A technophile lawyer rediscovers the joys of pen and paper

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Review: Sanford Sharpie Stainless Steel Fine-Point Permanent Marker

(UPDATE: Welcome, Pen Addict readers, and my thanks to him for the link!)

I don't know anyone who hasn't used a Sharpie marker at least once. Evidence of the ubiquitous marker with gray plastic body and black cap peppers my neighborhood every weekend when the garage sale signs go up.

 So, I'm in Office Depot the other day looking to see if there's anything new in the pen section, and I see a promotion for the Sanford Sharpie Stainless Steel Fine Point Permanent Marker. Stainless Steel. Cool! Refillable. Double cool! So I picked up one and a refill and and tried it out as soon as I got home.

I'll sum it up with a word I used earlier: cool.

I won't bother showing you how it writes, because you all know how a Sharpie writes. But some other aspects of the marker are worth noting.

First, obviously, is the stainless steel finish. If it weren't for the "Sharpie" lettering on the barrel, one could be forgiven for mistaking it for a pricey stainless finish pen:

Stainless Steel Sharpie Refillable Permanent Marker

Even once it is exposed as a utilitarian marker, with the cap posted, it looks quite striking with the black section and tip contrasting against the stainless finish of the barrel and cap:

Stainless Steel Sharpie Refillable Permanent Marker: Cap Posted

One might even say it looks sharp.

To get a feel for the size of the Sharpie, I took a picture of it next to a Lamy AL-Star, which I figure nearly every pen aficionado has had at one time or another:

Stainless Steel Sharpie Refillable Permanent Marker nest to Lamy AL-Star

That curvature in the AL-Star is neither your imagination nor a result of carrying the pen around in my pocket. Despite the macro setting on my camera, I got distortion from the close-up view. Hey, I wonder if that's how they came up with the pricey Waterman Sérénité?




Refilling the pen once the ink is exhausted couldn't be much easier, and there is no mess involved at all. Unlike the Platinum Preppy refillable highlighter, for example, in which the user inserts a new ink cartridge for use with the same tip, the refill for the Sharpie is a single unit housing the ink supply and a new tip. Simply unscrew the old one and screw in the new.

Stainless Steel Sharpie Refillable Permanent Marker: Disassembed

I bought this marker even though I don't very often have a need for one. This is just a cool thing to carry around, and I'll have plenty of room for it in the new pencil case I'm waiting to get from Jet Pens. The pen case is part of my new-found fastidiousness, which I reserve for my pens and paper. As long as its not just a phase, I can count on being able to locate this marker, and even the refill, when I need it. No more looking through junk drawers for 10 minutes trying to find one that's not dried out!

The Sanford Sharpie Stainless Steel Fine-Point Permanent Marker is available at Office Depot online for $6.29, and the refills are $1.99. I can't remember what I paid in the store, but I'm pretty sure the promotional price was a little less for the pen, about the same for the refill.

Overall, I'm very glad I purchased this!

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