Pentel Touch Pen Meets A Midori Traveler’s Notebook

The Pentel Touch Sign Pen (SES 15C) with a flexible nib is amazingly smooth on Tomoe River paper. That means the Midori Traveler’s Notebook (013) is a good mate. Note there is ghosting as happens with most pens on such thin paper. Bleed-through only occurs when I overwrite to darken the color. Otherwise, there is none.

My review from a few weeks ago was on Moleskine, but I wanted to show how well the Touch Pen and Tomoe get along.

The full set of pens is still on my list, but for now, the black, sky blue and yellow ochre make a nice trio. At least one of them will work on every paper in my stationery collection. That makes my three pens practical as well as a lot of fun.

Are You An Ink Miser?

Do you hoard ink and use as little as possible? Miser or not, most of us want to get best value from the precious fluid. To facilitate that goal, Ink Miser has developed two products: the ink-shot inkwell and the intra-bottle inkwell. They debuted several months ago and have been mentioned a few times on Inkophile. If you aren’t familiar with them, let me introduce you.

The ink-shot inkwell makes it easy to fill a pen from a very small amount of ink. That makes even the most poorly designed ink bottle irrelevant. In addition, it is a useful container to hold pen cleaning fluid. My old-timers, er, vintage pens, are pleased to have a tiny spa with supporting sides for their delicate bones. Pampering does not necessarily mean spoiled and I am hoping to reap goodwill from such special care.

The intra-bottle inkwell raises the ink level closer to the bottle opening. For Noodler’s fans, it might rank as an essential tool since it makes filling from a partially full bottle easy.

Originally introduced in black, they are now available in a transparent version. Both Ink Miser inkwells are useful devices for an Inkophile though be prepared. They are a bit like chips. One will never be enough.

Luxury Brands has the details here.

Office Supply Geek weighs in on the Ink Miser.

 

 

Pentel Touch Brush Tip Felt Pen

Pentel has a real winner for calligraphers with the Touch line of felt tipped pens. That is something I already knew from YouTube and Instagram videos before I got my hands on one. What was a genuine surprise is how little effort it takes to make a mark with a Touch. Just skim the paper with the pen and bold lines result. Banish hand fatigue though writing large is the best I could do.

The two on my desk came from a local art store and are not equal. They were in an open display and one tip has suffered mild abuse making delicate lines elusive. The other pen has a dream tip that glides effortlessly. It is an absolute delight to use for lettering though I have no hand for true calligraphy. You should see the colorful notes all around my desk. They draw my attention to what must be accomplished today and that is a good thing.

Worthy of note is that the Touch pen did not feather and produced only a few tiny dots of bleed-through in my new squared Moleskine journal. Ghosting was its only flaw, no surprise on Moleskine. That brings up the Moleskine caveat: Their journals are possessed by fickle paper so your results may not be comparable to mine. Even printer paper suffered zero bleed-through and less ghosting than the Moleskine. My other journals handled the Touch without complaint.

The Pentel Touch is a fun-to-write-with pen that comes in a variety of colors. There are two versions so look for the brush tip if you want the one reviewed here. Amazon offers individual black and blue pens among other colors as well as a twelve color set. Local stores did not stock this pen except for the one, distant art store where I purchased my first two. The full set is on my wishlist because the Touch is so much fun to use. Plus it has all those colors and I am always a sucker for color. The notes around my desk will never look the same.

Zebra Mini Ballpoint Pen

When space is scarce and tiny tools are in order, the Zebra Mini Ballpoint could be the perfect fit.

At 3.25 inches closed, this pen can fit in the smallest of spaces. It extends to a useful length of 4.25 inches when it is time to go to work. Pair it with a mini journal for a truly pocket-sized traveling companion.

