Tachikawa Linemarker A.t

December 4, 2011

Hi there this is a simple personal review of the Tachikawa Linemarker A.T.

Here in Japan it costs 840yen (~10USD). It is a sketch pen but I use it for general writing purposes. I bought these at Tokyu Hands!

The pens:

The predominantly black pen is the Linemarker A.T. The brown pen is an unused Tachikawa Student-G.

The body of the Tachikawa is not hard plastic (ie Sailor Clear Candy), so it shouldn't crack as easily as other pens. The body seems to be more softer.

The Linemarker A.T comes in three nib sizes. 0.1mm, 0.3mm and 0.5mm. I have the 0.1mm and the 0.3mm only.

The nibs:

Left one is the 0.3mm, right one is the 0.1mm nib.

These nibs are nails. Very short, very stiff no feedback, though they are both smooth.

I have other steel nibs (drawing nibs) from Tachikawa and I don't think you can put them on the Linemarker. Still need to dip them.

I have not tried removing the nib units but upon closer examination the nib unit of the Linemarker is similar to the School-G.

Shown below is the nib unit and section of the School-G pen. It is transparent :-) Section screws in the body. The Linemarker section has striations which feel comfortable to me.

There is a wick coming from the end of the section (where the cartridge is inserted). This wick snakes down to the edge of the nib.

The cartridge of the Linemarker A.T is proprietary. Tachikawa sells a 6-pack refill.

The leftmost cartridge is from the Linemarker A.T. When you buy the pen you get two of this refills inside the body.

The second cartridge is from the Student-G. The last cartridge is a J. Herbin international standard cartridge.

But who needs a cartridge!

After testing the body for air tightness (I put the body in my mouth and blow until I turn red faced) I decided to make them eye droppers.

The pens have an area that is partially see thru so you can monitor how much ink you still have. I just refilled the pens.

UPDATE:

I originally mentioned that the pen can be used as an ED, I take that back :-(

The section of the pens has a weird threading pattern which ultimately allows ink to seep through the gaps! I think even with silicone grease using the Linemarker as an ED will be cumbersome.

You can use as an ED but it is just too troublesome for me. The thread pattern I mentioned above means that it will eventually leak specially if you forget to apply some silicone grease. Also if you over tighten the section on the body, the threads skip and you end up with a loose section. Do this often and the thread ends up getting damaged and we won't be able to properly tighten the section on the body. :-( Sigh

I set both up with Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black and as of today still no leaks!

Here were the first lines written by both pens. The pen used should be easily noticeable in the sample below. The paper is Rollbahn section (5mm) in B6 size. The photo doesn't show it correctly but the paper is cream colored.

The pen is comfortable to hold, though please note that I have small hands! Even though it doesn't have enough heft the long slender body offers good balance even when full of ink. As I mentioned earlier, nib is smooth enough for me. Draws a consistent line because of the nails in its business end. Only time can tell if will develop a leak. Cheap and you only have 3 nib choices. You can get it in your favorite color ... black :-)

I use these nib sizes when addressing envelopes to be posted in the mail. My Japan address is very long so I need a really fine writing pen. I have other F sized pens but I've liked using these.

Hope you find this useful.

Edited December 5, 2011 by sessyargc

December 4, 2011

Nice review. I'm still waiting for my Linemarker to arrive, so I've read this with great interest.

Now I'm sorry I didn't order 0.1 also:-( I have read somewhere that 0.1 is too dry and scratchy, but in your sample it does not look problematic at all.

Can you say a bit about the original ink that comes with these pens - is it waterproof, if you happened to try it? Do you think it could be used for sketching (and applying a watercolor wash over it) without smearing?

And how do you like your Student G?

Thanks!

December 4, 2011

Thank you for the review. I like a EEF/XXF East Asian line width, ie 0.16 or so. I ordered a 0.1 and 0.3 from jet pens awhile back. Just haven't gotten around to using them yet. You answer all the questions I had concerns about, smooth nib, in spite of Fine line and yes you can use them as ED's. Your review encourages me to get mine out and try it. Jim

December 4, 2011

Nice review. I'm still waiting for my Linemarker to arrive, so I've read this with great interest.
Now I'm sorry I didn't order 0.1 also:-( I have read somewhere that 0.1 is too dry and scratchy, but in your sample it does not look problematic at all.
Can you say a bit about the original ink that comes with these pens - is it waterproof, if you happened to try it? Do you think it could be used for sketching (and applying a watercolor wash over it) without smearing?
And how do you like your Student G?

Thanks!

I haven't used it for sketching with watercolor. Though I did a water test on the ink. Ink was smeared on Pilot fountain pen friendly paper and left to dry several minutes. It held steadfast against the running faucet. It seems it didn't even loose some of its mojo. It is water-based and odorless when compared to the india ink that I have from Windsor & Newton. So I'm not sure what it is.

I haven't inked the Student G yet. I found a review here in FPN saying that it has a "flexible" nib where I can open up the tines and draw a 1mm line. I don't think that is possible unless one digs into the paper. The Student G nib is also a nail, it barely opens its tines even with pressure. I'm playing with it, trying to replace the stock nib with one of the standard Tachikawa (dip) nibs, which truly has some flex.

Thank you for the review. I like a EEF/XXF East Asian line width, ie 0.16 or so. I ordered a 0.1 and 0.3 from jet pens awhile back. Just haven't gotten around to using them yet. You answer all the questions I had concerns about, smooth nib, in spite of Fine line and yes you can use them as ED's. Your review encourages me to get mine out and try it. Jim

YMMV with the nib. The tester that I used in the shop was a bit scratchy and was skipping, while the one I got was definitely better.

Good luck!

December 4, 2011

Thanks so much for this! I've been so curious about these things for quite a while. I've seen them on Jetpens (or some place) and have always wondered what they are like.

December 5, 2011

Spoke too soon.

2 days it remained in the house. Didn't leak.

I took it out today in my pen case and I now have black fingers. Small amount of ink are leaking at the area where the section screwed into the body. Well my bad I didn't use precaution :-) didn't put silicone grease on the threads :-(

Also, the pen burps ink inside the cap! The 0.1mm did and the ink inside the inner cap migrated to the section. Hmmn. If it continues to burp ink it might be relegated to house duty once again.

(added more information about the leak)

Edited December 5, 2011 by sessyargc

December 5, 2011

If you have the Linemarker A.T and plan to use it as an ED please be careful or you'll end up with ink in your hands ... all the time.

After checking everything again I noticed the section has a weird threading pattern which allows the ink to eventually seep through. Both pens have the same thread pattern Adding silicone grease can help alleviate the problem but IMO it is not foolproof! Hmmmn. Also be sure not to over tighten the section as it will skip the threads and the section will become a bit loose again! Doing this often might destroy the threads which leads to a loose section :-(

My ultimate suggestion don't use the Linemarker as an ED :-( just refill the cartridges.