Sharpie

[watch_art]

Ugh. All i can say is that it serves a purpose. I'm using it primarily to draw on my wood blocks used for printmaking. I have one of those Sharpie clicky pens but I hate the size and shape of it, so while I was out at Office Depot yesterday buying HP 32lb and a cheap Pentel 0.7 pencil, I saw these guys. I think the tapering ends is what grabbed my attention first.

 

 

It's really WAY too light for me. I wish it were heavier so I wouldn't be so tempted to push down on the tip. It's almost like there's nothing in my hand and it's annoying.

 

faucet drawing in my Mead cream colored paper journal....

 

It fits my hand nearly perfectly. The taper of the barrel end and section feel so nice, and I don't see how it could be made any more comfortable to hold except by making it HEAVIER!

 

 

The tip.

This is what I hate about all markers and marker pens - at least all the ones that I've used - the tips are scratchy and rough. At best they're only semi-rough. I hate em. But it serves a purpose. I'd use my fountain pens on the wood blocks but I don't want to tear my nibs up on the wood. I might end up getting something decent but cheap with some Noodler's X-Feather or something that will work on wood so I don't have to bother with stupid Sharpies anymore.

 

 

Here's a drawing on my current block. These are two of my block carving tools, drawn in pencil, detailed in Sharpie pen, then colored over with a giant red Sharpie to provide contrast. Doing this allows me to easily see where I've made cuts and how things are looking. Look in the lower left corner to see this...

 

When drawing, it almost feels like I'm scratching at the paper rather than drawing on it, but that's how all these fiber tips feel to me. On wood it doesn't matter so much b/c the wood is already pretty rough. Fountain pens have spoiled me.

 

 

Ink.

Ugh. I have been so spoiled by the wide array of FP inks out there. This stuff is awful and only passes as black if you call gray black.. Also wish the pen wrote a lot wetter. It's so awfully dry for my purposes. Here it only JUST serves a purpose.

 

 

Non-refillable as far as I can tell. Throw it away when you're done. Too bad it's $10 for three of them. I hate disposable pens. I'd rather refill than toss..

 

But like I said... it serves a purpose.

Edited June 15, 2011 by watch_art

[opus7600]

Dude, just go to jetpens and buy one of the preppy felt tip pens. Add silicone grease, an o-ring, and some x-feather, and you're good to go. There are replacement tips available for when you shred the first one on the wood.

[KrazyIvan]

The stainless sharpie is refillable.

[watch_art]

but it's a fat tip. I don't want the fat tip.

[Koyote]

The Sharpie is great for what it is: a pen for labelling packages and Tyvek mailing envelopes. And, back before digital, I always carried one for marking developing instructions on a film canister.

[Chthulhu]

I sent an inquiry shortly after the SS Sharpie launched, asking whether there would be other refills produced for it. Never got a reply.

[ThirdeYe]

I really enjoy my Sharpies.. I probably have around 100 of them, including the Sharpie Pens, Sharpie Minis, Accent Highlighters, etc. :ph34r:

Edited June 17, 2011 by ThirdeYe