Stationery Pr0n: Japanese Pens and More from JetPens.com
Geeks tend to love pens, notebooks, and office gadgets. Some of the most popular posts here at Lifehack have been about pens and other stationery. Let usa loose in a Staples or Office Max and we're like kids in a candy shop. We can't pass a jotter shop without feeling at least a twinge of desire – and usually without dropping some of our difficult-earned money within. And of course, at that place's our honey thing with the Moleskine…
Sure, it's a pointless pursuit and probably a waste of time and money. Sure, there's the danger of fiddling too much with the latest cool organization gadget and not really getting work washed. Yes, information technology'due south a kind of pornography for some of us – and nigh illicit pursuit of sheer pleasance.
But information technology is a pleasance. To write a note across finely-grained paper with a gratuitous-flowing pen that has simply the right heft and width is a sheer joy. To pack your pocketbook with tools that beg you to touch, agree, and utilise them is a delight. And therein lies the rub – considering while an expensive pen or simply the correct form of paper shouldn't make u.s. whatever more than productive, ofttimes information technology really does. We crawling to go to piece of work, for the simple gratification that comes of using the tool that perfectly fits united states of america.
So when someone at JetPens.com, a seller of imported Japanese pens, stationery, and other gewgaws contacted me and asked if I'd like to endeavor some of their products, of course I said "yeah". Japan is like the Female parent Ship for stationery buffs, and JetPens.com sells a multifariousness of unique, not-to-exist-constitute-in-the-U.s.a. items. They also specialize in ultra-fine-tipped pens and pencils, which can be difficult to find in the US.
Later on playing with… I mean "using", of course – afterwards using the stuff they sent me for the last week or so, I thought I'd share with Lifehack readers some of the things I liked and what I didn't detect much use for. I should add together that JetPens.com isn't paying me, aside from offering me the samples. Lifehack's editorial policy is that while we practise accept products for review from time to time, we simply review them if nosotros call up that doing so will be of value to our readers. JetPens.com'due south offerings are so unusual or difficult-to-find elsewhere, that I remember most Lifehack readers would love to bank check them out.
Permit's offset with the pens!
Pilot Frixion Point 0.4mm:
Pilot'southward new Frixion pens are erasable, but totally unlike the crappy erasable pens of the past! Those had gloppy ink and abrasive erasers that never seemed to really get the chore done. You'd expect better from the people that brought us the dearest G2 gel pens, and the Frixion doesn't disappoint. The estrus-sensitive ink is fluid and smooth, and dries quickly so it doesn't smear. Best of all, it erases with friction – rubbing the pen'due south solid safe eraser tip over your writing generates oestrus (without wearing away or leaving residue) causing the writing to simply disappear. Completely. You can easily write over information technology, erase again, and write over that – forever, as far as I could tell. The .4mm indicate is smashing for printing; I institute it a little scratchy for cursive writing. I'thou a little worried about the durability of the ink – United states of america packaging suggests that they non exist used for official documents. This is the platonic pen to pair with a Moleskine-based to-do listing.
Uni-ball Signo DX 0.28mm: The Signo is a gel ink pen that writes very smoothly and cleanly. The 0.28mm line is astoundingly thin, allowing for super-small writing – this is a swell pen for filling out forms! I thought I wouldn't similar the tiny niggling cap, but information technology clicks onto both ends so solidly that I ended upwardly liking information technology a lot (though I'm sure I'll forget to click it to the terminate some time and that will be the last time I ever see it).
Zebra Clip-On Multi: I don't normally like multi-function pens, merely this one'south pretty overnice – it has the usual 4 colors of ink (blackness, crimson, green, and blue) operated by color-coded levers, plus a 0.5mm mechanical pencil operated by clicking the whole clip associates downwardly. I say "clip associates" considering information technology'due south more than than just a clip – the clip is on a spring-loaded swivel that allows you to clip it to whole notepads, leather padfolios, and so on. The ink is fine, cipher special – this i's all about the form factor.
Uni-ball Kuru Toga 0.3mm Pencil: The finest mechanical pencil I've ever used is a 0.5mm pencil, and those are a pain – the lead breaks all the time. This pencil has even effectively pb, but its auto-rotation machinery is supposed to minimize breakage by turning the atomic number 82 a bit every fourth dimension you lot life the pencil, preventing the creation of a brittle chisel-signal. It seems to work, though it's hard to know much nigh something that doesn't happen. I keep the pb pretty long and information technology feels pretty sturdy – and I wrote a couple test paragraphs without any breakage.
Kokuyu Protrude Tip 3-Way Highlighter: One of the store's more unusual products, the Protrude Tip highlighter is named for it's unusual 2-pronged head (which didn't actually remind me of a beetle, but whatever…). The tip integrates fine and chisel points, allowing thick highlighting over text or thin underlining. The two can be used together to brand double lines, 1 over and one nether the line of text being highlighted. Which all seems pretty neat, merely I found information technology hard to get and hold only the right bending to apply information technology any of its 3 modes, especially for double-lines.
You tin can click on the writing sample above to get a full-sized image — hopefully that gives yous a pretty practiced idea of what each pen writers like. Now, on to the rest of the JetPens.com package:
Kadokeshi Stick Eraser: This is an odd bird, simply handy – an eraser that's all corners! The latex eraser twists up (like a Chapstick) and is shaped like a bunch of cubes stuck together, offering 28 corners. Great for fine work, and erases without ripping up your paper. I'm not crazy about the spiral-off cap, though – it's attached to the mechanism you twist to advance the eraser, and information technology'due south all ultra-clear plastic, so you lot accept to expect pretty close to make sure yous're twisting right.
Nomadic PD-04 Roller Pencil Case: This is a standard-sized pencil case with a curlicue-out "ringlet" that has 5 pen pockets and two small pockets for erasers, paper clips, or similarly modest doodads. It's all very neat and tidy, but I am simply non this organized well-nigh my pens – I'd just every bit soon keep them in my pocket! That's not to say I don't apply pencil cases – I do – but to hold a lot more 5 pens. Unfortunately, if y'all stuff the body of this total of pens, information technology makes getting the gyre in and out kind of awkward. I imagine there are people out in that location who love this sort of thing, simply I really don't see myself getting much apply out of it.
Kukoyo Systemic Special Cover Refillable Notebook: This refillable notebook comprehend is pretty handy, and elegant enough for business organization use. It's basically an A4-sized (almost half dozen" x 8") canvas folder – the black office in the image higher up forms a pocket so yous can stick business cards, notes, and other papers in (there's a pocket on the front and another on the back). There are two ribon bookmarks inside, and the elastic closure to hold information technology all together. JetPens.com sells refill notebooks, but what really excited me is that medium-sized Moleskine Cahier and Volant notebooks (the soft-embrace pads) fit perfectly.
This is simply a pocket-size sample of the stuff JetPens.com offers. About of it is reasonably affordable, at least in the same ballpark as their Office Depot counterparts. Several of the pens above come up in fancier "business-y" styles, with nicer barrels and a less disposable wait, as well. The whole site is worth looking through – I haven't fifty-fifty touched on the various fine art pens and markers.
Source: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/stationery-pr0n-japanese-pens-and-more-from-jetpens-com.html
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