Pilot Petit 1 Mini Fountain Pen - Blue Black Review

January 28, 2009

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The incredibly nice folks from JetPens.com were kind enough to send me the Pilot Petit 1 Mini Fountain Pen with Blue Black ink so I could test it out and do a review on it. I’ve seen this pen around on various websites, and always thought it looked pretty interesting, so I was excited to get the chance to test it out. I was also intriuged by the whole combo blue black ink since I have never tried any of these types of multi colored inks before.

These pens come in a variety of colors (JetPens has 15 different colors) and can be had for $4.50 which is not bad at all for an inexpensive fountain pen. JetPens also offers refills for this pen that come in capsules containing 3 individual refills for $2.00 each. These pens are also offered in a 12 color set ($54) or 6 color set ($27) on the JetPens site.

I really like the design of this pen because it is so sleek and compact, although in all honesty I did have some initial hesitation because I thought it might actually be a little bit too small to comfortably write with. Once I actually had the pen in my hand, I could instantly tell that the size, although compact, would still be comfortable for writing with. Depending on how you like to hold your pen, I would say for someone with an average size hand like myself, writing with the cap either posted or not posted is a comfortable experience. With the cap posted on the top, the pen rests comfortably against the back of your hand. If you decide to write with the cap not posted on the top of the pen, the smooth rounded end of the pen nestles snugly in the meaty section of my hand between my thumb and my forefinger. Between the capped and uncapped method of writing, I think this pen can work out pretty comfortable for any writer, unless you have particularly large hands.

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With the Blue Black ink in this pen, it might be a bit difficult to really distinguish the difference between it, and black ink. I think that in the picture below you can see the difference though, if you click on the image for the larger version. It is funny how an ink that is so close to being black or blue, but is neither can be so unique. With my initial first stroke of this pen, I had a hard time distinguishing it from being much different than any black ink that I used, however when I put some black ink right next to it the difference was clear. I feel that the ink has a very distinguished look to it, which is very nice in setting it apart from your standard blue or black. In addition to just looking really nice, the ink in this pen seems to also flow smoothly and dry almost instantly. The fine sized nib on this pen does display a width that I would expect, and it has a very slight toothy feel, so it isnt perfectly smooth when writing, but I dont find it to be a negative at all. Overall I think this pen is a great writer and if you are looking for a very inexpensive fountain pen, this is a great option.

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I know I have mentioned this in my past few posts, and I’ll repeat it again with this post….this pen is going to end up being part of a give away that I will be doing shortly. I always enjoy other sites that do give aways, but I have been looking to add my own special twist on this, and I expect that within the next week or so I will be ready to roll out my idea which I hope everyone will have fun with. I look forward to seeing everyone back here for my next review and eventually for my first give away, in the mean time please feel free to sign up for my RSS feed or follow me on Twitter. I’ve had some trouble with the RSS feed over the past week or so, and you might need to resubscribe if you had subscribed in the past.

One final thanks to JetPens.com for providing the pen for this review.

Edited January 29, 2009 by officesupplygeek

January 28, 2009

OSG, thanks for a very nicely done review, I especially like your "bionic" hand for size emphasis.

January 29, 2009

OSG, thanks for a very nicely done review, I especially like your "bionic" hand for size emphasis.

Thanks, glad you like it. I just got the "bionic" hand recently, I like to call him Woody, he helps out with some of my reviews.

I've resized the pictures because I didnt realize what a pain it is for those with dial up or an older browser that didnt resize automatically. The originals can be seen with the original post on my blog here:

http://officesupplygeek.com/pen-review/pil...e-black-review/

January 29, 2009

Great review! It really helps to see a writing sample, too.

I had one of these, but it was confiscated by my wife becuase, she says, it is such a perfect purse pen. (I don't recall the word "cute" coming up. No, I'm sure that had nothing to do with it. ) She has carried it for months now, and it has been bullet-proof: never coming uncapped, sweating ink in extreme temperatures, leaking, or failing to write on the first stroke. And unlike so many pens, it's there and visibly ready to go when she needs it. Plus it's not a bad writer at all, as you say. She will carry a larger, fancier-looking pen if she knows she's going to be writing, but the Petit-1 is always her back-up and her quick-note pen.

Thanks for spotlighting the little guy.

ron

January 29, 2009

Great review! It really helps to see a writing sample, too.
I had one of these, but it was confiscated by my wife becuase, she says, it is such a perfect purse pen. (I don't recall the word "cute" coming up. No, I'm sure that had nothing to do with it. ) She has carried it for months now, and it has been bullet-proof: never coming uncapped, sweating ink in extreme temperatures, leaking, or failing to write on the first stroke. And unlike so many pens, it's there and visibly ready to go when she needs it. Plus it's not a bad writer at all, as you say. She will carry a larger, fancier-looking pen if she knows she's going to be writing, but the Petit-1 is always her back-up and her quick-note pen.
Thanks for spotlighting the little guy.
ron

Glad you liked the review, thank you.

It is a "~~cute~~" nice pen. The convenience of its size and reliability is very nice, I would agree. I was excited to do a review on one of the "little guys" as you said, there are a ton of very nice and expensive fountain pens out there, so I figured a little diversity would be nice.

February 8, 2009

Great review! It really helps to see a writing sample, too.
I had one of these, but it was confiscated by my wife becuase, she says, it is such a perfect purse pen. (I don't recall the word "cute" coming up. No, I'm sure that had nothing to do with it. ) She has carried it for months now, and it has been bullet-proof: never coming uncapped, sweating ink in extreme temperatures, leaking, or failing to write on the first stroke. And unlike so many pens, it's there and visibly ready to go when she needs it. Plus it's not a bad writer at all, as you say. She will carry a larger, fancier-looking pen if she knows she's going to be writing, but the Petit-1 is always her back-up and her quick-note pen.
Thanks for spotlighting the little guy.
ron

Glad you liked the review, thank you.

It is a "~~cute~~" nice pen. The convenience of its size and reliability is very nice, I would agree. I was excited to do a review on one of the "little guys" as you said, there are a ton of very nice and expensive fountain pens out there, so I figured a little diversity would be nice.

Doing a give away with this pen on my blog, or you can pick from something else.

http://officesupplygeek.com/giveaway/time-...your-free-item/