Pencil Review: Staedtler Wopex HB Pencil

Good thing frequently comes when you least expect it.  I often find sationery goodies at university bookstores that are not easily found elsewhere.  While I peruse through the bookstore, all of the sudden a beam of green light (very much like the one in The Great Gatsby) shining at the display.  When I look closer, this is what I see:

The surface of the pencil is satin smooth and the texture of the material resembles many pencils that are made of recycled materials that I have used in the past.  Given that Staedtler manufactures great wooden pencils, I decide to give this revolutionary material a try.

According to Staedtler, Wopex pencils are different from traditional wooden pencils in the following respects:

• Wopex utilizes most of the tree, hence reduce total number of trees involve in pencil making.
• The manufacturing process uses energy efficient equipment and is solvent free.
• Lead is break resistant, so it lasts twice as long as traditional pencils.

Click here for complete details from Staedtler's official website.

As seen from the above picture, these pencils are pre-sharpened thus can be enjoyed out of the package.  First impression is that the lead is as silky smooth as the body!  It offers very little resistance and writing becomes effortless.  The writing experience is summed up with the writing sample below:

Writing sample.  I remember why I like using pencils so much!

For some reason, erasing writing done by Wopex can be tough at time, even Mars Plastic cannot remove the scribble completely.  

I have always interested in pencils made with recycle materials, so how does Wopex compare to its competitors?  I just happened to have a Ticonderoga Renew hanging around in the office, so I scribble with both pencils for comparison:

I like the idea of making pencils out of post-consumer materials, but Ticonderoga does not write as dark as conventional HB pencils, and the writing is tough to remove with eraser.  Wopex, in contrast, writes like a regular pencil if not better, and the writing is relatively easy to erase, in most cases.

One puzzling element about Wopex is sharpening.  The picture below shows how Wopex looks before sharpening:

Original look

This picture shows how it looks like after being sharpened by an electric pencil sharpener:  

A little bit more "up-do" on the sharpening edge.

The plastic coating does not sharpened as well as the wood inside.  With a regular portable sharpener, Wopex does quite well, but the lead is unevenly sharpened, but most likely because of the sharpener not the pencil.

Sharpened by KUM sharpener.

Unlike conventional wooden pencil, Wopex does not have an eraser at the end and I actually prefer that, since most eraser at the end is not of best quality.  The pack I purchased happened to come with five free PVC and latex free eraser topers, which bear the Staedtler logo.  It is a bit softer than regular Staedtler Mars plastic, but it gets the job done a lot better than the little eraser knob.  

Overall, Wopex exceeds my expectation of regular writing pencils.  Its bright shimmering coating definitely uplift user's mood.  It is dependable, and it seems to stay sharp longer than conventional pencils, so even after extended usage writing remains crisp and legible.  It is the combination of the comfort of wooden pencils and environmental consciousness.

Here are some more reviews on the same product:

• Bleistift
• The Well-Appointed Desk
• Pencil Talk

Oddly, I can only find a few less-known online retailers for Wopex.  If you have seen them around, please let me know so I can add them to the list of places to buy.

Review and Giveaway on Zebra Airfit Mechanical Pencil or What would Mr. Darcy do?

Remember Zebra Airfit Jell I mentioned awhile back?  The pen is impressive insofar as I decide to pick up its counterpart, a mechanical pencil.  The anatomy of the pencil is identical to the pen:  fully functional clip, supportive yet squishy cushion, and brightly colored body.  This particular one that I pick up is in pearly orange which gives a refreshing appeal that reminds me of an orange flavored popsicle.  

Zebra Airfit Mechanical Pencil looks just like its gel pen cousin.

Full-size clip with eraser on top

Zebra logo.

Air filled cushion that makes writing less tiresome and more comfortable.

Though it is a full-size mechanical pencil, Airfit is relatively light which would alleviate the fatigue that developed in long span of writing.  The barrel section is opaque, so you can easily see the spring action that pushes lead forward.  The pencil is preloaded with 3 pieces of lead, presumably #2 (HB).  It writes very smoothly that initially, I lost traction while writing because it glides across the paper.  Though it does not have the self-rotating mechanism like Kuru Toga, while writing on the chisel side of the lead, I experienced no breakage.

