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Favorite writing and art Pens

31 items

Kenneth G Samson

These are a few of my favorite pens in low to mid range price points. I explain why I like them and what they’re best used for.

Anterique Oil-Based Ballpoint Pens 5.5in Peach

Pilot Juice Up 04 Retractable Gel Pen Black

Travelers bullet pen I do not enjoy having my pockets filled with things. When given the choice between overprepared and underprepared, I usually chose the latter. But the travelers bullet pen shifted my relationship to preparation. Because it was b...

Traveler's Company Brass Ballpoint Pen

Pentel Tradio Stylo TRJ50 Fountain Pens 3-Pack

Pentel Arts Tradio Stylo Sketch Pen Refills, Black, Box of 12 (MLJ20-A) Refills for the Pentel Tradio Stylo I posted in recommendations.

Pentel Arts Tradio Stylo Sketch Pen Refills Black 12

SAKURA Pigma Micron Fineliner Pens Black

Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen Fude Hard 1.5mm

SAKURA Pigma Micron PN Pen, 0.4-0.5mm Black

Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens, Black, 12 Ct

Bulk sharpies packs, you need these all over the house and at work and in the shop and so on. Just get them and save $ on bulk. 💰

Sharpie Pens Bulk

Sharpie Fine Tip Permanent Markers Set Amazon bulk

Bic Cristal

Smoothness: 4.5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 5 | Looks: 3 An expensive-feeling ballpoint pen, the Pilot Better Retractable has a good shape that feels natural to hold. The line comes out unlike any BIC — as soon as I started writing, I wa...

Pilot The Better Retractable Ballpoint Pen, Blue

Smoothness: 4.5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 5 | Looks: 3 Dr. Grip is the smoothest pen I tried. The writing experience is seamless, and the ink that comes out is neither too thin, nor too thick. There is virtually no bleed-through or sm...

PILOT Dr. Grip Center of Gravity Ballpoint Pen

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 2.5 | Feel: 5 | Looks: 5 Oh, the Le Pen. It is the nearly perfect pen: the felt tip leaves smooth, slender, consistent marks on paper, and your handwriting inevitably looks more elegant because of it. The...

Marvy Le Pen

Smoothness: 4 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 4.5 | Looks: 4.5 There is a lot to love about this pen. It feels substantial in your hand, but not too heavy. The lacquer finish makes the pen cool and comfortable to the touch; the ink is smoot...

Ohto Rollerball Pen

Smoothness: 4.5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 4.5 | Feel: 4.5 | Looks: 4.5 My old high school art teacher used to have to buy these by the boxful because us students would swipe one every chance we’d get! The beauty of this one lies in its extra-fi...

Pilot Precise V5 Rollerball Pens, 0.5mm Black

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 4.5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 4.5 | Looks: 4 This is one of the smoothest fountain pens I tested. In some ways it almost feels like a rollerball: you don’t get any of the feedback resistance you sometimes get with a founta...

Pelikan Stola III R16 Silver Matte Rollerball Pen

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 4 | Looks: 4 The smoothest ballpoint pen I’ve tested so far! It’s a little short for my taste, but it’s got a nice heft to it. I like the smooth, all-metal finish, and the clicking mechanism is ...

Baron Fig Squire Pen

Smoothness: 4.75 | Smudging: 4.5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 4.8 | Looks: 4 This pen delivers an incredibly smooth gel-feel that makes for a fun and almost bouncy writing experience. The harder you press it to the paper, the darker the ink and the ch...

Schneider Slider Rave XB Refillable Pens

Smoothness: 4.2 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 4 | Looks: 5 I’ve long loved the way the BIC 4-Color Ballpoint looks. It’s blue and white, with each of its four color options represented by little slidable strips on the top (you press the c...

4-Color - BIC

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 4.8 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 4 | Looks: 4.5 The action on this Poppin ballpoint pen is so smooth, it almost feels like it’s doing the writing on its own. It doesn’t stick to the page and it makes my handwriting look grace...

Poppin Signature Ballpoint Pens, Medium

Smoothness: 4.5 | Smudging: 4 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 5 | Looks: 5 This has the looks and feel of a classic, high-end fountain pen. The design is simple and understated, especially in the black with silver accents. The ink-flow is quite steady an...

Pelikan Classic P205 Black Silver Trim Fountain Pen

This rollerball delivers a super-clean, medium line; you won’t experience a lot of inconsistencies or smudging. As far as the pen itself goes, the weighty feel and the fat, torpedo-shaped body match up well with its super-inky and dark rollerball lin...

Retro 51 pens

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 4.5 | Looks: 4.5 The Parker Jotter is extremely smooth, but its ink is darker than average, making it, in my opinion, more of a work pen and less of a correspondence pen. I like that you can con...

Parker Jotter

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 4.5 | Looks: 4.5 As far as disposable ballpoints go, the Schneider Slider Memo XB is really impressive. This pen is smooth. Like, really smooth. Almost disarmingly smooth. It glides effortlessly...

Schneider Slider Memo XB, Black (150201)

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 4.5 | Looks: 4.9 The Kaweco Classic Sport Brass fountain pen is special. Writer André Aciman called it “the Volkswagen of pens, with a Jaguar engine.” I was worried it would be too heavy or unco...

Kaweco Classic Sport Fountain Pen

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 4.5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 5 | Looks: 5 The Aurora Ipsilon fountain pen is about as classic as it gets. It is a very smooth writer, never skipping even when first touching down on the paper. Its ink-flow was consistent ...

Aurora Fountain Pen

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 5 | Looks: 4.5 Great pen. Of all the pens I tried, it feels the closest to an extension of my natural hand gestures and it makes my handwriting look easy-going and legible. I also love the line ...

Prismacolor 14171 Premier Fine Line Markers

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 5 | Looks: 5 If you’re most comfortable writing with a 0.5 mm. (or even 0.3 mm.) mechanical pencil, you will feel right at home using this Japanese needlepoint pen (though its point is actually ...

Ohto Horizon Pen

Smoothness: 5 | Smudging: 5 | Bleed-through: 5 | Feel: 5 | Looks: 5 I love this pen. It practically dances across the page, and the ink comes through with command and a real presence. The matte finish of the burgundy Squire I tried gave it an expens...

Baron Fig Squire Pen