Sakura Craft Lab 005 Gel Ink Pen Review

Pop quiz time: does the pen in the picture above cost $5, or $50?

Ok, the answer is probably obvious, or else I wouldn’t have been able to write this introduction. And while it isn’t exactly $50, at $48, the Sakura Craft Lab 005 Gel Ink Pen is close enough for arguments sake. And it’s an argument - with myself - that I’m about to have.

I love this pen. Let’s get that out of the way right up top. It’s everything I am looking for in a cool Japanese stationery product.

The design is beautiful. It features a long, torpedo-shape, plastic barrel, with a twist mechanism that engages near the middle of the pen. The long, vertical lines in the grip section morph into a Sakura blossom at the end of the barrel, giving this pen its signature look.

And it feels great too. This is a thick-wall plastic, giving the pen some density, along with the internal metal hardware for the twist mechanism. It’s not heavy, but it’s not light, either.

This pen ships with an 0.5 mm gel ink refill in Sepia Black. Now that’s a choice, isn’t it? I love the unique color, and even though I would like the brown to break through on the page a little more, it shows up well enough in comparison to a standard black ink.

Side by side with the Zebra Sarasa Clip refill.

When writing, I would compare it to the Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5 mm gel ink pen. For those familiar with that pen you know it writes well, but with a slight scratch it the tip. That is something I enjoy, but a glassy 0.7 mm Pentel EnerGel this is not.

And here, the fawning ends, because there are two issues with this pen that make it difficult for me to recommend.

First up, the price. As mentioned up top, it’s $48. That’s admittedly outrageous for this pen. The funny thing is, I don’t think it is overpriced. This is a case where a high-design, low-volume, boutique-like pen has become more widely available. I get it. I don’t know that I can wholeheartedly recommend it, but I get it.

What I don’t get with this pen is the refill choice. It is proprietary in design, half the length of a standard gel ink refill, and replacements are costly at $4.15 each. This is where they lose me.

The mid-barrel twist forces this design decision. And if you are familiar with gel ink pens - in relation to rollerball and ballpoint pens - then you know that they are the fastest refills to write dry. If you think the pen is expensive, then you really don’t want to consider the ongoing costs of using it.

That’s too bad, because I genuinely love using the Sakura Craft Lab gel pen. It’s fun, it’s cool, it feels and works great, and it’s a money pit.

What a dilemma.

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

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Sailor Pro Gear Cocktail Kure Azur with Medium Nib and Sailor Manyo Nadeshiko Ink: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I won! I really won! Endless Pens did a giveaway on Instagram where you were supposed to come up with a creative new ink color and describe the ink. I suggested a color called Albuquerque Turquey, which I envisioned as a deep turquoise (to mimic the gorgeous New Mexico skies) with orange sheen (to represent the desert sunsets). I don't know if Endless Pens will ever make "my" ink, but I WON! The prize was a Sailor Pro Gear Cocktail Kure Azur (medium nib) with a bottle of Sailor Manyo Nadeshiko ink. Pardon me for shouting, but the past five years have been abysmal (toxic work environment, pandemic, losing my job), so to win a beautiful fountain pen and ink was like a little ray of hope.

Kure Azure Fountain Pen

The Kure Azur is part of Sailor's Cocktail series. Last year, Sailor re-released the entire series, and there was quite a scramble as people bought the more popular colors. I managed to nab the Après Ski (review here), but I couldn't justify buying the Blue Lagoon (regrets) or the brand new Kure Azur, even though I loved the colors.

The cocktail upon which the pen is based contains Blue Curacao liqueur, pineapple juice, grape juice, and apple juice (link for the recipe is below the photo). The result is a deep blue drink that gradually turns turquoise toward the top and is garnished with fresh orange (or lime or lemon).

Cocktail Image from Magic Skillet.

The body of the pen is a deep, sparkly blue. The cap is translucent turquoise, and the finial is a lemon-lime color that sets of the turquoise nicely. I had a hard time capturing the turquoise color of the cap in my photos, but trust me, it's turquoise. All the trims are gold.

