Pentel Pocket Brush Pen

This is is one of products so popular that it has been reviewed by pretty much every single pen blogger. I have had one (then I bought another one) for almost two years, I might as well chime in and join the chorus of praises. I will (try to) keep it short though...

Pentel Pocket Brush (around 16 bucks, I bought my first one with a half off coupon at Michael's then got another one while it was on clearance for 75% off ) is a compact, portable nylon-haired brush pen that mimics the Asian calligraphy/tools.

The pen's body is light weight but seems rather tough, beside some minor surface wear, there hasn't been any damage or scratches for the 2 years I have owned it. The cap is sleek-looking (with a rounded top and a resilient, easily-to-use clip) and gives a satisfyingly crisp (sounding) and secure clip.

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen has a feed and opening inside that takes their proprietary cartridge, making it more convenient and portable than the real thing (it's just that Pentel cartridges are somewhat expensive).  The nylon hair itself is already resilient but the thinner bunch (with a tip that's very tapered) of hair makes it very bouncy. As a writing tool, I find the tip a little difficult to control (so it's not as suitable for Kaishu, a more straight, even type of Chinese calligraphy). 

Not sure what style it's supposed to be so I guess I will just call it normal Chinese handwriting sample

 However, the resilience gives it a great flow so not only it's great for speedy doodling, it's also quite nice for Chinese cursive writing (aka passing my chicken scratch off as "free hand brush work"). Anyway, I like the ink, it's not too black but flows well and dries fast. I have tried syringe-fill the empty cartridge with Noodler's black but for some reasons it doesn't get drawn up (Maybe the ink is too viscous?). Anyway, I just ended up eyedropper-fill one of the two I have, with diluted ink to practice/get used to the pen. The method is inspired by one of the favorites after-meal activities of retired Chinese males: Mop-Water calligraphy.

 Mop-water calligraphy on a plaza tile by some random middle age (or old?) man in my hometown.

Lastly, here is side by side comparison of Pentel Color Brush in Black (which is closer to the real deal) and Pocket Brush Pen. Overall: It's a great drawing/doodling tool and the only downside would be the the expensive and not readily-available refill (the cartridge get used up very quickly).

Diamine Meadow Ink Review

Green fish (made of nephrite) overseeing grassy area - The closest thing to meadow among my pictures

 

Diamine Meadow - Look at the shading (with an EF nib!)

Here is a short green ink review for the St. Patrick's day (it's weird that I love the color green but I don't really care about this day...Anyway, I hope the McDonald Shamrock Shake will still be available for a few more days). Speaking of green stationery, I want need a pen in this color (Lamy Apple Green is a bit too light/neon)...

 

 Meadow is just like the other Diamine I have reviewed - Flows reasonably well (not as good as Pilot and Sailor but the unit price is a lot more wallet-friendly), has a nice medium intensity, no feather or bleed through with this cheap paper and Lamy EF combo. The yellow-green looks quite refreshing and it's one of the better shaders from what I have tried.

Just realized that I really like how my handwriting look with fine steel nibs like Lamy EF

  Anyway, I bought the sample from Isellpens and the whole range of Diamine inks is on clearance in Jetpens (Meadows is sold out already = _= ) for a little over 10 bucks per bottle. I am trying hard to not get tempted (I always ended up with too many random junk while trying fill the 25-dollar free shipping threshold)....

Lamy Safari & Al-Star Nib Size Comparison

 
What do you do on a perfectly clear and breezy day? For me, I take backyard glamour shots (of different junks I own). This time, I managed to snap some close-up of some Lamy steel nibs on Safari and Al-Star. I guess now I really need the new special edition shade Safari, just to complete the Primary Colors (of light and pigments) theme.

The extra fine nib was very problematic at first (it was scratchy, laying down lines that are thin, faint and uneven) but after 8 months of breaking-in (didn't even work despite it gave me another bump on my middle finger), tine flossing (worked a bit but I suspect it's just because I switched ink), nib-swapping (I yanked it out too hard so the tine misaligned further and turned extra scratchy) and messing around with tweezers, it finally became usable!

 

Al-Star Medium (you can see the pink precipitate and yellow sheen from Diamine cerise)the nib is the same but it's difficult to hold all three Safari together with this in a straight line. Starting from fine, all the nib have been smooth, consistent and reliable for daily writing. My writing looks the neatest with the EF but I usually go with fine/medium (they don't look all that different) because ink flow better on the two. The broad is nice and wet and a perfect replacement for marker pen (when I draw/doodle) but it sometime slips on the page.

Writing sample of the different nib sizes: Extra Fine - Diamine Meadow (another killer shader),  Fine - Noodler's Bulletproof Black, Medium - Diamine Cerise, Broad - Lamy Turquoise.

