Sharpie Liquid Pencil: not good

[powernoodle]

There is been more than a little jazz about the Sharpie Liquid Pencil. Being geekoid, I have been looking forward to it as well. I was able to grab a few today at Office Depot, and they are a disappointment.

The idea of the liquid pencil is that it is graphite suspended in some kind of liquid substrate, which goes onto the paper via a fine rollerball. The upside is that there is no pencil lead to sharpen or mechanical lead to break. And according to Sharpie, the written lines are erasable for about 3 days, after which they become permanent. Sounds good.

The reality is that the pencil produces a line of poor quality. It skips, and looks like a line from a pen which is not receiving a sufficient supply of ink. It just does not look good.

It is erasable, but this does not distinguish it from wood or mechanical pencils. And according to Engadget, it never gets permanent as Sharpie advertises.

So, I don't see the point.

At $4.99 for two "pencils", is it worth the purchase so my 9 and 13 year old sons can play with them? Probably. Would I buy one for myself, or recommend them to others? No chance. They produce a line of poor quality, and apparently never become permanent. If a pencil line is what you are after, a wood or mechanical pencil is superior IMO.

Bottom line: its a concept which has potential, but this version has fallen woefully short. As a novelty item, it might be worth playing with for a while. But I can't see anyone using these things in the long run.

 

[Loneriderz]

How did something like this passed through the R&D phase?

 

[powernoodle]

This is a pic from an Amazon seller, where 50+ reviewers are giving it an average 2 out of 5 stars:

Oh well. This means more money left over for important things like knives.

 

[dawsonbob]

Too bad. I had been wanting to try these.

Years ago someone else, I believe Papermate, had erasable pens, too: they didn't work either.

 

[fugawee]

Nice review
I saw the commercial for it and was wondering about them.

So,how do you think it would do for
marking 2x4's and such,woodworking....?

will it write on a vertical surface (wall)?

 

[powernoodle]

marking 2x4's and such,woodworking

I don't think it would do well for woodworking, especially on a relatively imperfect surface such as a 2x4. I say this because of the apparent low "ink" flow. I would prefer a carpenter pencil, or a fine or ultra-fine Sharpie. Not sure if it will write on a vertical surface.

My 13 year old gave it a thumbs down too. At first his was working well, but then the "ink" started to get skippy.

 

[fugawee]

well that saves me 5 bucks
(and 11.99 in aggravation)
Thanks powernoodlle!

 

[tknife]

Thanks for posting this. Almost grabbed some on impulse because the idea seemed so cool, and Sharpie usually makes great stuff.

 

[Josh K]

I'll stick with my standard sharpies.

 

[powernoodle]

I generally love Sharpie products, and always have in my pocket either a twin-tip permanent marker (ultra fine tip for writing, plus a fine tip for general use) or a Stainless Sharpie. Not quite as handy as a knife, but almost.

 

[ICSK]

Although I've never seen anything like this at my local stores, I have to admit the idea is intriguing as well. Is the pen refillable?

 

[powernoodle]

It looks like the cartridge is user-replaceable, assuming that Sharpie makes a replacement. At $2 - $3 per "pencil", they may just intend for you to replace the entire pencil.

 

[nc527]

Have you guys tryed the pilot frixion erasable pens yet? Ive been using them for school for 2 weeks and they are great. Nice flow, and completely erases. I think its a heat reacted ink, so the friction makes it dissapear.