I mostly use fountain pens when I write. If not fountain pens then gel ink pens. I rarely write in pencil, but I often sketch with pencils, and sometimes when I plan, I pencil things in. Pencil is great for writing impermanence, even though pencil marks last longer than pen ones – unless erased.
Yet there’s always a ballpoint on my desk and in my bag. I don’t like writing with ballpoint – the lines are as dark as I prefer, even with hybrid ballpoints like Uniball Jetstreams, and they oftentimes streak and blob. So why do I have a ballpoint at hand at all times?
Because ballpoint pens are a useful tool. The ink is waterproof , they’re good for signing things, and they’re robust enough to handle being tossed into a bag or a pocket. Ballpoint pens are also good for sketching – you can get a decent amount of shading and character with them (providing you don’t use a Jetstream).
One of the best bang for your buck ballpoints is this pen:
Zebra 301A BP
So why do I like the Zebra 301 A BP 0.7?
It’s made from aluminium, so it’s light and ultra durable. It also wears really well.
I love the pen body design and colour.
The grip and click mechanism are good: well designed and well made. You get a decisive click from this pen, and the plastic grip has enough texture to it to make writing as comfortable as possible without all the lint gathering, stickiness and durability issues of softer grips.
No tip wiggle.
It comes with a good, dependable, black refill that is replaceable.
Clip and click mechanism
I like the Zebra 301 A BP enough that I bought a large box of them and I frequently give them away as gifts. People like getting nice pens and if you’re used to cheap, plasticky, disposable ballpoints it’s nice getting a pen that’s a grade or two above what you find in the office supply cabinet.
Grip
Here’s a quick sketch done with a Zebra 301A BP 0.7 on a Field Notes Sketchbook. Ballpoint pen sketching isn’t my favourite technique, but it is a very useful technique for quick urban sketching.
The Caran d’Ache 849 ballpoint is a classic which I have already reviewed in the past. While I rarely use ballpoints, I have several of these pens (all with gel refills that I have swapped instead of the Caran d’Ache Goliath ballpoint ones). Why? Because of their excellent limited edition designs.
While I was in London in April I picked up two new limited edition 849s – The Keith Haring edition in red and white, and the latest 849 Nespresso collaboration.
The box
The Keith Haring edition comes in black and in red and white. I think that the red and white edition is nicer, and it appears that so do other 849 fans: the black edition is still widely available but most places have long sold out of the red and white edition.
The box is very nice, and makes for a nice gift pack.
Outer box
Inside the box you also get to see some of Haring’s work.
Inside the box
The pen itself is white, with a sparkly red knock and clip. The paint on these feels like lacquer, and the look is sleek and bold. There are dancing people holding red hearts all over the pen (so you get some Keith Haring artwork, but it’s not overcrowding the pen), and the pen body’s finish is the standard 849 glossy finish.
The Keith Haring 849
The knock and clip are probably the most striking thing about this pen. Surprisingly Caran d’Ache didn’t put any Haring branding on the pen, not even hidden with their branding under the clip.
You can see the branding on top.
The paint on the clip and knock look like someone poured them out of red glitter paint, and then waited until they set. All in all the result, together with the Keith Haring artwork and the included box, is one of the best 849 gift pens I have seen.
The Caran d’Ache Nespresso Kazaar edition, the 6th Caran d’Ache and Nespresso shared edition, is a bit different than previous editions. Unlike previous editions that featured a silver clip and knock, the Kazaar edition is monochrome. The dark blue pen has a clip and knock in matching colours, and the result is much better than previous pens in this series.
The Kazaar 849
As usual the pen is made at least in part from aluminium from Nespresso Capsules. The pen body has a bit of a matte texture to it, which makes it slightly easier to grip. It comes by default with the excellent Goliath refill, this time in black (the Keith Haring 849 also came with a black Goliath refill).
The pen touts its recycled origins.
The 849 Nespresso came in the same sort of recycled cardboard box that previouseditionscame in. It makes for a good gift pen, even though some may find the dark navy blue colour a bit… boring.
Swiss made. The colour matching on the knock, clip and pen body is superb.
