I’ve become slightly nuts about fine point pens. Unfortunately, the finest fine point pens are Japanese imports. For some reason, not only do the Japanese get the best role playing games, the best electronics, but they also get the best writing implements! What kind of cruel world is this we live in? Fortunately, JetPens, an online store that does nothing but bring over these hand-held wonders to the states has helped me meet this strange desire. Of course, it’s also responsible for turning my initial mild interest in pens to a full-on psychosis, but I’ll blame them later after I’m done playing with my pens.

It actually all started when Jaime bought me some pens a while back for Christmas. She knew I had always loved the the Pilot G2 0.5 since my Dad first found it, and got me a few starter pens from JetPens. Boy does my wife know me.

I fell in love with the Hi-Tec-C ink. It’s dark, rolls incredibly smoothly, and dries before my hand can smear it which is very useful for a lefty. I’ve decided 0.4 is just about the optimum tip size for me. The 0.3s are really amazingly thin, but they’re so pointy that I feel like I’m scratching the paper. Some folks feel likewise even about the 0.4. You definitely write with a fairly tender touch with one of these pens. Definitely no felt-tip pen here.

Of course, I had to try out a few sizes and lines to see what I like. On a recent trip to San Francisco, I visited two stationary stores where I could actually sit and browse through the selection instead of just looking online. Fortunately, it was my birthday, so I could justify picking up a few more pens.

Here’s my current favorite pen recommendation. First of all, as I said before, the Hi-Tec-C line from Pilot is just excellent. My current standard pocket faire is the Cavalier and the Couleur. The heft and weight of the Cavalier make it a really nice executive style pen and it just plain feels nice to write with. The Couleur is a really nice looking metal version of the Hi-Tec-C Knock S, a tiny pen whose only downside (besides the size for those with thick fingers) is the tendancy to dry up after disuse for a while. The Pilot G2 0.38 really compares well with the Knock S, and though it’s a Gel instead of the Hi-Tec-C formulated ink, it writes great, and is still the comfortable and attractive looking G2 style, but with an even finer point than the so-called “extra fine” 0.5 that’s available in the states.

Other top favorites of folks who try out the different pens in my collection are the Zebra Sarasa 0.4. The Sarasa has a great clip that makes it stand out a bit, and while it’s a little thicker line than some comparable 0.4s, most folks really like the feel and the look. The Pilot Petite was another surprise–a little $4 fountain pen, it’s a lot of fun to write with and is a great little introduction to fountain pens should you feel like tempting yourself with that bad habit.

Here’s a somewhat complete list of my purchases over the past year. Bold pens are recommended. Also, it should be noted that many of the duplicates below were presents for my Dad since he likewise shares my desire for slim-line pens.

Posted by Jordan on Sunday, March 11th, 2007 at 2:40 pm.