Posts filed under Uni

Uni EMOTT Sign Pen Review

Any time a new sign pen hits the market you better believe I’ll be getting them to test as soon as possible. The Uni EMOTT Sign Pens look exactly like a pen that would be perfect for me. Now that I have them in hand, are they?

First of all, they write wonderfully. 0.4 mm plastic tip pens are not the norm by any stretch, and based on the way I write, they are great. The line is sharp and clean, which is the exact requirement for a pen tip like this.

The marketing of the EMOTT focuses a lot on the durability of the tip as well, stating it is “no bend, no breakage, and a consistent fine line width.” So far, I’m buying what they are selling, but I have a lot more writing in front of me to really test the durability.

The water-based ink is also water resistant, no bleed, and no smearing - which is honestly the cost of entry into this market. Your marker/sign pen has to have those features. What else can the EMOTT bring to the table? How about 40 colors of ink.

I chose the No. 8 Retro Set, which consists of Blue Green, Red Wine, Apple Green, Straw Yellow, and Iris Purple. It’s a great combination of colors, and it will shock you none that Blue Green is my favorite of the bunch. The only downside of this set is that they aren’t sold as individual pens like the 10 base colors are.

The two hangups with the EMOTT that some may have are the barrel shape, and the price. These are long, skinny pens with a square barrel. I’d prefer it to be triangular, if not round, but square works for me. It may not for others.

Price-wise, I think $3 per pen is the top end of what I’d pay for these. It looks and feel more like a $2 sign pen, but if the durability is there as it states, they are probably worth it. I’ll likely pick up a basic black soon to write with more frequently and see how they really stand up.

So, are they perfect for me? No, but they are really good. Especially the tip size and the colors. I’m definitely enjoying them so far.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on December 30, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Uni, EMOTT, Sign Pen, Pen Reviews.

Uni Kuru Toga Roulette Mechanical Pencil Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

It's been a while since we gave the Kuru Toga some love around here, but that's going to change with the Roulette. This pencil has been around for quite some time, but it can be easy to overlook given the sheer number of mechanical pencil options that exist today. What sets the Roulette apart from the regular Kuru Toga, you ask? Knurling.

As opposed to the all-plastic construction of the regular Kuru Toga, the Roulette has a metal section with knurled grip. It's a nice feature, and definitely improves the writing experience of the pencil. At just a few bucks more than the regular Kuru Toga, it's a great upgrade. The knurled grip adds a lot of stability when holding the pencil, and the cool metal feels better in the hand compared to the plastic grip of the regular Kuru Toga.

Underneath the metal exterior is the namesake of this pencil — the lead rotation mechanism that made the Kuru Toga famous. As you write, the lead rotates a millimeter every time you lift the lead off the paper. This ingenious design means you are always writing with perfectly rounded lead instead of ending up with sharp angled edges. With most pencils, you're probably used to rotating the pencil a bit once one side of the lead gets too dull. That creates a sharp contrast to the small edge that the fresh lead creates. With the Kuru Toga mechanism, you can enjoy a consistent line width since it's constantly rotating as you write.

This feature isn't a gimmick, either. It works flawlessly. The only case in which this lead rotation action doesn't work well is if you're making long, continuous strokes with the pencil instead of writing. It's not a good drafting pencil, but it's great for writing notes, doing math homework, and keeping handy around the house.

Even though the knurled metal grip adds a touch of class to this pencil, there were some compromises made in order to keep the price low. Aside from the grip, the rest of the pencil is made of plastic and painted to mimic metal. They actually did a great job with this effect, as it can be difficult to pick out the plastic bits, but it's really obvious once you pick it up and start handling it. Even though this is a compromise, they've executed it very well, and it also keeps the cost down so the pencil is very accessible.

The clip on the pencil is removable and is very strong. Once you clip this pencil to something, it's not going to come loose on accident. As with most mechanical pencils, there's also a tiny eraser under the click cap, which is also where you can add more lead.

Speaking of lead, this pencil is only available in the 0.5mm variety, which is a bit disappointing. I'd love to see some 0.3mm and 0.7mm options as well. You can find those sizes in the regular model of Kuru Toga, so I'm a bit perplexed by the omission in this premium line. Aside from the silver featured here, you can also pick up a gun metallic variant.

As an added bonus, the grip section features a small round window that shows the internal lead rotation mechanism as it rotates round and round. If you hold the pencil just right, you can see the rotation as you write.

I've always been a big fan of the Kuru Toga because of how well it works. What sounds like a gimmick is actually a great feature that Uni executed perfectly. The addition of the metal knurled grip is fantastic, drawing comparisons to much more expensive pencils and improving the grip dramatically. At just under $12, these pencils are affordable and provide an excellent value. Definitely worth having one in your arsenal!

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on June 19, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Uni, Kuru Toga, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Uni NanoDia Low-Wear Pencil Lead 0.5 mm HB Review

I think we are on to something here.

Towards the beginning of this project, I reviewed the 0.7 mm H-grade version of the Uni NanoDia lead. It was good, and I saw why it was popular. It just wasn’t for me specifically. Little did I know that a lead one size and one hardness away from that one might be the one I have been looking for all along.

The Uni NanoDia 0.5 mm HB lead is my favorite lead I have tested so far. Many of you are yelling at me right now saying “We told you so!” But, I’m stubborn. I had to find out for myself. I actively avoided choosing to review it too, knowing that it is one of the more popular leads on the market. It only came up this time because I chose to make a blind choice for this review, reaching into my pouch of 15-plus packs left to review and sticking with whatever came out.

I’m glad this one did. Being 0.5 mm and HB makes this one of the most standard leads on the market. The middle ground, stock lead, if you will - but with added diamond particles for durability! From the moment I loaded it into my Pentel P205 I knew it was going to be good. The darkness was right, and most importantly, the feel was right.

I’ve said in nearly every mechanical pencil lead review I have done that I want the graphite to feel like graphite, not plastic. There has to be feedback and texture. I understand that additives are required due to the fragility of the individual sticks of lead, but they can’t feel fake. This one delivers on that feeling of authenticity.

This is the first lead I have wanted to keep loaded in the pencil after I was done with the review. That surprises me because I thought for sure I would land on the harder end of the graphite scale. And maybe I will as I continue to go through these tests. But until then, the Uni NanoDia 0.5 mm HB is the best lead I have come across.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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