If you like the idea of the 849 Nespresso but don’t much like the colour of the Kazaar one, I’d recommend waiting for the next edition. I have a feeling that it too will feature monochrome hardware, and it might be in a brighter colour as Nespresso are starting to run out of drab capsule colours.
The Goliath refill in action
Note to those who prefer gel ink refills and plan to swap the 849 refill out: the tolerances on these 849 pens are a bit weird. There are 849’s in which you can easily swap the refill for any Parker style refill with no issue, and those in which if you swap the refill you find that the knock won’t properly engage it. This is something worth taking into account if you plan on swapping the refill in the pen – there’s a risk that it won’t work with the specific pen you own. I’d recommend in this case to try swapping the refill before you purchase the pen if possible, or resign yourself to using a ballpoint. The Caran d’Ache Goliath refills are several cuts above what you get in a standard, disposable ballpoint, so the loss shouldn’t be too great.
What about you? Do you like the 849? Do you swap its refill?
I was organizing some things around the house when I found a brown paper bag with the Muji logo on it, and in it was some washi tape and three wooden writing instruments: two mechanical pencils and a pen. There appears to be an advantage to being a forgetful unpacker, as I get to enjoy a little trip to a London based Muji store while I’m stuck at home in quarantine times.
Here are the three writing companions:
Muji Wooden Mechanical Pencil, Muji Mini Wooden Mechanical Pencil and Muji Wooden Ballpoint Pen
I was drawn to them because they were wood encased, and they had that very sleek, minimalist Muji design. They weren’t expensive, so even though I’m generally not a ballpoint fan and the mini mechanical pencil looked more like a novelty piece than an actual writing implement, I bought all three.
And promptly forgot about them.
Muji Wooden Mini Mechanical Pencil
Well now I’m giving them a spin, and I can’t help but be intrigued the most by the least practical of the bunch: the wooden mini mechanical pencil. It’s a 0.5 point pencil, which is pretty bog standard for mechanical pencils, but here’s where the standard ends and you venture into the wild world of Muji industrial design. The pencil is very, very, very, very thin and also very, very light. It makes all other pencils, mechanical or not, look like veritable giants around it. It is 0.6 cm wide, which is tiny, and it feels like a delicate little twig that will snap at any minute, making it quite the adventure to write with. You get a little thrill when you pick it up and scribble with it: will it break? will it survive to write another day?
Your own mini “Survivor” in pencil form.
The design of the cap and clip area are both peculiar and handsome. There’s a combination of matt and shiny aluminum parts that make a striking statement, especially on an otherwise minimalistic pencil body. There’s no branding anywhere, and no indication of the lead size that this pencil takes (though that isn’t hard to guess). If the metal bands serve a practical purpose I can’t think what it is. They seem a bit blingy at first for such an understated pencil, but I think that they do add to the design.
The pencil tip is very short and stubby, which adds to the kawaii of the pencil and yet keeps the tip visible. Which would be important if you could actually do any kind of writing or drawing with this pencil, but it’s just too thin to be used for anything but a sentence or two once in a while when you have no other choice. It’s like trying to write with a pen refill without the pen body: not something you would ever do unless it was an emergency and it was the only option you had.
All in all this pencil feels like a designer or a maker got a challenge to “make the smallest usable mechanical pencil possible, something nice that we can use in a Filofax ad”.
The Pentel Graphgear 1000 in comparison to the Muji Mini Wooden Mechaical Pencil.
Now we’re back to normal pencil size world, and it’s time to take a look at the Muji Wooden Mechanical Pencil. It’s also a 0.5 pencil, and it has a very Muji/IKEA sort of look to it. It would definitely feel at home in an IKEA ad for a desk.
The wooden barrel is the highlight of this pencil, and since there aren’t many wooden mechanical pencils around and this was an inexpensive purchase I would recommend splurging for one if you have room on your desk.
I say “on your desk” because while the wooden pencil body is good looking and feels great in the hand, it is uncoated. This means that it will pick up dirt and dings from being carried around in a case, a bag or a pocket. Even on your desk it’s likely to become sullied with use, although I have had luck with using erasers to clean soiled wooden pencil bodies before.