As you can see, the Lamy EF is the only nib size that's suitable for daily Chinese writing (on standard notebook ruling). The horizontal strokes start to merge when using the fine nib and I am not even writing traditional characters (which are more complex in form and favored when it comes to calligraphy). The three horizontal strokes becomes a big glob when I use the broad. 

Overall: Lamy Safari and Al-star are pretty good writers even though they are not as good (in terms of performance per unit price) as those more affordable Japanese pens. I bought them for the limited edition factor and design so I guess they are worth it...sort of.

Cerise - Diamine Ink Review

The azaleas are blooming!  

 

Pink ink for spring -  Diamine Cerise is a vivid medium blue-pink that looks like a standard pink highlighter when diluted (I didn't bother to dry the pen completely so there was water in the feed). With thicker/more layered stroke, there is also a bit of flamingo/bright orange tone to it, especially as it dries. I noticed an allover golden/yellow sheen on the surface of the water as I was cleaning off this ink (too bad the sheen is not visible on paper).

 I think this is a wonderful choice for demonstrator pen (the pink Kaweco Ice Sport comes to mind) as it's non-staining and looks like fruit punch as it's sloshing in the ink vial. 

Diamine Cerise has a decent shading with the medium Lamy Al-Star, excellent flow, non-feathering and no perceptible lubrication (but again, I don't need any with the pen). There is tad bit of water resistance, as long as you wipe the spill ASAP, you will still be able to read the writing (but it's helpless with soak).

 

I am not sure if you can tell from the base on the nib (should have taken a picture on the other side...), Cerise leaves a layer of powdery pink deposit allover the tip of the feed, as well as some yellow sheen around the side (since the feed is somewhat blueish, the sheen ends up looking green). It was a little strange since I syringe fill the converter but I guess since it all got wiped away, there was no biggie.

 

Overall:  I really like the color (probably because I love this shade of lipstick/gloss?) even it's a little bit too neon for daily use...And I think I might need a full bottle once I run out my 3ml sample.

Orla Kiely Lattice Flower Ruled Notebook

Beside being my ultimate destination for "fancy" snacks, undergarments and socks/tights (just picked up several pairs each for 1-3 dollars!) Marshall/T-J Maxx (aren't the same thing?) are also an unexpected source of cute notebook and stationery. Just look at what I found two months ago, a cute Orla Kiely pocket sized notebook for only $1.99 !

A quick Google search told me that Orla Kiely is an Irish fashion/textile designer who is known for the whimsical print, geometrical plant-flower motifs and neutral color palette (with bright accent). Beside the TJ Maxx where I found this notebook, her products are also sold allover the globe in places like Sears and Anthropologie (I wouldn't mind having some of her dresses).

The Lattice Flower notebook I picked up is roughly 4 by 6 inches, sewn-bound and comes with 128 pages (each lays flat!). The cover is a thicker paper back with a smooth (semi-waterproof) layer that withstand some wear and tear . However, (given it's not a true hard cover), the part around the hinges would get bent and rubbed after it has been opened/closed for a month or so. I didn't mind that part since the wear kind of goes well with the (slight purply) taupe-brown color and gives it a sort of warm vintage feel.

Stationery Clearance at Target & Michael's

If you run through a lot of gel pens through out the months - It's a good time to stock up since there are some massive clearance sales going on at Target and Michael's. First let's take at look at the sea of red stickers at Target:

Write (never heard of the brand) ballpoint (meh...) half off at 1.37 

Three Pilot 1.0mm G2 in blue (I love this color though 0.7mm is already kind of thick for me) for 2.01 and some Target copy.

 Pilot Dr.Grip for 3.14 - Still a little expensive but I like the pen's body though

Mara-Mi Staple Bound Journal

(No blabbing this time) I saw this at Marshall on clearance for 2 bucks so... I caved. The exact name is longer than Mara-Mi notebook but I forgot the whole title after I removed the plastic sleeve...Given that Marshall never has something steadily stocked anyway so the name probably doesn't matter that much. (I have seen this brand available at Target...also on clearance).

Ok, I admit I like it because there is a worried ghost within the silver Effiel Tower. The Cover is made of thinner card board paper and some print (could it be some sort of foreign language?) on the side. It's relatively solid and doesn't wear off quickly. 

The inner cover is a happy yellow strips - Another feature I like. The paper inside is staple bound and contain maybe around 50 sheets (I didn't bother to count) of medium-thickness, non-porous paper that are moderatly absorbent. It's doesn't feel cheap like those composition notebook at drugstore but it's doesn't feel wholesome or expensive either.

 Private Reserve Orange Crush (Look how well it shades !) with Lamy Safari Fine

There is already some bleed through with fine nib (and it got a lot worse with juicy broad) but I guess I didn't expect too much from a 2-dollar notebook anyway.  This review is a little useless but it's just a background info on the paper I use for my more recent ink reviews. In some way, this really reminds me of a slightly smoother and thicker version of the normal printer paper. It's basic, no-frill (no ink pooling around and taking forever to dry) and I like it.