Unsharpen

Pens and Pencils | Reviews and Data

Currently Viewing Posts in Buying Guide

Pilot Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Ink Review

Pilot’s Iroshizuku is a line of high quality fountain pen inks. They are some of the best priced, best performing inks sold today, but with 24 inks in the line it’s hard to try them all.

Well, we bought all the inks and are going to review the full family below, with commentary on each of the 24 Pilot Iroshizuku fountain pen inks.

Continue reading “Pilot Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Ink Review”

What Are The Best Pens for Moleskine Notebooks?

Moleskine Notebook

Moleskine notebooks are excellent and easy to find, but they have notoriously lightweight paper. The company doesn’t say exactly what the weight is, but give most premium notebooks (Clairefontaine, etc.) are in the 90 grams per square meter (gsm) range, Moleskine feels to be about 70 gsm. This number might not feel too light, but it’s under a critical number at which many fountain pens and broad — often even medium — rollerballs will bleed through.

So, with that lightweight, possibly uncoated, paper in mind, what are the best pens for using in Moleskine Classic notebooks?

Continue reading “What Are The Best Pens for Moleskine Notebooks?”

The Best Pens for Bullet Journals

Bullet journals are a wildly popular method for organizing your life. It’s one of those things that you never heard of before but then a few months later it’s a foundation of your sanity. It’s not hard or complex, but as with all systems, the right tools can make a difference.

Here are our picks for the right pens for your bullet journal journey…

Continue reading “The Best Pens for Bullet Journals”

The Best Pen Storage Options of 2019

Muji Storage Container

Pen storage is serious business. Everyone has their own preferences and space restrictions. Additionally, you might have more “bulk” pens and less fancy urushi pens than someone else so your storage demands might be completely different.

Here are our favorite pen storage containers that can be mixed and matched to tailor a solution that’s best for you.

Continue reading “The Best Pen Storage Options of 2019”

Favorite Pen Cases of 2019

Choosing a pen case largely comes down to personal preference. The quality of pen cases sold by reputable manufacturer and quality vendors is generally quite high and while prices vary wildly, almost everything we’d landed on in the past few years has been pretty OK. What really makes the difference and sets some pen cases apart from the rest is design, features, and value.

Here are some of our favorite pen cases sold today…

Continue reading “Favorite Pen Cases of 2019”

Hobonichi 2020: Everything You Want To Know

Think about it, 2020 is just around the corner. The signs are all around you! Maybe that Hobonichi Tech0 Avec half-year journal is already starting to look a little broken in, or your 2019 Hobonichi Cousin is looking a little bit aged. Or, you know, maybe it’s just cooling down (or heating up) a little bit outside, depending on where you live.

It’s August, which means the Hobonichi 2020 lineup is just weeks away.

Continue reading “Hobonichi 2020: Everything You Want To Know”

What Fountain Pen Does Neil Gaiman Use?

Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen

Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods, Norse Mythology, The Graveyard Book, and many other titles is a dedicated fountain pen user. He’s talked publicly about his love of fountain pens many times, so with some research it wasn’t too hard to figure out what he’s been using over the years. He famously handwrites the first draft of his books using a fountain pen and then later edits them.

Gaiman, in 2012, mentioned that he has had between 40 and 60 pens, so this list will not be in any way complete but we’ll cover the pens he has talked about publicly.

Continue reading “What Fountain Pen Does Neil Gaiman Use?”

The Best Pens and Pencils for Adult Coloring Books – July 2019

Adult coloring books have moved from being a quirky fad to being a real thing. A real, relaxing, nothing-to-be-embarassed about thing… and we fully endorse them. If you want to relax and do some art, with none of the stress of painting or figuring out what to draw, a coloring book can be the perfect way to zone out and destress.

So what are the best pens and pencils, and whatever else, for your coloring book?

Continue reading “The Best Pens and Pencils for Adult Coloring Books – July 2019”

The Best Pens for Writing a Lot

Rotring Tikky

Picking the best pen is never an easy task, but one thing is clear: there is a big difference between a pen that you will use for a few minutes here and there and one that has to be used for sustained periods of time. Just like when you are running and marathon shoes are different from sprinting shoes, pens for writing a lot tend to be very different than other pens.

The thing with pens though, is that there is no category of pens for extended time periods or distance, so we need to come to our own conclusions.

Continue reading “The Best Pens for Writing a Lot”