Muji wooden mechanical pencil alongside a Uni-ball M9-552 drafting pencil.
The pencil is slightly shorter than a standard mechanical pencil, and it’s a very light pencil, but it’s absolutely usable, unlike its mini counterpart.
The Muji Wooden Ballpoint Pen is probably the one that I’ll use the most of all the bunch. It’s a 0.5mm needlepoint ballpoint that writes with a really fine, clean line. The refill, like the pen, is completely unbranded, but I’m pretty sure that it’s made by a large manufacturer like Uni-ball or Pentel. The only ballpoint pen that I have that writes remotely like this is the Traveler’s Company ballpoint, and this pen is more comfortable to hold and use.
The design aesthetic is the same as the mechanical pencil, very Muji/IKEA modern and minimalist. Like the mechanical pencil the wooden body makes for a lightweight pen that feels lovely to hold but is liable to easily get dinged and dirty.
The pen is on the thinner and shorter side when compared to other pens, so it isn’t the greatest for longer writing sessions. It is still a great pen for the price, as it’s solidly built with a good click mechanism and no wiggle in the tip or rattling while you write. Of the three I’d recommend this the most, as a general pen to keep in handy for those times that call for a ballpoint.
I’m drawing a lot of maps and schematics lately for a D&D game that I’m running so I’m using a slew of mechanical pencils for the occasion. Here’s the normal sized Muji wooden mechanical pencil at work on a Baron Fig Confidant:
I’ve been on a Caran d’Ache 849 swing ever since I discovered that they can accept Ohto Flash Dry and Parker gel ink refills, and though I usually shy away from “blingy” pens, I was drawn to the 849 Brut Rosé (rose gold) . It is one of the few 849 pens that have a “rough”/ grippy texture.
The box.
The Brut Rosé Caran d’Ache 849 is part of “Celebratory” series that includes Sparkle Gold and Black Code pens. They all come in metal presentation boxes with fabric lining, magnetic closure, and what appears to be the tagline of this edition: “We write the 849 Legend, with added sparkle”.
The box is clearly meant to evoke a jewelry box, and it does so well. The pen itself has the added weight that the Caran d’Ache Nespresso849editions have (and the same texture) but is still not a heavy pen. The clip and nock appear in pictures to be gold and not rose gold, but that is only because this is an incredibly difficult pen to photograph. In reality the pen is entirely a warm rose gold.
The clip and nock are a slightly more coppery rose gold than the body, but they are still clearly rose gold.
In terms of branding, this pen didn’t receive any special treatment (unlike the Nespresso pens). There’s no indication that this is a “special edition”: it has the same Caran d’Ache etching on the cap, a white “Swiss Made” screen print above the clip, and “849 Caran d’Ache” screen printed in white under the clip.
Swiss Made.
You can just about see the print under the clip here:
Thus the only indication that this is a more expensive “special edition” is the box.
The Caran d’Ache 849 Brut Rosé comes with the Caran d’Ache Goliath blue ballpoint refill. It is an excellent ballpoint refill, but as I’m not a fan of ballpoints, I’ll be switching it out for either the Parker gel 0.7 refill or the Ohto Flash Dry 0.5 refill.
The pen looks plain gold here, but that’s just the fault of the lighting.
The Caran d’Ache 849 Brut Rosé will make for a fantastic gift pen, whether for yourself or for someone you like. It’s on the more expensive side of 849 special editions, but I think that it makes a more subtle and sophisticated impression than the similarly priced “Claim Your Style” 849s.
When Caran d’Ache came out with this year’s limited edition Nespresso capsule 849 pen I breathed out a sigh of relief. I’m not a fan of their India capsules, and their olive green colour doesn’t speak to me, so I thought that it would be an easy pen to skip. Their previous collaboration, the Darkhan, was an excellent pen overall, especially as a gift purchase to the Nespresso or pen lover in your life, and I also loved the capsules and loved their colour.
Well Cult Pens celebrated their 15th anniversary, and I needed some refills, and somehow or other the India 849 found itself in my basket. I thought I would gift it away, but once it arrived I knew that this pen is staying with me.
