Posts filed under Mark's

Mark's Writable Maste Washi Tape Review

I never thought I needed washi tape. Now I can’t live without it. What is it about these little strips of awesomeness that makes them so great?

My latest discovery is Mark's Writable Maste Washi Tape, which, when I saw it came in a grid pattern, jumped at the chance to get. I had already been a fan of traditional washi tapes for years, so adding another cool one to the collection that I could write on was an easy choice.

Now let’s be clear about a few things up front. First off, you don’t neeeeeed washi tape. Any regular tape will do for most normal uses, and will likely do a better job at actually sticking things together. Secondly, you can write on many tapes, both standard and of the washi variety, with ballpoint pens, permanent markers, and pencils. And third, they can be expensive, especially when compared to the basics.

So, why washi tape? For the same reason you buy that purple gel ink pen, or that shimmer ink, or that eleventh notebook. They are fun, and allow you to make your stationery personal. What you put on the page is an expression of yourself, and washi tape fits right in with all of it.

My main use for washi tape is to embellish my visual journal. I’ve discussed my process before, and adding this writable washi tape to my kit gives me something else fun to play with. Couldn’t I just write on the page itself? Of course! But why not have even more fun with the process than I normally do?

Writing on this tape actually works. It is designed to be used with water-based inks, which standard tapes can’t handle. Anything I threw at it - from gel, to roller, to pencil, to fountain, and more - worked. The wettest inks, such as the Schmidt P8127 rollerball refill and the Montblanc JFK fountain pen ink, did take a long time to dry. Over 30 seconds for each in fact, so you don’t want to drag your hand over them immediately or close your notebook until you are sure they are dry.

Despite that, I was still impressed with how well this tape performed. I could write on it with ease, and pull and it restick as needed, just like any other washi tape.

One of the best parts of the stationery hobby is discovering fun and interesting ways to use the products I have. Sure, I’d get by with a basic pen and notebook just fine, but this is way more fun, and it is way more me. And I plan on experimenting and discovering for the rest of my life.

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

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Posted on December 31, 2018 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Mark's, Washi tape.

Mark's HiBi Weekly Notebook Review

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

The Mark's HiBi Weekly notebook is a small spiral notebook that spreads your entire week on a single page, making it easy to plan events and tasks for each day. Unlike a lot of weekly or daily planners, this one features a wide landscape orientation, and also sports a back cover that allows the notebook to stand up on its own so you can easily reference the planner on your desk.

At 8.3 x 4.6 inches, it's a familiar size. It's a bit smaller than an A5 notebook, which makes it easy to store and transport, but also allowing enough room on the page for an entire week. While it's great that the full week is available on every page, that's where this notebook causes me trouble. Due to the small size, I've had trouble using the notebook since I don't normally write super small. Even if I do write incredibly small, there still isn't much room for me to add meetings, appointments, and tasks for each day without everything feeling incredibly cramped. At first glance, it looked like a great format. After using it for a week, I was a bit disappointed.

For me, the functionality was a flop, but what about the build quality? The notebook features a top-bound twin spiral ring that seems rugged, but can be difficult to turn pages without getting stuck. The chipboard that makes up the front and back covers are incredibly strong, and I have no doubt they'll stand up to a great deal of abuse. The kickstand on the back cover is a novel idea, but it does add bulk to the notebook when it's closed and laying flat. If you're using it to stand up the notebook, it works great.

Once you get to the paper, the build quality starts to decline. The paper has a smooth feel that's pleasant to write on, and it's thin without feeling fragile. I also haven't seen any feathering when using different pens on this paper, which is a good sign. However, the show-through on the opposite page is significant. Even with a micro-tip gel pen, there's almost too much show-through to use the back page. And since every page has a front and a back, that poses a significant problem. The Schmidt P8126 and fountain pen inks caused the most show-through, but the only option that hasn't caused some sort of show-through is pencil. I was disappointed by this attribute of the paper, because it's pleasant to use if you discount the show-through property.

Unfortunately, this notebook didn't mesh with my daily routine or writing style. It could potentially be fixed by removing a lot of the lines that create the feeling of cramped writing space, but fitting seven days of information on a single sheet is always a tall order. This might work great for some people with specific use cases, but it just didn't hold up for me. That, together with the paper quality and problematic spiral binding, ultimately makes this notebook difficult to recommend unless you can think of specific uses that will suite your needs.

The model used in this review is orange, but that color isn't currently available on JetPens. Today, they offer blue, pink, and yellow, and each notebook is just under $10.

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

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Posted on October 3, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Mark's, Notebook Reviews.

Mark's Hibi Ballpoint Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

Sometimes I buy stationery because it's cute, and for no other reason. Sometimes that works out for me, but more often I end up disappointed. The Hibi Ballpoint pen is definitely one of the cuter mistakes I've made.

Ballpoints are my least favorite of the pen families, but there are times when that's just the tool required for the job. And when those moments happen, I want the ballpoint I'm using to at least be a fun one. So when I saw these lovely Hibi pens, I decided to give one a try. I love the wood body, the sleek profile, and the vintage-feeling colors. I think the branding on the pen body is charming. It looks both modern and timeless. In the looks department, it's a total winner.

The wood body feels good in the hand, though I question its durability. It's nicer than picking up a cold metal pen. It's also very lightweight, so there's less chance of hand fatigue if you're filling out a lot of paperwork. The barrel is a bit narrow, so those who prefer thicker pens may find it uncomfortable to hold. I like the slimness, as it can be easily stowed in any pen sleeve or even inside the spiral of a notebook. Between the wood, weight, and slimness, it feels more like a pencil than a pen.

The clip is sturdy metal with a good amount of spring to it. It's well anchored at the top, so I don't worry about it bending or breaking. The click button has a good bounce and click to it, but the button screws off easily, and there is a tiny spring below it that could be lost or broken if it comes undone in a bag. And the looseness of the button means that it rattles when you're writing, which is a bit annoying.

The pen is refillable with an Ohto No. 175 NP refill. The ink itself isn't a very deep black--it's a bit of a washed out grey. The needlepoint is .5 mm, but it feels finer to me, perhaps because it's such a dry ink, and the tip itself is very scratchy. The metal cone at the tip unscrews to access the refill (held by another spring).

Overall, I like looking at this pen, and I like holding it. But writing with it is unpleasant. Both the construction and the refill work against it. So does the price tag. If it were a $3-5 pen, I'd say I got my money's worth of enjoyment out of it, but I think $11.25 is too much for this.

I haven't learned my lesson, of course. I'll buy the next cute pen, too, and find a use for it, even if it's not great. This pen lives by the kitchen calendar, where its fine tip can write in the small squares and its ballpoint ink suits the glossy paper. It's put to good use. But I don't think it suits the brand's motto of being an "everyday tool".

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Posted on November 30, 2017 by Sarah Read and filed under Mark's, Ballpoint, Pen Reviews.