If you live long enough sooner or later you will have to eat the most distasteful of meals, Crow, followed by a generous helping of Humble Pie for desert. Such is the case with me and the Staedtler Liquid point 7 rollerball pens. Some months ago I had written about the Liquid Point 7 where I had given it a mediocre review. It was one of my earlier reviews and in my defense I can say that I was honestly looking for a 0.3 mm pen when I came across the Liquid Point 7 at my local Staples. What follows is a more in depth, more objective review of the Staedtler Liquid Point 7 Liquid Ink Pen, aka a Rollerball.
From the Staedtler website:
STAEDTLER® liquid point 7
Rollerball
* Rollerball with visible ink level
* High-tech needle tip for effortless writing
* Suitable for carbon copies
* Ink feed system
* With metal clip
* PP barrel guarantees long service life
* 4 colours
* Line width approx. 0.30 mm
Perfect writing performance |
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Ink feed system |
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Steadtler claims that the Liquid Point 7 produces a 0.3 mm line. And in deed it does produce a 0.3 mm wide line as measured by my Peak 10x Scale Lupe with a metric reticle. When I first came across the Liquid Point 7 rollerball I was expecting a 0.3 mm ball in the tip of the pen which would have produced a sub 0.3 mm line. That was my mistake and the main cause for the lackluster initial review.
The Liquid Point 7 stats: The pen weighs 9.7 grams. It is 137.5 mm long, capped.It is 151.1 mm long posted. It is 128.2 mm unposted. It is 9.3 mm in diameter in the body. It's balance point from the tip of the pen is 76.8 mm, posted and 69.9 mm unposted, making it a little bottom heavy either way. The look is attractive being 3 shades of metallic grey (Silver) with the ink color being reflected in a colored insert on, or rather in the top of the pen under the pocket clip which starts in the back of the pen and curves over the top then back earthward in order to form the pocket clip, which is chromed steel with the Staedtler logo embossed on the end. The cap is a dark metallic gray, the body a more silvery metallic grey studded evenly with rows of grey dots. There is a silver band around the body just under the cap with the words "MADE IN GERMANY" in grey letters. Opposite each other are 2 windows which allow you to see the ink supply. On one window the words "STAEDTLER" Liquid Point 7 in silver, which is a nice contrast to the darkness of the window. On the opposite side are 5 ink level indicators. The window is actually useful as one can actually see the ink supply. A color coded button seals the back of the pen.
The Liquid Point 7 is a needle point pen. This means it can easily be used with drawing or drafting equipment such as triangles and templates.
The grip is made from polypropylene and is clear. The grip itself is smooth but surprisingly affords the user an excellent gripping surface. It also allows the user to see the ink feed system, which unlike many of it's type does not fill with ink. This gives the Liquid Point 7 a cleaner, fresher look than other pens of it's type.
The Liquid point 7 is a smooth writing pen due in part because it's a liquid ink pen and in part because it's a 0.7 mm ball sized pen. The ink flows smoothly and the colors are bold, not washed out. I ran my usual tests, a writing test,a bleed through test, a smudge proof test and a waterproof test. The writing test consisted of writing a single like of text to check for smoothness and blobs of ink. The Liquid Point 7 passed this test with great marks. The bleed through test consists of me holding the tip of the pen to the paper for 10 seconds using normal writing pressure. All four pens bled through at least to the second page, a couple bled through 3 sheets and one bled through to the 4th page. The smudge test was where I wrote a short line of a word or two and quickly ran a finger across the ink in an effort to get it ti smudge. The Liquid Point 7 is difficult to smudge. The waterproof test consisted of 4 lines, one from each color, sprayed with tap water from a small spray bottle then left to dry. The ink ran and feathered.
Despite the feathering and bleed through the Liquid Point 7's wrote smoothly and without blotching. The slender bodies are not too slender for someone with larger hands! I personally find them easy to hold and control. I like the clear grip which I find easy to hold onto despite the smoothness of the grips. The pens make nice carry pens for general purpose use such as making notes and writing letters and such.
All in all a second look at the Staedtler Liquid Point 7 Liquid ink Pens proved enlightening. They are an elegant looking, easily controlled, smooth writing rollerball available in four colors, Black, Red, Green and Blue.
Bottom line, if you like smooth writing rollerballs in bright, solid colors that are elegant to look at, easy to handle, and write well then pick up a four pack of Staedtler Liquid point 7 Liquid Ink Pens today!
Many thanks to the STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG, Customer Service Department for the consideration of the pens reviewed in this review.
3 comments:
Would you recommend this as a internal office giveaway, just to give employees another company pen?
Yes I would! In fact if you want a slightly finer point try the Staedtler Liquid Point 5 liquid ink pen!
Hey, stumbled on your blog while looking for where to buy Staedtler liquid point 7 pens online--and first read your "mediocre" review, which surprised me because I've been using the S 7 for a while and have loved it. So I poked around your site looking for what other pen you would recommend and came on this revised and lengthier review which more closely matches my experience with the pen. Ah good, I can keep using the pen with a clear conscience! They don't seem to carry it at Office Depot or Office Max and there's no Staples close by me but I guess I'll have to make the trip. Thanks for your blog. I love pens--I'll check in with you every so often. Molly
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