Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Pentel Energel RTX 0.7 mm Lilac Gel Ink Pen Review

Lilac is my wife’s fourth favorite Pentel Energel RTX color.

How do I know this? She told me yesterday, when sharing that she was out of her favorites.

On Mother’s Day.

R.I.P., Mr. Pen Addict.

I should have been more prepared. But hey, if I was, I wouldn’t have this article to write, late on Sunday night.

We had a great weekend. We were at a Pickleball tournament all day Saturday (duh,) and Sunday, I spent all day with her, the kids, and our respective moms, both of whom live nearby. I usually sneak in a few hours of work during the weekend, finalizing whatever review post I’m planning on for Monday. But I was still running behind this weekend, with the Chicago Pen Show and Grand Jury Duty still in the rear-view mirror. And, I was having too much fun otherwise.

Around 7 p.m. Sunday night I told her I needed to work for a bit, at least settle on a topic for Monday - even if I finish in the morning. She said “Why don’t you write about my favorite pen?” Dang, she is a smart one.

I already knew what the pen was, the aforementioned Pentel Energel RTX. So I said, “Great idea! Grab me your favorite color and I’ll write it up.”

She couldn’t find Navy Blue.

She couldn’t find Turquoise.

She couldn’t find Violet.

With every miss, my guilt increased.

She finally settled on Lilac, which she told me was her second favorite purple, and still one she liked a lot. So, Lilac it is!

Any Pentel EnerGel is easy to review. I already love them, and they are my favorite gel ink pen to recommend for most users looking for a high-quality 0.7 mm gel ink line, and a wide variety of colors. Is this pen my favorite gel ink pen? No, that honor goes to the Uni-ball Signo UM-151, which I can get in my favorite 0.38 mm tip size, and the same variety of ink colors.

Most people aren’t me, “fortunately,” my wife would interject, and the Pentel EnerGel is the best of the rest for the wider audience.

She has used this pen for years, putting them through the wringer at her job on a daily basis. Not once has she had a bad word to say about it. The refill writes smoothly and consistently, the barrel is sturdy, the knock never fails, the clip always works, and so on. The only complaint is that she can’t keep people from stealing them.

Maybe that is the next frontier for pens - in-barrel tracking devices to reclaim your favorite from grabby hands. (Cross tried, but it didn’t stick.)

When I use one of her EnerGels around the house - mainly for grocery lists, or on sticky notes on her desk - I always enjoy them. They are a real treat to use, and the ink colors are fun. Pentel has made other options that are close to making my every day rotation, like the Euro or Clena, but never the perfect one to land in that rare S-tier air. They are A-tier all day long, which is a pretty great place to be.

Myself, I’m not in as good of a place. I’m in the doghouse until I get her pens ordered, and delivered. Time to make that happen!

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Posted on May 15, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Pentel, Energel, Pen Reviews.

Makers Cabinet Lazlo Brass Ballpoint Pen Review

Makers Cabinet is an interesting company. I first became aware of them when they launched their Kickstarter for Høvel, a plane-style pencil sharpener. I liked the style and concept, but at the time I passed on backing the project due to the cost. I didn’t think I would get enough use out of it to justify the price.

Since the launch of the Høvel, Makers Cabinet has continued to put their stamp on stationery design, reimagining traditional products in modern styles. A ruler. A pencil extender (which I reviewed here.) And now, with Lazlo, a ballpoint pen.

In true Makers Cabinet style, it features a brass barrel, and a few specifically created design elements. Primarily, in the case of Lazlo, the twist mechanism to deploy and retract the refill. From their description:

“Featuring a patent pending, one-of- a-kind magnetic mechanism, that will elevate your writing experience. Diametrically opposed neodymium magnets rotate bidirectionally to engage and disengage the cartridge to create an unparalleled crisp click.”

More on this in a minute.

In addition to the mechanism, it features a custom designed clip, and two extra internal pieces that form a sleeve over the refill inside the barrel, assumedly to assist with the twist mechanism and internal magnets.

For a brass barrel ballpoint pen, that’s a lot. That’s a feature for Makers Cabinet. If I have learned anything, it’s that they are happy to take simple stationery goods and make them “extra.” It’s the Makers Cabinet way.

In the case of the Lazlo, I don’t think it is too extra, but it is a far more fidgety design than I hoped for.

Let’s go back to the diametrically opposed neodymium magnets used for the twist mechanism. It works, but it doesn’t work the same every time. Sometimes the twist engages the refill, sometimes it pokes it out then pops it back in, and sometimes I just overshoot the stop completely and have to keep going around to engage it again. It’s not a consistent station-to-station mechanism. It’s more like sta-tion to stati-on to st-ation. There is no consistency, other than you will eventually get to where you need to be.

