Entries tagged “pens”

The Pilot Dr. Grip 4+1 Multi-pen

My Pilot Dr. Grip 4+1 Multi-pen ($15, still in stock at JetPens.com as of this writing) arrived today. It's everything I expected: a Dr. Grip-style barrel and rubber grip, no wider than a single-function Dr. Grip, but with 5 functions: black, red, blue, green and mechanical pencil. The inks are comparable to single-function Dr. Grip pens, which make this an easy must-have for fans of those pens.

I'm pleased to say the push-button design works better than a Bic 4-color. The buttons are very easy to push, and not easy to release accidentally, though I did trip the release on the mechanical pencil once when I didn't intend to. The U.S. mini-cultural bias against multi-pens as being for children combined with the unusual diameter common to all Dr. Grip pens gives this pen the appearance of a toy, but it's as solidly built as others in the Dr. Grip line.

The pencil's button also doubles as the clip, which is both clever and counter-intuitive. To advance the lead, you push the clip down further than its active position, which wouldn't be so bad except there's some give between the resting ("on") position and the catch for advancing lead. I wasted a good 60 seconds ticking the clip between those positions with no lead coming out before realizing I had to push harder.

Loading lead is simple but not as easy as most mechanical pencils. With the Dr. Grip 4+1, you remove the tip to expose the cartridges, then remove the metal end of the pencil cartridge. I worried I'd break it, but didn't have any trouble in the end. Surprisingly, my pen did not come with lead pre-loaded, nor did it include a supply in the box. (Thankfully, I have more .5mm lead than I'll ever use in my lifetime.)

I now own 3 somewhat expensive imported multi-pens. One is too short for my hands, but writes fabulously. Of the remaining two, the Platinum Double 3 Action is thinner, sleaker, and has a cooler switch mechanism than the Dr. Grip 4+1. The Dr. Grip has the famous rubber grip and smooth ink of the Dr. Grip line, and more colors. Compared to the Platinum, the Dr. Grip is comically wide, but since it's the same size as a single-function Dr. Grip (which is also quite wide), Dr. Grip fans aren't likely to notice. Those who don't like the grip, the width, or the Bic 4-color push-button aesthetic might prefer the Platinum.

I had planned on doing a silly series of fawning "unboxing" photos, but I tired of the gag before I got to the text. Here are some photos anyway.

The box:

The pen:

The eraser cap removed:

The cartridges exposed:

A brief writing sample:

The instructions in the box:

Pilot Dr. Grip 4 Color Multi Pen + Pencil now in stock at JetPens.com. As of this writing, anyway. Recent experiences with twist-style multi-pens make me less jazzed about the Bic-style buttons, and I doubt the Dr. Grip multi-pen will feel any more robust than other plastic multis. But still, whah, eh?

The real trick with the pen fetish is finding opportunities to use pens, since I've rather accidentally relegated all paper out of my life. Shopping lists on the iPhone, meeting notes on a laptop, and there's no time for red-pen editing in the high pressure world of technical writing.

When I mentioned how I couldn't imagine using the Uniball Signo Bit 0.18mm pen I got the other day, Charles expressed interest, so I sent it to him. Charles wrote an insightful review of the pen on his blog. He had better success with the ridiculously fine point on finer paper than I did with a cursory test on typical American notebook paper, and notes that it seems best suited for very very tiny lettering.

More multi-pens! The Writers Edge.com has a few multi-pens, most notably a black/red/pencil/stylus that uses pressurized Fisher Space Pen cartridges. If you like the way the Space Pen writes, here's a multi-pen for you, $35. For robust multi-pens, their black/red/pencil Spalding 3 Function Pen (no direct link available) is all brass and steel, for $56. Includes eraser and compartment for extra lead. They also carry a few $20 Quad 4-Way black/red/pencil/stylus-or-green with a personal review from the site's owner.

Another quick pen update: I got a Platinum Double 3 Action 2 Color Multi Pen + Pencil from JetPens.com. It's not as heavy or as robust as it looks, and it rattles a bit. At $22.50, I was hoping for a real metal barrel, something with weight to it. But it works as advertised: It's a very good black/red/pencil multi-pen, and it's got a clever switching mechanism. It's clear that all the good multi-pens are expensive imports, and I won't be able to do better at this price.

With that, I should probably stop for now. I'd love to step up and try a rare, expensive Rotring 600 just so I can blog about it, but at this rate I won't have anything left to get my kids Christmas presents. Well, Christmas presents other than pens, that is.

