Cross Edge Gel Roller - Pen Review

This is kind of the "Part II"  of my recent Cross acquisitions.  My recent review of the Cross Click went well and I had high hopes for the Edge.  From just looking at this pen, it seems to be a cool product: sleek, edgy (hence the name), and kind of flashy.  With this particular matte black barrel and "gadgetry", it seems like a pen Batman would use.

I picked up the Cross Edge from Staples.com as they had them on closeout for $15, and since they retail for $40 I thought, what the heck.  I'd been interested in this pen for awhile, so I was excited to give it a try.

First impressions, I'm not really digging it so much.  Not that it isn't a nice pen, but its just not giving me the wow factor I thought it would.  My thoughts don't mean that the pen is a bad pen at all, but just my opinions.  It looks stunning and has some cool features, but it just isn't happening although there are some pros and cons. 

The refill for the pen is really dark and smooth, although it writes really wet.  If you prefer a finer line, this one wouldn't really be up your alley.  I don't believe Cross makes a finer refill in the gel roller, but I'll have to investigate.  The refill is nice and I've enjoyed using it.  

The unique factor around this pen is the mechanism to extend and retract the tip.  To extend the tip, you pull apart the pen barrel in a telescoping motion.  To retract the tip, you push the pen barrel back together.  While this is a neat feature, it isn't really blowing my mind.  To me, it seems almost gimmicky and isn't exceptionally smooth in its function.  With the shape and size of this pen, a really solid twist mechanism could have been nice too.  

The pen is substantial, but not overly heavy and is well balanced.  It is comfortable to write with.  The main barrel pieces are molded plastic which isn't necessarily bad, but it doesn't really add points to the classy factor.  

My opinion, I don't really think this is a $40 pen.  With the plastic barrel and some accents, it just doesn't feel like it would be a pricier pen.  In this instance, I kind of feel like Cross over did it with this one in the opposite direction of their usual style.  

I'll probably still use this pen from time to time, but it just wasn't quite what I expected it to be from my own personal tastes. 

Orange Lamy Noto Winner!

I've been excited to give this bright Lamy away and thanks to those that entered the contest and for visiting The Clicky Post! 

And the winner is: 

Winner.png

I couldn't agree more!  In my workshop I actually have a pair of bright orange gloves for that very purpose: easy to find! 

Congrats!  Please contact me through the Contact Page  with your address and details and I'll get your pen sent out to you right away!

Pilot Multiball Blue Liquid Ink - Pen Review

I very much like the look of this pen.  It is just a simple design, but the plastic barrel is a nice rich color accented by some clear areas.  White logo and writing all around and not too flashy.  Very conservative.  

I decided to toss one of these in my cart on an order from JetPens awhile back as a "filler"; their free shipping over $25 makes it easy to try new pens if you're almost at the mark.  And, with this pen being only $1.65, it was an easy and low-risk choice. 

Prepare for a thought detour: one thing that drives me absolutely bonkers is sticker residue.  By sticker residue, I mean the layer of gunk that stays on the surface of a product after you peel off a label of some kind like the UPC barcode sticker for scanning.  Oh. My. Gosh.  On some products it seems that nothing short of turpentine and steel wool would get that junk off.  For whatever reason, I've found pens to be one of the worst culprits for this.  Even if a pen is cheap and sold from a cup for individual sale, I still want to be able to remove the sticker to make the experience more enjoyable.  Well, as you've presumed, the Multiball had some wicked sticker residue... Consider this rant now over.  

The Multiball lays down a pretty fine line, but the ink flow is good which makes for dark, solid lettering on the page.  The writing experience isn't smooth by any means and there is a considerable amount of drag on the page.  I thought it might just be my Doane Paper as it is a pretty heavy stock and not overly smooth, but when I went to a Rhodia 5x5 Block pad, the experience was a bit better but not by much.  

The grip on the pen is actually very good.  It has just enough flex and enough rubbery feel to be really effective.  Never during my time of writing did I feel like my grip on the barrel slipped. 

I think I might have a love/hate with this pen.  There are times I really don't like it, but when I feel like I get into a good handwriting "groove", the words on the page are neat, dark, and precise which I like.  I would not recommend this pen as an everyday writer if smooth is your thing.

From what I've read, the Multiball writes on a large variety of surfaces, including glass.  Pretty impressive, and I could see that being a benefit if you worked in a lab of some kind or your work required you to physically write on a variety of smooth surfaces.  I haven't done any crazy tests, although I did ask my wife if I could write on one of our drinking glasses...she respectfully turned me down.