Once you do, the writing experience, well, I had to enlist the help of my wife to capture this (volume on):

If I wanted a typewriter, I would have bought a typewriter. Wow, that is a lot of tip rattle. Now, I’m not going to knock them too hard for this, but for a company that prides themselves on their design work, I would think they would have better mitigation of this known issue with a metal refill on a metal barrel. It’s going to happen. How you deal with it says a lot. For Makers Cabinet, there is no dealing with it.

The aftermarket fix is simple, just a little tape around the refill to serve as a shock absorber inside the barrel will do the trick. An internal o-ring on the refill, possibly added by the company before shipping, would help, too.

Neither of those issues are deal breakers for me. They work, eventually, or there is a work around. The clip falls into this category as well, and I think it is the weakest design element of the bunch. In a literal sense, it is too flimsy for a pen this heavy. This is a full brass barrel, checking in at 66 grams (a standard Retro 51 rollerball is 28 grams, for comparison,) and this is a thin, stamped metal, clip that doesn’t even lock down to the barrel. It’s probably a better fit for the aluminum barrel model of the Lazlo, where it is a better balanced option. (Update: Makers Cabinet reached out to me via Instagram and said they will be updating the clip for the Lazlo V2, and will provide a retrofit option for this model as well.)

If your plans are to use this as a heavy duty EDC pen, which is what its style and choice of pressurized refill dictates, I’d worry about how quick the clip would fail. This is less of a concern when used as a desk pen.

With all of that said, I actually think the Lazlo is a good pen, especially given the $90 price point. That was the biggest surprise of all, and is completely fair for a pen of this quality. But I also think it is fair to point out when a company that prides itself on unique designs and ideas falls short, even if it is only a little bit here and there. That little bit makes the Lazlo a good pen, and not a great one.

(This pen was given to me by a reader, and I’ll be giving it away tomorrow!)

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Posted on May 1, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Makers Cabinet, Pen Reviews.

Retro 51 The Met: W. Morris Blackthorn Rollerball 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!)

For any of us who were a wee bit nervous about Retro 51 entering its new era under new owners, I think we're all very relieved. And very broke. The breakneck releases of beautiful pens has not flagged. It maybe even got more overwhelming, which isn't a complaint, except for the fact that I can't possibly have all the ones that I want. But some of them are truly irresistible, for me. Like this one.

You know how you get all your friends Retros for their wedding gifts all the time? (I know I'm not alone in that.) Well, I popped into Anderson Pens to get a coworker a set of wedding Retros, and somehow I left with three Retros instead of two, and this third one really made my week.

If you haven't fallen down this particular rabbit hole yet, here are the basics: Retro 51 Rollerball pens are metal-bodied with a nice solid feel in the hand. They have a knurled twist mechanism at the top that deploys the tip of the pen. For many editions, the top of the pen has a picture or logo in keeping with the theme of the pen, and the body is decorated with awesomely fun pictures and artist's works. The Met series specifically features artworks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and this specific pen features the enchanting work of William Morris—specifically his Blackthorn design. The brass accents of the pen compliment the gold tone of the vines in the design, and the effect is stunning. All of The Met series designs are stunning, but this one is my favorite.

Beyond its fabulous looks, the Retro 51 Rollerball is a good pen. The twist mechanism is sturdy and reliable, and the Retro 51 Rollerball refill is one of the best out there. It is juicy, saturated, and writes like butter. It's a broad tip, and the writing leaves a bold black line. It's very smooth with no skipping or hard starts, though the wet ink will bleed through on some paper. Paper that's good for fountain pens is generally also good for the Retro 51 Rollerball ink.

Though they are heavy for their size, they're well balanced, and the smooth ink makes for a very pleasant writing experience. I can write for hours with one and not have any fatigue or discomfort.

The danger of the Retro 51 is that, whatever you are interested in, there's a Retro for it. And if you're interested in a lot of things, you're going to need a lot of Retros. That's why they make such good wedding gifts. And if you're out shopping for wedding gifts, you should probably treat yourself.

The Met editions are a bit more pricey than a standard Retro 51 Rollerball. This edition sells for $78 at Anderson Pens. I resisted it for months in numerous online ads, but seeing it in person was a mistake I'm glad I made. That's a lot for a rollerball. Most Retros fall around the $50 mark, which is about right for a "nice gift pen" cost. The Met set is officially licensed, though, which naturally increases the price--and some of that total goes to support the museum. In my experience with Retros, you find the one or three or twelve that are right for you, and then you try not to look at the three or ten or fifteen other Retros that came out that week.

In short, these are my favorite pens to gift, to others, and to myself. They're fun to collect and fabulous to write with. The Met series is beautiful, perfect for art lovers, and this William Morris print is up there with my favorite Retro designs of all time. I keep saying I don't need more Retros, but Retro 51 keeps proving me wrong. I'm glad.

(This pen was purchased at Anderson Pens at regular retail price.)

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