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The Best Gel Pens of 2024

04/25/24
Pentel Energel

There are few writing instruments that are more satisfying than a great gel pen. The right gel pen is buttery smooth, has color that pops off the page with excellent legibility, and is a pleasure to write with on nearly any paper. Gel pens are one of the best and most versatile ways to write in 2024.

There are many gel pens sold today. While there aren’t too many truly bad gel pens left, a few stand out from the rest. We’ve extensively tested dozens of gel pens since 2018… these are our favorites.

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Caran d’Ache Graphite Pencil Guide

11/16/22

Caran d’Ache makes, and has made, a wide array of high quality wood pencils. The line spans from everyday, student pencils, to luxury pencils made of unique types of sustainably sourced wood.

It’s not that easy to differentiate from one pencil to the next, despite the obvious care Caran d’Ache has put into these pencil. This article will try to clear things up a little and make sense out of this wonderful line of pencils.

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The Cheapest (Good) Fountain Pen Ink

10/19/22
Pelikan 4001 Ink

Fountain pen ink doesn’t have to be expensive. Today fountain pens might seem like a luxury product, but let’s not forget that not too long ago they were a standard writing tool used everyday by millions of people worldwide. Those people weren’t using luxury inks with delicate undertones, they were using dependable, affordable fountain pen ink.

Don’t let the marketing hype fool you… those great, cheap inks still exist.

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Vintage Pilot Murex and MYU Fountain Pens Untangled

03/28/22

Learning about vintage fountain pens is a difficult proposition as the history of pens and the companies behind them is poorly documented and information often comes from a single source when anything was bothered to be written down.

Anyway, some pens have a rich history that is worth digging into, like the Pilot Vanishing Point and, in this case, the Pilot MYU and Murex.

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The Best Retractable Fountain Pens of 2021

12/09/21

If you want a retractable fountain pen, you have to understand that you are diving into a niche within a niche. Only a tiny subset of fountain pens are retractable, so there isn’t as much competition as you’d expect, but this is still a rich and interesting segment of the pen market.

Let’s review today’s top retractable fountain pens.

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The Best Fountain Pens Under $50

12/07/21
Kaweco Classic Sport Fountain Pen

If you are looking for a great fountain pen under $50 you are going to have a lot of options… too many in fact! You might feel the pressure to spend more, but you certainly don’t have to if your goal is simply to get a great, highly usable pen.

This article will run through some of our favorite sub-$50 fountain pens sold today. These are pens we’ve tested, owned, and lived with long enough to form an opinion.

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How To Choose An Everyday Fountain Pen (And Some Recommendations)

12/07/21
Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen

Many people see fountain pens as occasional writing instruments, maybe for doing some before-bed journaling or writing a letter, but that doesn’t have to be the case. The right fountain pen can be a great everyday tool, even if it never approaches the no-nonsense functionality of a ballpoint pen.

Continue reading “How To Choose An Everyday Fountain Pen (And Some Recommendations)”

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