Uni-Ball Signo 207 BLX 0.7mm - Blue Black

November 22, 2014

I don't normally get drawn into "gimmicky" type marketing ploys where companies try and take a normal product and make it the dark or extreme version. Slap matte black finish on anything, call it the "stealth" version and it is sure to sell though. I do like some matte black finish pens through like rOtring 600 pens, my recent LAMY Unic acquisition, the Vanishing Point, and the Sailor Imperial Black Pro Gear, but when companies try too hard it doesn't really appeal for some reason.

Anyway, that was a rant and not entirely related to this pen, but sort of... they did change a few of the pieces originally in a chrome finish to black.

A short while back, Uni-Ball released a series of many of their pens referred to as BLX. The packaging shifted slightly and the main difference is that the ink is a fusion of colors and black ink. They have a brown/black, red/black, purple/black, and a blue/black in pens like the Signo 207, Jetstream, and Vision Elite.

While visiting a local office supply store, I noticed they had an a-la-carte style mix and match pen station selling various colors of Sharpie Pens, PaperMate InkJoys and Flairs, as well as some of the BLX Uni-Ball Signo 207 pens in a 0.7mm. I decided to pick up a couple of the 207s in blue/black (as I like blue/black ink) to try out.

My thoughts were that if I like this color it may be a good refill to toss into my Ti2 Techliners as they were built for the Signo 207 specifically.

Thoughts so far? So far, so good. The Signo 207 is one of my favorite over the counter gel pens due to the wide range of sizes readily available almost anywhere and is a smooth writer. Uni is one of the few "office supply" companies that allow you to buy a 0.38mm in either blue or black off the shelf in most stores. Pilots and others are much harder to find.

The blue/black ink in the 207 BLX is nice and dark. Depending on your lighting, it could be mistaken for a black in, but has that nice subtle shade of blue that helps it stand out a bit. One of the big draws to the Uni-Ball pens like this are the security features of the super ink that is claimed to be both fade and water proof which helps with fighting check fraud. In an almost all electronic transaction world, check washing/fraud I'd imagine is on the decline, but is still a selling point.

If your local office supply doesn't carry these, JetPens has all of the BLX models in stock and would be a good item to toss in the cart to try.

The Divide Giveaway and Guest Post on Rhodia Drive

November 19, 2014

I recently had the pleasure of writing a guest post about Dudek Modern Goods and "my story" with it on Rhodia Drive.

In addition to the guest post, Stephanie from Rhodia Drive and I thought a giveaway for The Divide was also in order along with some Rhodia pocket notebooks! Visit rhodiadrive.com for details! (Giveaway only open to US residents)

Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher Ink Review

November 15, 2014

When it comes to ink specific reviews, usually not something I spend a lot of time on, but I'm working my way up to it I think. I've been acquiring inks quite a bit recently (probably need to slow it down) so there may be more ink reviews than usual in the coming months.

I've always been more of a blue ink guy, so probably 80% of my inks are blue. Upon placing a recent Pen Chalet order to buy some paper and a Neon Lamy Safari (it was only $20 and came with a 1.5mm stub which is why I bought it), I decided to toss in a couple of ink bottles one being Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher. And with the CLICKYPOST promo code, an extra 10% off.

The BBK, as I will likely refer to it from now on because the name is a bit excessive, is a blue black ink which I've actually grown pretty fond of.

In this review I am using Clairefontaine Triomphe paper.

From a blue to black type ratio, BBK is definitely more on the blue side. Some blue black inks come through as almost a dark grey, but this stays more to a nice darker blue. A good shade that can stand out a little, but still maintain a low profile.

For kicks, some other "blue black" inks to compare:

From my experience, BBK is well lubricated and creates a smooth writing experience and a lot of excellent shading. Granted, I've been using it primarily with a stub which helps in the shading area, but it is pretty dramatic.

On more fountain pen friendly papers, the dry time (I was also using a stub...) was pretty long needing over 30 seconds to finish. If you use a broader nib, could be a problem, but I'd imagine with finer lines the dry time would reduce dramatically.

What I like about Noodler's ink is that it comes in a huge range of colors and is generally pretty cheap. I don't think I've ever spent more than $13 on a bottle which makes trying out new ones easier.

I like BBK.