Unsharpen

Pens and Pencils | Reviews and Data

Currently Viewing Posts in Explainer

Paper and Notebook Sizes Explained

Moleskine Notebook

Paper and notebook sizes are an unfortunately confusing thing. You just want some printer paper or a new notebook, and instead you are choosing between “A4” and “B5” and a slew of other sizes that mean nothing to you. Maybe you are better off switching to numbers, like “8.5 by 11” but we’ve all made the mistake of ordering legal paper when we meant to get normal copy paper!

This guide should help you sort out all your loose leaf paper and notebook size problems.

Continue reading “Paper and Notebook Sizes Explained”

Best Chinese Fountain Pen of 2022

Wing Sung 3003 Fountain Pen

If you are shopping for a very affordable — as in sub-$30, sub-$20, or even sub-$5 — fountain pen and you want high-end features like screw-on cap, included converter, or piston-filling mechanism then you will almost certainly want a Chinese fountain pen.

These pens have made incredible advances in the last decade and now offer a set of features and a price range that makes them distinct and interesting type of fountain pen unto themselves.

Continue reading “Best Chinese Fountain Pen of 2022”

Rotring 600 vs Rotring Newton Comparison

Rotring 600 vs Newton

When discussing vintage pens and pencils, the Rotring Newton is often confused with the older — the original — Rotring 600. Both are great pens and mechanical but they are quite alike. Even so, they are distinctly different models and while the Newton echoes the design of the 600 it is not a Rotring 600.

Sorry to say it, but there is no “Rotring Newton 600,” that’s just something people write on Ebay auctions.

Does any of this matter though? Are we just splitting hairs? Or is there a real difference between the Rotring 600 and the Newton models. Let’s find out.

Continue reading “Rotring 600 vs Rotring Newton Comparison”