Zebra Mini Ballpoint (BA55):

• Sturdy metal barrel – no plastic parts
• Rated as fine but writes extra fine
• Ink dries quickly
• No cap to lose
• Very little pressure needed to write a consistent line
• Narrow barrel isn’t the most comfortable, but okay for lists or short passages
• Pen available in black, gray, white, silver, pink, light blue, mint green and navy
• Ink refills available in black, blue, red and green
• Close the barrel and twist off the tip to install a refill
• Small enough to fit in some wallets

Sometimes really small is just right.

A Good Deal On Washi Tape And A Pentel Touch Pen

Washi tape is a quick and easy way to add a decorative element to a journal, but much of it is wide and can overpower small pages. When I found three rolls of narrow tape from MT for under $5, resistance was futile. Then I was offered a Pentel Touch felt tip pen (SES15N) that flexes from extra fine to very broad and is ideal for whimsical or calligraphic lettering. For about $10, hours of entertainment was assured.

A Midori Traveler’s Notebook #013 with Tomoe River paper offered to provide a playground. Now washi, pen and paper are fast friends. Sometimes the pen sits out a round which allows a vintage Pilot Elite ‘Isaac Newton’ pocket pen loaded with Noodler’s Black to take a turn. The black and silver theme is rather deco-looking and I am smitten.

Links From Ice Cream To Spaghetti

Avoiding the pit of politics wasn’t easy this week, but there were a few bright spots on other subjects…

• And All Other Tasks: Finally found THE gall
• A scientist discovered this stunning new shade of blue (h/t David Nishimura)
• FPQuest: Visconti Dreamtouch Leather 3 Pen Holder
• Science: Emergence of healing in the Antarctic ozone layer
• Franklin Christoph cursive italic nibs
• The Designer Daddy makes adorable costumes for his kids
• Hot dog ice cream is exactly what it sounds like

Playing with your food ain’t what it used to be:

Paper Mate Liquid Flair Pens

Recently, Ed Jelley wrote about Paper Mate Liquid Flair Felt Tip Pens and that was enough to persuade me to purchase a set of eight colors. They won’t replace fountain pens, but they are a handy way to put ink on paper.

The pens are plastic and lightweight, but with enough girth to feel comfortable in my hand. The top snaps on rather loudly and firmly and can be posted without overbalancing the pen. The nib produces clean lines and glides easily with just a hint of feedback. In fact it quite nearly skated over the Midori #013 Tomoe River paper. Adjusting the speed at which I wrote improved control. The smooth, juicy flow produces strong coverage, but dries a little slowly with the medium nib on Tomoe. A more absorbent paper speeds the drying time to a second or two.

The reusable pouch states that the colors are vivid and with that I would agree. The blue has a lot of red in it and dries with a sheen you might expect of fountain pen ink. It wasn’t evident  except where ink puddled, but still impressive when it did happen.

Turquoise, green, orange and pink are reflective catching the light at some angles. However, those colors aren’t as strong as the other four. Black, purple and deep red are very saturated and matte in comparison.

The black will likely find a regular home in the pen box on my desk. The dark red is a rich color and good contrast for the black, so it is headed for the box as well. Turquoise is usually an easy sell for me, but this one is a bit more pale than my preference. However, for the convenience of a felt tip, it will have its opportunities.

None of my fountain pens felt displaced or jealous. Big yawns mostly. However, Paper Mate has done a creditable job of bringing a useful felt tip to market with the Liquid Flair. Besides the attractive colors and comfortable form, these pens should weather the summer heat without fuss. Don’t tell my fountain pens, but that will keep the Flair pens on my desk for months to come. Instant starts and no dried out nibs sound very appealing after last week’s hundred degree days.

My kit of Liquid Flair pens came from Amazon along with the Traveler’s Notebook #013 used for testing. But here’s an idea worth considering. These pens would write very well in those notebooks that can’t handle fountain pen ink. Finally, that stack of Moleskines might get put to use. My FPs certainly won’t mind since they know inferior paper is beneath them. Who can argue with such clever little devils?