This is an item that,..., May 7, 2013

By ekw...

This is an item that, as soon as I saw it, I realized I didn't truly need it, but I really, REALLY wanted it. Very pleased with its performance. Seems to work best when placed on a hard surface, as opposed to holding it in one's hand; apply firm downward pressure, and papers are securely attached. I haven't tried it on more than three sheets of copier paper, but up to that point with that type of paper, this worked perfectly.

  I'm working on learning..., May 7, 2013

By ekw...

I'm working on learning standard musical notation, and I found a rubber stamp that produces a standard five-line musical staff; it fits perfectly on the sheets of this Word Book, with space to spare for additional notes and information. It truly creates a musical "flash card" system that is proving to be very helpful. It is possible to open the O-ring, so you can rearrange things to keep the learning process fresh. I'm very pleased with this item.

  I am truly impressed..., May 7, 2013

By max_wei

I am truly impressed by this pen. It is so cheap, but it is much, much better than that $150 Cross pen I was using. I like its light weight so that I can concentrate on writing. It becomes my daily pen now. In the meantime, I am ordering one more for a back-up pen.

  Bought this, the roulette..., May 7, 2013

By par...

Bought this, the roulette and the high grade for my boyfriend and he loves this one the best. He says the grip makes it more comfortable which makes him prefer using this one even though the other ones are better quality. One big big draw back is that he momentarily lost the top and it became very hard to use. SO WARNING DON'T LOSE TOP. the top is very unique and pushes down in a special way.

So with top far better than the other Kuru Togas for sale on this site...without top it stayed in a drawer. My bf is an engineering student and says that these pencils meet his needs both as an engineer and as a note taker. Says the leads break less and give him a nice even line. he is the envy of all other engineering students. :)

  As many of you, I don't..., May 7, 2013

By fto...

As many of you, I don't write reviews. So, I guess I'm a bit excited about this pen to feel like writing one now. Possibly too soon since I just got it last night.

I was hesitant to get it at first because of some of the issues mentioned by others and also not expecting much of it because of its cheap price/appearance. But because I've been searching for that EF nib that would lay thinner lines than the Germans' EF, I went for it with a "It-wouldn't happen-to-me" confidence.

I inserted the cartridge that came with it without paying attention to their instruction that recommended inserting it with the nib pointing up. What the heck! What difference would it make? I don't know if it made a difference but the pen refused to work and after a while the idea of the occasional "lemon" that others had mentioned crossed my mind.

I restrained myself from using forceful methods to make it work. Not pressing down, bending of the nib, no blades and no pin tips on the channel for me. All those would have defeated the purpose of getting a nice EF.

But I did the following and worked: I placed the nib under the running faucet to get the mantle(?) wet. I guess dipping the nib in water would had worked as well. Then I rubbed the channel side of the nib against a paper towel/napkin to absorb the water and in the process pull the ink in by capillary action. I kept touching it until the ink started to stain the napkin. After that, and after scribing a little, the ink went full strength and this pen has ben delightful. Amazing.

Together with it, I also bought a Tachikawa fine nib -which recommends inserting the cartridge upside down- and it turned out to lay lines even thinner than this Pilot Penmanship. I cannot imagine what their EF would do. But this one skips a bit. Maybe after some use it would get smother.

Essentially, I've found the EF nib that I wanted for drawing/sketching and at a great price.