode: emoji.

Ok, maybe head explode is a little too much, but I understand why it is not commonplace in the grand scheme of things. What it is now though, is commonplace in several of my Parker refill compatible pens, because it is great for me.

This is a shockingly smooth refill, almost too smooth if I had to pick one tiny nit. That means it has more of a rounded tip as opposed to the sharper tip I prefer when I use fine gel ink pens. Regardless, it is an outstanding writer.

Most importantly with the Ohto Flash Dry is that it fits into the Retro 51 Tornado Rollerball with no modifications. Just unscrew the tip of the pen, change out the refill, and screw it back in. It fits like a glove, even in the tip opening where it is flush, with no rattle.

I was recommended this refill by many readers, and I’m glad I finally bit the bullet. I also now have a fantastic refill I can personally recommend to those looking for a fine gel ink line from their Retro 51 pens.

Now, if we can just get Ohto to expand the color lineup. That’s not asking for too much, is it?

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on October 14, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Ohto, Pen Reviews.

Ohto Fude Rollerball 1.5 mm Color Series Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)

Fude usually indicates a brush tip pen, but what Ohto has with the Fude Rollerball is create a rollerball mechanism that behaves a bit like a brush pen. They've achieved this primarily by making it super huge. These are not your everyday writers. They were designed for bold statements. And while I didn't quite get the brush pen effect, I did have a lot of fun.

Even if you prefer fine tip pens, these are worth a try. They're great for sketching, outlining, journaling, addressing envelopes, or writing loud things. They worked okay for coloring books, but would not do well in the popular adult coloring books that have very small spaces. The bold lines may also overpower the smaller pages in pocket notebooks and may not stay inside the boundaries of grid or lined paper.

In addition to making thick lines, this liquid ink is very wet. It's a water-based pigment ink that behaves similarly to fountain pen ink or marker, and it may bleed through uncoated papers. The flow can be a bit inconsistent and I noticed they have a tendency to gush ink, though some colors did this more than others. Because of this gushiness, there is a longer dry time for this ink, and it can be a bit smeary for a while. I also wonder how quickly it will run out of ink supply. I imagine it would go even faster than a gel pen, and these are not refillable--so while these are inexpensive at roughly $16 for a set of seven, they're probably going to need replacing quite regularly if they're put to good use.

The set comes with green, light green, orange, pink, sky blue, violet, and wine red. I did find myself wishing for a few more colors, but this is overall a good variety. They're well made with sturdy plastic bodies, a flexible metal clip, and a strong conical tip. The cap snaps and posts securely. There's a clear feed, so you can watch the ink in action.

I'm not sure if it's because of the size or the quality of the tip, but this is one of the smoothest writing pens I've ever used. They really are fun to write with, and even though most of my work is done with fine tip pens, I find myself looking for excuses to pull these out. And if you prefer bold tips, these are going to delight you.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on June 13, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Ohto, Rollerball, Pen Reviews.

Ohto Horizon EU Ballpoint Pen Review

Do you ever dream about making your own pen? If you are reading this blog, you have probably at least considered the thought. I think about it too. And I’m not even talking about this from the perfect pen standpoint, but rather something fun and functional that I would like to use every day. The Ohto Horizon EU Ballpoint is nearly that pen.

From the moment I unboxed it I loved it. The design, in particular, stood out to me. The yellow barrel pops, and the hex design gives it that added bit of coolness. When I held it to write with, I noticed the hex barrel morphs down into an almost-round grip section. There are a few light ridges you can see and barely feel when writing, but they don’t get in the way. They don’t necessarily help with grippiness though, as it could get slick if your fingers are wet.

The refill is engaged by pushing down the knock on the back of pen, then retracted by pressing the button on the side of the barrel. It is snappy and fun. Like, too much fun. Click. Snap. Click. Snap. Click … you get the picture! And the clip is as nice as the rest of the pen. It’s strong, and keeps a low profile.

With all of my raving about it, why is it only nearly perfect? You guessed it - the refill. It’s merely good, and if I wasn’t spoiled by better refills, I might even think it is excellent. My immediate thought was “I hope I can swap this out for something better,” then I unscrewed the tip of the barrel, pulled out the refill to see what it was, and let out an “Ugh!”

This is a weird refill shape and size. Heck, I don’t even know what you would call it. It’s small and skinny, close to multi pen size, and has tiny wings on the side of the barrel. I didn’t think there was any way I could find a better refill to put into it.

And I was wrong!

Turns out, there are other Japanese pens that take this style of refill, and both Pilot and Uni make ones that match. There is even a Hi-Tec-C model, which I have subsequently ordered two of (black and blue 0.4 mm) for my Ohto Horizon. Maybe it can be my perfect pen after all.

I must not be the only one who thinks that, because at the time of writing they are sold out at JetPens. And they should be. The barrel colors look fantastic, the pen feels great, and it’s only $8.50. I think you are going to be seeing a lot of this pen, especially in my pocket.

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