As with the previous edition, the packaging on this pen is genius. It shows off the pen and what it is beautifully, and it’s so well made and well considered. On the front there’s the “This was a Nespresso capsule” label, and a sketch of the pen that fits perfectly with the way the pen is presented in the box (that’s not left to chance. The box is designed so the pen will stay put in semi profile and show off the subtle “Caran d’Ache” logo underneath the clip).
Limited Edition, Caran d’Ache 849, Series No 02.
On the back there’s a short explanation about what makes this pen special:
Inside the pen is securely slotted in its superbly designed cardboard housing, and here you can catch the first glimpse of why I decided to keep this pen: its colour.
This is a beautiful pen that doesn’t photograph well. Its colour is wild, if subtle could be wild. It’s a cool grey with a slightly green hue. I’ve never had a pen like it, and the result is very, very cool.
Unlike most 849’s and just like the Darkhan edition, this pen has writing on it beyond the hidden Caran d’Ache and the “Swiss Made”:
Made with recycled Nespresso capsules.849 Caran d’Ache and Swiss Made, standard imprints on 849 pens.
The 849 is a ballpoint and has an excellent out of the box Goliath Caran d’Ache refill. I’m not a fan of ballpoints, so I switched my refill out with the 0.7 Parker gel refill in black, and now I can’t put this pen down. This pen weighs more than the featherweight 849, and it has a textured finish. The result is the 849 pen, only better.
The writing on the top of the page is with the original Goliath refill, and below it the writing is with the Parker gel refill.
I highly recommend this pen to anyone who is even slightly interested in the Caran d’Ache 849, as it’s a significant improvement over an already great pen design. It makes for a great gift, and a great pen to carry around with you (just make sure nobody tries to nick it from you). I hope that Caran d’Ache and Nespresso continue this collaboration, and I can’t wait to see which capsule colour they select next.
I was eying the Caran d’Ache 849 line for a while, wondering whether to try one or not. On the one hand I really liked their design. On the other hand, they’re ballpoint pens, and I have very little use for ballpoint pens. They require pressure to write with, and with my carpal tunnel problems, ballpoint-caused pain is what made me research and get into fountain pens in the first place.
Then I started getting emails about the Caran d’Ache 849 collaboration with Nespresso. From Cult Pen’s website:
In 2015 Nespresso launched its Second Life project, the aim of which is to recycle its aluminium coffee capsules and use them to create other products. Caran d’Ache’s 849 was a perfect candidate! An exclusive alloy using the aluminium from the Nespresso capsules was created in order to meet the 849’s quality requirements, and the ‘Darkhan’ capsule was chosen to lend its dark blue colour to the Nespresso 849 Limited Edition.
Well that got me hooked. I enjoy Nespresso’s capsules and especially its design, and I was intrigued by the idea of its capsules (which I recycle) ending up in such an iconic pen. A quick order from Cult Pens (who now have free international shipping for orders over £50) later, and this arrived:
The packaging is recycled, beautiful, and really evokes a Nespresso capsule sleeve:
The pen has ” Made with Recycled Nespresso Capsules” screen printed on it as well as all the usual, understated Caran d’Ache branding.
I took advantage of the free shipping to also order an 849 Tropical pen, and unlike that and other, more standard, 849s, this pen has a textured, beaded body. If you have sweaty hands, this is a blessing, of course.
Although it’s a metal-bodied pen it is surprisingly light and very well balanced. Even if you have tiny hands you shouldn’t have any trouble using this pen for long periods of time. The knock is so smooth that it doesn’t click, which I found a bit annoying. I’m used to pen knocks clicking unless they are faulty, and so I found myself constantly pausing to check if the mechanism had fully engaged before I started writing.
I don’t use ballpoints for writing, especially not for long periods of time, but this pen is obviously built to be a workhorse. Nothing rattles when you write, the refill is smooth, with no blobs of ink and no problems starting. Thin white streaks appear now and then while writing, but that’s to be expected and is hardly noticeable. Unlike many ballpoint refills, the Caran d’Ache Goliath refill that comes with this pen dries almost immediately, even on Moleskine paper, making it friendly for left-handed writers.
All in all a great pen, and a perfect gift for the Nespresso lover in your life.
Writing at Large 