Pilot BeGreen Precise V5 Rollerball Pen - WOW!

And so there I was at Berkeley's Artist and Craftsman Supply a few weeks back, and they were re-arranging their pen section. Historically, I have always focused on the paint and canvas sections of this wonderful art supply store, but that day, I was able to see for the first time what a solid pen selection they offer.

And then I saw them - the Pilot BeGreen Precise V5 Rollerball pens, in black, red and royal blue. There were about 25 of them tucked away in a small unassuming white plastic bucket, as though they were everyday run of the mill pens. I was particularly drawn to the ivy green colored "BeGREEN" section found on all three colors of this pen which touts the fact that this pen is created from recycled content.

In recent times, I have tried writing with pens made of corn and other re-purposed materials only to find that they are more about "recycling" hype than a decent writing experience. And so I gingerly picked up the Pilot BeGreen Precise V5 Rollerball (Extra Fine), with absolutely zero belief that I was going to have anything remotely close to a satisfactory writing experience. But lo and behold! This pen flows like a river across the page, and it is super good looking to boot! I was delighted to discover this new take on the classic Pilot V5 Rollerball, and I daresay it delivers a superior writing experience than that of its predecessor at a very nice price, only $1.85 through www.jetpens.com.

And so I say to you, fellow pen lovers, get thee one of these beauties at your next opportunity. If you're committed to reducing landfill waste, and you like to write with a super fine line combined with a really nice ink flow, then this is the pen for you!

Bring me a great pen, or bring me death!

I don't know when it all started - this obsession with pens - but I do know that when I was a little girl, I was most happy with a pen in my hand, and lots of blank 8.5 x 11 paper with which to use that pen. Being that my mother was a high school business course teacher, there was always plenty of both items in supply at our house. She would have a collection of pens and pencils in a large empty coffee can which I would gleefully sort through upon arriving home from school for the latest additions to the collection.

I was the most disturbed as a child when a pen I was writing with ran out of ink, and that annoying scraping across the paper sensation occurred. And so, I suppose that since I first experienced that disappointing moment where in the midst of the expression of an idea, the pen ran out of ink, I have been trying my damndest to avoid that ever happening again. Hence my gargantuan collection of pens today!

And so while attending a birthday dinner at a popular Berkeley Japanese restaurant the other evening, a gentleman there suggested that I start a pen blog once he heard me pontificate endlessly about the new Sharpie pen which I had purchased as a gift for the birthday girl. Have you tried it? It is pretty cool looking, with a long silver retractable push-button experience, and a super tiny point, giving Sharpie lovers the Sharpie experience, but without the gradually drying and dulling nib that occurs when using the traditional Sharpie marker.