Overall, I enjoy the writing experience of Airfit, and it is ideal for students who use pencil extensively.  A small drawback of this pencil is the size of the eraser, which is quite standard for mechanical pencils in general.  I personally avoid using the eraser at the end out of the fear that I would lose the cover.

The pencil seems to say, "Summer is here!"

You can obtain this fantastic pencil at JetPens but you have a chance to win one by patiently reading this review!

Giveaway

Thanks to the generous offer from Lily of JetPens to make this blog's first ever giveaway possible. There will be not one, but two winners!    Please proceed to the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PS.  A wholehearted "thank you" to the Baker who patiently works on the image of Mr. Darcy!

Random Thursday

I just realized that I happened to acquire quite a bit of stuff recently in the shade of lime green.  Maybe my inner green monster is coming out....

In the Mood for Green?

JetPens Giveaway!

Though I am not an artist, I do like the feeling of wooden pencils, especially good ones like Blackwing.  Head over to JetPens now for your chance to win a set of five!   Click here to enter!

Gel Pen Review: Uni-Ball Signo Micro 207

Appearance

The first glance of Uni-Ball Signo Micro 207 Retractable is unassuming and the overall design is streamlined and sleek.  The barrel is neither too wide or thin, and the length is standard.  The textured, hard plastic grip helps relieve the tension and fatigue while writing, but does not provide equal support and cushion as pens like Dr. Grip or Zebra Airfit Jell. 

First look of Signo Micro 207 RT

Believe it or not, the little dots do help.

The barrel is made of opaque smoky hard plastic that allows users to see ink level and simultaneously coordinates with the rest of the color scheme.

Dissection:  3 pieces!

The pen is made of three parts:  the refill, the body, and the head.  Notice that the spring that enables the retractable mechanism is attached to the head.  No room for butterfingers to accidentally let the spring component slide!  The button at the end of the pen can be a bit tacky when pushed down occasionally, but in general, the mechanism worked smoothly.

The clip:  I do not use it, but the design is pretty neat.

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I rarely used the clip due to my personal idiosyncrasy, but I had to say, Micro 207 RT's clip was uniquely design.  There is a hollow space between the clip and the plastic piece that bear brand imprint.  At least it is not a just a solid piece of plastic/ metal!

Writing

Writing sample of Signo Micro 207 RT.
Can you spot another Uni-Ball cousin?

This is a great day-to-day pen fro work and school.  The hard plastic material is durable to survive anyone's purse and backpack (the fact that it used to lived in the Baker's back pocket while he worked in the kitchen tells much of the story).  The pen can also be purchased easily at general stationery stores or Target/ Walmart at a relatively economic price.

You can purchase Signo Micro 207 RT at:

• Amazon
• JetPens

Refills can be found at:

• JetPens
• Stationery Art

Other fine reviews on the same pen:

• The Pen Addict
• Writing Wrong Handed
• Not Far from Life

Postal Monday

I do not travel as frequent as I wanted, but fortunately I have friends and family members who do.  It is very sweet that they do think of me as they enjoy their excursions and over the years, I have amassed a great amount of postcards.  I deem them as my alternative ways of traveling, through the scenaries on the cards, as well as the messages written on the back.

How many places can you identify from the above picture?

Ink Review: Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrün (Old Golden Green)

I have several bottles of Rohrer and Klingner ink, and so far most of them are quite straightforward and no fuss; however, Alt-Goldgrün is a bit of a mystery.  To show the ink's shading quality, I planned to use a broader nib (Pelikan M205 Due BB to be exact), but for some reason the writing appeared feathered.  Once the ink is completely dried, it looked just fine but with bleedthrough.  Due to this discrepency, I did a bit more writing samples than usual to establish patterns.  The conclusion is that Alt-Goldgrün is a very addictive color and it grows on me more and more.

Wring sample done by Lamy Al-Star, medium nib

Writing sample done by Pelikan M205 Duo BB

Both Pelikan and Lamy on Fabriano EcoQua

You may purchase it at the following fine stationery retailers:

• Goulet Pens ($12)
• JetPens ($12)

Other fabulous reviews on this addictive ink:

• Ink Nouveau
• A review by Signum on Fountain Pen Network