Posts filed under Pilot

Pilot Frixion Colored Pencils 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!)

Well, these aren't all bad. The textured coating on the body feels great and provides excellent grip, and the design overall looks lovely. That's the extent of the 'pro' column. The 'con' column lists every other feature of the Pilot FriXion Colored Pencils.

The lead is waxy and brittle with poor pigmentation. It only lays down very faint color and even that has messy inconsistency. The soft tip wears down quickly and breaks when you attempt to sharpen it.

The FriXion magical eraser does remove all color, briefly, from the colored area, but it does not remove the waxy residue--just its coloration. So you can't easily go back over the area with anything else, whether that be another pencil or mixed media. Also, after a few minutes, the color begins to creep back into the erased area.

These Frixion pigments suffer the same weakness as their pen inks--the erasure is a heat reaction, so changes in temperature to your work can also affect the visibility of your notes/sketch/journal. I tested it by putting my page in the freezer, where much of the pigment reappeared, and then also taking the page with me while I ran errands and left the paper in my hot car, where most of the pigment disappeared.

I know the Frixion line is beloved by many. I, personally, am averse to writing anything in disappearing ink. I know that, in theory, it can always be re-appeared, but it still makes me nervous. And while I understand the unique advantages of an erasable pen, an erasable pencil is ... well, most of them. And this doesn't erase any better than the others. I think it's safe to say that other pencils erase more completely, as there isn't a waxy residue left behind.

These are priced at $22 for the 12-set, and over $3 each open stock. That's over a dollar more, apiece, than many high-quality artists' pencils. That's actually a bit alarming, and way overpriced. Even if these worked pretty well, that would be expensive. But, alas, they don't, and that makes these a product that I recommend avoiding.

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

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Posted on June 27, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Pilot, FriXion, Colored Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Pilot Iroshizuku 100th Anniversary Daikokuten Ink Review

For all the grief I have given Pilot over the past year for their handling of their 100th Anniversary celebration, you knew I was going to participate in it when and where I could. I was hoping it would be a pen, and I was hoping it would be in 2018 - the actual 100th year of the company - but alas, neither were meant to be.

I finally got to join in on the fun last month, as Pilot’s 100th Anniversary Iroshizuku inks hit the US market. Better late than never I guess!

This ink set consists of 7 colors, designed in conjunction with their 7 Gods of Good Fortune maki-e fountain pen set made for their anniversary. On the whole, I was disappointed with the color choices. I would have liked to see Pilot push the boundaries a little more if I’m being honest. That said, there are a couple of interesting colors in this group, none more so than Daikokuten in my eyes.

I don’t own a yellow-leaning ink. I have tried a few light oranges in my time, but have never been compelled to go even lighter with yellow. How would this ink look on the page? Would I be able to read it? Can I use it with my favorite extra fine nibs and be happy with it?

As you can tell, Daikokuten requires you to answer a few questions about your ink usage before committing to using it. A simple, basic ink this is not.

I’ve shied away from yellow inks in the past because of their inherent lightness. My eyes are bad as it is - why do I want to strain them even more? The pictures and samples of Daikokuten compelled me because it appeared to have some depth and character to it. And, it wasn't as boring as the rest of the 100th Anniversary Iroshizuku lineup. It seemed fun.

So far, it is. I’d say it’s even better than I thought, although it will never be a daily driver for me. This is a special occasion ink, meaning a 50ml bottle is probably not the way to go unless you have a great use case for it.

Daikokuten performs as well as any other Iroshizuku ink I have tested, which is to say very well. I chose to use it in a 14k gold Sailor EF nib purposefully. If the edge case ink works well in an edge case nib, then I will be happy - even if this isn’t the recommended setup. Light ink plus wide nib is usually the best combination.

I thought white paper would be the best choice for Daikokuten too, but the cream-colored page of the Yoseka Notebook was the winner. It beat out my other standard choices of Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Apica by a decent margin. With Yoseka paper, I could see the character in the ink that made me want to purchase it in the first place. As I alluded to earlier, your paper choice will effect an ink color this light.

The big question is: Would I recommend this ink to you? Definitely maybe. It’s a fun ink, but not an ink I will use all of the time. That makes it the perfect candidate for an ink sample purchase, or 15ml mini bottle if you can find someone willing to break up the set.

For me, I’m happy to at least have one cool product from Pilot’s 100th Anniversary event.

(I purchased this ink at a discount from Vanness Pens.)

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Posted on May 13, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Pilot, Iroshizuku, Ink Reviews.

Pilot FriXion Fineliner Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

It's been quite a while since I've tested out the Pilot FriXion pens. I'm not normally in need of any erasable options, so these pens just don't get the exercise they deserve. With the latest Fineliner version from Pilot, I decided to give it another go.

The Pilot FriXion Fineliner is an erasable pen with a fine plastic tip that works great for drawing lines that retain crisp lines around the edges. These pens really remind me of the Staedtler Triplus and Paper Mate Flair pens, which is fair since they share the plastic tip designation.

It's hard to describe — any Pen Addict will understand — but the Fineliner is a delight to use. The ink flows well, the plastic tip is crisp but smooth, and there's even a small bit of shading present in the light blue and red ink colors that I'm using. I've been using these pens quite a lot in my everyday use, and I haven't seen any degradation in the tips. I'm fairly confident that the tips will outlive the ink supply. Since these aren't refillable, that works out great.

Writing, drawing, and scribbling with these pens is great fun, but what about the other signature feature of any FriXion pen? How well does it erase these nice markings? Wonderfully. I've used FriXion pens in the past and have mixed feelings about their ability to erase. In the case of the Fineliner, I've been impressed with how well it works. I think the main difference in the performance is that the plastic tip doesn't create as much of an impression on the paper compared to a metal roller ball. Whatever it is, it's magical.

Along with the great writing and erasing experience, the dry time is also remarkably fast. You can write something and erase it almost immediately without blurring anything. And, if anything does blur, you can just wait a couple of seconds for the ink to fully dry and then erase away the mistakes.

Everything else about these pens is remarkably simple. The slim body is lightly decorated and branded, the cap is small and able to post securely, and the eraser on top of the cap matches the color of the rest of the pen. It's a great package!

Now, with any FriXion pen, there are some drawbacks. The main one being that this is not permanent ink. It's funny to point that out since the main marketing feature of this pen is that the ink is erasable, but I'm referring to the archival properties. You can't rely on this ink to last in notebooks for years and decades to come. Maybe it will be fine, but there's also no promises that it will endure.

The Pilot FriXion Fineliner is available in a variety of fun colors for just over $2 a piece. You can even pick up a six-pack or twelve-pack if you want to round out a complete set while also saving a couple of bucks.

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

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