Explainer | Unsharpen

Which Pens Are Sold In The Most Sizes?

09/03/24 Unsharpen Team

If you want to use the same pen and ink combination in a number of sizes, what’s the best pen to choose? This is a niche question, but certainly an interesting one. This came up when we wanted to some pen longevity testing — testing out how long the ink in a pen will write — and we wanted to determine the impact on the writing tip size on how long a pen will write. The best way to do this is to get the same pen in as many sizes as possible… but which pen should we buy?

Where Is The Sharpie S-Gel Pen Made?

12/17/23 Unsharpen Team

It might seem like a simple question, but it’s come to us a few times. So let’s get down to it: where are the S-Gel pens made?

How Long Is A Pencil?

12/23/22 Unsharpen Team

A surprisingly popular question in the stationery world is, “How long is an average wood pencil?” When we found out that there was no obvious answer, we go to work to find out.

How To Clean Behind The Seal Of A Fountain Pen Converter

12/09/22 Unsharpen Team

If you are cleaning your fountain pen and noticed that there is ink or water behind the plunger of the converter, you’ll likely find that it’s quite difficult to get at. How do you take apart the converter, clean up that ink, and fully clean your pen?

How Wide Is A Pencil?

11/30/22 Unsharpen Team

It might seem basic, or even obvious, but a common question people ask is, “How wide is a wood pencil?”

The answer, of course, is “it varies…” We did some testing to see just how wide a range of popular pencils are.

The Best No-Plastic And Low Plastic Pens And Refills

11/19/22 Unsharpen Team

Many people are trying to reduce the amount of plastic they use in their lives, but this can be quite difficult, especially with small, affordable items like pens. While pens and plastic go hand-in-hand, particularly with lower priced pens, there are some choices you can make to reduce the plastic in your writing instruments.

Pens, Ink, And The Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) Form

11/08/22 Unsharpen Team

If you have recently purchased a pen or ink from an international reseller or manufacturer there is a chance that you will be required to fill out a Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) Form. This request will come from the shipper, usually Fedex, not the seller or a government agency.

So what do you do when you get this request?

Finding The Darkest Pencil

10/29/22 Unsharpen Team

One of the common questions we see on Unsharpen is, which pencil is the darkest? In other words, which pencil has a graphite (or even a charcoal) which puts down a line that is the blackest black possible.

We did some investigation to see which pencils were worth considering if darkness is your goal.

What Is A Clutch Pencil And How Is One Used?

10/09/22 Unsharpen Team

Clutch pencils aren’t nearly as popular as they used to be, but they still have their uses. This article will explain the basics of clutch pencils, discuss why you’d use one, and finally run through some of the top clutch pencils sold today.

The Top Tool Pens of 2022

09/24/22 Unsharpen Team

It can be incredibly handy to have a small set of tools at hand. With this in mind, a number of “tool pens” have been released over the years. We bought and tested a number of them. Our thoughts are below.

The Best Ways To Erase Pen Ink From Paper

05/31/22 Unsharpen Team

Pen ink is designed to not be removable from paper, but sometimes mistakes happen. When they do, how do you remove pen ink from paper?

What Is Fountain Pen Ink Sheen?

05/20/22 Unsharpen Team

When discussing fountain pen ink people will often talk about “sheen” and how desirable it is. But what is sheen? What causes it? Which inks have the best sheen?

Read on to find out.

What Cartridges Fit Wing Sung Fountain Pens?

05/12/22 Unsharpen Team

Wing Sung fountain pens offer incredible value in a set of pens ranging from $1 to over $50. Despite the low price of many Wing Sung pens, the company almost always includes a converter with them. But what if you don’t want use the converter and would prefer to use an ink cartridge?

Does Lamy Sell Replacement Parts For Fountain Pens?

05/02/22 Unsharpen Team

If you have a Lamy fountain pen that is in need of a replacement part, then you are in a tough spot. The pens are technically repairable as the can be mostly broken down to their components, but finding replacement parts can be a real challenge.

Continue reading “Does Lamy Sell Replacement Parts For Fountain Pens?”

Fountain Pen Cartridge Guide

04/27/22 Unsharpen Team

In theory, using a fountain pen cartridges should be easy — you insert one into your pen and you start writing. In practice, they are rather confusing. Some cartridges only work on one brand of pen, some work on lots of pens… and they all look alike! Cartridges are rarely labeled well and the downside of messing up a cartridge installation can be a broken pen (bad) or a leaky cartridge (often worse).

This guide will answer most common fountain pen cartridge questions as well help you visually identify which cartridge is which.

Continue reading “Fountain Pen Cartridge Guide”

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Currently Viewing Posts in Explainer

Which Pens Are Sold In The Most Sizes?

Where Is The Sharpie S-Gel Pen Made?

How Long Is A Pencil?

How To Clean Behind The Seal Of A Fountain Pen Converter

How Wide Is A Pencil?

The Best No-Plastic And Low Plastic Pens And Refills

Pens, Ink, And The Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) Form

Finding The Darkest Pencil

What Is A Clutch Pencil And How Is One Used?

The Top Tool Pens of 2022

The Best Ways To Erase Pen Ink From Paper

What Is Fountain Pen Ink Sheen?

What Cartridges Fit Wing Sung Fountain Pens?

Does Lamy Sell Replacement Parts For Fountain Pens?

Fountain Pen Cartridge Guide

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