Pens, pens, architect’s pens 01.04.2017 – Posted in: News

Ask an architect about an architect’s pens and get lectured about precision and flow, thinness and blackness, price and durability. For someone who scribbles and dabbles notes and sketches for projects whenever in need, a pen is not just a pen, but a vehicle for thoughts and ideas. For those of you who are hard to please on the pen front, I am glad to give you four great alternatives that have just been updated to our shop. All of them have been hand-picked and tested by myself, and I can honestly and warmly recommend each of them.

Pentel Slicci 0.4 is a gel pen that gives you an incredibly fine line that just flies on the paper. Slicci’s sturdy tip supports your hand without resisting the flow of the movement. Slicci is my go-to pen for both writing and sketching. I really love its usability and the small, sleek and light design of its barrel.

The Pilot G-Tec series have received quite a few appraisals on the internet especially by those who adore the ultra-thin Japanese gel pens. The Pilot G-Tec C4 gives a similar line as Slicci 0.4, but it is much drier and perhaps even more accurate. My handwriting is terrible, and I really can’t say to have much of control for my drawing line either, so I turn to C4 whenever I have to study something in detail or to write something in a small space. Should you find Slicci or C4 too thick (!), Pilot G-Tec C25 is an amazing pen which produces a line way too dry and thin to my liking, but which simultaneously makes a fantastic addition to the architect’s toolbox. Drawing with C25 resembles me of the 1980s when I used a Rotring 0.13 technical pen for architectural blueprints. Well, you have been warned.

The last but not the least in my shop selection for architect’s pens is the Pentel NMF50 superfine permanent marker. It is a ‘no muss, no fuss’ pen that gives you both finesse and weatherproof reliability. For those of you who do R&D, product design or work outdoors, this is your workhorse. I use mine in gardening: you know those tiny plant labels that look so pretty in spring but lose all the information by summer? Well, I rest my case.