Sakura Ballsign iD 0.4 mm Gel Pen Review

There are four main gel ink pen makers who I trust blindly to provide consistently great pens: Pentel, Pilot, Uni-ball, and Zebra. They all have decades of experience, and their manufacturing and quality control are always on point. While I don’t personally love every single product they make, I know that they are going to be good in the right hands.

Outside of those brands, it can be tough sledding. There is quality out there, but it is tougher to find. Sakura is looking to change that with the Ballsign iD gel ink pen.

If you have been in the stationery world for any length of time, then you are familiar with Sakura. Their Gelly Roll pens were the first gel ink pens on the market in the 1980’s, and their Pigma Micron lineup is the art marker that all others are measured by. But as classic or as great as those two models are, they really haven’t had a difference maker in the standard writing/office supply gel ink pen market. At least, nothing that can hang with the big four above.

The Ballsign iD is Sakura’s first real competitor. The Ballsign name has been around in various iterations for years, but nothing good enough to stick. The Ballsign Knock is a good pen, but even in my review of it five years ago I mentioned it was a tier down from the best. The iD, though? I think it has a chance.

This is a basic looking pen. It’s modern, with clean lines all around the four-sided (two flat, two rounded) barrel, and a bent-over-the-top steel clip that also serves as part of the knock. The plastic nose cone is the weak point of the design, and would have been served better with a metal that matches the clip.

It is comfortable, and writes well. I’m using the 0.4 mm Mysterious Purple refill in this review, which is the name for their Purple Black gel ink. The Ballsign iD also comes with Blue Black, Green Black, Brown Black, and standard Black refill options.

The refill feels like a combination between the Uni-ball Signo RT for the smoothness, and the Zebra Sarasa Clip for the dryness. This is not an overly inky gel pen, and even being 0.4 mm, may not be wet enough for some writers. Juicy the Ballsign is not.

So, does the Ballsign iD belong in the same category as some of the best in the category? No, but it is as close as any Sakura gel ink pen has been. I think the nose cone is an easy design upgrade, and better ink flow from the tip to eliminate the dryness would be a plus. If Sakura can keep on expanding and improving this lineup, then I think they have a competitor on their hands.

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

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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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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!

Sakura Koi Watercolor Field Sketch Set Review

(This is a guest post by Nick Folz. You can find more of Nick and his work on his blog, Smallberry Drive, Twitter, and Instagram.)

I am barely scraping by here on a technicality. Sure, this is a watercolor set, not a pen ... but it comes with a water brush that could be loosely defined as a brush pen?

Regardless of the rules here, this watercolor set does indeed rule. The Sakura Koi Watercolor sets come in a wide variety of sizes, from 12 to 48 color palettes. I picked up this 30 color variety because I wanted to try out a new range of colors. I had been using an Artist Loft 36 color set which was fine, but was running low on a few hues and wanted to try something different, so I picked up this kit at a local art store.

First impression is that the kit itself It’s neat and cute. It is a small rectangle clamshell that snaps open and shut. Inside is a small pallete to mix colors with, two small sponges, a water brush, and 30 pigment cubes. The pallete has short legs that slide into small holes placed around the base. The water brush must be dissembled to fit back into place but it has a small stopper so you can leave it loaded with water for travel. On the back side of the case there is a small ring that can be flipped out so you can hold it easier if you are painting outside, or on the couch.

The 30 colors are pretty decent. I like a few less yellows, but your mileage may vary. Some of the color cubes are very dark, so you might not know what pigment you are picking up until you mix it on the pallete. I noticed that if you don't go pretty light on some of the colors they don't break down completely and you end up with a chalky tone, but if you start light and work darker they are fine.

The water brush included is serviceable, but nothing great. It does have an odd feature in that the tip screws on in the opposite direction than you would expect: Righty loosey, lefty tighty. The water flow is slow and deliberate, but if you don't have that sucker lefty tightened all the way down then water will come out of the seam and not the brush tip. I want to replace it, but my other brush pens are filled with ink, and it isn't so bad that replacing it has taken priority, so it stays.

The sponges are something I didn't think I'd use, but I use them all the time. I didn't ever keep sponges around when watercoloring before, I always kept a paper towel with me instead. The sponges can be used to clean pigment off the brush, remove excess water, or to make textured patterns on the artwork. Their addition makes this a one stop shop for watercoloring and I find myself using them more often because of the convenience.

Convenience is the key for me here, because I'm not alone or unique in that I feel busy all of the time. Free time is rare and short, and there are no shortage of things vying for a slice of it: Books I should read, shows I want to watch, games I want to play, episodes of a certain pen podcast I want to listen too. Anything that removes some barriers gets bumped up in the queue, and since I've purchased this kit I've found myself watercoloring more often, and enjoying it more than before. Is the water brush great? No. Are there better quality watercolors out there? Sure. Does this kit make me a better artist? Well, it allows me to paint more often, and that is worth the price of admission.

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

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