A quick follow-up from last Friday's pen discussion:

• My JetPens.com order arrived much quicker than I expected, shipped from Mountain View, CA. I placed the order on Thursday, it arrived on Saturday, and I used their free shipping option.
• I'm pleased to say that my hopes for finer point gel pens have been fulfilled. The 0.38mm Pilot G-2s (Staples.com link) are fantastic. They eliminate all of my concerns based on past experiences with gel pens. Rands preferred the 0.7mm model over other pens half that size, but I soaked a dozen notebook pages with those and can barely read the result. My kids like the 0.7mm because they draw like markers. They can have 'em now that I have the 0.38's.
• The Pilot Hi-Tec-C black/red multi-pen writes very well with a satisfying ultra-fine tip, and feels robust with stout ink cartridges and a metal barrel. However, it's too small for my hand, in both diameter (0.25") and length (4.75"). I wonder if I could get used to it with proper pen holding technique. My wife likes it, so it'll probably become a $30 stocking stuffer.
• I ordered a Uniball Signo Bit because it appeared in Rands' review and I was interested in trying a very fine point gel pen. However, I accidentally ordered the 0.18mm model, not the 0.37mm model Rands tested. I'm glad I did, because now I know that no pen should have a tip smaller than the head of a pin. This pen is friggin' ridiculous. Useful for drawing blood, and not much else.

Rands tests and reviews 6 gel pens. Rands clearly prefers gel pens to other kinds of pens. I'm still on the fence: It's clear gel pens have benefits over traditional ball point pens in terms of consistency and reliability, but I haven't met a gel pen that didn't slather the page too much. Every time I use a gel pen I feel like I'm making a mess. Rands disqualifies the fine point gel early in his trials, but I'm eager to try one after his review, because a fine point might win me over.

Via John, who also noted online Japanese-imported pen store JetPens.com as one of few places to get an ultra-fine point (0.38mm) Pilot G-2, though he later discovered you can now get them at Staples.com. Rands declared the 0.7mm G-2 the winner of his trials, though he didn't like it as much as his old pen.

While browsing JetPens.com, I noticed there is such a thing as a Pilot Dr. Grip 4-color multi-pen! U.S. office supply stores don't tend to carry multi-pens except for the occasional classic blue-barrel fine-point Bic 4-color multi-pen (readily available at Amazon.com from various sellers), and I thought I struck gold when I found the rare orange-barrel ultra-fine variety at Amazon.com once (which I can no longer find). JetPens has a multi-pen category with 9 varieties, none of which are Bic and all of which look like substantial serious-use pens. JP also has a couple of 6-color multi-pens for kids.

Sadly, the Pilot Dr. Grip 4-color is out of stock for the time being. I ordered a Pilot Hi-Tec-C black/red multi-pen to tide me over. I'll try not to get my hopes up on either pen: Twist-style multi-pens tend to feel flimsy because of how the swap mechanism works. I associate the Pilot Dr. Grip with a robust feel (though not everybody likes the wide barrel or the squishy grip), so I'm wondering if a Dr. Grip 4-color has the best of both worlds. A 2-color multi-pen seems like a better candidate.

Someone on Everything2 likes multi-pens, and recommends the Rotring 600 Trio, which includes two colors (blue and red only?) of pen and a mechanical pencil. PensAndGifts.net claims to have the Trio, as well as other Rotring products. PensPlanet.com appears to have a selection of Rotring pens for sale, including multi-function pens, including a couple of black-pen/pencil/highlighter combos, though none of them are the Rotring 600 Trio specifically. An eBay search for 'rotring multipen' brings up a few listings from this store, though their actual site doesn't have anything under the Rotring name; they have other multipens that look like they might fit the bill of a sturdy multipen, though I don't recognize any of the names. Joon Pens has refills for the Rotring multi-function pens (Rotring 600 Trio, Quatro and Esprit) but not the pens themselves, as far as I can tell. I gather these things may be sold under different names, so they may be more available than I can find after 30 minutes of web searching.

Speaking of the classic blue-barrel Bic 4-color, if you have a kid who likes to draw, I recommend pairing Doodlers Doodling by by Rita Golden Gelman and Paul O. Zelinsky with a Bic 4-color and a pad of graph paper. If you have multiple kids, you'll need multiple pens and pads.