Sakura Gelly Roll Retractable Metal Effects Gel 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 her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

My love for Gelly Roll gel pens is well documented. One of my only downsides to these, the millennial gateway drug to Pen Addict bliss, is that they are not at all fidgety. The result being that I used to fidget with the cap-clips, bending, twisting, breaking them off. My high school pen case was full of busted-clip Gellies.

But these ones? THEY CLICK. Clicky gel pens! All the fun of the smooth Gelly Roll writing experience, plus the fun of a fidgety click mechanism.

The Sakura Metal Effects pens have the classic Gelly Roll plastic body, with the classic silver branding written on the side. It's a cloudy, see-though plastic that allows you to see the level of ink inside the pen, so you know when you're running low. The caps are rounded plastic domes in the color of the ink inside, so you can always easily tell what color you're reaching for. The clips are made of the same plastic as the cap and also have a rounded oval shape. The clips are quite shallow. They aren't separated from the cap at all, so they don't really work. Which is why I never felt too guilty about snapping them off.

The whole cap is the click mechanism, so when you press down on the cap, the spring-loaded tip deploys at the bottom end. It's a smooth click--satisfying, but not too clunky.

These pens were built for a good time, not a long time. They aren't particularly durable, the ink runs out very quickly, and while there are refills that technically fit the pen's body, they aren't the Gelly Roll refills, so why on earth would you do that.

Because it's the ink that makes these fun, when it comes down to it.

Sakura Gelly Roll gel ink is known for its smooth, saturated quality. They aren't great for fine line writing. They have a standard .8mm tip, and the gel ink flows like a firehose. Which makes it perfect for showing off wild ink qualities--the other thing they're known for. This particular set is metallic, but you can also get glitter and other effects. The metallics work on black paper as well, though they're delightfully shiny on white paper. Photographing the metallic effect is tricky, so you'll have to take my word for it that the shine is pronounced and super fun. The ink is also archival quality, fade-proof, and acid-free, so these are perfect for scrapbooking or artwork.

This six-color set costs $14.50 at JetPens, and you can also get them in 3-color or 10-color sets, or as individual pens. Individual pens run at about $2.92. I would probably say that's a little on the pricey side, if I wasn't blinded by nostalgia and glitter.

As it is, I'm taking meeting notes like it's 1999.

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

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Sakura Mixline Highlighter Review

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

When it comes to highlighters, I certainly wouldn't consider myself a power user. Most weeks, I don't even use a highlighter. But I still understand the value and purpose that highlighters provide for so many people every day. They're essential in stationery, but you'd be remiss to think that all highlighters are the same. I thought I had seen it all, but the Sakura Mixline has shown me a new trick that I'm still not sure I need.

The Sakura Mixline is a combination highlighter and fineliner that also packs in a hidden feature on the highlighter side. Along with a chisel tip highlighter, there's a small fineliner tip nestled on the bottom side of the chisel tip. So, when you highlight something, you also underline it with the fineliner tip. Amazing! To make it stand out even more, the two tips are different colors that provide a nice contrast on the page.

The back side of the pen has a dedicated fineliner tip, which is the same color as the underliner. Thankfully, the fineliner tip colors are darker, making them easy to write with and see on the page. You can even highlight them with the highlighter color on the other end of the pen to create more visual contrast. All of the colors work together quite well.

These lightweight pens are easy to stow in bags, and there's a clip on the larger highlighter cap so you can securely store them on a pocket. Even though the caps are different sizes, they can somehow post on each other! I didn't think this would work, but Sakura thought this one through. Last thing you need is to lose a small cap for a pen that will dry out quickly if left uncapped for an extended period.

So, how well does this highlighter system work? Do you have to hold it just right to get the optimal highlighter shade and underline on the page? In short, no. It's pretty forgiving and easy to use as long as you use a firm pressure and focus on keeping the angle correct. I was able to get perfect highlight + underline every time I tried after a few practice tries.

A downside of this firm pressure is that it can cause some smudging on certain inks that you're highlighting over. It isn't major in my testing, but it's noticeable.

The fineliners on the back of the pen work great. The lines are really crisp and the colors are bright while being dark enough to easily read.

The colors can be difficult to list out since there are two different colors in three places on each pen. Here's how the Juicy 3-pack colors work:

• Yellow highlighter with blue-green underline and fineliner
• Blue highlighter with orange underline and fineliner
• Coral red highlighter with red underline and fineliner

The colors all contrast well and make a great set. If you need more colors, Sakura offer a Natural pack with three more combinations.

This is a really cool product. I know it's not something I'll reach for because it's a highlighter that also underlines stuff. I'll reach for it because it's a great fineliner tip and a great highlighter. I really don't have any use for underlining stuff that I'm already highlighting. But stationery doesn't exist to fulfill my limited uses — there's obviously a market for this product, and I love that there can be such nichè products in this hobby. It's awesome knowing that this highlighter fits someone's needs exactly for what they want to do.

At $9 for the 3-pack, these are on-par with other highlighter packs. Time will tell how long the ink lasts, but the tips seem very durable. I'm sure the ink will run out before the tips wear down. If you don't want the 3-pack, you can also purchase these pens individually, though the price is a little higher at $3.30 each.

I hope that this review finds someone that needs this product that wasn't aware of its existence before. If you need a highlighter that simultaneously underlines, Sakura have you covered!

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

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Sakura Craft Lab 002 Gel Pen Review

My first go-round with Sakura’s premium gel ink pen products, the Craft Lab 005, was positive from a personal usage perspective, but there were a litany of reasons, all laid out in the linked piece, why I would hesitate to recommend it. That said, I felt good enough about it to go ahead and buy-in to the product lineup once again, this time with the Sakura Craft Lab 002 Gel Pen.

The premise of the 002 is essentially the same as with the 005: unique design elements, fun colors, premium price. I’d even call this ultra-premium from a manufacturer more known for it’s $2 gel ink pens and markers.

This is a basic, cylindrical-shape pen barrel. It features a brass underbarrel, with an opaque acrylic outer layer designed to allow the color to shine through. And the colors are bright! I went with what may be the brightest, in Yellow, but they do offer a few basics, like Black and White, if searing Orange isn’t your thing.

The knock mechanism is a 180 degree twist to extend and retract the refill. It looks nice, and feels solid to use. It, and the nose cone, are exposed color, outside of the acrylic overlay on the barrel, which makes the color stand out even more.

Unlike the 005, which shipped with an interesting Sepia Black 0.5 mm gel ink refill, the 002 uses a basic Black 0.5 mm. I would have liked to have seen one of the other Black+ inks that Sakura offers ship with it, but they are available separately.

The refill is a good jumping off point to say that buying a Sakura Craft Labs pen is expensive from the jump, and the ongoing expense of buying refills sends the true cost of the pen exponentially higher. Not only are these low-capacity gel ink refills (compared to the standard gel ink pen refills,) they cost $4.15 each. At $45, you are making a commitment to the pen, and that means the refills, too. That’s something to consider in advance.

If I were to compare my 005 to the 002, I would take the 005 every time, and it’s not particularly close. It is $3 more expensive, and “only” has a plastic barrel, but the shape and feel of it are superior-especially the grip taper. The 002 is good in its own right, but there is only room for one of these on my desk … for now.

(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!