My pen came with a 21k two-tone medium nib that writes like a dream. My Sailor Tequila Sunrise (reviewed here) had a rough medium nib that required some nibmeistering, so I was thrilled that this one wrote perfectly out of the box.

Sailor Manyo Nadeshiko Ink

Ink Bottle

Sailor's Manyo collection is based on an anthology of poems called Manyosyu, which incorporates many different themes, but flowers are especially prominent. The ink colors in the collection are based on flowers mentioned in Manyosyu. Nadeshiko is part of the second release of Manyo inks.

Nadeshiko is, at first glance, a China blue color. However, in swatches you discover streaks of teal and lavender. The ink does not appear to have any sheen (I had to take pictures before my ink splats were completely dry).

The beautiful shading properties of the ink show up well on Rhodia paper but only in the swab and ink bottle where the ink could pool. In my Kure Azur medium nib, the ink seemed washed out. I also discovered that the ink is rather dry, barely smearing even after only five seconds. It is also not waterproof.

Chromatography demonstrates how unsaturated Nadeshiko is. It contains light blue and purple tones.

Unsaturated inks are best displayed in wide nibs, and Nadeshiko is no exception. With a ruling nib, the ink's deeper blues, shading, and pooling properties are quite evident.

Although I like Sailor Manyo Nadeshiko, it's definitely not the best ink for finer Japanese nibs because of its dryness and lack of saturation. In wide nibs, however, it has great potential. It's a unique blue with Sailor's cool color-shifting magic.

Many pen dealers still have the Sailor Pro Gear Kure Azur in stock for $272.00 (but it is sold out at Endless Pens). I wonder if the Kure Azur was overlooked by buyers because of the re-release of so many other desirable models in the Cocktail Series.

Sailor Manyo Nadeshiko ink is $25.99 for 50ml at Endless Pens (although they are currently out of stock).

(If you didn't get it before, I WON this pen and ink! Thank you, Endless Pens!)

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Gravitas Fountain Pen 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 latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

It can be a little dangerous watching Brad's Twitch streams. I mean, it's always exceedingly pleasant, but every now and then he unboxes something on stream, and I end up buying one. As soon as I saw the packaging for Gravitas Pens, I knew I was in trouble. The pen tube has Ogham lettering down the side, an ancient alphabet from Ireland that my best friend and I memorized in middle school so that we could pass notes in code. Gravitas is based in Dublin, owned by pen designer Ben Walsh. I love all things Ireland, and now I love Gravitas, too.

Brad's pens were a lovely metallic rainbow color. Totally stunning. So I clicked over to the site, and then I saw the Skulls. Spooky Irish fountain pens? How could I not? Very glad I did.

My pen is machined aluminum in anodized black with a laser-etched design with skulls and filigree that looks like delicate lace. Perfectly Gothic. The pen body is symmetrically tapered at both ends, and has triple-start threads, so it unscrews quickly and easily. At each finial is a tip of silicon nitride to protect it from damage. The grip section is matte finished black aluminum. The finish stops it from being too slippery. The grip tapers slightly, then flares at the end to stop fingers from sliding onto the nib. The threads are not sharp, and the step is angled and smooth. It's very well designed for comfortable writing. And while it's a heavy pen, it's well balanced and doesn't cause fatigue.

The cap does not post, and you wouldn't want to mess up that beautiful etching by posting, anyway. There is no clip or roll stop, so you'll need to stay vigilant on uneven surfaces. The nib is a #6 Jowo. I got a medium, and it's a perfect writer. Smooth and not too wet or dry. I have noticed some nib drying between writing sessions, which is fairly common in metal machined pens. It sometimes needs a little extra ink fed from the converter to get writing again. It does come with a standard converter, as well as six ink cartridges, but will take any standard international cartridge or converter.

Between the comfortable grip, the great design, and the fantastic nib, this pen will be one that stays in rotation. This fancy one sells for 95 Euros, and Walsh offers a number of colors and designs, as well as non-fountain pens in a range of prices--all very reasonable for the quality. This is a brand I'll keep my eyes on. I don't know if any design can top the one I already have, but I'm excited to see what Ben comes up with next.

(I purchased this pen with my own funds at regular price from Gravitas Pens.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!